In my 9th week of EMRAP, I came very close to performing my second consent. Unfortunately, the patient did not feel well and refused to partake in a certain portion of the study. I was disappointed, but I learned that as part of the medical field, sometimes patients will not comply with you; it is still important to respect their decisions!
During the 9th week, I also learned another side of "being a leader". A social worker presented her line of work to our class by talking about her experiences. She spoke about how as social workers, they would be responsible for "being the human side of the ER". A social worker would go through a trauma patient's pockets, look for identification, and call immediate family members. A social worker would also be responsible for talking to the patient in the trauma room as doctors and nurses work quickly to treat the injury. A social worker would also be responsible for comforting family members who have lost their loved ones. From her presentation, I learned that being a leader means being able to empathize with others and sometimes having to show that you are there for support.
From the social worker's presentation, I also learned that the medical field can sometimes be a gloomy environment in the eyes of a patient. Everyone seems to be rushing around you with doctors stating diagnosis, nurses working quickly to take vitals, and other patients also worrying about their own ailments. The medical environment can sometimes feel like no one really cares, but the social worker helps you feel the support you need. In the future, I want to be a doctor who is able to empathize with a patient and be able to provide the patient support rather than just prescribing them medicine. I also realized from the presentation that I would need to emotionally strengthen myself and need to remember that sometimes I will not be able to save everyone.
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During the 10th week, I realized how different the internship is from what I expected. I thought that it would be a time when we would be seeing several cases at the ER and also be performing several research studies. However, I was not able to obtain another consent for the week because of the lack of cases at the ER. Our research studies have specific criteria that must be met in order for a patient to be qualified, but unfortunately, we rarely see motor vehicle crashes (which is also a good thing because people seem to be driving carefully) and see sepsis patients (which is also great because people are taking care of their health). Also, because of the lack of interesting cases, it was not as fun to shadow the doctors as it was in the beginning of the internship. From time to time, I take a look around the ER and shadow doctors, only to learn that it might be the typical abdominal pain or vomiting case.
Even though there are not many interesting cases, my shifts at the ER are a time to interact with patients who might be waiting for a long time. I would go to the Results Pending area where patients who are in the Lean Track process wait; I would go just to chat and try to fulfill some of their basic needs such as water or asking how much longer until their discharge.
I am also still very grateful for this wonderful internship because I have gotten very close to everyone in my class! They are all very fun people with various personalities! We played jeopardy during our class, and it was hilarious to see Khalil and Haitham acting as an elderly couple while Lilli tried to consent them! I am so excited to keep working these group of people throughout the year!
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During the 11th week, nothing really happened during my shifts, but we did take pictures during class! Check it out:
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