Blog 14 - Third Interview Preparation

What is the best way to minimize Emergency Department overcrowding?

1. Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?
1. I plan to interview my mentor's boss, the director of the ED. He has a similar experience as my mentor and has probably more of a hand in the structuring of the department. I have contacted my mentor to get in touch with his boss, but he hasn't gotten back to me yet.
2. Verify that you have called your interviewee to schedule an interview.  What is the date and time of the interview? 
1. I haven't scheduled one yet.
3. Phrase an open-ended question that will help you find research resources that would help to answer the EQ.
1. Do you, or anyone you know, subscribe to any journals that deal with hospital/emergency department management?
4. Phrase an open-ended question that will help you think about other useful activities you might do to help you answer the EQ (IC2, possible experts to talk to, etc).
1. Who do you believe has the most influence over hospital policies about overcrowding?
5. Phrase two open-ended questions that help you to understand your interviewee's perspective on an aspect of your EQ.
1. How do you think overcrowding has affected this department?
2. What do you think is the biggest issue facing emergency departments state/nationwide?

The interview transcript  is due to turnitin.com with the 5-minute audio excerpt and entry to the blog on Friday, February 19th. In addition, you need to turn in the verification sheet to your house teacher

Blog 13 - 10 Hour Mentorship Check-In

1. Where are you doing your mentorship?
1. Downey PIH(formerly Downey Regional Medical Center) Emergency Room
2. Who is your contact?  What makes this person an expert?
1. Dr. Miguel Rodriguez
2. He has over 20 years of experience as an emergency room physician. He graduated from Stanford Medical School with a specialty in Emergency Medicine.
3. How many hours have you done during the school year? (Summer Mentorship Hours and Mentorship Hours should be reflected separately in your Senior Project Hours log located on the right-hand side of your blog).
1. 51 hours
4. Succinctly summarize what you did, how well you and your mentor worked together, and how you plan to complete the remaining hours.
1. During mentorship, I basically follow my mentor as a "shadow". Since my mentor is typically pretty busy filling out patient charts, giving orders, or consulting with other physicians, he doesn't usually have a whole lot of time to explain little details about why he is doing certain treatments. I can almost always figure out what is going on, though, and if I can't then I take a note of it and look it up later. I have finished the mandatory hours, but I plan to continue doing what I have been doing whenever I get the chance.

Blog 12 - Holiday Project Update

1. It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is a break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?
1. Over break, I finished up the last of the required mentorship hours(Yay!). I also spent a significant amount of time doing the prerequisite homework for my EMT class(independent component). 
2. What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?
1. I think the most important thing I learned was the medical terms from my EMT class. While this doesn't directly tie into the topic of overcrowding, I will most likely be able to understand more when I go to mentorship again. 
3. Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?
1. At this point, I'm not entirely sure.  I had someone who is the director of a hospital who would probably know quite a bit about overcrowding, but I am no longer able to contact them. I will most likely have to just start calling places. I hope to be able to talk to a director at a teaching hospital because that is where overcrowding is the most prevalent. 

Extra Blog

Over the weekend I was out shopping and I ran into an AMR ambulance that was set up for a toy drive. There were three very nice ladies working there who were all EMTs. They seemed very excited when I told them I was in the process of becoming an EMT also, most likely because it is such a male dominated field(about 30% female, 70% male). I asked them a few questions about how they like the job, what its really like, how hard it is to get hired, and if they get motion sickness riding in the back when they work on a patient. They ended up showing me around the inside of the truck, which was pretty awesome. One of my biggest concerns about becoming an EMT though is the massive amounts of lifting required. While they were very encouraging, they didn't sugar coat the fact that you do a lot of lifting. While one woman(the smallest one there) did say that basically all you do is lift, sometimes on a gurney, down stairs, or on a board, anyone can do it. At the end they asked me to take a picture for the AMR social media(hopefully they post it so I can have a copy too).

Blog 11 - Lesson 1 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your lesson, and why?
1. I am probably most proud of making time. I was really worried I would go over because when I was practicing I barely made it, but it turned out ok because I didn't go over a few minor details.
2. What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson? Explain why you earned that grade using evidence from the component contract.
1. I would give myself a solid P. Of course I want an AE but I don't think I had enough visuals and said "umm..." too much for it. I believe I hit all the points to get a P though. After reading my feedback I think people generally liked it and didn't have any major issues(unless everyone is just super nice). 
3. If you could go back, what would you change about your lesson?  How can you use that knowledge to give a better Lesson 2?
1. I would want to just practice a few more times and maybe run everything by another student for additional feedback. I would have also made a poster with my EQ on it so people could refer to it. 

Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

1. 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...)
1. 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.  
2. How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you?  
1. 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. 
3. 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?
1. 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. 
4. 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?
1. 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. 

Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

1. 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).
1. 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.
2. 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.   
1. The area I am researching the most  is overcrowding and its causes and effects. I have looked a little into communication also. 
3. 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?
1. 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. 
4. 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.
1. What is the best way to minimize continual emergency room overcrowding?