Posts

Final Blog

  I created this senior project because I wanted to be able to explore different career paths working in healthcare. Through working with the fire department, I was able to observe emergency medicine and learn how to respond to a fast-paced environment. Observing at University Hospitals, I was able to familiarize myself with a more scheduled environment that worked with patients more closely. From shadowing firefighters, EMS, nurses, and surgeons, I was able to understand what careers interest me so that I can start to understand what I might want to do during or after college. I really liked having such a wide variety of careers to observe because I was able to do something different almost every day of my project. This allowed me to be engaged with my project, and I always felt I was learning something new. During my project, I learned a lot about the kinds of drills firefighters do and procedures that urogynecologists do. Specifically, when in the operating room, I learned the i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blog #7

Image
  The last part of my senior project was spent at University Hospitals Landerbrook Health Center and University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center. At UH’s Landerbrook Health Center, I spent time with another urogynecologist seeing patients. While some patients needed minor procedures, most of the patients were there to talk about past surgeries. After being in the operating room with patients under anesthesia for the majority of my project, I enjoyed learning about how doctors interact with their patients. The doctor that I observed always treated their patients with so much compassion, patience, and kindness, and they always knew personal details to strike up a non-medicine-based conversation. Through these interactions, I understood knowing a patient on a personal level makes them more comfortable and trust the doctor even when they are experiencing challenges with their health. Observing this doctor outside the operating room made me want to go into medicine even more because while...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blog #6

Image
  Three other surgeons I got to observe at University Hospitals Geauga were an orthopedic surgeon, an obstetric/gynecologist surgeon, and an oncologist. The orthopedic surgeon was addressing a prior break in the wrist of a patient that required additional surgery. The surgery was fascinating because through a small incision I could see many bones, ligaments, and tendons in the wrist. Observing an orthopedic surgeon allowed me to see many different instruments used in their surgeries. The surgeons used a drill and many different drill bits to successfully perform their procedure. I observed that orthopedic surgery can be a lot more invasive because it requires working with bones, ligaments, and tendons that take months to heal. The surgeons taught me that without proper lifestyle choices and practices, the surgery can be unsuccessful and take a lot longer to heal. After observing the orthopedic surgeon, I went to an operating room across the hall to see an obstetric/gynecologist and...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blog #5

Image
  After spending time at the Cleveland Clinic, I drove to one of the University Hospitals in Geauga. I was able to shadow a urogynecologist surgeon. Many of the urogynecologist surgeries that day were to help the bladder function properly. The women presented with complaints of incontinence and prolapse for years. Many women explained prolapse feels like sitting on a grapefruit. Prolapse does not always have to be fixed with surgery, and in some cases, a pessary helps with the discomfort, but a pronounced prolapse does require surgery. The surgeons used an internal sling to prevent prolapse and improve the quality of life for the women. I enjoyed watching the urogynecologists operate because they used many different interesting instruments. Including the sling, the doctors used a scope (camera) to see inside their patient and observe the bladder function. There were many different screens in the operating room that allowed me to see the video from the scope. Comparing my experience...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blog #4

Image
  For the next part of my project, I got to spend time in the operating room. I spent time with a nurse manager of labor and delivery at Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital. Starting bright and early at 7:30 a.m., I observed a cesarean section. In order to observe in the operating room, I had to wear scrubs, a hairnet, and a mask with a face shield. I learned all of the necessities when performing surgical procedures. All of the surgical instruments used in the procedure are counted in the beginning and at the end by the scrub nurse so that everything is accounted for. This includes all of the sutures, blades, towels, etc. Before the surgery can begin, the patient's identity, consent, and procedure are gone over. To start the c-section, the mother is given a spinal, where a doctor inserts numbing medication into the spine. This ensures that the mother cannot feel what is happening when the doctor begins. The c-section was a pretty quick procedure, and once it was finished the mothe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blog #3

Image
  During the week with the Shaker Heights Fire Department, I watched and participated in some of their training. The first day I was with them, they were practicing rescuing one of their members from a burning building. In this situation, two of the firefighters had to crawl on the ground to avoid the smoke and communicate with the firefighter that needed assistance. An important piece of equipment they used in this drill was a bag with an extra air tank and mask in case the rescued firefighter needed different equipment. We also spent time working with the RTA, so the firefighters knew what to do if there was an emergency with one of the trains. During this experience, I learned that RTA trains are very dangerous because of the engineering of the trains. The train is an electrical train, so they are very quiet, which can cause people to not hear them when they are coming. The instructor of the RTA information course explained that the trains average one death a year because pedest...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blog #2

Image
 During the first week of my senior project, I worked with the Shaker Heights Fire Department. There are two stations, and I worked with Station 1 on Chagrin Boulevard. There were three different units that consisted of about 10 firefighters and paramedics. I worked from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the week working on both the ambulance and fire truck. I got to know people from different shifts because each person does a 24-hour shift and then takes two days off. Each member of the station was extremely welcoming and loved teaching me about the equipment they used on their calls. Every Monday everyone has to check their gear, so I got to replace batteries on equipment in the ambulance and chain saws on the fire truck. They also had to make sure their air tanks were working. One of my favorite parts about being at the fire station was the environment. Everyone knew how to make each other laugh, but when calls came in, everyone became more serious and focused. In this environment, I als...
Post a Comment
Read more