Clincal stuff, again
So it's been a productive weekend. 3 clinical shifts....well, actually, technically 4.
Friday night was Medical Command. Basically, the idea of that is that you watch the doctors at the ER take command calls - the medics call in for orders and notification. That's the idea, anyway, but we made it into much more than that. I followed Dr. Winkley around for 4 hours - he took a couple of calls, but it was actually much more useful to watch him work with patients and see how he did assessments. I learned a lot from that - it's an incredibly detailed assessment done in only a few minutes. Very good. I also got to see a chest tube placed by one of the surgeons, which was an amazing thing - it has such a major effect in a very short amount of time. We also placed an NG tube and a foley on an intoxicated patient.
Saturday night was an ER shift, and also mixed in was an autopsy. Both very interesting. The ER shift was fairly quiet - I saw 5 patients, did a few lines and labs. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Now, the autopsy - that's a hell of an experience. I definately have new respect for pathologists. The patient was a 27 year old drug overdose. Basically, the purpose of the autopsy is to confirm the suspected cause of death and rule out any criminal activity. I learned a lot about anatomy from seeing that.
Sunday night we did another ER shift, and saw 8 patients. I placed a foley catheter in an older man - that is something I hope I never have done to me. It really doesn't seem too comfortable. I also helped place an IV on a 4 year old. The kid had very difficult veins - I doubt I could have gotten a line on him, and it took the nurse two tries. We also did an assessment on an anaphylactic reaction to seafood. That was really interesting to see how fast the medications (epinephrine, benadryl, solumedrol, and tagamet) take effect. Her vitals and general appearance improved in a matter of minutes.
Overall, I'm getting pretty good with IVs and the general environment of the ER. I've seen a lot of cool stuff, but there's still a long way to go. I have a shift at Malvern (Medic 4) tonight - so that should be interesting. More to follow.....
Friday night was Medical Command. Basically, the idea of that is that you watch the doctors at the ER take command calls - the medics call in for orders and notification. That's the idea, anyway, but we made it into much more than that. I followed Dr. Winkley around for 4 hours - he took a couple of calls, but it was actually much more useful to watch him work with patients and see how he did assessments. I learned a lot from that - it's an incredibly detailed assessment done in only a few minutes. Very good. I also got to see a chest tube placed by one of the surgeons, which was an amazing thing - it has such a major effect in a very short amount of time. We also placed an NG tube and a foley on an intoxicated patient.
Saturday night was an ER shift, and also mixed in was an autopsy. Both very interesting. The ER shift was fairly quiet - I saw 5 patients, did a few lines and labs. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Now, the autopsy - that's a hell of an experience. I definately have new respect for pathologists. The patient was a 27 year old drug overdose. Basically, the purpose of the autopsy is to confirm the suspected cause of death and rule out any criminal activity. I learned a lot about anatomy from seeing that.
Sunday night we did another ER shift, and saw 8 patients. I placed a foley catheter in an older man - that is something I hope I never have done to me. It really doesn't seem too comfortable. I also helped place an IV on a 4 year old. The kid had very difficult veins - I doubt I could have gotten a line on him, and it took the nurse two tries. We also did an assessment on an anaphylactic reaction to seafood. That was really interesting to see how fast the medications (epinephrine, benadryl, solumedrol, and tagamet) take effect. Her vitals and general appearance improved in a matter of minutes.
Overall, I'm getting pretty good with IVs and the general environment of the ER. I've seen a lot of cool stuff, but there's still a long way to go. I have a shift at Malvern (Medic 4) tonight - so that should be interesting. More to follow.....