A Disoriented Patient, Aged 25 Years Essay

Patient was a ten-year-old black male who presented to the Emergency Department with complaints of suicidal ideations. With the case occurring during one of my first few shifts as a medical scribe, I was still new to patient and doctor encounter. They talked about subjects ranging from the patient’s home life and even to his favorite athletes. The doctor stayed in the room until the patient finally smiled and thanked him for listening. This was an outstanding, compassionate moment for my doctor. As a doctor, he fully took the time to respect the patient’s desire for help despite the recognizable dissimilarities in their age, race, and social economic status. I once assumed that many doctors were impassive. However, in that moment, I learned that doctors have humane feelings as well. From my observation of many doctors and my own personal accounts, I have learned that medicine is not only about diagnosing and treating patients, but also about understanding and empathizing with them. This was the moment where I fully realized that pursuing a career as a physician was what I desired. I have worked as a scribe in the Emergency Department for a year and a half and I have been fortunate enough to see many patient to doctor interactions. I have seen various cases ranging from the post cardiac arrest patients to the simple cough with rhinorrhea patients. All of the cases I have experienced have reinforced my commitment to pursuing medicine but the previously mentioned case

On the sixth day of my internship, I finished the pat feeding all the other patients, their lunches and was getting ready to check on Mr. Peter. When I entered his room, he was not there. Instead, there was a middle aged man sitting on the bed which belonged to Mr. Peter, and kept repeating the words “He is gone, oh lord he is gone” with a broken voice. I suddenly felt frozen with grief and anger. How can someone so lively be gone in such a short period of time? Why couldn’t the doctors and nurses help him? This was the harsh side of medicine, which I was not previously exposed to. At that moment I questioned myself, “Do I really want to go into a field that cannot always

The journey to embrace the speciality of anesthesiology has been ecstatic and full of fond memories. It was not until the end of my internship that I finally developed a passion in anesthesiology and the field of critical care. I soon realized that with my zeal for clinical anatomy, command over concepts of physiology, dexterity in medical procedures and empathetic connection to my patients, this speciality would be an ideal match. In my opinion, anesthesiology demands a physicians ability to consolidate the core principles of clinical medicine with the knowledge of basic science principles delicately balanced with high standards of ethical code and conduct. I am confident that with my depth of knowledge, passion for clinical research as well

When faced with a tough, and timed emergency situation, there are many directions a heath care provider can go in from there. They can freeze, act improperly, or not quick enough, but some will also act professionally and correctly perhaps saving a patient's life. What determines the direction a health care provider will take is their experience. From knowledge to observation, a medical professional can learn the most efficient ways to work. But one way in particular, past medical experiences and the patient, provider relationship, can influence the decisions a health care provider will make. This can be demonstrated by both Atul Gawande, author of Complications: A Surgeon’s Note on an Imperfect Science, and within Courtney Davis’s The

I participated in numerous and varied electives to gain a wide appreciation for the scope and practice of medicine. I learned countless lessons from physicians, nurses, midlevel providers and ancillary staff, while caring for hundreds of patients gaining a level of autonomy. The importance of a focused history and physical – to not be afraid of the myriad of details and at the same time to not loose sight of the bigger picture – how to present cases, and how to formulate a high-quality differential diagnosis with appropriate testing measures were all emphasized. These experiences showed me that being an effective Internist involves not only the treatment of those severely ill, but also the need for comprehensive treatment of the patient and their families. I was genuinely inspired to be a part of the IM team and my goal of becoming an Internist was

In this essay “When Doctors Make Mistakes” Atul Gawande (1999) talks about the day when he made a mistake as a doctor. He writes everything that he did step by step to show what he did wrong. He talks about how tried to open her airway and couldn’t so he had attending come help him. He also talks about the patient barely surviving and how the attending had to tell the family that the patient was alive but in a critical condition. He then goes on and talks about other mistakes physicians have made but admits that “all doctors make terrible mistakes” (p.385).

Since I was young I saw society often looked up to doctors, how history, revered them as great leaders men and women to be admired. That’s who I wanted to be. I wanted to be better myself in every aspect so that one day I could become the doctor I myself admired. Through the International Student Association (ISA) KSU Chapter under Mr. Martavius Thompson, I was able to build upon my leadership skills from high school. I learned that despite personal feelings, disagreements, and administrative hurds if you have goals there is always a way. That’s medicine, right? Doing whatever is morally and ethically necessary to help save a life. You may be working with someone who does not do their job correctly or is completely arrogant and uncooperative, however, at the end of the day, none of that will matter if there is a lapse in someone’s care. That is what ISA taught me, doing my job despite the

Even through all of my years in medical school, I still could not come to an understanding that medical professionals could not save all of their patients. Julia’s death haunted me, I couldn’t sleep thinking of all the ways I could have saved her and when I did sleep I had nightmares of her death. I began to feel depressed, and lost my confidence as a physician. No amount of schooling could have prepared me for dealing with the physical and emotional stress of my first patient dying, especially one I had frequently treated. If I had been treating a patient in my own home, I would have dropped to my knees and sobbed. Something about the location of a hospital numbs emotion, and I felt like I wasn’t allowed to be upset at Julia’s death. The other nurses enjoyed working with Julia as well, but I seemed to be the only one unable to deal with her death. The entire community turned upset, Julia was inspiring to both medical staff and the other refugees who knew her from their escape. The atmosphere was cold, like a warmth had been stripped away from it. I began to distance myself from my patients, and the other staff who had worked with her took note and saved me from going into depression. The other doctors and nurses knew how young as a physician I was, and the likeness I had formed with Julia. They gave me the best advice on how to deal with a patient dying; death is inevitable and medical professionals are grieve but also have other patients in need of

