Inside the ER: Fifth Week at EMRAP

For this week, I worked a different shift on Sunday; I worked at noon with James and chief associate Caitlin! Because I was working with 2 other people, the day seemed to go a little bit quicker.  James and I did several split flow quality studies (which are just quality check studies of how efficiently the department is functioning).  We also screened patients, but we were not able to consent any septic patients.  However, we did end up finding a patient who seemed eligible for the sepsis study; but, we could not consent the patient because the patient was still in the ER. For the lactate/sepsis study, we can only consent those who are in the SICU and MICU. We had to notify Nate (the upcoming research associate) that he will have to consent the patient as soon as the patients moves to one of the intensive care units.

On Monday, I had to work an 8 am shift with contingent chief associate Hiba! I had so much fun during our shift because I learned how to do a TIA/Stroke quality study (several of them, actually). Also, I surprised Hiba and myself when I decided to open a chart that had a chief complaint of pain. We expected it to be something different such as abdominal pain, but actually, it involved a motor vehicle crash. So, we screened the elderly patient who was in a minor motor vehicle crash within the last 24 hours for the Elderly Crash Study.  Hiba screened the patient, and I also witnessed how a consent was performed (I have never seen one being done before). So, this week I learned more about what to say to patients and how to explain the 8 elements of consent.

On Friday, Khalil, Jake, Haitham, Christina, Alina, and I went to the Panera Bread on Washtenaw to have brunch. We got into a discussion about scrubs for work, ethics in the medical field, and problems with our schedule. From  brunch, I learned how Khalil was very quiet, but maybe that was because he just woke up? Also, I learned how Christina can be very passionate about things that seem unfair; I joked that she would one day start a revolution.  After brunch, we went to class, where we learned about the African American Crash Study, practiced giving consents, and learned more about the 8 elements of consent.

After the lesson part of class, we were sent on a scavenger hunt with teams of 3 people! We had to go around the hospital, taking pictures and taking several items. Nate, at one point, had to pay for a cup at Joe's Java; he was scammed because the other groups didn't have to pay (haha!). Nevertheless, Nate, Lilli, and I were the first people to finish all of the items on the list! Oh yeah, go team!

Here are some pictures from this week: