Report
What were your responsibilities or duties this week?
My responsibilities were more professional, than medical. I was to be in proper dress code and present myself in the most professional way possible. Soft skills like respecting people's wishes, understanding the other side of conflict, and handling hard situations were tested this week.
What new knowledge or skill did you learn this week?
I learned a lot about what respiratory therapists do, where they work, and what equipment they use in a normal day, which gave me a realistic idea of the job rather than a textbook definition. I gained how awkward being in the room with the dead is... It just feels like your trespassing a sentimental moment in someone's life. That's someone family member, friend, coworker, etc, and you're just a high school student with a close to none, vague relation to this person who just took their last breath.What was the best thing that happened at the unpaid work-based learning site this week?
Obviously, I got see someone pass away. Not something you get to see every day. I'm glad I got to experience it, even though it was a depressing event. I think it's something everyone needs to learn how to handle if they're going to be in the medical field.
What was the worst thing that happened at the unpaid work learning site this week?
After the 30 minutes of being with the deceased, I spent the rest of the time listening to one of the therapists gossip about her marriage and family life. I couldn't really ask questions either because they were pretty dead set on ranting for as long as they did.
If the "worst" was a mistake, how was it corrected?
The situation could have been handled by asking questions, but I felt it was kind of rude and inappropriate for me to interrupt randomly to ask a question.
This week was GOOD
I got to see something most don't get to see in the clinicals for KatyISD. The events that happened made me value my life a little more and give me ideas on what to do in a professional setting.
Record
Technology: I viewed two breathing machines, one used with a tube which goes through the mouth and the other with a mask, for those who are uncomfortable with the tube. The mask forces the patient to take a big breath while the tube is more steady.Diagnostic Procedures: No diagnostic procedures were viewed. I was told about the patient's condition with LifeSupport but that's really it.
Therapeutic Procedures: The respiratory therapist I was with was very respectful towards the fact that the patient had just died. She mentioned about not being in there for long and just having a moment of silence each time she had to go clean up on one of those sites. She also disinfected the breathing machines with what seemed to be like a clorox wipe, but probably something stronger. Gloves and hand sanitizer was also used.
Diseases/Disorders: The man was said to have had some sort of fatal accident that put him where he was. She wasn't really direct on it.
Medical Terminology/Abbreviations: If there was, I can't remember any of it. She went into detail about the morgue and the process of dying, along with as a health care professional, how to deal with it.
Other: She did a really good job at explaining the respiratory therapists job. She talked about how you change a floor everyday so you get to move around a lot and work with all age groups. The morgue also was explained to me, how it was small with only about four to five beds in it and how security or the funeral home moves them.
Journal
Respiratory therapy's office is located on the second floor, but the therapists work in almost department in the hospital. They're responsible for the maintaining the airway and flow of oxygen in patients and how much oxygen the patient should be getting. Also, the therapists may decide when the patient would need life support, with the help of the doctor and other nurses. The use personal protective equipment (PPE) like gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer in order to prevent the spread of infection, and use breathing machines to assists the comfort and oxygen flow for the patient. One breathing machine is a tube fed through the mouth, giving direct oxygen while the other uses a mask, for people who feel uncomfortable or are unable to have the tube. The mask essentially forces the patient to take a large breath. While there, I encountered the death of one of the ICU patients and the use of soft skills were given by respecting the fact that the patient had past away.
The staff that I met consisted of 5 respiratory therapists and 2 ICU nurses. All of the employees were really laid back and calm, which I can see would be useful on the job because usually the patients in need of a respiratory therapists are in critical condition. I was told, by the therapist I followed, that she encounters death a lot in the job but loves because it's one of the only jobs in the hospital where you get to move around. The staff switches floors every week so they get to see and work with more patients, which I liked the idea of. You're not limited to one select age group or condition like ICU or Nursery would be. The respiratory staff had very good communication by letting each other know about the patients, what had been given to them, and if there was any odd findings, they let each other or one of the nurses for a second opinion. I didn't get to see a lot of diagnostic skills, but therapeutic active was very active with soft skills and management of equipment.
Rotating through Respiratory Therapy, I learned more than I have in any other rotation this school year. The therapists are very attentive to the students and want to teach them and hear about their plans and try to help in anyway they can. Who I followed focused a lot on the two breathing machines that I previously mentioned, informing me of the differences between them because those are the two main pieces of equipment they use, aside from PPE. Due to the elephant in the room being a corpse, the process of death in the hospital became a topic of discussion between us. Starting with the passing, the hospital gives time for the family to mourn. If the family is not there, then they contact (with the past medical history or instructions left from the patient) the closest family member
on what they would like the next step to be. In our case, the family had chosen to let him be there until they could arrive and say their goodbyes. After the family leaves, the licensed professionals who were looking over the person goes in and cleans up what was left, including equipment and any trash left over. The body then gets either moved by security to the morgue, which is fairly small said to only be about 4 or 5 beds, or the funeral home will come and pick up the body. It all really depends on the wishes of the family.
