2017 Alumni Mentoring Program
Work Experience
Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital
Udari Munasinghe, Brisbane State High School, Grade 12
Through a selection process I was chosen to be part of the 2017 Alumni Mentor Program where I had the amazing opportunity to do work experience at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, alongside my mentor Ms Dale Dally-Watkins, the Acting Nursing Director of Royal Brisbane and Women’s hospital. This invaluable experience was truly life changing for me and allowed me to see all aspects of a hospital. I had the privilege of visiting various hospital faculties and working alongside various nurses and midwives, as well as having the opportunity to talk to a range of health professions.
The work experience
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I also had the privilege to talk to many of the staff in the Executive Administration, Emergency Department and the Patient Flow managers. I also got to speak to the Executive of Women's and Newborn Services at RBWH, who was also a Brisbane State High alumnus who graduated in the same year as my mentor and I had the privilege to speak to one of the Gynaecologists from the women’s and newborns services who’s words also inspired me to follow my passion. Moreover, during the multidisciplinary patient review meetings I had the opportunity to talk to various health professions including surgical Doctors, ward Doctors, various nurses, Dietitians, Occupational therapists, Social workers, and …show more content…
In the Emergency Department, I saw paramedics bringing in emergency patients to the hospital and other emergency patients in hospital cubicles surrounded by doctors and nurses. A lot of the patients in the Emergency Department suffered from traumatic injuries, hence to be able to see what the nurse and doctors do was truly eye opening. It was incredible to see how they help so many patients and save lives. The multidisciplinary patient review meeting also very interesting. One of the doctors co-ordinated the meeting and went through the details of the condition and current state of each patient in the ward, such that each of the different professions (e.g. a dietitian, a social worker, and physiotherapist ect.) would discuss their duties and become aware of each patient’s individual current situation.
I was also lucky enough got to test a prototype voice activated nurse call system that they were testing in the hospital, where I got to give my input and feedback about what I thought of the system. Another highlight was going to go to the nursery in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for newborns, where I saw tiniest babies that were all smaller than my forearm. I even got to witness a Gynaecologist inform a women that she would soon become a mother, and when the women started crying in joy, it was very emotional even for
After 12 hours of surgery, assisting in a large operation for a young guy with "Treacher Collins syndrome". It was aw-inspiring how the team of OMS approached the patient, constructing his orbits, grafting and correcting his dentofacial deformity. Although I was exhausted, but I enjoyed every second of the operation and felt really proud and I knew that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.
For this assignment I was able to interview Regina Bowman RN, BSN. Her current position is that of the Director of Medical Surgical Nursing. Her position places her over top of seven nursing units between two facilities. Regina graduated from the Mercer Medical School of Nursing in 1979 with her diploma in nursing. The Mercer medical school of nursing is still in operation although it has been renamed the Capital Health School of Nursing. Her return to school started after graduation. She enrolled at Mercer County Community College to obtain her Associates. Secondly she attended La Salle University and received her Bachelor’s in Nursing in 2003. Lastly she is currently enrolled at the Thomas Edison State University, and has a prospective graduation of 2011 with her Masters Degree in Nursing. Regina has work in many clinical jobs, both in and out the hospital. Initially she began her nursing carrier as a medical surgical nurse shortly after graduation. After she gained experience she worked in the emergency room only to return to med-surge as an assistant manager. Subsequently the unit in which she worked closed and Regina was placed in an outpatient setting managing hospital owned physician groups. This position leads to her return as the manager of 7 East a general medical unit. This position eventually gave her the opportunity to hold her current position as a hospital director.
I worked with the same doctor I usually work with. She's very nice to me and always requests me when I come in to assist. I interacted with the hygienist, dental assistants (which were just pre-dental volunteers), and the front desk assistant. Everyone had such a good spirit today. There is a dentist that often acts as a dental assistant, which makes things easier because she teaches us about how to prep for procedures and I enjoy taking radiographs the most because when I first started dental assisting I wasn't very good at it.
Kirwan Hospital for Women has the only Level III neonatal unit outside of Brisbane. KHW serves a diverse community in a sparsely populated area one-tenth the size of the United States, so the staff must go out and retrieve th...
It helped a lot because everyone at the hospital would talk to me and tell me random information that will benefit me in the future. It was very interesting to see how the nurses came together in emergency situations and helped each other. They also helped each other in different ways whether it was to watch over their patient or to go fetch a medication for one of their patients. I was very shocked on how much they have to document and how much time they spend on the computers. This shadowing experience introduced me to the field of nursing. Even though I wasn’t there for long, I still learned so much information. During this experience, I witnessed how nurses have to remain calm during their job. I also got to see what their duties and responsibilities were throughout the day. Shadowing a nurse made me really excited to go to college and pursue my dream. I can’t wait till I can go to college to start my education in
...en who are there each week are incredibly inspirational, and they never seem to be discouraged, even though some of the patients have been there for five to six weeks in a row. I look forward to seeing their smiling faces each time I visit, yet I cannot help but hope they will not be there but will be at home the next time I visit. The children and youth I have met at Children’s Hospital have become dear friends, and they have taught me that leadership involves making the most of the talents we each have been given, and seeking excellece, not perfection.
