Lauren B's Senior Blog: October 2015

Monday, October 26, 2015

Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else? Are you shadowing? Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic? If so, what? Are there other people who are experts in the location? Etc...)

I am shadowing my mentor while he is working. I basically just follow him as he sees patients, reads results, fills out paperwork, and whatever other tasks he completes. Because I am just a shadow I am unable to really do anything but watch. Sometimes when my mentor has a break he will explain things on the X-Rays and CTs or about conditions that people come in with. Basically everyone who works there could be considered an expert in their narrow field(eg. emergency nursing). I am grateful to be shadowing a doctor though because they are probably the most knowledgeable people in the department.

My mentor is my mom's friend's friend's friend. I didn't have a lot of trouble getting him to help me because I explained why I was interested in his profession and my own health conditions. Also, he's a really nice person:). I did have problems being able to actually start mentorship though because the hospital was being bought by another company so my mentor had a hard time getting approval.

How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship? How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person?

I am much more comfortable with my mentor now than I was when I first started mentorship. He's very relaxed at work which put me more at ease. I am still pretty formal when I address him though(calling him Dr. Rodriguez instead of just Rodriguez) because most people in the department are too.

What went well in this interview? Why do you think so? What do you still need to improve? How do you know? How will you go about it?

I think I was more prepared for this interview than the last one because I was able to create the questions. It helped that it was in a Starbucks, which is a pretty relaxed environment. I was also able to understand my mentor more in person than over the phone so I wasn't always asking "What did you say?". I think I could still improve on my transitions between questions and wrapping it up at the end. During the interview I was struggling to come up with transitions and I knew the ones I had didn't work very well because the topic change was kind of abrupt. I also didn't have any conclusion at all but I know it's good to have one. More practice interviewing people will definitely improve my skills.

State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).

I currently have a mentor. I have tried to complete the interview during mentorship, but it has always been too busy. I am still hopeful that my mentor will show up a little early this Thursday or Friday so I can interview him then, but if not I need to schedule an actual time for the interview.

At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic. Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons.

The area I am researching the most is overcrowding and its causes and effects. I have looked a little into communication also.

What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth? Where will you go to get them?

Currently my sources have been from medical journals and large newspaper publishers. They have been very helpful for the most part. I expect to continue to use the medical journal and possibly the Cal Poly database. There are also several documentaries I have found on Emergency Medicine so I also plan to watch those.

Write down a possible EQ. Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers. At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.

For my 30 hours I am enrolled in an EMT-Basic class at the UCLA Center for Prehospital Care. When I complete this class, turn 18(April), and pass the credential test, I will become a certified EMT. Becoming an EMT will hopefully give me a part time job in college and experience to get into medical school. This class is approximately 140 hours long and counts for seven college credits so I hope to be able to use this for both independent components. In order to enroll in the EMT class I also had to take a Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers class which was another five hours.

Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

This class will not be over by the time IC1 is due, but I believe I will be able to access something similar to aeries online to see my grade. Along with my digital log, I hope this will be enough proof. If not, I can get a letter from my instructor to prove I am going to the classes. The class runs from January to March so I will have a grade and transcript for IC2.

Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic more in depth.

This class will give me some hands on experience in my topic. I believe that observing is great but actually learning how to work in a fast-paced stressful environment like the ER will give me a much greater understanding of the challenges healthcare providers face. One thing I hope to learn is how to communicate with other healthcare providers of different levels(nurses, doctors, paramedics). I believe that the medical conditions and terminology that I learn in this class will help me to better understand some of the research journals I read and some of the conditions I see when I am at mentorship. Also I am required to do two 12 hour shifts either in an ER or on an ambulance to get my EMT license which is even more real life experience.