PERSONAL STATEMENT The night was unusually silent when the phone began to ring at 2:00 am. The nurse answered the call and came running to me saying that there was a horrific road traffic accident 20 miles away from our hospital and around 30 severely injured patients were being transferred. The number of patients that needed urgent attention was beyond the capacity of our ER. There was chaos everywhere. A young man in his 30s presented with acute shortness of breath. He was in acute distress with unstable vital signs, O2 saturation in the 60s, breath sounds absent on the left side, raised jugular venous pressure and normal heart sounds. As I clinically suspected the patient was in distress from tension pneumothorax. We were going to …show more content…
As an intern, I rotated through various departments such as Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Preventive medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics and Orthopedics. This helped me improve my understanding of the role of each of these departments and also have hands on experience of the dynamic interaction among all the departments. During this period, I could rediscover the joy of working in Internal Medicine, as a part of a medical camp held by my Internal Medicine team I had an opportunity to take care of an elderly man complaining of headaches and frequent falls due to dizziness; then there was a young lady with a rash on her face and difficulty in breathing; a gentleman with chest pain that never dissipates and many others, so the list went on from Cardiology to Neurology, constipation to concussion, I was able to manage each and every one of them, the idea of having a chance to see my patient as a whole and not only as a symptom or disease. More than anything else, providing a solution to almost every patient's problems, simple to complex, acute to chronic, allowed me to walk back home with the satisfying feeling that only comes from practicing medicine. By the end of my rotation, I knew Internal Medicine is where I can see
The objective of this assignment is to explore and reflect upon a situation from a clinical placement. Reflective techniques will be used to reveal how well or badly the situation was handled. And how the incident, and the reflection has influenced personal learning and professional practice in relation to nursing care.
Pritesh has a previous medical history of asthma and has experienced right-sided haemothorax as he got hit by a hockey ball during a competition. Currently, the nurse suspects that Prithesh may be developing tension pneumothorax which is a life-threatening medical emergency (Brown & Edwards, 2012). Tension pneumothorax develops when a hole in the airway structures or the chest wall allows air to enter but not leave the thoracic cavity (Rodgers, 2008). The pressure in the intrathoracic space will continue increase until the lung collapses, place tension on the heart and the opposite lung leading to respiratory and cardiac function impairment, and eventually shock may result (Professional guide to pathophysiology, 2011; Rodgers, 2008). Tension pneumothorax usually results from a penetrating injury to the chest, blunt trauma to the chest, or during use of a mechanical ventilator (Brown & Edwards, 2012; Rodgers, 2008).
Brief description of the patient’s presenting symptoms and initial complaint Wildgruber and Rummeny (2012) define tension pneumothorax as a life-threatening condition where air enters the pleural cavity during inspiration but cannot escape during expiration. It is more common in patients with chest trauma and those with mechanical ventilation (Briggs, 2010). Increased the thoracic pressure will compress against the heart and the unaffected lung, impairing cardiac functions and ventilation (Pons, & National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, 2011). Rapid intervention is required to prevent fatal conditions including hypoxia, shock, cardiorespiratory arrest and death (Wildgruber & Rummeny, 2012; Day, 2011; Bethel, 2008). Assessment of the patient and patient needs Assessments focus on establishing the underlying cause of Pritesh’s rapid deterioration to guide successful interventions.
As the quantity of patients expanded, it ought to have been obvious that one registered Nurse and one Licensed Practical Nurse were insufficient to look after the patients. The emergency department ought to be viewed as a high priority location, and should have staffed with more Registered Nurses; Licensed Practical Nurse essentially do not have the training and abilities to assess patients or delegate the workload. Dangerous actions such as moderate sedation on a patient with no supplemental oxygen or EKG observing. The patient seems to have been overmedicated, with insufficient time between medications to decide his actual level of
To begin my personal statement, I grew up in the West African nation of The Gambia. I am the youngest of thirteen children and I was adopted by my uncle and his wife at age 2. My adoption was very different than the American way where all sorts of contractual documents had to be signed. Although the end results are the same, mine was done without signing any documents because my parents were just giving me up to my uncle and his wife to raise me. At age 5, my uncle enrolled me at Primary School without the consent of my biological parents for fearing that they would object because most parents in the Gambia do not think girls have the same rights to education as boys. I grew up without a television, running water or electricity. I did not know that I lacked
Growing up in rural Texas, you have to learn to care for the things that are important to you. There really is not much to entertain yourself with so many adolescents become vulnerable to trouble. Luckily for me, I grew up with the responsibilities that came with growing up on a farm. I had things to care for on a daily basis and for the longest time, the things I cared for most were animals. I exhibited livestock in my youth and this is where I spent the majority of my time. I would come home from football or basketball practice and go straight up to the barn to tend to my animals. Along with feeding and cleaning, I would often administer vaccinations and antibiotics when needed. Because of my interest in medicine and science coupled with my love for animals some could say that I was destined to become veterinarian. The major I chose, animal science, even supported that notion. However, it was not until the summer after my freshman year of undergraduate where I realized it was human medicine that my heart was yearning for.
