Tony Domanico December 1, 2013 Dr.

Lewis Reflection Paper

Many people wonder what medical doctors do on a day to day basis while they are at the hospital or clinic. !ery few people act"ally #et to see hands on what a doctor #ets to do besides $"st %isitin# a patient in their little room. &n '"nday, (o%ember 23, 2013 ) #ot the e*cellent opport"nity to shadow an &+,-( .&bstetrician/ ,ynecolo#ist0 in the labor and deli%ery department at 1heaton 2ranciscan 3ealth care in Racine, 1). ) had the pleas"re of shadowin# Dr. Tasha 4ohnson for 11 ho"rs at the hospital while she was on a 25 ho"r call shift. ) learned a lot abo"t this %ery demandin# field of medicine, and ) en$oyed all of the insi#ht of medical school pertinent information that Dr. 4ohnson #a%e me. 6s ) wo7e "p '"nday mornin# to be#in my shadowin# day my mother ad%ised me to pic7 "p Dr. 4ohnson her fa%orite mornin# pic7 me "p. Dr. 4ohnson was $"st be#innin# her 25 ho"r call shift at 8 6.M., and that is when ) was to meet her to be#in my shadowin#. &n the rainy day ) pic7ed "p the %enti soy caramel macchiato and proceeded to the hospital. My mom, bein# a health "nit coordinator in the department, made it easy to hoo7 me "p with a shadowin# opport"nity in her "nit. My mother 7nows all of the doctors %ery well and she 7new that the drin7 wo"ld p"t a smile on Dr. 4ohnson9s face. 6s ) arri%ed ) entered the b"ildin# at #reeted Dr. 4ohnson with my smile and her coffee. 'he was deli#hted and directed me to the men9s loc7er room where )

proceeded to chan#e into my ba##y, yet comfortable hospital scr"bs. Recently it had become a policy for all staff to wear scr"bs d"e to them not wantin# to brin# in any o"tside #erms. 6fter chan#in# ) proceeded bac7 to the des7. ) #ot to #et a mini to"r of the "nit as well as ) was introd"ced to many of the other wor7ers that are $"st be#innin# their shifts at 8 6.M. ) met a %ariety of different #irls that had different positions. 2rom n"rses, certified n"rsin# assistants, techs, and e%en maintenance staff, ) met many different people and learned abo"t their %ario"s responsibilities.
The first thin# that Dr. 4ohnson and ) did was do her ro"nds. :nfort"nately she only had one patient that was reco%erin# from her child birth so that was a rather short time. 1e wal7ed inside to find the patient at peace watchin# her T!. Dr. 4ohnson as7ed her how thin#s were #oin#. This incl"ded ;"estions pertainin# to the woman9s bleedin#, mobility, and o%erall feelin#. 6fter a series of ;"estions we wal7ed o"t and she $"st wrote down some of the comments abo"t her patient. 6nother doctor ) met earlier be#an tal7in# to me and offered for me to obser%e a circ"mcision beca"se Dr. 4ohnson had no babies to perform one on that day. ) a#reed and wal7ed to the room where the proced"re was ta7in# place. The doctor told me that this may be a bit tra"matic to watch for the first time, and ) ac;"iesced. 'he #a%e the baby a shot in the base of its p"bic re#ion, too7 a clamp and went to town on the male #enitalia. <%ent"ally she too7 a scalp and the rest is history. ) will not incl"de all details to spare my a"dience. The doctor admonished that precision is not always achie%ed in circ"mcision. )t is somethin# that parents contin"ally ha%e to pay attention to as the baby #rows and de%elops. ="ttin# too m"ch s7in will be a problem, and not c"ttin# eno"#h off will always become a problem. Tra"mati>ed, ) departed the room. 6fter #ossipin# with the medical staff abo"t their life endea%ors and medical schoolin# tal7 a patient finally came in. The patient was d"e for her baby in a wee7 and was ha%in# some

erratic contractions. The lady at the des7 too7 the woman and her h"sband to a tria#e room and #ot them settled for a while. 6fter the woman was settled me and Dr. 4ohnson went to ;"estion the patient and e*amine her symptoms. Dr. 4ohnson as7ed her abo"t the fre;"ency of her contractions and few other ;"estions. <%ent"ally, the patient made of the decision to try to #i%e birth today and Dr. 4ohnson a#reed that that was the best decision #i%en her symptoms. 'he was ready. The n"rse too7 the patient to a birthin# room and set her "p and we waited "ntil she was a few more centimeters closer. +y that time it was well past l"nch time. Dr. 4ohnson as well as the other wor7ers were ;"ite h"n#ry. ) offered to r"n o"t and #et them food. Dr. 4ohnson and the others smiled and a#reed. <%eryone ordered from a Me*ican resta"rant and Dr. 4ohnson paid for e%eryone. ) went to #o pic7 "p the food and come bac7. 6s we finished o"r fine Me*ican c"isine Dr. 4ohnson showed me aro"nd the ()=: which is the intensi%e care "nit for babies that are sic7 or are ha%in# complications, she also showed me aro"nd her clinic rooms in the lower le%el. 6fter to"rin# and tal7in# we wal7ed past the birthin# room and it was time for Dr. 4ohnson to deli%er the baby. ) stood bac7 and watched her do her thin# alon# with the help of n"rses and techs. 'eein# the mother str"##le b"t try so hard was somethin# that was clearly artic"lated in comparison to the mo%ies ) ha%e seen. 6fter, s"rprisin#ly, only 10 min"tes the head of the baby was %isible. P"sh after p"sh the baby was finally o"t, alon# with a b"nch of bodily secretions afterwards. )n the mo%ies the baby comes o"t a lot cleaner than in real life. )t is a tad more ele#ant in the mo%ies. The n"rse then too7 the baby, wei#hed it, and fi*ed it all "p for the mother to hold. Meanwhile, Dr. 4ohnson, with both hands, fished o"t the placenta of the mother which was "nsettlin# to watch. 'imply fascinatin#, b"t a bit #ross. Thro"#ho"t the rest of the time, we wo"ld tal7 a wal7 to chec7 on the few babies and mothers, as well as han# o"t in the call room. 'he told me a lot abo"t the do9s and don9ts of hi#her ed"cation. 'he told me abo"t where she went to school, what her plans were, and e%erythin#. ) had a solid 3 ho"rs of on and off medical school con%ersation with her. 'he rested

