Reflection Paper On Health Care System

OR Observation #1

Princeton HealthCare System

June 6th, 2016

The surgeon grabbed the flask of Matisol, a liquid adhesive to secure dressings, soaking

the front of his mask so he could stand next to the equipment long enough to make sure his

patient didn’t die on the table. By now, the smell of Matisol and burning flesh had reached the

front desk where the nurses sat, eyes bloodshot and watery. The OR looked like a warzone.

I stood in the corner of the OR suite, gawking at the surgeon and his staff. It was like one

of those scenes from a zombie apocalypse movie. There was the surgeon standing in blood and

other bodily fluids. His once light blue scrubs, now navy, were covered with the patient’s blood.

No one said a word for the next

This program was a great opportunity to open my eyes to everything the medical

field has to offer.

Dr. Myers Observation

Princeton HealthCare System

June 7th, 2016

I kept trying to prepare myself for the first time I saw someone die. I played it over and

over in my head until I got to the point where I told myself if it happened, it would not be a big

deal. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. I was shadowing Dr. Myers, a trauma surgeon at the

hospital, and we were treating patients in the emergency room. It is always tough to say what

kind of emergency room is better. Would you rather have an ER that is jam-packed, nurses

swarmed with patients, monitors constantly beeping or an ER that is dead silent, an ER where the

nurses and doctors are standing around and the rooms are empty?

Today, the emergency room was a ghost town. The nurses and doctors were standing

around engaging in conversation. Other than the three patients Dr. Myers and I met with, there

was nothing else going on. Although it sounds decent, when the ER is empty and slow it

She had a sizable wound covered with

dressing down the middle of her chest. There was a Gastrostomy tube lying next to the patient

and another tube was inserted into her stomach. Basically, the patient was in hell. Just as Connie

was beginning to undress the wound, 12 other nurses and staff members entered the room.

Connie had invited all of them to watch. I stood there in the corner looking at these people. It

was like they were all hawks peering down at this helpless mouse.

At one point, Connie even said, “Isn’t this so cool!” I looked at her and just thought, how

can this woman, so talented at what she does, lack the skill of empathy. It then struck me that not

everyone has empathy, it is not a skill that can be taught or learned, it is something you are born

with. Shortly after Connie finished and it was just Dr. Wimmers, the patient and I, Dr. Wimmers

approached the patient and she immediately broke down to tears. She began to plead to know

why this happened to her and why she was going through hell. Dr. Wimmers just sat there and

held onto the patient’s hand. He kept saying, “I’m so sorry this happened to you.” This was