Your awesome clinical experinces

[tennisball80]

What are some awesome clinical experiences for you?

EMT? ED Tech? Helping at surgical facility?

Anyone would like to share?

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[willen101383]

I volunteered for an escort service once.....helping college freshmen and sophomore premeds realize their sexual fantasies....omg does that count?

 

[organdonor]

Not exactly sure what you mean by awesome, but I have a part time job as a patient care technician. Several questions from my interview were geared towards it.
Most awesome moment: Catching the symptoms of and preventing damage from a pulmonary embolism
Not "awesome" but very profound: Having one of your own patients die on you.

 

[FutureCTDoc]

Shadowing a VR surgeon in the ASC for goniosynechialysis, trabeculechtomy, cataracts (NS, Lamellar, etc.) vitrctomy, vitrectomy with membrane peel and steroid injection. Shadowing the same VR surgeon and seeing Horner's syndrome, Fuch's, 3rd cranial neve palsy, diabetic macular edema, diabetic neuropathy, retinopathy of prematurity, BCP related stroke, etc. Learning how to refract, check for Marcus-Gunn pupils use a direct and indirect ophthalmoscope and a slit lamp. Shadow a corneal-refractive surgeon see various corneal dystrophies (Fuch's, Avilla), occular migraines, special need patients. I hope to also see DSEK, PRK, Lasik and RK.

 

[El Nino]

I shadowed a tramua surgeon at an emergency hospital. First time we met, he yelled at me for wearing (dickey) shorts. I was forced into a pair of scrubs. I looked a little awkward since they were a bit large.

The surgeon was very cool, however a senior pre-med student (who was also shadowing the surgeon) from WashU of St. Louis wasn't, he had this weird smirk on his face (I-don't-like-you type of look).

This may not be an awesome story compared to others, however it is to me because it's my first clinical experience.

 

[tennisball80]

Not exactly sure what you mean by awesome, but I have a part time job as a patient care technician. Several questions from my interview were geared towards it.
Most awesome moment: Catching the symptoms of and preventing damage from a pulmonary embolism
Not "awesome" but very profound: Having one of your own patients die on you.

Wow! How did you catch the symptoms of pulmonary embolism? That's sound fascinating.

Which department of hospital did you volunteer? Was was your job title? I am sure it's not "patient care technician."

 

[tennisball80]

Shadowing a VR surgeon in the ASC for goniosynechialysis, trabeculechtomy, cataracts (NS, Lamellar, etc.) vitrctomy, vitrectomy with membrane peel and steroid injection. Shadowing the same VR surgeon and seeing Horner's syndrome, Fuch's, 3rd cranial neve palsy, diabetic macular edema, diabetic neuropathy, retinopathy of prematurity, BCP related stroke, etc. Learning how to refract, check for Marcus-Gunn pupils use a direct and indirect ophthalmoscope and a slit lamp. Shadow a corneal-refractive surgeon see various corneal dystrophies (Fuch's, Avilla), occular migraines, special need patients. I hope to also see DSEK, PRK, Lasik and RK.

When an ophthalmologist checks the patient's eye, he usually looks though a scope. How could you observe the eye then?

I am just curiously.

 

[riverjib]

I volunteered in Ecuador and the Dominican Republic for a number of medical missions. Our team performs 100+ surgeries per mission to patients in need. This experience galvanized my decision to pursue medicine. I don't know how better to explain it without writing my personal essay

I also volunteer in the hospital blood bank. When I work for the directed donor program, I feel like I'm making a difference. I recruit donors for a specific patient (usually an infant) who needs regular transfusions, and organize the donor schedule. I've learned a lot about pediatric illnesses, and I've learned that male donors (with no antigens developed from pregnancy) are actually ideal for infants. I try to find ideal donors with the correct blood type and Rh factor, and keep them in a regular rotation. I consult with the parents weekly to find out how the baby is doing, and keep up with the transfusion schedule. I'm elated when a baby goes a week or two longer than usual without a transfusion.

