On the cruise to Mexico there were many dining options. Almost every day my cousins and I decided to have breakfast (if we ate it at all), along with lunch in the buffet. For dinner we usually ate in the dinning room with all the family. We occasional ordered room service for a snack or for breakfast (because it’s free and we’re lazy). There was always a large variety of food to choose from, most of which were very unique, and quite exquisite entrées.
The buffet had a very large selection of foods. There was always fresh fruit, amazing deserts, and many foods to choose from. The presentation of the food was phenomenal, everything was presented perfectly. The unusual foods were made attractive enough for me to put on my plate. I noticed that the food was prepared just as I had leaned it should be in catering class. The fruits and vegetables were all cut consistently into the same shape, and everything was laid out over platters in way that made it more appealing. The quality of the food was higher than that of a typical buffet, and it looked great, but it wasn’t nearly as good as the food in the dinning room.
The dinning room had a large variety of foods from all around the world. Even though I enjoyed some dishes more than others, I was satisfied with every single idem that I ordered throughout the cruise. I tried many foods that I typically wouldn’t have at home (such as Escargot), which I found to be much better than I had anticipated.
I only had time to eat two meals when I was off the ship in Mexico. The first meal I had in Mexico was lunch in Mazalan. We went to a somewhat Americanized restarent, I ordered chicken tacos and a margarita. The tacos were very good, but perhaps slightly too spicy for my taste. The margarita was by far the best part of the meal, and it perhaps making the food taste better than it should. The only other food I ate in Mexico was lunch in Cabo San Lucas. I had Shrimp Fajatas at a resturant called the Shrimp Bucket. Both meals were good, but I didn’t find them to be much better than the Mexican food in Eugene. One big difference that I did notice, was the alcohol (18 is the legal drinking age in Mexico). Their tequela is exelent, quite superior to most of whats available in america. I also loved the margaritas, they were very strong, and made with fresh ingredients. Throughout this cruise I experienced many cultural, and traditional foods which were new to me. I enjoyed and learned very much from this culinary experience.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Senior Project Essay
Although I have known for a long time that I wanted to work somewhere in the medical profession, knowing where in this field hasn't come easily. I used my senior project to focus on one possibility: would I like to have a career in a surgical specialty?
David McAllister, RN First Assistant was my community advisor. He is the father of one of my friends and I was always interested in hearing about his surgical cases. He works at Sacred Heart Medical Center (SHMC) through Northwest Surgical Specialist. He is 1 of 3 first assistants for a group of 10 surgeons. David helped me apply for SHMC privileges so that I could observe in the operating room. It was a long application and took several weeks to process. He was instrumental in me obtaining these privileges. I was able to start in July and can use my privileges for up to a year.
I was slightly nervous for my first day in the Operating room, I had no idea what to expect. I meet Dave in the staff lounge of the O.R. at 10:35. He took me to get an I.D. card, then he had a nurse show me the changing room and tell me what I needed to do before going into surgery. I changed into scrubs I put on shoe covers, a hair net and face mask, then I went to meet Dave in the operating room.
When I walked into the room they had already began the operation. The patient had a tumor in her lower intestine. The objective of the surgery was to remove the tumor by cutting off a portion of her intestine. They inflated the woman's belly with carbon dioxide, which made her look like she was nine months pregnant, so that they would have space to work. Several small incisions, each about a inch long, were made in different areas of the belly. They inserted laparoscopes into these incisions; one was a camera which was connected to televisions, the others were tools for pulling and cutting. On the televisions, everyone in the room could see her insides of that area, which was really fascinating to me. Dave and the surgeon used the camera to see where their tools were and what they were cutting, grabbing, etc. After they found where the tumor was, they cut away fat and loosened the intestines, which took quite a bit of time. After the intestine was loosened, they took their tools and camera out of the incisions. Then they cut an incision that was about three inches long, where they actually pulled the intestine out of the body! They cut off the portion of intestine with the tumor, sewed it together and pushed it back in. She was then put all back together, and the first operation that I’ve ever watched had been completed.
