Research
Part 1 - What I Need to Know
Have you ever been in a class, maybe specifically a Math class, and the teacher does a problem on the board? You see how the teacher did the problem, but you don’t quite understand why he or she did it that way. When I first started being introduced to the medical field that’s how I felt. The summer in between my junior and my senior year of high school I shadowed at Vickery Pediatrics. While at this facility, I quickly learned that everything in the Pediatric field of medicine was focused around preventing the problem before it happened. It made sense to focus on prevention, but I kept thinking to myself why. Why would we want to try to prevent a disease, rather than just treat it when it occurred?
Part 2 - What I Know or Assume
Because of my experience at Vickery Pediatrics and my mentorship at One Family, I know that prevention is important. I would assume that it’s easier to prevent the issue than to battle it as it has gotten stronger. Take cancer for example. Although there is no specific way of preventing cancer, there are precautionary protocols that doctors do in order to increase the chance of catching the Cancer in its early stages. If doctors didn’t do this, they would probably wait until there are significant signs of Cancer before actually treating the patient. When you find this disease in its later stages it can be deadly. I assume that the reason why prevention is so important in Pediatrics is because if we prevent the disease from ever occurring then there’s less of a risk for the patient.
Part 3 - The Search
When I began the hunt for an answer to my question, I wasn’t sure where to start. So I started searching for articles that would better expand my knowledge on the topic of preventive care in children. In these articles, I found that prevention is very important for the child’s current and future health. I also found that younger children are more susceptible to more diseases.
My interview:
Q1: What skills are required in your position on a day-to-day basis?
A1: Setting up the Lab in the morning, vitals, charting, and vaccines
Q2: Can you describe your typical workday?
A2: Once I get to the office I turn the lights on in all of the patient rooms, record the temperatures of the fridge and freezer in the lab, and make sure that the hemoglobin and the cholesterol machines are working properly. By that time, usually the eight o’clock appointment has arrived. So I first prepare the room for the patient and then I bring them back. If they are able to stand by themselves then I usually grab weight and height before going to the room. Once in the room, I then work them up by asking questions about the patient’s medical history, environment, and condition. If I have any downtime I usually complete visit documents for the next day’s patients. We eat lunch around eleven thirty. After lunch I finish the rest of the appointments for the day. Finally, at the end of the day I stock rooms, make sure sharp containers are empty and put the needles all in the melter, and record the temperatures of the fridge and freezer again.
Q3: What parts of your job do you find most challenging?
A3: Dealing with difficult parents. Personally, I struggle with patients that aren’t fully cognitively developed, such as autistic children. The other nurse is much better at it than I.
Q4: What do you find most enjoyable about your job?
A4: My co-workers and the environment they create. We all are very supportive of each other.
Q5: Are there any negatives to your job?
A5: The commute, but I can’t control that so nothing.
Q6: How many hours do you typically work in a week?
A6: 37-40 hours
Q7: How does working at One Family compare to working anywhere else?
A7: Well my previous jobs have been in the restaurant industry so One Family has been much different. It’s definitely slower paced than a restaurant. There is a better environment for my mental health here than at my previous jobs.
Q8: Is there anything that has surprised you about your job?
A8: Yes, how calm the environment is and the company’s willingness to teach
Q9: What advice can you give to students entering the medical/nursing field?
A9: Don’t assume anything
Q10: What experiences have best prepared you for your job?
A10: I have a four-year old son who in the past has has misdiagnosed lung issues. So, due to that experience I am really good at detecting patient’s lung issues because I know exactly what to listen for.
Part 4 - What I discovered
After researching, I discovered many things about the importance of prevention in Pediatrics. I knew that prevention was importance, but what I learned that its importance is larger than I had expected. I quickly discovered that prevention can mean life or death for some children. In the article, “Essentials of Infection Prevention in the Pediatric Population”, the author writes, “Infections within any healthcare institution can be avoidable when dealt with appropriately. If infections are ignored or proactive strategies are not applied, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) will result in patient morbidity, mortality, and additional resource use.” (Koutlakis-Barron and Hayden, pg.144). I never even stopped to think that one of the outcomes of a lack of priority in prevention would be death. Another thing that I thought was very interesting was that the more the medical staff enjoy their job and workplace the more likely they will follow through with policies on prevention. These findings have widened my knowledge, which is extremely helpful to my future career. Since, I know what the effects of a lack of prevention are, it makes it even more important for me to pay attention to prevention policies.
