Blog 18 - Answer 2

1. What is your EQ?
1. What is the best way to minimize Emergency Department overcrowding?
2. What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)
1. The best way to minimize Emergency Department overcrowding is through the use of nurse hotlines.
3. What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)
1. The best way to minimize Emergency Department overcrowding is to improve patients' access to primary care. 
4. List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.
1. One of the biggest reasons people come to the ED is because they cannot make an appointment with their primary care physician. By improving access to these physicians, ED visits should be reduced. 
2. This affects the demand portion of the supply and demand issue which causes overcrowding.
3. This is a valid answer because of the input-output-throughput model which demonstrates how patients flow through the hospital and the ED. 
5. What printed source best supports your answer?
1. Piehl, Mark D., Conrad J. Clemens, and Jerry D. Joines. ""Narrowing the Gap"" Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 154.8 (2000): 791. Web. 10 Feb. 2016. <http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=350544>.
6. What other source supports your answer?
1. During my third interview I asked my interviewee what he thought the answer to my essential question was and he strongly believed in my second answer. 
7. Tie this together with a concluding thought.
1. This second answer is similar to the first in that it affects the input of the hospital/ED. Input is basically how many people show up wanting treatment. By improving the availability of primary care, the number of non-urgent visits will be reduced because patients can treat it with their normal doctor. By seeing a primary care physician instead of a doctor in the ED, patients can save money, have better follow up care, and develop a stronger relationship with their doctor. 

Blog 17 - Interview 3 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  
1. I learned a lot from this interview, probably the most out of all my interviews thus far. I think the most important thing I learned was that my interviewee believes that making primary care more available would be the most important step in reducing Emergency Department overcrowding. I also learned about a method of minimizing the effects of crowding which could be an answer. 
2. How has your approach to interviewing changed over the course of your senior project?
1. I believe I am a little more comfortable now than I was when I did my very first interview. My questions for this interview definitely connected more and actually flowed well into each other. What I think worked for this interview is that I didn't use my questions in the exact order that I had written them. I knew most of them by memory so when a topic I had written a question about came up I knew to jump to it instead of going down the list like a checklist. 
3. Link to interview transcription
 

Blog 16 - Independent Component 2 Approval

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.
1. I plan to continue taking my EMT class. The class on Saturday and Sunday from 8-5 for eight weekends. It is a huge undertaking, much bigger than I first anticipated. I am currently half way through the class. When I turn 18(in April, several weeks after the class ends) I will complete two 12 hours ride alongs in an ambulance to finish my class. After, I will take the NREMT, the national certification exam. 
2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.
1. I will have a transcript by the time IC2 is due. In order to complete the class and get my certificate of completion, I have to spend at least 120 hours in skills and lectures. I should also have some pictures from my ride alongs.
3. Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.
1. This will help me because it's literally teaching me how to become a provider of emergency care. Also, depending on where I do my ride-along, I will be able to see some other overcrowded hospitals and possibly diversion.
4. Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent Component 2" log.
1. Link

Lesson 2 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?
1. I am most proud that I was able to keep my cool. Unlike the last lesson where I was super stiff and could barely choke the words out, I felt like I was more fluid. I am also happy that all my practice at making time paid off. 
2. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?
1. P
2. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
1. I feel like I hit all the points on the contract. I felt like my activity went very well with my first answer once I explained how it related. I think my use of statistics showed the depth of my knowledge. 
3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
1. Having a powerpoint was a total relief because I feel like I wouldn't be able to remember all the information I presented. I think that I also used my time effectively. 
4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?
1. I think I would have tried to reference my independent component. I actually had an extra slide after my "thank you" slide that talked more about mentorship and my IC in case I needed more time. Once I got to my conclusion side, though, I was right at 21 minutes so I just cut it out.
5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?
1. I think it will either be hospital restructuring or patient education. This will really depend on how my third interview goes, though. 

Blog 15 - Independent Component 1

• Literal
• I, Lauren Burney, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 59 hours of work. 
• I used the textbooks Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured and UCLA Center for Prehospital Care Supplement. My lectures for the course are Quinn Bowyer and Jeff Pollakoff. The skills instructors vary. 
• Link
• In order to even take my EMT class, I first had to take a CPR for Healthcare Providers class. This took up several hours, but I am now CPR certified. So far I am three weeks into my eight week EMT class. I have learned some basic anatomy, ethical and legal obligations of being an EMT, airway, and ventilation interventions, assessing patients, and taking vitals. After being lectured at for four hours, we spend another four hours actually practicing the skills we learned about. So far I have learned how to maintain an open airway, basic lifting techniques, administer oxygen, perform CPR, take a manual blood pressure, and assess patients. 
• Interpretive
• I have spent far over 30 hours in class and many more hours studying and completing the required homework. This project is preparing me to actually become a provider of emergency medicine. Before I am given the certificate of completion, I will actually spend at least 24 hours on an ambulance providing care to at least 10 patients. 
• Applied
• This class has helped me understand what these people who work in this field actually go through. My instructors have told the class stories about their triumphs and tribulations which have given me a better understanding of the system in general. Also, learning how to be an actual provider on an ambulance has given me a better understanding of how ambulance diversion can affect patient care.  

This is a screenshot of my posted grade. While there are other things in the grade book, it is too much to post everything. The exams portion comprises 40%(the largest portion) of my final grade.

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.