Personal Narrative: My Shadowing Experience

Medical Concerns: Client reports recent car crash that lead to back spasms and a slip disc, that still causes pain, headaches. Client also reports seeing a chiropractor weekly for treatment. Client also reports the bending at his job may even be prolonging the pain, but no surgeries have been scheduled.

On 10/05/16 I met Mr. Russell at the Covenant Occupational Medicine clinic. Mr. Russell reports he continues to have low back pain at a 1 to 2 range. He is concerned that he has not done any heavy lifting and his job requires that. After a long wait and Mr. Russell being seen first this was discussed

I really enjoyed my activities this week. Shadowing my Task Supervisor during a therapeutic home visit was interesting. I loved her interaction with the foster family. She took the time out to interview each child and properly observe the children in their home setting. She also addressed any concerns or questions that the Foster Parents had.

On the 27th of January, I had the pleasure of Job Shadowing Billie-Jo Deal at the ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) Region Five Office in La Grande. ODOT is responsible for the construction, improvement, maintenance, and safe operation of Oregon’s transportation system. Billie’s official job title is a Region Five Traffic Safety Coordinator and is the only one working as a Coordinator in all of Eastern Oregon. On a normal day, she is typically working on writing grants, coordinating safety and enforcement programs, or giving presentations to schools and workplaces all across Eastern Oregon. I specifically chose Billie for my Job Shadow not only because I already knew her, but I have always been curious about what her job is like. I

For my shadowing day I shadowed Mr. Jay, who works for Big Red Rooster company, however I spent the majority of my time with three of his coworkers. The first part of my day I spent with Mason Miller, a graphic designer, then to Sarah Mape, and environmental designer, and I ended with Brady Schneider, an architect. From talking to the three of them I learned that there is really no typical day at work. Any problem could come up at any moment and one should be ready to tackle the task immediately, however most days are not like that. When work is not time threatening or difficult, day can be more relaxed and chill. The backgrounds from those who work there varied. The designers found themselves in more artistic classes when they were given

I will never forget my first shadowing experience when I accompanied Dr. Allam through the process of a quadruple bypass procedure. Before surgery, Dr. Allam explained to me the anatomy of his patient's chest x-ray and the method he would use to alleviate the patient's vascular blockage. It was captivating to learn about and subsequently observe a medical application which was fundamentally based upon the anatomy and physiology I enjoyed learning about in class. There was great camaraderie amongst Dr. Allam's surgical team members that I found motivational as someone who enjoys and thrives on the spirit of team effort. Upon completion of the procedure, I accompanied Dr. Allam to inform his patient's family of the operation's success. Witnessing

This summer, when I was in Zambia doing research, I had the opportunity to shadow at one of the best hospitals in Southern Africa, the University Teaching Hospital. The hospital itself was large, relatively modern, and similar in some ways to hospitals I have seen in the US. However, there were some large disparities I saw in the hospital which shocked me. Firstly, the hospital had a “high cost” and a “low cost” wing which were vastly different in terms of amenities, privacy, and care. The low cost maternity ward, for example, had one room with about 30 beds where women were giving birth, while the high cost ward had about 2-3 women per room. The way the women were treated by medical professionals themselves varied vastly between each

Doctor Larry Smith was the Pediatrician in Toombs County for as long as I can remember. He was well-known and loved in the community and a member of Lyons First United Methodist Church. Dr. Larry was married and he had two daughters, one stepdaughter and a stepson.

The reason I choose this job shadow, was some family friends work there and it has always interested me. This is like a teaching job, but they focus on difficult classes that many parents can’t teach at home. HERO is a program that is for homeschooled children. So when I job shadowed it was near the end of their year getting grades put in and reviewing for tests. I think what was the most surprising is how similar to highschool it was. I have always gone to public school so I wasn't sure how different being homeschooled was, but in this program it is very similar. I think that if someday I ever decided to homeschool my children that this would definitely be an option for me, the way that they really get to interact with the children they teach

In beginning of a her career she is a licensed physical therapist in ROHC and provided physical therapy treatment and her goal is to prevent work related musculoskeletal injuries. She is experienced over 15 years in treating orthopedic injuries caused by occupation. As a Pilates instructor she used to train rehabilitation professionals. She is expert in using neck and back stabilizing techniques on patients and ergonomic clients. She is now Director of Physical Therapy department at Nova Pain and Rehabilitation. Her quest in field of ergonomics made her to establish an ergonomic evaluating office Ergo-RX and provides custom furnishings to the clients. As an ergonomist and physical therapist, Jeannie incorporates her physical therapy treatment and prevention of injuries to the clients and patients she is serving

Standing on that rugged practice field on a brisk Friday night, I begin to feel my nerves clench inside my rushing body. Looking to my right, the cheers of the crowd congratulate the younger boys as they stroll off the field. The bright lights glow beyond the ginormous section of bleachers and ancient trees. Lining up on the curb, the drumline pounds a beat that sends chills down my spine. My team strides down Prospect street at the heels of the drums. No words are said, as I tune into the scratchy, clicking sound of my shining white, size-twelve cleats making contact with the car-lined road.

Experience: I worked with Noah again this time around. We began by working with the same work comp guy from from the previous week. It was his final of PT, so he basically had to go through a bunch of pre-mandated exercises to determine to his workplace that his PT was effective and he was fit for his job again. He did some lifting on machines, picking up/setting down of weights, and band pulls, arm rotations, and other movements to test his strength and ROM. The guy was the type of person who didn’t fool around and really wanted to get back on the horse after his injury. He breezed through the exercises and was determined to be fully healthy. The next lady was a bit of a mixed bag. She basically hobbled in and was tense as could be. It was a struggle to move her around,

I agree that back injuries continue to be a topic of concern in health care. It is estimated that over 9,000 injuries occur daily to healthcare providers (Brown, 2003). Hospital have made attempts to reduce the number of back and other injuries with the introduction of lift equipment, but this has caused little improvement in injuries. I work on a psychiatric unit and there are no over the bed lift systems or even portable Hoyer lifts on the unit. This causes staff to use physical power and strength to move patients. Injuries in healthcare are 4 times higher than any other field (Medical New Today, 2013). Annual training of lift equipment and proper body mechanics needs to be done to ensure that healthcare staff are up to date and knowledgeable

I always loved riding scooters at the Muncie Skate Park. I was horrified of the idea of one particular ramp. It was a quarter-pipe that was vertical more than half-way down the ramp. It was also fourteen feet high when you were looking down from the top of it. People call going down a ramp “dropping in.” I wanted more than anything to be able to drop in on that ramp.

My journey at Terrence Cardinal Cooke over the past six weeks has been a remarkable eye-opening experience and adventure. This was my first professional opportunity volunteering in a health care setting. I’ve heard volunteering in a health care setting builds character and allows you to grow as a person but I never expected that volunteering here would actually have such an impact on my life and mentality. I’ve been able to learn so many things from the staff here especially gaining working hands on practice with Dr. Komal and learning about how she compassionately cares for her patients.