Today was the halfway point of MedEx. To start the day, my group toured the Pathology Lab. We were able to see the morgue and had a wonderful presentation by Dr. Fulcher. Dr. Fulcher, first, did his presentation on what it is like to be a pathologist. He is a forensic pathologist, so he went through some of his patient case studies (with respect to HIPAA). It was very fascinating for him to explain how he approaches a scene and examines it in order to see if alcohol or something else influenced the death. One such case involved an intoxicated man on parole who shot a firework into his chest on accident. After his presentation, Dr. Fulcher took my group down into the morgue where we were able to hold formaldehyde-soaked organs. I was able to see how thick the calcium buildup can get in the heart because one of the preserved heart's aorta was quite literally as hard as a rock. It was almost scary to see and think about. I also got to hold a lung that was abused because of smoking. The lung was extremely black, and it felt nothing like a normal lung. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing and learning about these organs. Next, one of Dr. Fulcher's assistants took us to see the rest of the Path Lab. We toured the hematology, urine analysis, and toxicology rooms. I enjoyed seeing how all of these fields have become very mechanized/ less hands-on. Medicine continues to advance with better technology, and this was a fantastic example. Before we broke for lunch half of my group was able to get this picture at the Path Lab, and then we went to have our professional headshots made. Later, Mrs. Cynthia Trout came and spoke to our group about AIDET and nursing. With regards to AIDET, she explained that that is the philosophy of nurses at GHS. AIDET stands for "Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explain, and Thank You." Essentially all GHS providers should do a quick rundown before treating a patient by saying something like, "Hi I'm _. I've been in medicine for _/ I studied at _. We will be doing _ to you today which will take _ to complete. We are doing this because _. Thank you for allowing us to take care of _." Mrs. Trout also encourages providers to try to make achievable promises to patients so that they will feel like they are more in control of their surroundings. Next, the MedEx Interns gave us a presentation on professional programs in healthcare from MD to DO to PA to Healthcare Administration. It was very informative, and I enjoyed learning about how long each of the careers must study/ where they can work/ etc. To end the day we had a feedback session to evaluate MedEx thus far. I have loved these past two weeks!
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