Some other observations were that they had approximately 100 tools (like the one that has rows of staples on both sides and a knife in the middle, they used this many times when cutting the intestine), which they spread out over a long table by the patients feet. They played music all through the operations and talked almost constantly. The people were kind and explained everything for me. They were very careful to keep things sterile, anything that’s blue you can't touch, unless you’re wearing a gown (which was difficult for me). It was an absolutely amazing experience.
Over lunch, Dave and I talked about what I thought of it. He gave me tips for observing other surgeries and I asked him questions. After lunch it was time to begin the next surgery. I was still nervous but not as much I was for the first operation, it was intimidating to be the least experienced person in the room. I was also excited, the last surgery was more fascinating and intriguing than I had ever imagined.
The patient was a smoker and had developed a tumor in her lung. The surgeons took out a rib, cut through the chest wall, and took out the lower right lung. It was difficult for me to see because of the size and the angle of the incision (there wasn't a camera like there was in the other surgery). They had to be very careful because they were working very close to the heart, the aorta, and many important organs. I got to hold the lung afterwards, which was an unexpected, very cool experience. It felt like a wet sponge, and it had black spots of tar on the outside because of her smoking. The tumor felt like a bouncy ball, the lymph nodes were smaller but felt similar to the tumor.
The next day that I went to the hospital to shadow Dave I had to get up early to be there by 7:15, way too early. I meet Dave in the staff lounge again. He had been on the computer doing research on one of the operations that he was scheduled to do that day. I learned that researching procedures before the operation is a large part of the job of being a surgical assistant or a surgeon. It’s very important that they review so that they know exactly what they will be doing. Dave explained a few cases to me before we went in, which was very helpful in understanding what was going on. The first operation that I watched that day was a Nissen Fundoplication procedure. This is an operation in which the stomach is wrapped to prevent acid reflux into the esophagus.
The next two operations were cholecystectomies (gall bladder removals). They were very quick surgeries (less than one hour) and the surgeon was very good at it because she does this operation quite often. They used x-rays to make sure that the stones haven’t moved into the common bile duct. They also used a camera in this surgery and didn't make an incision (which was very small) until it was time to remove the gall bladder. The gall bladder had many stones in it and was very enlarged; the surgeon had trouble removing it because of its size. I got to hold the gall bladder afterwards. The lining was slimy and the stones were hard but could be broken and crumbled. The second cholecystectomy was basically the same as the first. The only large difference that I noticed was that the gall bladder was much smaller compared to the first one, and it was easily removed.
The last surgery Dave wasn't assisting in, but they let me watch it anyways because I really wanted to. It sounded like it would be really fascinating. The patient’s carotid (main artery in neck) was clogged with plaque which was caused by smoking. The surgeon went very slowly and carefully (because it's so easy to hit the wrong vein or artery, or another important part when working on the neck) cut through layers of muscle, small veins, etc. When he got to the carotid artery, he cut it open down the middle. He cleaned it out, removing the plaque and debris, and removed some of the veins inside layers of tissue. When he was done he closed it up with a patch (I learned that they use a patch instead of just sewing the sides together because it allows the vein to be even larger than it had originally been to help prevent future clogging). When he was about halfway done putting on the patch, suddenly blood started pouring out of the vein like a fountain. One of the clamps had come off the vein. Both the doctor and the assistant were surprised. They leaned back for about half a second figuring out what had happened, and then the doctor quickly put it back on. During that moment of time there was much panic, it was scary. There was blood everywhere; the surgeon had to leave to get cleaned up before finishing the surgery. The tech mopped the floors and wiped the blood off the assistant’s face. Luckily, I had stepped back when this had all happened and had only gotten a few drops of blood on my shoe. I never thought that I would see anything like that. It made me realize how greatly the life of the patient lies in the hands of the surgical team. If the problem hadn't been resolved within a few seconds, the patient would probably have died. But it was resolved and the surgery was successfully completed.
On the third day of my observations, the surgeons were all easy going and just matter-of-fact in doing their job. I left after 6 hours of this procedure; I had another appointment and felt sorry for the surgical team that was still working. Sometimes they are on their feet 8-14 hours at a time and have to have other surgeons relieve them so that they can eat or use the rest room.