I am interested in pursuing the Physician Assistant (PA) degree because of my experiences both within the medical field and as a patient. These experiences have led me to believe that a team approach to patient-centered medicine provides the best and most comprehensive care possible. Further, the PA profession offers me the opportunity to continue my lifelong passion of helping others, giving back to my community, and provides me with further opportunities to teach.
My father, two paternal uncles, two maternal uncles, five cousins, and two cousin’s husbands. Three cousins who are in medical school along my sister who is on the premed track. These are the statistics behind my claim of being from a family of physicians. Importantly, these statistics do not hold much importance in my choosing of becoming a family medicine physician. In my last year of medical school, evaluating my personal experiences with my family, my country of origin, and future opportunities, I decided that family medicine was the field I wanted to be a part of.
I like problem solving and the challenge of being faced with a set of symptoms to figure out the diagnosis. With my preceptors, I experienced the intricate thought processes involved in managing patients with multiple co-morbidities. Going to my clerkship everyday was exciting in not knowing what I will encounter; it can be an acute or chronic condition or a combination involving any system of the body. At times, I also observed my preceptor play an initial role of a specialist such as a cardiologist or nephrologist. I respect the vast knowledge internists possess and their integration into practice. During my clerkship, I felt like every day was an adventure of problem solving which is appealing to me as a
My mom always used to say,” Look at the person as a whole to understand the condition.” Even though it made little sense to me as a child, I learned the concept when I was doing my Internal medicine rotation. The passion of knowing that I could improve a person’s quality of life drew me into pursuing medicine. The multitude of different organ systems that one covers while practicing medicine fascinated me to delve into a field that encompasses them all - Internal Medicine. In addition, I enjoyed the challenges that Internal Medicine would provide me with its diversity. Altogether, Internal Medicine was the amalgam of everything I learned in my medical practice and decided to pursue my residency.
Education is neither linear nor static. It requires evolution and fluctuations. I received my undergraduate degree in Exercise Science at UNC Charlotte, and now it is time for a prime conversion to be made. Attending the Masters of Public Health program at UNC Charlotte would open the door for me to pursue my career aspirations in health care. Specifically, I am interested in epidemiological methods in community health. My ambition, perseverance, and work ethic have brought me to a high point, and enrolling in the Masters in Public Health program would raise that threshold even higher.
When I look back at my life to reach for the moments that define me, I see the look of pride on my mother’s face when I inform her of a new achievement, I smell the freshly cut grass before a major football game, and I hear the sound of my name being read off my pharmacy name tag. But it was not until I read the lines of perplexity and distress on an Alzheimer’s patient’s brow as he grasped for the name of his year-old grandchild, that I was shook with the realization that I had been taking even the smallest of my memories and experiences for granted. That humbling term at my local memory care facility became yet another defining experience for me. It powered my passion for medicine and neurology, as well as my commitment to dedicating my life
On my very first emergency first aid call as a high school volunteer EMT, I was thrown into a chaotic scenario where I had to conduct numerous rounds of CPR in an attempt to save a patient who was absent of a pulse. While our first response team was unsuccessful in saving this man’s life, the people around me had saved hundreds of patients over the course of their health care lives and I knew that I wanted to be like them. This life-changing experience ultimately served as the catalyst for me to enter the medical field and I am currently pursuing a premed track at Lehigh University as a rising senior, where I plan to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in molecular biology. At college, I decided to continue being of service to my community
From a young age, I was drawn to the healthcare field, not because the amount of money doctors, nurses and other health professionals made, but because of the dedication and contentment I saw on their faces helping someone in need. Growing up everyone wanted to become a doctor or a nurse and as a little child being a doctor or a nurse was a profession many parents wanted their child to pursue as a career. Needless to say, I fell into that category because I had high hopes that one day I will become a nurse. However, that dream came to a halt.
My aspiration to undertake a degree in adult nursing was confirmed following the successful completion of my first placement at a residential care home, caring for service users with dementia, the elderly and those with physical disabilities. I got great satisfaction from caring and talking to the residents, especially one lady who was very lovely and kind to me. I also enjoyed and benefited from developing relationships with the service users, and this is something that really draws me to working in adult nursing. The experience I gained whilst working in the care home, allowed me to work effectively as part of a team and made me appreciate how important it is to meticulously follow instructions given to the staff by supervisors to safeguard