Personal Narrative: A Day In The Emergency Room

A music box like sound twinkled with a bright tune throughout the hospital. Its tune was heard from the quiet and calm patient rooms, through the long white hallways, and to the comfortable hospital lobby where I stood waiting. I wonder what that sound was? Well, who cares? I’ve got other things to worry about. It was my first day of volunteering at the Fountain Valley Regional Hospital. The first tasks I was assigned were to greet, to help, and to escort visitors to their destination. My shaky hands were clasped together in an attempt to stay calm. Jeez I hope I don’t get lost while escorting a visitor.

Many of the people I come across take note of my demeanor, describing me as one with an old soul, an aspect of myself resulting from the tribulations of my life. Sadly, I have seen many more of the world’s wonders than most of my age, but I cannot say that I am not the person I am today without those experiences. My ability to empathize, think, and potential to lead are my greatest strengths, I have also been characterized by my tranquil and introspective nature.

When I first started going to Terra State Community College I was an eighteen-year-old with two jobs and ambition towards the medical field. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I began my first semester by taking very broad classes so that I could use them towards any career. I remember looking up different career paths that I could possibly take through Terra and weighing my options. I then came across medical assisting, a truly perfect career for me. I met with my advisor and set up a visit with Mrs. Hopkins, and as soon as I sat down with her, I knew this is what I wanted to do. This field allowed me to do everything that I could of imagine wanting to do within the medical field.

Usually, wake up time is around 5:30 AM or earlier on a weekday with an arrival time at the hospital of 6:00 AM. After entering the hospital, the doctor changes into his or her scrubs and flower cap and grabs his OR (operating room) schedule. The anesthesiologist then heads to the operating room to check all equipment and drugs for the day. This process takes about 20-40 minutes. At around 6:30 AM, there is a morning lecture where the doctor meets with the patient to talk about the anesthetic plans as well as review the patient’s medical history. Then the patient goes into the OR. During the surgery, the doctor may take a fifteen minute break sometime in the morning. However, he or she must always be easily accessible in the case of an emergency. There is also a lunch break in the afternoon, but again, the doctor is on standby in case anything goes awry during the surgery. Most cases, the surgery ends between 3:30 to 5 PM and a resident comes to take his spot after 5 PM. Before the doctor leaves, he or she must check tomorrow’s schedule and review patient’s history. This takes about 30-45 minutes. During this time, the anesthesiologist also discusses the patient’s conditions with other members of the surgical team. Sometimes in the afternoon, the anesthesiologist will have to do some teaching to instruct residents and medical school students. At around 5-6 PM, he or she is allowed to head home for the day. However, sometimes, the anesthesiologist may be on call and have to come back to the hospital for an

Katlynn was out of the hospital after about a week and a half. All of us girls cleaned the house spotless upon her arrival. That may not sound like much, but we were young girls that lived on a farm, so being messy was pretty much our thing. Katlynn came home and we all showered her with hugs. The first week she was home we watched her like a hawk, trying not to make it noticeable. Since Kate got out of the hospital she has to take pills every morning and night, and she had to make a trip to Mason city twice a year. Today she only goes once a year because she hasn’t suffered a seizure since. There have been a few scares here and there, though. It’s been seven and a half years since that terrible day, and Kate’s doing great. She is at the age

I applaud you for being an emergency room nurse and being attentive enough to be able to catch a potential complication for the patient. My husband had an anaphylactic reaction to Morphine after a knee surgery several years ago. Recently, my husband went to an emergency room with chest pain and diaphoresis. The admission clerk immediately took my husband immediately took my husband back and alerted the nurse. The facility he went to is one my husband that has all of his current history which included his allergy. The nurse obtained lab, an electrocardiogram, and ordered a chest x-ray. She then informed the doctor of my husband’s status. The nurse then brought a syringe full of medication and nitroglycerin to my husband’s bedside. She gave my

