Day#1 in the ED
Today was my first day at the emergency department. Embedding myself in a new environment while trying to digest as much information as possible was quite overwhelming. I met with the Director of the ED and he introduced me to a Clinical Nursing Head and a Nurse Manager. The nursing head showed me around the ED. They have 27 rooms, one Clinical Decision Unit where patients are kept for observations and two room for psych patients. Ofcourse, the hallways were filled with beds too. I also got a close-up look at the Electronic Medical Record interface on one of the ED computers.
While we were talking, a pediatric trauma came in via helicopter. The child had major head trauma and the story was that he had incurred it while wrestling with someone. The attending who was part of the trauma team told us that they suspected child abuse. It broke my heart to see the small figure of the child strapped in the bed as the gurney was wheeled in by the paramedics. I couldn't see his face because of the covers but the nurse manager said he "looked pathetic". I coudn't help thinking "How can someone hit a child like that?"
I took notes for most of the day and realized how much I depend on technology nowadays; I have lost touch with writing using paper and pen. I also got to spend an hour talking to the Director of the ED about my research and how he sees my work fit into his larger healthcare/engineering project idea. The Director is passionate about changing processes of care within the ED via clinical value streaming, that is, by eliminating non-value added processes.
While we were talking I asked him if he had any ideas about how I can learn about the medical side of healthcare. He suggested I attend a series of seminars - called Mini Medical School - on medical topics for laymen. I've signed up for it and am looking forward to learning some medicine.
I spent about 5.5 hours inside the hospital and left, exhausted, around 3:30pm.
While we were talking, a pediatric trauma came in via helicopter. The child had major head trauma and the story was that he had incurred it while wrestling with someone. The attending who was part of the trauma team told us that they suspected child abuse. It broke my heart to see the small figure of the child strapped in the bed as the gurney was wheeled in by the paramedics. I couldn't see his face because of the covers but the nurse manager said he "looked pathetic". I coudn't help thinking "How can someone hit a child like that?"
I took notes for most of the day and realized how much I depend on technology nowadays; I have lost touch with writing using paper and pen. I also got to spend an hour talking to the Director of the ED about my research and how he sees my work fit into his larger healthcare/engineering project idea. The Director is passionate about changing processes of care within the ED via clinical value streaming, that is, by eliminating non-value added processes.
While we were talking I asked him if he had any ideas about how I can learn about the medical side of healthcare. He suggested I attend a series of seminars - called Mini Medical School - on medical topics for laymen. I've signed up for it and am looking forward to learning some medicine.
I spent about 5.5 hours inside the hospital and left, exhausted, around 3:30pm.
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