I've volunteered in other capacities, and while I won't write off my experience as a total waste of time (to me and the patients I was supposed to be helping), I will say that I felt pretty useless. The most I could offer was conversation (which was nice) or patient advocacy, which meant hunting down the patient's nurse to ask them whether I could give the patient apple juice. I hope I made some difference somehow, but it certainly was not a life-changing experience.

 

[organdonor]

Wow! How did you catch the symptoms of pulmonary embolism? That's sound fascinating.

Which department of hospital did you volunteer? Was was your job title? I am sure it's not "patient care technician."

Mostly a sudden decrease in oxygen saturation. Taking vital signs was part of my job description. It just so happens that I made my rounds on her at the perfect moment. And yes my title was PCT. It was a paid position akin to a nurse's aid.

 

[organdonor]

Also I was on the ortho/neuro surg unit. Another cool experience was taking care of a patient the day after she had coded. All she would talk about was how much her chest hurt!(from the CPR) lol

Shadowed an orthopedic surgeon, then worked my shift the next day. I got to see the patient before, during, immediately after, and +1 day. That was unique.

 

[FutureCTDoc]

When an ophthalmologist checks the patient's eye, he usually looks though a scope. How could you observe the eye then?

I am just curiously.

Easily, he handed me the ophthalmoscope or let me look through the slit lamp.

 

[tennisball80]

Also I was on the ortho/neuro surg unit. Another cool experience was taking care of a patient the day after she had coded. All she would talk about was how much her chest hurt!(from the CPR) lol

Sounds cool! You have actually saved a life!

Your hospital has CPT for every department or what?

I think my hospital only have CPT for ERs as ED techs.

 

[rockaction]

~50 hours of ER volunteering. boring as heck
~10 hours of shadowing pediatricians and pathologists. mildly amusing.

that's about it.

 

[organdonor]

Sounds cool! You have actually saved a life!

Your hospital has CPT for every department or what?

I think my hospital only have CPT for ERs as ED techs.

For the most part. To be a tech in the ER you have to be a certified EMT but to be a tech anywhere else they will train you. I started in the kitchen and once I got some connections I transferred out.

 

[OliverNCo]

My coolest experience so far is a volunteer position I took as a clinic coordinator down in Mexico. I am in charge of a lot of administrative stuff, which is not my favorite but needs to be done. I do get the opportunity to work with doctors while translating for them. They often process out loud, and it is interesting to be privy to their thoughts. Also, they will show me certain things, and I really enjoy that.

 

[ILikeDrugs]

As a volunteer in CA with no certificates/licenses, all I'm allowed to do is talk, bring water and blankets and food, file papers, answer phones, remove medication from the air tub thingy, and watch what is going on around me.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Well, I watched a guy code three times then die in one of my first shadowing experiences. That was intense.

 

[riverjib]

For the most part. To be a tech in the ER you have to be a certified EMT but to be a tech anywhere else they will train you. I started in the kitchen and once I got some connections I transferred out.

Actually, I volunteered in an ER and the techs told me all I had to do was inquire about a tech position. It's really quite straightforward, and there is nothing you need to learn that can't be taught in a short time.

This is why technologists adamantly insist on being called technologists, not technicians. I worked for years as a certified surgical technologist, and every time I referred to myself as a "surgical" or "OR tech," they were annoyed. Point taken. A technologist (in surgery, radiology, or other fields) have a bachelor's degree or close to it, while EMTs, ER techs, and others are qualified to perform their roles in a short period of time.

 

[NickNaylor]

Well, I watched a guy code three times then die in one of my first shadowing experiences. That was intense.

 

[sassilysweet]

I worked as a surgical assistant for 3.5 years at a Level 1 trauma center. Traumas are an amazing thing to be a part of.
I helped open and set up steriley, patient postitioning and prep, and basically acted as a second circulating nurse in trauma cases. I also would prepare and transport patient specimens. And patient transport also. On slow days I could just hang out in rooms and watch whatever cases I wanted.

I am now working as a clinical laboratory scientist, so I am ordering/recieving/processing/performing specimens and testing in chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, etc.

One year I volunteered with a Baby Safety program for about 4hr/week. I educated new mothers & families on Shaken Baby Syndrome. You would not BELIEVE how many people did not know it is not ok to shake a baby.

