BLOG N˚18 | Answer N˚2

1.  What is your EQ?

What is the most vital component in delivering effective patient care?

2.  What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

One of the most vital components in delivering effective patient care is constant communication between the health care team and the patient.

3.  What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

Another vital component in delivering effective patient care is for the health care team to be provided by the most recent and innovative medical inventions and discoveries.

4.  List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

One reason would be that the world of medicine is constantly evolving and new discoveries are made everyday. Treatments and medicine that are up to date are crucial to those especially with conditions such as cancer, diabetes, asthma, etc. At my mentorship, we made sure to always update the technology to help our patients. My patients are mostly cancer patients, so we make sure to use whatever treatment would serve them best.

5.  What printed source best supports your answer?

This article.

6.  What other source supports your answer?

Article 1 and article 2

7.  Tie this together with a  concluding thought.

Up to date innovations and medical treatments are crucial in order to give out the most effective health care experience possible.

Lesson N˚2 Reflection

1) What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

I am most proud of how exciting my hook activity was to the class and my activity, which was an interactive C-Section surgery. There was a lot of expression from the audience and many people after my presentation went up to me to tell me how much they either enjoyed my hook or the activity I made the class do.

2a)     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

P

2b)     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

My hook was very attention grabbing and showcased very well what sorts of things I do at my mentorship. The information provided in the slideshow itself answered my essential question and was clear. I also made sure to provide many real life experiences from my mentorship itself and referenced my interviews with my mentors as well. I also provided the sources I had used my presentation. And finally, my activity was definitely the funnest part of the presentation as it made the class give a taste of what happens in my mentorship.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

Having an attention-grabbing and fun hook and activity. It definitely made my presentation stand out as a whole.

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

I definitely rushed my presentation. I didn't speak very clearly myself as my nervousness got to me. My thoughts were very messy during the presentation so even though I answered my essential question, there were many stumbles and it was very clear I was uncomfortable in front of the class. For lesson two, I plan to really rehearse extensively so I feel less nervous and more comfortable in the topic I am talking about. This would also help me organize my thoughts throughout the presentation and help me to have a more clear presentation for my answer.

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?
My answer #2 would probably be innovations and modern technology in health care really does make an impact in overall patient care.

BLOG N˚14 | Interview N˚3 Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?

I plan to interview my grandmother, Cecilia Zafra, as she worked as a Registered Nurse for a couple decades after moving to the United States and spending years being an English professor in Asia. 

2.  Verify that you have called your interviewee to schedule an interview.  What is the date and time of the interview? 

I plan to meet Cecilia on Monday, January 18 at noon to interview her about my senior project.

3.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you find research resources that would help to answer the EQ.

What personal aspects does effective communication bring to a health-care team?

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).

Who is a possible expert I should ask about this topic of mine?
Healthcare has changed in the last few decades and will be constantly evolving as the times go on. Back then, was the aim of healthcare less patient-centered?

5.  Phrase two open-ended questions that help you to understand your interviewee's perspective on an aspect of your EQ. 

In your experience, how has teamwork really impacted the effectiveness of the quality of patient care?What do you think is the most vital component in delivering effective patient care?

BLOG N˚12 | Holiday Project Update

1. It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are at school. What did you do over the break with your senior project?

For almost the whole break, I was out of town so I wasn't able to attend mentorship at all this break! So while I was on the airplane, I listened to a podcast relating to my topic. The podcasts are by different medical teams around the nation who talk about various innovations in the field of patient care.

2. What was the most important thing you learned from what you did and why? What was the source of what you learned?

I've gathered a lot more information about modern technology in the medical field and how to effectively deliver patient-centered care. It was much like doing research checks at school, except in the form of a podcast. One consistent thing that is prevalent in every research article I've read or every podcast I listened to was that in order to deliver effective patient care and establish a physician-patient relationship, there has to be constant and effective communication between the medical team and the patient.

3. Your third interview will be a ten question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. What do you plan to talk to and why?

I am hoping to interview ANY of the nurses at my station. Although it would be ideal to interview the physicians who frequent at the labor and delivery department, they are all incredibly busy. Also, I work closer with the nurses than the physicians themselves, and these nurses vary from different educational backgrounds and ages and experiences. Although, I will have to find out which nurse won't be busy to interview!

BLOG N˚11 | Lesson 1 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your lesson and why? 

Definitely my hook activity! I got an audience member from the crowd and performed a pretend blood test on them. This was a great hook because the fact I'm using an audience member unexpectedly already sparks interest, but this is a skill that most people wouldn't know how to do unless you worked in a hospital like me! This was a great representation of one of the many things I worked with a lot in mentorship. I thought my hook was creative and one of a kind.

2. What assessment would you give yourself in your lesson? Explain why you earned that grade using evidence from the component contract.

