On Friday I volunteered in the Emergency Department, and boy was that fantastic. So fantastic, that I can't believe that I failed to blog about it on Friday, but it's Tuesday and so here we go...
I shadowed a girl about 5 years younger than I. She was cute though, but young. She is 21 and knows that she wants to be a plastic surgeon, so mature for her age. The first question she asked me definitely gave away her age though and that was if I lived alone or had a roommate. I told her I had a roommate. Needless to say, she showed me how to restock the swabs, where to get bed pans, warm blankets and water or juice if a patient wanted any. Next she showed me how to fill out the patient belonging forms (which is cool because you get to actually be with the patients) if they are to be admitted to the hospital. It was very neat and she was SO helpful.
About two hours into my shift, a man was having a heart attack and there were about 14 doctors all standing around him, more calm than I've ever seen 14 doctors standing around a man having a heart attack (although I've never seen this in real life, only on TV). Apparently, a heart attack and a myocardial infarction can be mutually exclusive. The man was not showing any classical symptoms of a heart attack (sudden chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, palpitations, sweating and so fourth).I was later told that one quarter of all myocardial infarction's are silent, without chest pain or other symptoms, so I guess this guy fell into that statistic, which could explain the ease at which everyone was, including the patient.
It was just a very neat experience overall, and it REALLY gives you a different perspective on life. There were lots of elderly patients coming in, some with family, some without, which made me realize that you better be nice to your kids and your friends and family so you aren't alone in those situations. It's also interesting to observe family members and their body language. It's really easy to tell those children, brothers and sisters, who truly care for their loved one (the elderly patient in this case) versus those that are there to make sure their name is included in the will and testament. It's like looking at the sky and saying it's blue versus looking at grass and calling it green (assuming you aren't colorblind).
One man came in because he was having a difficult time breathing. He explained that his breathing had gradually been getting worse, so he finally decided he'd stop by. I left before the doctors decided to admitted him or send him home, but not before I could offered him a warm blanket and sat and talked with him for a bit. He explained to us (me and my younger counterpart) that he was shocked to see two blue eyed girls working at the hospital and then quickly realized that we were not doctors but volunteers, definitely from an older generation, where apparently it's ok to say racist things. He did have an interesting perspective though. When we offered him a magazine to relieve his boredom, he quickly replied by saying that he didn't mind just sitting (being bored), that he was just happy to be alive. I guess he had a point.
Anyways, more to come I'm sure, as I volunteer again today! Always exciting....!!!
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