Essay on Trauma Victim in the Emergency Room

“Code Blue, ER. Code Blue, ER”. I can still hear that calm, unalarmed voice over the intercom. Seconds later, John Doe, a 50-year-old male, is rushed in through the double doors of the Emergency Room with an EMT pounding on his lifeless chest. Although the medical staff had been preparing for some time, it still appeared like a scramble to resuscitate this man’s life. It was my first shift as a medical scribe; I had no idea what to expect. While paramedics shouted the jargon-filled report, the surrounding chaos was quieted by the physician who maintained the room's composure. The instant the pulse was obtained, I was overcome with a foreign feeling that can only be described as pure exhilaration as if the epinephrine injected into the patient manifested its effects on me.

For my seventh clinical shift at the Loma Linda Veterans Affairs Medical Center, my assigned preceptor Filipina Gumangan assigned me three patients on the 4NW unit. The unit where I precept is an intensive care step down unit. Filipina’s objective for giving me three patients this shift was to give me an opportunity to continue exercising my time management skills and to practice my reporting and charting skills, and wound care. This shift I was responsible for many clinical duties corresponding to the care of these patients. My patients this shift were Mr. B, a 72 year-old Vietnam War veteran newly diagnosed with colon cancer, Mr. S, a 65 year-old Vietnam War veteran in the hospital for complicated urinary tract infection, Mr. R, a 90 year-old Korean and Vietnam War veteran. Caring for these patients taught me more about the humanbecoming perspective of nursing and showed me about multidisciplinary coordination with peers, colleagues, and more.

Nearing the end of my shift in the Emergency Department, I was requested to accompany a patient while the nurse readied the discharge papers. Upon entering the bay, I met a very small and fragile patient who was anxious to go home. Conflicted between my primary duties and responsibilities to complete training for two inexperienced volunteers, I decided to put forth my interests in teaching by demonstrating compassionate care to my trainees. Although the patient repeatedly refused my assistance, I gave my best effort to calm her as I cloaked a warm blanket around her. As I listened to her confide in me of all of her hospital anxieties, I was shocked from the lack of quality care she had received which made her feel more sick after the first

The main key issues in case #5 is that the MMG system had not achieved its overall financial performance goals; therefore they experienced a big loss secondly the transition of new leadership became an issue. The difficulties of implementing the MBS business model in the Hospitals and Clinics division also became a very important issue. Having to come up with a strategy to improve the financial side and being able to focus on customers and relationships was not an easy task for them. Hospitals had a different approach of helping customers in

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Habersham County, Tom was feeling slightly nervous as he exited the staff lounge and entered the hustle and bustle of County Hospital’s ER to begin his first shift as an RN. The first few hours of his shift passed slowly as Tom mostly checked vital signs and listened to patients complain about various aches, pains, coughs, and sniffles. He realized that the attending physician, Dr. Greene, who was rather “old school” in general about how he interacted with nursing staff, wanted to start him out slowly. Tom knew, though, that the paramedics could bring in a trauma patient at any time.

It was June 12, 2016, one of the deadliest mass shootings at Orlando, FL. It wasn’t like any other day; after a tragic event I was called into work around 5:30am. I finally reached ORMC amidst of all the chaos, there wasn’t any pleasant welcome, every face mimicked a variety of emotions with some worried and sad, while others confused and suspicious. I was floated to the trauma unit to accommodate victims after surgery. I could sense the sturdy whiff of blood as I walked into the unit which I was not so familiar with. Even though my heart was aching by witnessing the sufferings of those innocent victims, I had a strong impulse to help and give my all. I took my assignment sheet and walked into my patient’s room. As he slowly opened his eyes, the nurse repeated the questions:

I was at Hamad General Hospital shadowing medical professionals of different specialties to get an overall idea of what the medical career was like, I was at ED (Emergency Department) when suddenly and with no previous warning “Cardiac Arrest !,” yelled the nurse, in moments emergency specialists were standing above the 16 year old male patient head sorting out CPR, AED etc..; first shock was delivered, the second and third followed, but the teenager didn’t even blink, he lay lifelessly, few more attempts and the white blanket was pulled over him; I couldn’t believe my eyes, I had witnessed an in-hospital death for the first time; trembling and shaking, I walked out of Bay-1, with a completely new meaning of medicine.

