This weekend I found myself in the Harris Medical Emergency Room. Before anyone starts to worry, I was there simply to observe the physicians, not because I was sick or injured in anyway. While I know people will be both comforted by my safety and disappointed by the lack of excitement, I will still try and continue with the story as best I can, even without the added danger and suspense. No my time in the ER did not include either, but was rather filled with realization that many of my preconceived notions about this place were wrong. Like any wide-eyed premed student, I came into this observation with that idea that an ER was a place filled with blood, gore, and all manner of fast paced excitement seen on hospital television shows. Of course, I was not so naive as to think that a real ER would be like the ones on TV, but I also did not expect what I did end up seeing. Instead of gunshot wounds and car accidents, I saw an elderly woman who's only symptom was the fear of death, a drug addict looking to get another fix, and a pregnant woman who believed her back pain was early contractions. But while I marveled at what seemed to be an unusually slow night, I also began to notice that the staff did not share my disbelief. No, to the dozens of doctors, nurses, scribes, ambulance drivers, and other employees, this is what an average day at the office looked like.
The point of this story is that my perceptions are constantly being broken down and reformed. At this point in my life in which I continue to try new things, my young naive mind is exposed to the real world at a rate much greater than anything I experienced before coming to school. My trip to the ER is just one example of dispelling an immature perception by actually going out and seeing it for myself instead of relying on what I see on TV, read in a book, or hear from a person. In my opinion, this is the best way to learn, something that cannot be replicated in a classroom, but, I believe, is still essential to our experience as college students.
This is a great learning experience. Thanks for posting. Learning to detect the fragility of our perceptions and assumptions is often the hardest lesson to learn.
ReplyDeleteI observed Harris ER on a Sunday morning and all I got to see was the doctor pull a bug out of a homeless man's ear.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. Seeing medical scenarios and cases first hand is completely different from watching TV shows or being told about it from other people. When I went to the Harris ER, it was a fairly slow night until two traumas came in at the same time. The first was a man who was in a high-speed chase from the cops and had been incubated. The second was a young man who had been shot at a local park. The staff stayed completely calm and collected, meanwhile I was freaking out by myself in the upper balcony. They used the term "John Doe" and eventually the cops came upstairs, casually mentioning they may have a homicide (emphasis on CASUALLY). I have never seen a dead body, let alone somebody die so I was freaking out. If I had been along in the balcony room, I probably would have broken down and cried. Here I am, a second year pre-med student and I'm about to cry while watching a staff save a life. In the end, the young man's heart stopped twice, but was revived twice. After the second crash, he was rushed off and I never knew what happened to him. Long story short -- the only way to create an accurate perspective is to experience life on your own.
ReplyDeleteWow Sam. That is awesome. I totally agree with you about the world and constantly having your mindset changed by different experiences. I believe we’re never done learning and to sit there and watch others, experts at that, do things allows us to move forward with knowledge that only others can give. I’m glad you were able to look deeper into the world and how it works and just grow from that.
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