This rotation landed in my top 3 favorite departments so far. I was actually a little worried that this was going to be one of the rotations where you see the occasional paper work and blood drawn or med distribution, but one of the first things they asked me was, "Would be comfortable being in the room with someone who's passed?" Of course, the first thing out of my mouth was, "Am I able to see it," without even a second thought. That made her laugh a little, but she just warned me, saying it might be a little traumatic. We went into the room and to be honest, it was sort of anticlimactic. Most people would have been in shock and it didn't really phase me. The therapists mentioned about how he/she doesn't like being in the room for too long because "it's intruding on the passed."
The educational value of this rotation opened my eyes of how real the hospital is. We hear about death and ethics in the hospital all the time but when you're actually in the room, it's a totally different story. It made me consider on the profession of respiratory therapy because of the people you work with. I love the idea of being with all age groups and departments, so you get to move around and see more than what you're zoned to. The professional value taught me what not to do with my co-workers. Literally these healthcare providers were talking about patients and what was going on with them and other people in the hospital. It was like watching the episode of the View. A lot chatty women with that token man opinion. Yet, I did get some feed back on my plan for majoring sports psychology (which the therapists really liked hearing about) and told me about some programs around the Houston area that help athletic trainers. I would definitely want to revisit this rotation.
The staff that I met consisted of 5 respiratory therapists and 2 ICU nurses. All of the employees were really laid back and calm, which I can see would be useful on the job because usually the patients in need of a respiratory therapists are in critical condition. I was told, by the therapist I followed, that she encounters death a lot in the job but loves because it's one of the only jobs in the hospital where you get to move around. The staff switches floors every week so they get to see and work with more patients, which I liked the idea of. You're not limited to one select age group or condition like ICU or Nursery would be. The respiratory staff had very good communication by letting each other know about the patients, what had been given to them, and if there was any odd findings, they let each other or one of the nurses for a second opinion. I didn't get to see a lot of diagnostic skills, but therapeutic active was very active with soft skills and management of equipment.
Rotating through Respiratory Therapy, I learned more than I have in any other rotation this school year. The therapists are very attentive to the students and want to teach them and hear about their plans and try to help in anyway they can. Who I followed focused a lot on the two breathing machines that I previously mentioned, informing me of the differences between them because those are the two main pieces of equipment they use, aside from PPE. Due to the elephant in the room being a corpse, the process of death in the hospital became a topic of discussion between us. Starting with the passing, the hospital gives time for the family to mourn. If the family is not there, then they contact (with the past medical history or instructions left from the patient) the closest family member
on what they would like the next step to be. In our case, the family had chosen to let him be there until they could arrive and say their goodbyes. After the family leaves, the licensed professionals who were looking over the person goes in and cleans up what was left, including equipment and any trash left over. The body then gets either moved by security to the morgue, which is fairly small said to only be about 4 or 5 beds, or the funeral home will come and pick up the body. It all really depends on the wishes of the family.
This rotation landed in my top 3 favorite departments so far. I was actually a little worried that this was going to be one of the rotations where you see the occasional paper work and blood drawn or med distribution, but one of the first things they asked me was, "Would be comfortable being in the room with someone who's passed?" Of course, the first thing out of my mouth was, "Am I able to see it," without even a second thought. That made her laugh a little, but she just warned me, saying it might be a little traumatic. We went into the room and to be honest, it was sort of anticlimactic. Most people would have been in shock and it didn't really phase me. The therapists mentioned about how he/she doesn't like being in the room for too long because "it's intruding on the passed."
The educational value of this rotation opened my eyes of how real the hospital is. We hear about death and ethics in the hospital all the time but when you're actually in the room, it's a totally different story. It made me consider on the profession of respiratory therapy because of the people you work with. I love the idea of being with all age groups and departments, so you get to move around and see more than what you're zoned to. The professional value taught me what not to do with my co-workers. Literally these healthcare providers were talking about patients and what was going on with them and other people in the hospital. It was like watching the episode of the View. A lot chatty women with that token man opinion. Yet, I did get some feed back on my plan for majoring sports psychology (which the therapists really liked hearing about) and told me about some programs around the Houston area that help athletic trainers. I would definitely want to revisit this rotation.
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