She explained to me how there are five different levels of trauma centers and each differ based on the resources available along with how many patients are admitted annually. There are also different sides of the emergency room for example the trauma center, the medic side, and acuity sections. The acuity sections are usually split by the low acuity patients (patients who are less intense and don’t need many resources) to the high acuity patients (patients who have a high intensity and need for care). There is no “typical day” at the emergency room considering the many different cases patients’ have and how many patients come in in one night alone. Sometimes Vicki will have anywhere between three to nine different patients a night, and sometimes she starts with that many and throughout the night more will be added to her care. It all depends on the night and how critical of a condition a patient is in- if it isn’t as serious, the patients will be ran out in just an hour or two, however some patients will stay most of her shift if it is that serious. Vicki has seen just about anything when it comes to diagnoses, from broken bones or torn ligaments, to internal bleeding or punctured organs, to heart attacks along with high blood pressure, overdoses, the list goes on and on (Vicki

On Thursday June 14, 2017, I had to return a page from the emergency room (ER) doctor for and admit. When I returned the page the ER doctor wanted to admit a patient with stage 4 brain cancer that was a DNR for hospice care. I told the ER doctor that this was not an appropriate because this patient needed and wanted hospice care and that the hospitalist did not need to be involved. The ER doctor proceeded to tell me that I don’t want to do my job and I need to admit the patient so he could get the care that he needed. When he told me that over the phone I almost lost my cool and professionalism in a matter of seconds. I hung up the phone and walked down to the ER. I went into the patient room and spoke to the family members and they told me

Processes: Admission to the observation unit is possible twenty-four hours day. Once an emergency room (ER) patient is given the admission status of observation, a bed control personnel assigns a room to

On November 30th, 2015, I ventured to the Santa Monica Convalescent Center to spend time with patients in the dementia ward. At first, I thought I would not enjoy spending almost two hours with people who were unable to be cognitively present due to varying degrees of dementia and Alzheimer’s, which impairs their ability to retain memories and sometimes returns them to an almost baby-like mindset. However, I soon formed several bonds with many of the residents there. A woman named Kathy, a volunteer from nearby Presbyterian church, handed out copies of well known Christian hymns and soon everyone was chiming in as best as they could. I then sat down across from a woman named Alice and asked her about her life. She is an elderly African American woman who answered my questions with very opinionated and interesting answers.

I am most familiar with the Urgent Medical Center. In my opinion, it is very well-structured place with a diverse staffing. It was always a pleasant environment when I had to visit the center for an illness. The center has at least two physicians and nurses on-site at all time. Also, there are several medical assistants to help provide quality of care as patient wait to be seen by a physician. This organization promotes health and wellness services to all patients. Theirs mission is to provide an affordable, quality healthcare with respect and compassion to all patients. The urgent medical center mainly focuses on treating common illness and non-life-threatening injuries. One thing that they do not have on-site is an equipment for diagnostic,

I earned 14 hours for service for this activity. I continued working in my shift in the ICU. In the ICU, the main jobs are refilling the drawers in the not occupied rooms and ensuring that the supply closets are full. Sometimes, I clear the storage unit, that contains towels, sheets, pillow cases, and rags, from yarn. The yarn is used to tie the a stack of linen together and they are usually all over the place. If I get the chance, I throw out the excess yarn and untie the stacks. When I was doing this, a nurse thanked me because everyone is so busy and does not have time to clean up the yarn. I continued to do my jobs, but towards the end of my shift, I begin to become tired. I developed time efficient system that allowed me to maximize the

Be at the unit ready for change of shift report at 7am. I introduce myself to the nurse assigned to the patient that I was caring for the day and together we got report from the third shift nurse about patient condition and requirements. After receiving report, I entered the patient room to introduce myself to the patient and his family as well.

In all of my previous experiences in the healthcare field, I have not had a single moment or challenge that I disliked about the profession. Even working as a scribe, I absolutely loved the change of pace in working a late night shift at one hospital and then getting up several hours later to work another shift at a different hospital’s ED. With this in mind, the question of naming one single aspect of being a physician I think I would like best is a difficult one to answer. As so many other premedical students, medical students, and current physicians, I love the satisfaction of solving a problem to help someone. This is truly what I expect to like most as a physician, particularly when working with a patient who suffers from several chronic

My goal for clinical experiences is to apply what I have learned throughout my semesters to a clinical setting. I want to become more competent in my skills. I want to be able to look at a patient and identify clues that help me create a focus assessment. I also want to be able to use the patient medication to identify some adverse effects to create a preventative plan of care. My goals are to become more structured with my care plans. I want to make them more patient centered and more focused on initial issues that the patient might have then move it towards preventive methods instead of having my preventative methods first . I also want to become more confident in preparing and starting IV. I know that perfecting starting an IV will come