I would give myself a P. My hook activity took a minute longer than stated in the contract, and even then, my hook activity was a bit rushed. My whole presentation in total was a bit rushed. I had large amounts of information and stories to tell the class, yet it was difficult to speak clearly and try to tell a story in detail under eight minutes. Also, I am a bit of a nervous speaker! However, with my personal experience and large amounts of information, I was able to explain to the class my senior project and give a good summary of what the vast field of patient care exactly is!

3. If you could go back, what would you change about your lesson? How can you use that knowledge to give a better lesson two?

I would definitely tell myself to calm down a lot more so I can speak a lot more clearly. And definitely prepare myself more with timing! Timing was probably the major issue in this lesson. In lesson two, I hope to use my time wisely and not rush or drag my information too much!

BLOG N˚10 | Interview 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...)

I have just recently switched mentorships but both have been incredibly helpful and insightful towards my senior topic. My first mentorship was at a general practice clinic where I shadowed nurses at a clinic setting. Clinics are small and cover, for the most part, basically anything as far as health care goes whereas in the hospital, I only work in one department specified for a certain part of healthcare. In the clinic, I helped give blood pressure, give out blood tests, help call in patients, file in medical records, and more. In my new mentorship, I am volunteering at the Queen Of The Valley hospital where I help out at the Labor & Delivery department. In a hospital, everything is much bigger and definitely a lot more fast-paced and overwhelming. I usually provide the patients with things they want such as ice or pillows, deliver blood and urine tests to the lab, put tags on the newborn babies, and many more. This has done many things as far as gaining experience in my senior topic and in many ways, has done much more. Being surrounded by the environment that I am very interested in has given me a lot more depth into knowing how the health care team works as far as a profession and a field.

2.  How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you? 

My father was a registered nurse at Queen Of The Valley hospital (he has since transferred to a different hospital). However, through him, I have met Tiffany Ramirez who helps organize hospital volunteers. It wasn't very difficult at all to convince her to help me as she has worked with my father before and has worked with many teenagers in my position.

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?

As she is very experienced with working with young teenagers (some who haven't even had volunteer experience prior to coming to he hospital), she was extremely kind and helpful and makes me feel at ease in an environment where it can get extremely stressful. Moreover, my position as a volunteer at Queen Of The Valley seems very secure and something I would be able to keep for a long while. I haven't spent much time so far working with my new department but they have had many junior volunteers before and know exactly how to handle volunteers who have not have had the experience and who may not understand medical language. The doctors and nurses I work with are extremely kind and in no way make me feel uncomfortable and overwhelmed as they try to be as helpful as they can.

 
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?

As Tiffany is a very kind person, she didn't intimidate me at all in the interview and I a;ways find it so easy to talk to her. I felt the interview was very natural and didn't really feel like an interview at all. However, I wish I could've asked a lot more follow-up questions to help me get the most information I could possibly have gotten. This is something I will keep in my mind for my next interview to come and to really take advantage of possibly one of the best resources one could have in wanting to work in the medical field - the source of a person in the field themselves. 

INTERVIEW N˚2 | An Interview With Tiffany Ramirez

What is your name and what is your job?

Tiffany Ramirez and I am the corporate director of volunteer service for Citrus Health Valley Partners. So I oversee all the volunteer programs for the organization.

What would be your favorite thing about your job?

Favorite part of my job is being able to interact with the volunteers who are so passionate about giving back to their community hospitals.

If you were to give yourself when you first started, what would give yourself?

Wow, well that's a good question. What advice would I give myself when I first started? Maybe to take time to really enjoy the volunteers and not get so wrapped up in the office aspect or the clerical aspect but to really get to enjoy the friendships and the personalities they would have and get to know them as people because them as individuals is just a huge part of it and they are great people. I wish I would've, nine years ago, taken more time to really get to build those relationships instead of being so caught up in the paper part of it.

You work very closely with patient care related jobs.

Yes that is correct.

What are some tips you can give to a new hospital volunteer?

Definitely be assertive. Try to make yourself as useful as you can and really try and ask who you're working with "how can I help?" or "what can I do?" This would let the health care team know that you really want to make the effort to help out and that you really want to be there. Also, I believe you mentioned the main reason you wanted to volunteer is because you wanted experience in the field prior to studying it in college?

Yes, that is the main reason why, yes.

You know, and you want to really maximize the opportunity you have. If you have the advantage to be around the environment what could possibly be your future profession, try to really ask a lot of questions and really try to make the most out of the tasks you have been given as a student volunteer.

Is there anybody you would recommend for future interviews about patient care?

I would definitely say the nurses and doctors you have in your department. A lot of them have had been in this field for a few decades so they definitely would have a lot to say about your senior topic.