I loved seeing all the anatomy that I have studied in books, in the flesh. The human body is so amazing and is wonderful. I think that it will help me in my Anatomy class that I'm taking this year.
I acquired a wealth of skills and knowledge from these observations; starting with the application process, the hospital procedures and all the personal that keep the hospital running. The requirements of the O.R. were overwhelming at first. Scrubbing in, gowning, gloving, masks, hats and foot covers were just a few of the requirements before entering the O.R. Once inside knowing where to stand, what to touch (nothing) to try to understand what I was seeing proved to be difficult to do. These are all things that will be useful to any work in the medical field, which can't quite be appreciated until you've experienced them.
In conclusion, I think that the time I spent shadowing David McAllister in the Operating Room was very enlightening. I loved the surgeries but I’m not sure I want to be a Surgical Assistant. The long hours and difficult cases might not be what I want, but I'm certain that I want to work in the medical profession. My senior project did help me narrow down my areas of interest for college and a career. I plan to apply to colleges that have a School of Nursing and I might focus on a career in a surgical specialty.
David McAllister, RN First Assistant was my community advisor. He is the father of one of my friends and I was always interested in hearing about his surgical cases. He works at Sacred Heart Medical Center (SHMC) through Northwest Surgical Specialist. He is 1 of 3 first assistants for a group of 10 surgeons. David helped me apply for SHMC privileges so that I could observe in the operating room. It was a long application and took several weeks to process. He was instrumental in me obtaining these privileges. I was able to start in July and can use my privileges for up to a year.
I was slightly nervous for my first day in the Operating room, I had no idea what to expect. I meet Dave in the staff lounge of the O.R. at 10:35. He took me to get an I.D. card, then he had a nurse show me the changing room and tell me what I needed to do before going into surgery. I changed into scrubs I put on shoe covers, a hair net and face mask, then I went to meet Dave in the operating room.
When I walked into the room they had already began the operation. The patient had a tumor in her lower intestine. The objective of the surgery was to remove the tumor by cutting off a portion of her intestine. They inflated the woman's belly with carbon dioxide, which made her look like she was nine months pregnant, so that they would have space to work. Several small incisions, each about a inch long, were made in different areas of the belly. They inserted laparoscopes into these incisions; one was a camera which was connected to televisions, the others were tools for pulling and cutting. On the televisions, everyone in the room could see her insides of that area, which was really fascinating to me. Dave and the surgeon used the camera to see where their tools were and what they were cutting, grabbing, etc. After they found where the tumor was, they cut away fat and loosened the intestines, which took quite a bit of time. After the intestine was loosened, they took their tools and camera out of the incisions. Then they cut an incision that was about three inches long, where they actually pulled the intestine out of the body! They cut off the portion of intestine with the tumor, sewed it together and pushed it back in. She was then put all back together, and the first operation that I’ve ever watched had been completed.
Some other observations were that they had approximately 100 tools (like the one that has rows of staples on both sides and a knife in the middle, they used this many times when cutting the intestine), which they spread out over a long table by the patients feet. They played music all through the operations and talked almost constantly. The people were kind and explained everything for me. They were very careful to keep things sterile, anything that’s blue you can't touch, unless you’re wearing a gown (which was difficult for me). It was an absolutely amazing experience.
Over lunch, Dave and I talked about what I thought of it. He gave me tips for observing other surgeries and I asked him questions. After lunch it was time to begin the next surgery. I was still nervous but not as much I was for the first operation, it was intimidating to be the least experienced person in the room. I was also excited, the last surgery was more fascinating and intriguing than I had ever imagined.
The patient was a smoker and had developed a tumor in her lung. The surgeons took out a rib, cut through the chest wall, and took out the lower right lung. It was difficult for me to see because of the size and the angle of the incision (there wasn't a camera like there was in the other surgery). They had to be very careful because they were working very close to the heart, the aorta, and many important organs. I got to hold the lung afterwards, which was an unexpected, very cool experience. It felt like a wet sponge, and it had black spots of tar on the outside because of her smoking. The tumor felt like a bouncy ball, the lymph nodes were smaller but felt similar to the tumor.
