Count to ten- one, two, three, four. The cool room smells of chemicals from the sanitation products used on everything. Thirteen people all cooped up with masks, gloves, and scrubs. As they are preparing for their job mine has already been done. I back away and let the surgeon take over as I watch the patient's vital signs like a hawk. For a moment, there is complete silence as everyone prepares to begin the long, grueling surgery. I feel especially tense given I’m just a baby when you compare me to the veteran doctors that surround me. I have studied and worked hard my entire life to be able to do this. Tick.Tock. The hours go by. The tension in the air grows thicker with every passing second, as the surgery becomes more riskier. The career
Popular television paint a glorified image of doctors removing the seriousness of medical procedures. In the non-fiction short story, “The First Appendectomy,” William Nolen primarily aims to persuade the reader that real surgery is full of stress and high stakes decisions rather than this unrealistic view portrayed by movies.
This year, the applications to enroll in medical schools increased by 6.1 percent to more than 48,000, breaking records set in 1996 (Lopatto). Job openings for doctors and nurses sparked the interest of the younger generation, and this, I believe, is because of the enthralling and captivating experiences that result from these fields. The article “The Central Line” by Atul Gawande covers an example of what these future surgeons and medics learn while in the field. However, the student will not perform perfectly the first time. Of course, the techniques of using the tools and how to perform the procedures take practice and time to perfect, exhibited through Gawande’s writing. Repetition and training is needed to excel at any skill or act. In his article, Gawnde motivates his readers through the use of his credibility and emotional appeals to the learning curb.
I had just finished facing my fears watching the metallic needle slip so seamlessly under my skin into the veins of my nervous, clammy hand. Hugging my Mom like it could have been the last time I saw her, seeing my dad's face stern and worried. I wheeled down the hall into this operating room, white was all I saw, a bed in the middle for the surgery to go down. As I lay on the bed waiting to be put under I remember seeing the blue masks of the people to be operating on me, I had to put all my trust in them, trusting someone you seen for less than 5 seconds with your life. Absolutely terrifying. The nurse slipping the fluid into my IV as I lay on my back looking up at the white ceiling, this cold sensations rushed over me. Then suddenly, I was out.
I come in here and do what I'm asked without hesitation, I am always a team player. I don't complain about things, I am always respectful and professional to my co-workers and our patients. Everything that I wanted to do this year have been placed on hold because of this. I didn't plan on being a Front Office Assistant forever. Whenever something happens in this office you can ask my manager I am always trying to think of the bigger picture and find ways to improve things here. The accusations that were brought against me are totally not my character. Take some time to ask the people I work with on the daily.
I served as a Veterans Service Officer and Contract Compliance Officer at the North Carolina State Veterans Home in Salisbury North Carolina. Duties included assisting Veterans and their family members in applying for VA benefits through both the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). This required me to have knowledge of various laws, regulations, and policies of both the VBA and the VHA. As a Contract Compliance Officer, I monitored the day-to-day operations of the Facility Contractor and ensured Veterans were receiving the appropriate standard of health care, which was in part, funded with monies appropriated from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs budget.
Everyday life in a hospital is complete and absolute chaos. There are doctors and nurses running everywhere to treat patients, ambulances coming through every so often, children and patients crying, and surgeons telling a family that their loved one did not make it. However, outside of all that craziness is an operating room (OR). A place filled with pressure, intensity, high hopes, and stress. There to help control the environment is a surgical technologist. While preparing patients for surgery, surgical technologists manage the equipment and operating room, follow the instructions of the surgeon, and ensure the safety of the patient.
