I know challenges are seen as struggles that you actively sought out compared to adversity, but would the first two on my list be topics that can properly answer this prompt?
1. 911 call for a high-speed motor vehicle accident, where a carjacker crashed a stolen car into another driver. My squad was the first on scene, and we can only transport one patient. Both patients had serious injuries, so as Crew Chief I had to decide who we were going to assess and transport. I know it sounds cliché since this is quite literally a copycat ethics interview question, but when I look back at it, it was definitely a challenging situation that directly exposed me to medical ethics.
2. 45 year old female went into cardiac arrest at a nursing home, started CPR within 5 minutes. After 20 minutes of compressions and an endotracheal tube, staff brings out a DNR while I am in the midst of compressions. It was my first time with a DNR, so it was very difficult to come to a halt for someone so young with favorable outcomes for resuscitation. However this challenge taught me that although a DNR is a legal order, I’m not obeying the doctor’s wishes, but instead the patient’s right to autonomy.
3. Bioinformatics lab where I have absolutely zero computer science experience, had to learn coding and programming for the first time ever in order to be successful. Took me months to master the basics of what our projects required and essentially learned everything on my own through online materials. Honestly felt like I was learning a new language. I could have resigned from the lab but I decided to take on these challenges.
1. 911 call for a high-speed motor vehicle accident, where a carjacker crashed a stolen car into another driver. My squad was the first on scene, and we can only transport one patient. Both patients had serious injuries, so as Crew Chief I had to decide who we were going to assess and transport. I know it sounds cliché since this is quite literally a copycat ethics interview question, but when I look back at it, it was definitely a challenging situation that directly exposed me to medical ethics.
2. 45 year old female went into cardiac arrest at a nursing home, started CPR within 5 minutes. After 20 minutes of compressions and an endotracheal tube, staff brings out a DNR while I am in the midst of compressions. It was my first time with a DNR, so it was very difficult to come to a halt for someone so young with favorable outcomes for resuscitation. However this challenge taught me that although a DNR is a legal order, I’m not obeying the doctor’s wishes, but instead the patient’s right to autonomy.
3. Bioinformatics lab where I have absolutely zero computer science experience, had to learn coding and programming for the first time ever in order to be successful. Took me months to master the basics of what our projects required and essentially learned everything on my own through online materials. Honestly felt like I was learning a new language. I could have resigned from the lab but I decided to take on these challenges.