As a member of the staff I am able to see the impact that medicine can have on an individual during a crucial moment in life. A patient post-resuscitation arrived in the emergency department. My top priority was to get the EKG for the physician. When a critical patient comes in, the room gets loud and crowded fast. I have learned how to handle the adrenaline, stay focused, and get my job done. The EKG I performed showed the patient had suffered a massive STEMI. Our main goal was to get the patient stabilized and transported to a bigger facility. The patient’s heart rate and blood pressure were both steady for transport but his SpO2 was 72% while intubated. The patient’s tube had proper placement and no pneumothorax was detected. The acting physician was going through trying to rule out the cause for the low oxygen saturation level. The patient was a stubborn, according to his family and never went to his primary care. With previous information and a chest X-ray, the patient was diagnosed with not only a STEMI but also a severe case of pneumonia, presenting with large amounts of fluid in his lungs. I could see the stress in the physician’s eyes while working that case, but what he couldn’t see the envy in mine. I want to be the person who is able to make critical decisions and lead a team through difficult

Unlike my first day of internship, which ended in panic and mess, I could now comfortably sit in front of my computer to type medical history until a nurse called me out to check on an 80y/a patient of COPD & Cor Pulmonale. He was transferred to our department from a rural hospital a week before, with serious heart failing symptoms. Standard treatments promptly alleviated his pulmonary rale, but he still appeared to be somnolence with only shallow breathing, and PCO2 was 50mmHg. Attending suggested pulmonary encephalopathy and treated accordingly. The ABG reading I took that morning was showing progress. What was bothering me was his edema in lower extremities was not fading at all. When a senior resident and I approached him, we found the patient suddenly lapsed into coma. We immediately ordered Brain imaging, ECG, cardiac enzyme panel, but "unfortunately" they all turned out to be normal and the patient was not appearing to be in acute distress or potential shock. We were in a bit panic about this situation, but the savior of the day, our attending physician, walked by the ward and noticed our situation. He surfed over the patient's history quickly, and ordered thyroid function tests. It turned out eventually that this patient had hypothyroidism from the very beginning, yet none of us checked upon admission. After replacing his depleted

In addition to acute injuries, I also became aware of the burden chronic conditions, such as COPD and diabetes, can have on a patient's life and the healthcare system. Prior to this experience, I had never realized the number of individuals living with serious medical problems or in circumstances that prevented them from accessing care. I was inspired to see the ER physicians working to ensure that every patient receives attention and the needed treatment in addition to comforting family members and providing education to patients about their conditions. During my time as a scribe, I have also witnessed the challenging side of medicine - when saving a life is not possible and families must be informed of a loved one's passing or decisions regarding DNR status. Situations such as these have taught me the importance of emotional capability and communication skills for a career in

From that moment during the internship, I was never the same person again. A Disoriented patient, aged 25 years, suspected with cerebral malaria was admitted to the emergency department of my medical college, 4 Years back. Upon administration of a loading dose of quinine with dextrose, The general practitioner in charge of the emergency department shifted him to the intensive care unit. On the 2nd day of ICU, a catastrophic event occurred; the patient suffered from fatal ventricular tachycardia with hemodynamic instability. Following this, The Resident Doctors urgently proceeded with the Synchronized cardioversion, while assigning me to deliver Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in between the events. Fortunately, by God’s grace, our efforts to

A disoriented patient, aged 25 years, suspected with cerebral malaria was admitted to the emergency department of my medical school. Upon administrating quinine with dextrose, the general practitioner shifted him to the intensive care unit. Within a short span of time while monitoring the patient in the ICU, a catastrophic event occurred; he sustained ventricular tachycardia with hemodynamic instability. Following this, the resident on call proceeded with the cardioversion immediately. In the meantime, the doctor assigned me to deliver cardiopulmonary resuscitation in between the events. Fortunately, our efforts to restore him back to sinus rhythm proved effective and the patient responded. Before the incident, the patient had multiple episodes of vomiting. Vomiting depleted his potassium levels in the blood and hypokalemia contributed to quinine toxicity which was the primary cause of this debacle. Being able to bring back patient’s life was an exhilarating moment; collective team effort was the key reason behind this unique feat. From that moment during the internship, I was never the same person again. I realized if I had to handle the patients without supervision I would not have been able to revive the patient. I appreciated the fact that there is much more to learn than the mere 5 years in medical school and good grades. The circumstances behind the patient’s condition further enlightened me to think logically. A good doctor needs to be alert and updated all the time

Anis showed exceedingly high standards of work ethics and interpersonal skills, which were appreciated by the faculty, staff and the team members. His ability to communicate with the most “difficult” patients was nothing short of a stellar. Anis would show great understanding and empathy of the patient’s complaints, allowing him to extract medical history with all the clinically relevant information. Moreover, he ensures that the patients comply and understand the medical instructions with his friendly attitude.

I also encountered examples of chronic as opposed to acute medicine and its human implications. This brought out to me the human side of medicine and the importance of the patient-doctor relationship. Furthermore, through such one-to-one doctor–patient encounters, I also saw the importance of medicine in the aftermath of the acute clinical situation, and its role in the continuing process of support and encouragement. This was exemplified to me by a fairly young woman with an arrhythmic condition who had become fully dependent on her pacemaker and saw how she had complete trust in the judgement of her doctors. I saw how they had assured her against the risks and flaws of pacemakers and had cared for her leading up to the ablation, and then onwards to the pacemaker being installed. During my time spent with one of the registrars, I also found out just how important listening to a patient is. I saw patience and empathy for a patient who was quite unwilling to have tests done on her, and how to manage and address the concerns of those who were