Along with creating steps which will lead me towards my ultimate career goal, the creation of a specific five-year plan for myself was key. In five years I will be in school, hopefully in my final year of my Masters degree; a plan which seems so simple to achieve, however requires an extensive amount of hard work and dedication. Being so far in my academic career already, I will hopefully have worked in summer internships or been employed during the year by a speech-language pathologist or various health institutions to gain experience in the profession and potentially become full time employed by one of these institutions post-graduation. Within the five years, I will have as well established networks and built relationships with multiple
In the book Complications, Atul writes about his experiences as a surgical residents and demonstrates a point of view of surgery that does not idealize it, but instead displays the actual pressure and complexity it actually is. Atul Gawande speaks to fellow surgeons, surgeons to be or simply those who believe that the study of surgery is just memorizing procedures, nonetheless it’s so much more complex due to the fact that every case that arrives is different. He is able to portray the complexity of surgery by putting his readers in heart racing situations faced by doctors, explaining step by step procedures, giving his personal stories of cases he has assisted in at the hospital as a resident. Atul Gawande appeals to his reader’s attitude
I sat behind a large wall of glass, through which I studied the surgeons as they delicately inserted catheters into people’s wrists and examined X-rays. The nurses got so used to having me around that they didn’t mind taking a few moments out of their exhaustive schedules to show me how arteries work, the different types of blood clots, and ways for treating them. Mesmerized, I observed the surgeons cautiously pumped precisely measured fluid into the bodies of their patients, after which they inserted a small balloon at the site of clot blockage which helped compress and remove the built-up plaque. After the procedures ended, I couldn’t help barraging the surgeons with questions, and found their stories just as inspiring as their work. Not only did they give me great advice and hilarious anecdotes, but after listening to my own story and aspirations they each spurred me to pursue my dreams with greater
In my work with the veterans and the VA, I have served as a counselor, educator, case manager, advocate, facilitator, and organizer. I have worked with veterans and on their behalf to ensure their needs are always at the forefront of my daily work (as much as I am allowed in my role as an intern).
Louisville has really struggled the last year with murders and violent crimes. The Chiefs staff, Kim included, went to a city council meeting where the Chief was asked some very tough questions. The main question was if Louisville had a gang problem. Many people know that in the past, the police never wanted to admit that there was a problem, but the command staff knew that you can’t fix something if you deny that it exists. Again, Kim’s excellent speaking ability placed her right up front on the news as the media asked the tough questions. Kim and the other commanders knew that the police cannot arrest our way out of the violence problem in Louisville. The community had to know the issues and being transparent is a necessity. Good leaders
Seven months into my job they called a code Blue in Vascular Interventional Radiology and according to procedure I ran over with all the equipment, drugs, and fluids necessary, but nothing would have gotten me ready for what was going to happen. Once I arrived, without hesitation, I went to the anesthesiologist in charge to see how I could help, but noticed that nothing could be done so instead I put on my gloves and proceeded to fall in line for CPR compressions. During hectic situations it is important to keep communication open; thus, I told the nurses ahead of me to let me go since I was a fresh pair of strong hands. From the age of three up to this point I had always wanted to be a doctor and follow in my grandfather’s footsteps; I always said with an optimistic imagination and convocation at hand that no one would ever die on my operating table. As I was doing compressions I remember glancing over to the frantic look on the patient’s family and the pale, emotionless and lifeless face of the person below my hands.
Paramedics squeeze my arms, staining their gloves a deep red. Doctors and nurses scream at each other as they run across the hallways wheeling me into the operating theatre. I look over to my wrists as clear fluids begin their journey into my veins. My heart is in my throat, my pulse is echoing throughout the room, my limbs are quivering, and my lungs are screaming. Nurses force plastic tubes up my nose, as jets of cold air enter my sinuses, giving me relief. Inkblots dance before my eyes like a symphony of lights. A sudden sleepiness overcomes me and slowly my vision dims.
Since my internship won’t start until next week, I will write about my work last weekend at the Crestwood PHF. As a Rehab Assistant, I’ve been Pro-ACT Restraint Certified but have never had to use restrain anyone until now. Crestwood employees are trained to evade whenever possible and only use physical contact when a client becomes a danger to themselves or others. I’ve worked as “crowd control” or held up a barrier to prevent a client from spitting on a teammate, but have never had physically held anyone down. I surprised myself by instinctively doing what needed to be done, and learned a lot about how to improve team communication and correct positioning to be more prepared the next time around. We debriefed, and the more experienced staff
When I was seventeen I nervously traveled about 350 miles from my sleepy little home town of Freedom, Wyoming to the relatively enormous city of Boise, Idaho to go to the Military Entrance Processing Station. This wasn 't the first time I had been this far from home by myself, but it was the first time I was making adult decisions without my parents involvement. When it came time for me to choose my job in the army the counselors presented me with a long list that I qualified for. I got tired of scrolling and reading so I chose the first job that I actually understood. I returned home and excitedly told my parents that I would be an infantry soldier. My dad 's response to this might be considered a little less than heart warming “You dumb ass. Why didn 't you choose