 

[T1R3KO]

In the ER, saw a patient from a motorcycle accident get rolled in. Fractured tib/fib and an open ankle... it was totally shattered and mostly severed. The foot turned all sorts of strange colors when they tried to pull traction.

One of my good friends is a plastic surgeon. He saw this guy as a patient, and later informed me that he had to get his foot amputated.

That same day, I had arrived just after missing the ER techs releasing a head bleed. Considering that was my first ER day, not sure how well I would have handled watching someone take a drill to a skull and getting a faceful of blood.

 

[T1R3KO]

Oh! And when I was shadowing a pathologist, I walked into the gross lab and the tech invited me to touch the brain he had sitting on his bench. He then proceeded to slice it up, "like bread."

 

[YH5]

When I shadowed a pathologist for a day, I got to see a double uterus.

 

[organdonor]

Actually, I volunteered in an ER and the techs told me all I had to do was inquire about a tech position. It's really quite straightforward, and there is nothing you need to learn that can't be taught in a short time.

This is why technologists adamantly insist on being called technologists, not technicians. I worked for years as a certified surgical technologist, and every time I referred to myself as a "surgical" or "OR tech," they were annoyed. Point taken. A technologist (in surgery, radiology, or other fields) have a bachelor's degree or close to it, while EMTs, ER techs, and others are qualified to perform their roles in a short period of time.

As far as what qualifications are required, it varies depending on the hospital. I have heard that some nearby hospitals train you in everything you need, i.e. no certification needed. The specific one I work at, you need at least an EMT to work in the ER. Interestingly, to do the exact same thing I do in the hospital, in a nursing home, you need a CNA, but I don't.

 

[mvenus929]

When I was getting my phlebotomy certificate, I went to the lab at the hospital our instructor worked at to see how things worked, and saw a breast in a jar. That was certainly interesting.

Since I got a job in the lab, I've seen several people die.. some more dramatic than others. I've seen some rather interesting traumas (on the day before one of my interviews, I responded to a trauma and had to get blood from a guy who's chest had been completely crushed by a MVA). I've watched cath lab procedures, seen central lines put in, etc.

I've also argued with nurses about what tests a doctor really wants run, which is usually the result of a doc not looking at the patient's chart thoroughly before ordering more tests.

 

[mic2377]

I worked on the ambulance for awhile. Saw about 95% mundane crap.... BUT also some really cool stuff.

1. 2nd shift ever, worked a peds call where a young-un went into respiratory arrest @ pediatrician's office after a BAD case of croup combined w/pneumonia. Rad.

2. Ran a trauma code, a hanging (suicide). Rather gruesome and a little traumatic, as the pt. was person in their 20's. Got ROSC, only for them to be brain damaged and become an organ donor 2 days later. Next call that shift was for another suicide attempt, overdose on sleeping pills, that was fortunately less successful. Apparently everybody wanted to die that day.

3. 2 hr extrication of dude who crashed a brand new Dodge viper in the dealership parking lot. Got going 60+ mph, got sideways, crashed into a pole and then tree, and had nasty open fracture to left leg. it sucks being in turnout gear for 2 hrs when its 90+ degrees, and trying to start a large bore IV in someone with crappy veins while sweat is dripping in your eyes.

4. Flail chest in a guy who fell off a ladder approx. 20 feet up. see-saw, see-saw. We then bilaterally decompressed his chest. Yesss.....

5. Watching people die. Ex. - pt. getting the vent pulled in the ICU surrounded by family, while pt. was conscious/alert. You change a little inside after you watch someone struggle to breathe and the flicker of consciousness pass from their eyes....

6. Various OR stuff, emergent appendectomy, cholecystotomies, art sticks, central lines, epidurals, colonscopies, hernia repairs, etc.

7. Assisted in delivery of a baby. VERY messy and well, newborn babies are sorta alien-like when they first come out. Pretty freakin' cool though when you get to hear that first cry, though.

8. A bajillion other weird/strange/awesome things.

And how did I get to see this? All through EMS, and some connections I made while at the hospital.