“Right this way,” the nurse ahead of me was prompting me to a brightly lit hall that was completely foreign to me. I couldn’t help but be terrified by the sights and sounds around me: people chattering, machines methodically beeping, gurneys rushing past. It was my first time in a hospital and my eyes frantically searched each room looking for any trace of my father. She stopped suddenly and I turned to the bed in front of me but I could not comprehend what I saw. At such a young age, I idolized my father; I had never seen him so vulnerable. Seeing him laying in a hospital bed unconscious, surrounded by wires and tubes was like witnessing Superman encounter kryptonite. My dad’s car accident not only made him a quadriplegic, but also crippled

It is a warm summer evening at Grady Hospital. It is my first day as an emergency room volunteer. I’m nervous and eager, hoping to see something exciting. However, it is surreally quiet. Suddenly, there is word of an ambulance en route. Minutes later the paramedics burst into the trauma slot pushing a man on a stretcher. His head and face are covered with gauze that is soaked through with dark blood. It is a flurry of well-orchestrated movement as the attendings and residents start to resuscitate him. They pull back the bandages to reveal a deep gash that is bleeding profusely. With much effort his vital signs are stabilized and he begins to regain consciousness. Later, after the excitement had passed, I learned what brought him here. He is diabetic and couldn’t afford to properly manage his condition. He had fainted due to hypoglycemia and hit his head. He had almost lost his life because of the unfortunate financial realities of modern healthcare. In that moment, I came to appreciate the very real cost of disease and the incredible role physicians have in ameliorating it. This formative experience was the beginning of my path to medicine.

Clipboard and stethoscope in hand, I walked toward the double doors that flashed emergency in bright red letters above. It was my first clinical shift as an EMT student, and first day jitters fluttered around in my stomach. I had no idea what lay ahead of me. However, I was not expecting to witness the fragility of life. About a half an hour into my shift the rapid response alarm blared through the emergency room. I turned to my preceptor and quizzically asked what this meant. “A rapid response is a patient who is in need of immediate medical care and intervention. As an EMT who is part of the rapid response team you will be expected to assist with vitals and chest compressions. Let’s head toward the recess room, and I’ll explain more there.”

“Hey there” John looked over his shoulder at the smiling face of his new coworker. John greeted him as hallway smiled back not wanting to talk since he had woken up at 5:00am that morning. He quickly dashed over to his office and switched on his computer. He thought about the nine years of intensive study that he had to go through. The loud ringing of his pager interrupted his thoughts. He answered a few nurses difficult questions about what medicines to prescribe what to do with a few difficult patients. He placed his phone down a little nervous wondering if he had just killed someone by prescribing the wrong medicine. He grabbed his clipboard, jacket and stethoscope and went to go meet his first patient. “Mrs. Anderson, how are

The purpose of this journal is to reflect on my experience and skills gained during my clinical placement at Ben Taub Hospital. On my first clinical day, I was excited and nervous at the same time. My first placement was in the PREOP/PACU area. I was assigned to help a patient who had been in the PACU area going on 2 days. Normally, once the patient comes from surgery they are only in the PACU area for a short period of time before they are discharged home or given a bed in another area of the hospital. This particular patient still had not received an assignment for a bed. The physicians would make their rounds to come check on him daily. The patient was a 28-year-old Hispanic male, non-English speaking, he had a hemicolectomy. He had a NG tube, urinary Foley catheter, and a wound vac. My preceptor had just clocked in and she needed to check on the patient’s vitals and notes from the previous nurse. Once she introduced me to the patient and explained while I was there, she then asked me to check his vitals. (Vital signs indicate the body’s ability to regulate body temperature, maintain blood flow, and oxygenate body tissues. Vital signs are important indicators of a client’s overall health status (Hogan, 2014). I froze for a quick second. I have practiced taking vitals numerous of times and I knew I could do it correctly. I started with the temperature first, when I was quickly corrected on a major mistake I had made by my preceptor. I HAD FORGOT TO WASH MY HANDS and PUT

My supervisor, one of the head nurses, hurriedly pulled me to the corner of the bleach white hospital room and directed me to put on gloves, an eye mask, and a face mask. I felt as if I was preparing for war as I put on all of the required gear. The sound of expensive shoes click-clacked down the hallway indicating the arrival of two doctors who rushed into the room and shouted out orders to the staff while pulling the doors to the room shut along with the curtains. Two doctors, eight nurses, an intern, and a dying patient squeezed into the already claustrophobic ten by fifteen-foot room. The machine monitoring the patient’s vital signs continued to beep incessantly as my heart rate accelerated. Throughout my internship, I had never seen a patient in critical condition until that moment. I remembered my teacher’s advice if we were ever in a situation such as this: take a few deep breaths and sit down if you feel like you’re going to pass out. In that

Flashing red and blue lights accompanied by an alarming siren in the distance is signaled when the double doors of the emergency room burst open. Pushed by several nurses, doctors, and other medical staff, a lone hospital stretcher with a bloody, wounded patient flies through the medical center towards the doors to the operating room. This image is what generally comes to mind when you think about an emergency room. Many people believe that the hospital’s emergency room is a dark and scary place. While this is true, the common misconception is that the emergency room is a place clear of humor, when in reality humor is present, even necessary, for many reasons. Many television shows, like the show ER, are based in the setting of the

It was an unpleasantly early morning in the hospital waiting room. Nurses buzzed around, busy attending to their patients while a faint beeping sound could be heard in the background. I was starting my second shift of the day at the hospital, just finishing working a shift in the dark, grimy morgue. Groggy, I sat down at my desk to begin another four hours of labor. My position was to assure that the paper work was properly completed and that all patients were attended too. While being a supervising nurse was a great responsibility, it left time to day dream.