Table of Contents
- List of organization types. 2
- Shadow experience report. 2
- a) Brief description of the organization. 2
- b) Shadow experience description. 3
- c) Interview questions and responses. 4
- d) Personal reflection. 5
- Thank you note. 6
HEALTH COMMUNICATION ENGAGED LEARNING PROJECT
- Hospitals
- Medical clinics
- Nursing homes
- Addiction counseling centers
- Healthcare administration
Hospitals are health facilities that are well designed for organized medical practitioners and inpatient facilities that offer services to sick people 24/7. They offer varying and wide range of services to their patients hence ensuring that they receive the medical attention that they require.
Medical clinics refer to a medical group that is well known for their progressive multi-specialty services that are geared towards healing and excellence. They are the most effective in the healthcare industry as they empower their patients through honest communications with them hence allowing them to gain loyalty from their clients (Elrod & Fortenberry, 2017).
Nursing homes refer to institutions that offer health care within a residential setting. The institutions major in offering a supportive environment to patients who cannot be able to carry out some of the tasks on their own following their illnesses or due to aging.
Addiction counseling centers these are institutions those are organized and are run by counselors who more than often support systems addiction patients. They thus build a relationship with their patient which is solely based on trust and thus enables them to counsel the patients offering them with support, resources and the right guidance as they go through the recovery process. These centers are therefore important in addiction management (Elrod & Fortenberry, 2017).
Healthcare administration is a system that relates to the public health leadership, management and administrative. It is all about making both the short term and long term decisions that affect the healthcare system’s strategies. It, therefore, works hard to improve the health facility’s business through endeavoring to convey sound policy and high-quality health care (Elrod & Fortenberry, 2017).
It was such a great experience having to shadow a nurse who worked in the emergency department. She was serving a patient who had tried committing suicide and her signs were ranging from vomiting to a head injury. The nurse was quite seamless as she attended to the patient and she took quality time with her patient as she also tried to keep her at ease. Her patient became solemn as well as calm but after a while, she started sobbing and at that particular time she communicated to the nurse why she had tried committing suicide. The nurse listened to her and this was a clear indication that she cared for her patient and this build trust between the nurse and the patient.
In a hospital organization, I managed to shadow a physician. It was quite observable that physicians have a hard time having to deliver bad news to their patients. However, this physician whom I followed was a team player and a leader also. He was able to effectively communicate with his colleagues in a good way hence allowing them to all work towards a common goal of attaining their goal of ensuring patients health. Being physicians is not an easy task, I witnessed a physician who was on his off day is called in to respond to an emergency. Minutes later he was already in the hospital doing work just like the other physicians who were on shift that day.
I was also able to shadow a doctor in a nursing home. Most of the patients in this center are quite uncooperative as some feel that they should not be there. One thing that I observed was that empathy with patients is very crucial. One woman was not responding to any of the therapies given. However, after the doctor explained to the woman patient that he understood how she might be feeling for being in the institution and that all her frustrations for being there were all genuine, the patient opened up. This allowed the doctor to build trust and hence he was able to treat her pain due to the doctor’s empathy.
Shadowing a non-clinical financial analyst in the department of health administration, I was able to observe that remembering a patient is quite important and thus the analysts always strive to remember the patient's name once they come to make payments. They focus on the finances of the health institutions ensuring that all operations run smoothly.
What do you like most and least in this line of profession?
According to the medical practitioners, they all gave related answers where they asserted that what they liked most was the fact that they were able to save the lives of peoples by given them an immediate assistance once they were brought in the health facilities. However, they all disliked the working hours in their professions as sometimes the shifts get extended following an emergency or are even called in while they are away from the hospital.
Is communication important in this profession and why?
Communication is important in health care. The nurse, the physician and the doctor agreed that for them to be effective they had to communicate with other nurses and the doctors as well as with the non-clinical officers such as the financial analyst so as to get the right resources. The doctor also said that in some cases they have been forced to make communications with other doctors from other hospitals so as to seek their assistance in offering a given treatment. Do you have a specific strategy that you use on patients?
How have you been able to get to where you are today?
All the medical practitioners talked about determination, patience and more research. They all agreed that this field requires them to be tolerant and kind as they are dealing with fragile people who need their moral, emotional and physical support. Researching enabled them to be up to date with the current treatments.
What do you expect to be the future of healthcare?
Health care system is rapidly going through some changes and the employers in this industry wants workers who are creative and innovative and who can administer the best treatment services.
All through my shadowing exercise, one of the most lessons that I have learned is that patients feel at ease and comfortable with their health care whenever they feel that their feelings are recognized. I also realized that doctors, counselors, and nurses share a bond that involves trust building, guidance, and empathy. Having such a bond is as important for patients as it is all that they stand for. It is also quite evident that medical professionals have adopted the advanced technology which is readily available in the health institutions. Medical practitioners that I got to shadow were all in agreement that the use of this great technology has enabled them to look at the patient’s records and their lab and physicians reports in regards to the patient’s history. It is through this that they have been able to effectively communicate with their medical team members and with the non-medical members who work together in coming up with the best treatment plan for the patients.
Copied to; the physician, nurse, doctor, financial analyst and the counselor.
Thank you so much for taking the time and patience to teach me so much about what medical career is all about and allowing me to shadow you during this time. I am truly thankful for the great gesture and for this opportunity to shadow such a brilliant professional in an admirable profession. Thank you for your time; it was such a great learning experience.
Sincerely,
References
Elrod, J. K., & Fortenberry, J. L. (2017). Centers of excellence in healthcare institutions: what they are and how to assemble them. BMC health services research, 17(1), 425.