The next day that I went to the hospital to shadow Dave I had to get up early to be there by 7:15, way too early. I meet Dave in the staff lounge again. He had been on the computer doing research on one of the operations that he was scheduled to do that day. I learned that researching procedures before the operation is a large part of the job of being a surgical assistant or a surgeon. It’s very important that they review so that they know exactly what they will be doing. Dave explained a few cases to me before we went in, which was very helpful in understanding what was going on. The first operation that I watched that day was a Nissen Fundoplication procedure. This is an operation in which the stomach is wrapped to prevent acid reflux into the esophagus.
The next two operations were cholecystectomies (gall bladder removals). They were very quick surgeries (less than one hour) and the surgeon was very good at it because she does this operation quite often. They used x-rays to make sure that the stones haven’t moved into the common bile duct. They also used a camera in this surgery and didn't make an incision (which was very small) until it was time to remove the gall bladder. The gall bladder had many stones in it and was very enlarged; the surgeon had trouble removing it because of its size. I got to hold the gall bladder afterwards. The lining was slimy and the stones were hard but could be broken and crumbled. The second cholecystectomy was basically the same as the first. The only large difference that I noticed was that the gall bladder was much smaller compared to the first one, and it was easily removed.
The last surgery Dave wasn't assisting in, but they let me watch it anyways because I really wanted to. It sounded like it would be really fascinating. The patient’s carotid (main artery in neck) was clogged with plaque which was caused by smoking. The surgeon went very slowly and carefully (because it's so easy to hit the wrong vein or artery, or another important part when working on the neck) cut through layers of muscle, small veins, etc. When he got to the carotid artery, he cut it open down the middle. He cleaned it out, removing the plaque and debris, and removed some of the veins inside layers of tissue. When he was done he closed it up with a patch (I learned that they use a patch instead of just sewing the sides together because it allows the vein to be even larger than it had originally been to help prevent future clogging). When he was about halfway done putting on the patch, suddenly blood started pouring out of the vein like a fountain. One of the clamps had come off the vein. Both the doctor and the assistant were surprised. They leaned back for about half a second figuring out what had happened, and then the doctor quickly put it back on. During that moment of time there was much panic, it was scary. There was blood everywhere; the surgeon had to leave to get cleaned up before finishing the surgery. The tech mopped the floors and wiped the blood off the assistant’s face. Luckily, I had stepped back when this had all happened and had only gotten a few drops of blood on my shoe. I never thought that I would see anything like that. It made me realize how greatly the life of the patient lies in the hands of the surgical team. If the problem hadn't been resolved within a few seconds, the patient would probably have died. But it was resolved and the surgery was successfully completed.
On the third day of my observations, the surgeons were all easy going and just matter-of-fact in doing their job. I left after 6 hours of this procedure; I had another appointment and felt sorry for the surgical team that was still working. Sometimes they are on their feet 8-14 hours at a time and have to have other surgeons relieve them so that they can eat or use the rest room.
I loved seeing all the anatomy that I have studied in books, in the flesh. The human body is so amazing and is wonderful. I think that it will help me in my Anatomy class that I'm taking this year.
I acquired a wealth of skills and knowledge from these observations; starting with the application process, the hospital procedures and all the personal that keep the hospital running. The requirements of the O.R. were overwhelming at first. Scrubbing in, gowning, gloving, masks, hats and foot covers were just a few of the requirements before entering the O.R. Once inside knowing where to stand, what to touch (nothing) to try to understand what I was seeing proved to be difficult to do. These are all things that will be useful to any work in the medical field, which can't quite be appreciated until you've experienced them.
In conclusion, I think that the time I spent shadowing David McAllister in the Operating Room was very enlightening. I loved the surgeries but I’m not sure I want to be a Surgical Assistant. The long hours and difficult cases might not be what I want, but I'm certain that I want to work in the medical profession. My senior project did help me narrow down my areas of interest for college and a career. I plan to apply to colleges that have a School of Nursing and I might focus on a career in a surgical specialty.
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