for a bit too, pro%idin# that she had a 25 ho"r shift to wor7. 'he also 7new a fair deal abo"t biolo#y and helped me prepare for the test that ) had the ne*t day that ) did happen to #et an 6 on? &%erall the e*perience was #reat. ) had a chance to shadow a doctor in a field ) did not 7now too m"ch abo"t. 2rom the 11 ho"rs ) too7 away so m"ch more than $"st the basics of circ"mcision and deli%erin# a child, b"t she was so personable with me that ) help li7e she was a friend helpin# me and p"shin# me to where ) want to be. 'he e%en offered to ha%e me come bac7 on a b"sier day which made me happy. 'he was s"ch a carin# and lo%in# doctor and ) can tell that she is so passionate with her career and that was so admirable in my opinion. This field is definitely (&T where ) want to p"rs"e my career, "nfort"nately. This speciali>ation is a bit m"ch for me, b"t ) am happy for the e*perience? )n this field there are many different maladies that are associated with child birth. There can be so many deformities and m"tations. 1e as h"mans are c"stom to this wonderf"l thin# called e%ol"tion. 1e are constantly chan#in# and adaptin# o%er the co"rse of time. &ne malady that ) am #oin# to disc"ss that is ;"ite common amon# newly born children is a disease called 4a"ndice. This is well 7nown condition that res"lts in the yellowin# of the new born9s s7in, b"t as well as the whites of their eyes as well. This happens beca"se newborns will ha%e an e*cess of +ilir"bin in their blood. +ilir"bin is prod"ced by the normal brea7down of red blood cells. Typically, the +ilir"bin passes thro"#h the li%er and is e*creted as bile thro"#h the babies intenstines. 6ltho"#h, the problem occ"rs when the +ilir"bin b"ilds "p faster than a newborn9s li%er can brea7 it down and pass it from the body. 1hile this condition is typically harmless to the baby, if left "ntreated it can ca"se some serio"s problems. 6 content of 2@ m# or abo%e can ca"se the baby to become deaf or de%elop cerebral palsy, or other forms of brain dama#e. 4a"ndice is a condition that is fo"nd in my new borns b"t it is %ery %ery common in premat"re

babies d"e to their immat"rity of their li%er9s. )f their or#ans aren9t f"lly de%eloped, conse;"ently they won9t be able to perform the f"nctions that they are s"pposed to be performin#..'mith0 )n addition to the many maladies after the child birth, there are many maladies that occ"r d"rin# #estation. D"e to the chromosomes and their de%elopment there are many m"tations that can occ"r. 'ome incl"de T"rner syndrome, Down syndrome, and AlinefelterBs disease. &ne that ) am #oin# to disc"ss is Down 'yndrome. The babies ha%e an e*tra chromosome on trisomy 21. This ca"ses the baby to ha%e characteristic s"ch asC characteristic facial feat"res, short stat"re, correctable heart defects, and de%elopmental delays. This syndrome occ"rs in 1 in e%ery @00 children. The children are also %ery happy all the time. .4ohnson0 &%erall this semester has been a #reat transition into my colle#e years. ) ha%e ta7en a lot away from all of my co"rse wor7, b"t ) ha%e ta7en the most away from +)&' 115. This class is so beneficial beca"se it is an o"tline of how to be s"ccessf"l in o"r f"t"re years at Par7side and beyond. ) ha%e learned st"dy strate#ies, how to mana#e stress d"rin# test ta7in#, how to ma7e effecti%e presentations, how to read directions caref"lly, and most importantly the ins and o"ts of medical school and how to stand o"t as an applicant. ) loo7 forward to my f"t"re years at Par7side now 7nowin# as m"ch as ) do. ) loo7 forward to all of the s"rprises that await me as ) contin"e my $o"rney to becomin# a medical doctor.

1or7s =ited

Johnson, Jerry A., Dr. "KidsHealth." Down Syndrome. N.p., 4 Feb. 2011. Web. 30 No . 2013.

!"ith, #ary $. "KidsHealth." Jaundice in Healthy Newborns. N.p., 0% A&'. 200(. Web. 02 De). 2013.