In the beginning of my senior year I was eager to expand my understanding of how it would be to work in a hospital. An opportunity arose allowing me to volunteer in the hospital at the University of Chicago. I was able to volunteer at the children's playroom, which consisted of a weekly commitment. The daily tasks I had to perform where to enlighten the spirits of children and reduce the amount of anxiety that developed within them when they approached a hospital visit. I would play games, read books, or just company the patients at their bedside. I especially love to interact with the younger patients because their laughter and innocence warms my heart up.
The next time I walked into a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was as a fourth year medical student. This time not as a spectator, but as a medical professional expec...
It was becoming increasing clear to me that the hospital environment was a community that I knew one day I wanted to be a part of. For three summers, I shadowed one emergency room physician who has been an amazing role model and mentor. This exposure taught me not only a plethora of terms, but to think critically and quickly and to prioritize and reason in ways that had immediate benefit. I also learned a great deal about bedside manner, and how important it is to be culturally and emotionally sensitive to patients. Like my family, this physician noticed so many important things about people- who they are and what matters to them. She knew just when to touch someone on the shoulder, or to step back. She accounted for age and class and race and subtleties that don’t even have words. She viewed each patient as a whole person. One night a woman was brought into the ER after a car crash and needed a neurological exam immediately. She was wearing a hijab. This physician kindly addressed the woman and asked her if she wanted the door closed while she took off her hijab. They both knew the cultural significance, helping this patient to feel respected and less
I had known for years that I wanted to work in the health care field, but I always believed it would be as a doctor. I watched for the first few years of my brother’s life as he struggled with different health challenges such as being born premature, having croup and breathing difficulty, and speech impairment. Watching my brother struggle and then being able to overcome these difficulties, as well as seeing other children around him who were not as fortunate, really pushed me even at a young age to make a difference. My family, both immediate and extended, were very supportive, and I felt a real positive push towards working hard to achieve that goal of working in health care. In high school, I was fortunate enough to do a cooperative placement at the Peterborough Regional Health Center’s Intensive Care Unit. Through observing rounds and being in the medical setting, I truly knew this is where I wanted to
During the Capstone experience, I had three professional goals that I hoped to accomplish. Processional goal #1: To view the evidence-based practices that BHCH employs in taking care of the patients. I also reached my objectives by reading about postpartum hemorrhage and identifying the tools that would help to recognize postpartum hemorrhage in pregnant women during my Capstone period. Profession goal #2 view health care policies about cultural sensitivity and safe health practice. In fact, I familiarized myself with the demographic and listening to a translator speaking to a Spanish patient. Professional goal #3 View safety goals that help to reduce medical errors. I was able to attend meetings with the interdisciplinary team on several
...the opportunity to act as a triage nurse taking weights and blood pressures of our 1600 patients and seeing first-hand how hard it must be to receive quality medical care in their country. Many walked for hours and then stood waiting to be seen in the rain. To them, medical care is more a privilege than a right. This also seems to be true in the United States where the uninsured are turned away from many hospitals to ones, which often lack the resources for expensive operations. This experience has inspired me to serve the underserved.
It showed me part of being an ER physician includes "Embracing the unknown". Instead of panicking in the face of an imminent hurdle, I learned to work with it or rather i'd say adapt to it. And most importantly it taught me the importance of time. The value of 1 minute seems minute, but from the perspective of a patient who is in cardiac arrest, it is massive and that is relativity i suppose. The relative difference between life and death.
This week’s clinical experience has been unlike any other. I went onto the unit knowing that I needed to be more independent and found myself to be both scared and intimidated. However, having the patients I did made my first mother baby clinical an exciting experience. I was able to create connections between what I saw on the unit and the theory we learned in lectures. In addition, I was able to see tricks other nurses on the unit have when providing care, and where others went wrong. Being aware of this enabled me to see the areas of mother baby nursing I understood and areas I need to further research to become a better nurse.
I was visiting my brother in Massachusetts when I got sick on the airplane. I went to the emergency room and I was immediately admitted into the hospital. The doctor recognized my symptoms and immediately took action to medically treat my condition. I enjoyed my week stay in the hospital because the nurses and I became so close and the nurses were there for me when I needed them. The nurses kept me inform, comfort me by making me feel everything was going to be alright. The nurses that took care of me genuinely cared and guided me each step to recovery. This life changing experience gave me inspiration to continue my dream of becoming a