Have you ever been in a class, maybe specifically a Math class, and the teacher does a problem on the board? You see how the teacher did the problem, but you don’t quite understand why he or she did it that way. When I first started being introduced to the medical field that’s how I felt. The summer in between my junior and my senior year of high school I shadowed at Vickery Pediatrics. While at this facility, I quickly learned that everything in the Pediatric field of medicine was focused around preventing the problem before it happened. It made sense to focus on prevention, but I kept thinking to myself why. Why would we want to try to prevent a disease, rather than just treat it when it occurred?
Part 2 - What I Know or Assume
Because of my experience at Vickery Pediatrics and my mentorship at One Family, I know that prevention is important. I would assume that it’s easier to prevent the issue than to battle it as it has gotten stronger. Take cancer for example. Although there is no specific way of preventing cancer, there are precautionary protocols that doctors do in order to increase the chance of catching the Cancer in its early stages. If doctors didn’t do this, they would probably wait until there are significant signs of Cancer before actually treating the patient. When you find this disease in its later stages it can be deadly. I assume that the reason why prevention is so important in Pediatrics is because if we prevent the disease from ever occurring then there’s less of a risk for the patient.
Part 3 - The Search
When I began the hunt for an answer to my question, I wasn’t sure where to start. So I started searching for articles that would better expand my knowledge on the topic of preventive care in children. In these articles, I found that prevention is very important for the child’s current and future health. I also found that younger children are more susceptible to more diseases.
My interview:
Q1: What skills are required in your position on a day-to-day basis?
A1: Setting up the Lab in the morning, vitals, charting, and vaccines
Q2: Can you describe your typical workday?
A2: Once I get to the office I turn the lights on in all of the patient rooms, record the temperatures of the fridge and freezer in the lab, and make sure that the hemoglobin and the cholesterol machines are working properly. By that time, usually the eight o’clock appointment has arrived. So I first prepare the room for the patient and then I bring them back. If they are able to stand by themselves then I usually grab weight and height before going to the room. Once in the room, I then work them up by asking questions about the patient’s medical history, environment, and condition. If I have any downtime I usually complete visit documents for the next day’s patients. We eat lunch around eleven thirty. After lunch I finish the rest of the appointments for the day. Finally, at the end of the day I stock rooms, make sure sharp containers are empty and put the needles all in the melter, and record the temperatures of the fridge and freezer again.
Q3: What parts of your job do you find most challenging?
A3: Dealing with difficult parents. Personally, I struggle with patients that aren’t fully cognitively developed, such as autistic children. The other nurse is much better at it than I.
Q4: What do you find most enjoyable about your job?
A4: My co-workers and the environment they create. We all are very supportive of each other.
Q5: Are there any negatives to your job?
A5: The commute, but I can’t control that so nothing.
Q6: How many hours do you typically work in a week?
A6: 37-40 hours
Q7: How does working at One Family compare to working anywhere else?
A7: Well my previous jobs have been in the restaurant industry so One Family has been much different. It’s definitely slower paced than a restaurant. There is a better environment for my mental health here than at my previous jobs.
Q8: Is there anything that has surprised you about your job?
A8: Yes, how calm the environment is and the company’s willingness to teach
Q9: What advice can you give to students entering the medical/nursing field?
A9: Don’t assume anything
Q10: What experiences have best prepared you for your job?
A10: I have a four-year old son who in the past has has misdiagnosed lung issues. So, due to that experience I am really good at detecting patient’s lung issues because I know exactly what to listen for.
Part 4 - What I discovered
After researching, I discovered many things about the importance of prevention in Pediatrics. I knew that prevention was importance, but what I learned that its importance is larger than I had expected. I quickly discovered that prevention can mean life or death for some children. In the article, “Essentials of Infection Prevention in the Pediatric Population”, the author writes, “Infections within any healthcare institution can be avoidable when dealt with appropriately. If infections are ignored or proactive strategies are not applied, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) will result in patient morbidity, mortality, and additional resource use.” (Koutlakis-Barron and Hayden, pg.144). I never even stopped to think that one of the outcomes of a lack of priority in prevention would be death. Another thing that I thought was very interesting was that the more the medical staff enjoy their job and workplace the more likely they will follow through with policies on prevention. These findings have widened my knowledge, which is extremely helpful to my future career. Since, I know what the effects of a lack of prevention are, it makes it even more important for me to pay attention to prevention policies.