“Attach the IV line here and draw some blood,” said the doctor to the nurse.
He then stepped out to check on another patient. I stood at the foot of the
bed observing. “Here,” asked the nurse as she hooked up the equipment,
“do you want to put the pulse oximeter on his finger?” The patient was a
sixteen-year -old baseball player who had been brought to the emergency
room with head trauma. He was hit in the head at the game, had fell out and
started shaking. I put the pulse oximeter on his finger. His parents looked
anxious as they sat talking. The nurse had her back to us putting blood in
the vials when all of a sudden the patient started shaking. “Excuse me!
Where did the doctor go?” asked the mother panicking. I was scared for the
patient. What was going on? “Do you want me to go get the doctor?” I asked
the nurse. “Yes. I’m going to try to calm him.” I went to get the doctor. He
rushed in. “He’s having a seizure. How long was he convulsing? We need to
stabilize him. We’re going to put in a tongue suppressor so he won’t bite his
tongue.” He talked to the patient and told him that he was going to be ok.
What was meaningful for me was the way the doctor approached his
patients. He calmed the room. He showed tremendous compassion and
empathy.
I had just spent the day shadowing in the ER at Sentara CarePlex
Hospital the summer following my freshman year. I had arrived at the ER
nervous, but I left with so much more insight. All of these experiences gave
me a clear idea of what emergency medicine entails and confirmed my desire
to work with people who have traumatic injuries and immediate needs.
I am motivated to learn more about the Cleveland Clinic because I want to
garner a more solid background in the clinical sciences through virtual
anatomy labs and have future opportunities to develop interpersonal skills
and professionalism in medicine.