Anesthesiologists

Written by: Madison Elliott

After all of my schooling is over, I am going to be working to be an anesthesiologist. When I tell people that, most know what that is, saying “oh yeah those people that put you to sleep”. In a sense, yes, that is true. However, I am going to look into the more specific aspects of anesthesiology and the different tasks they have to accomplish in their job.

First off, in order to be an anesthesiologist, one must complete 8 years of medical training, both general and specified, and then be board certified by The American Board of Anesthesiology. Beyond just being board certified in general anesthesiology, doctors tend to specialize further and become certified in things such as cardiac anesthesia, pediatric anesthesia, or critical care medicine.

For a surgical patient/procedure, anesthesiologists have a large variety of roles throughout, starting prior to the surgery and continuing even after the surgery is over. Before the procedure begins, the anesthesiologist must use their knowledge to form an anesthesia plan for the specific procedure that is about to take place and to fit the specific patient that is going under. In order to do this, the doctor must evaluate things about the patient such as their height and their body weight (things learned in medical school, school is useful!). During surgery, the anesthesiologist is constantly monitoring the patient. They must keep an eye on things such as their heart rate and rhythm, body temperature, blood pressure, breathing, and fluid balance; basically all vital functions, which is extremely important to keep the patient alive. They also have to continuously keep watch of their unconsciousness to ensure they do not wake up during the procedure, and also their level of pain to make sure that they can’t feel what is being done to them, because feeling surgery would definitely not be the most pleasant feeling in the world. After the procedure is completed, the anesthesiologist is still responsible for the patient’s pain management, mainly by controlling the overall care of the patient and having other staff maintain their medication so they remain comfortable. This usually concludes the anesthesiologists work with the patient; sometimes an anesthesiologist with a specialty continues on with care.

Although this seems like a lot of work, usually anesthesiologists have a lot of help from a variety of different people such as nurse anesthetists and other nurses. Surgery and other procedures would not be able to happen without the work of anesthesiologists, so you should consider looking into this career. I know that I am looking forward to a rewarding career in this field!

All of the information was found on: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/287857.php

The Importance of Medical Conventions

Written by Alex Reddy

On Average, there are two to three professional medical conventions per month in the United States. These gatherings are so large and relevant, they require attendance registration and can draw crowds of around 500-1000 medical professionals. The conventions cover everything from new technology, to the new FDA laws and regulations announced so that medical professionals from all around the country can discuss these new topics.

In this blog, I’d like to inform you about a key way professionals in the medical field communicate, Conventions.

Conventions are an influential piece to the developing technology in the medical field. At a convention, some medical professionals share new strategies they use in the workplace while others take numerous amounts of notes to incorporate new ideas into their own work. Through my own experience I've learned some professionals in the medical field take attending conventions very seriously. I previously interned for an orthodontist, Dr. Hunter, who spends much of his free time attending conventions and reading up on ones he missed. He claimed that going to conventions was the reason why his branch of practice was so successful. Dr. Hunter also stressed the importance of staying up to date with new and improved technology. Being up to date with all of the most modern equipment places you at the front of the line when it comes to competing with surrounding medical practices (Dr. Hunter).

Without conventions, medical professionals would have no way to share their new ideas and ways of practice with such a large number of people from places so far away. Conventions also make it easy to learn many new things in a little period of time. Without conventions, some medical professionals would never meet and share ideas due to lack of time and money to travel the long distance between them.

Some other perks to attending conventions include the connections you make and the investors you might find. Along with medical professionals, you are certain to run into medical field investors at a convention. Most of these investors are always on the lookout for a new prospering medical company or practice. Making connections with these investors could be influential to your success. It’s possible that you may need these connections in the future to help you pay for new expensive equipment.

Overall, I believe conventions are a very important part of working in the medical field. Along with the connections you make and the new technology you learn, conventions are a great way for similar people to get together and express their feelings on the topics they love.

sources:

"Medical Trade Shows & Conferences 2016-17." |My Industry| People's United Bank. People's United Bank, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

Defining Ethics

Written by: Madison Elliott

Ethics are a huge deal in the medical field. People often misjudge the medical fields code of ethics, usually because they do not understand what it is and all of the “rules” that doctors have to obey. According to the American Medical Association, there are principles that go along with the medical code of ethics, which are I. A physician shall be dedicated to providing competent medical care, with compassion and respect for human dignity and rights, II. A physician shall uphold the standards of professionalism, be honest in all professional interactions, and strive to report physicians deficient in character or competence, or engaging in fraud or deception, to appropriate entities, III. A physician shall respect the law and also recognize a responsibility to seek changes in those requirements which are contrary to the best interests of the patient, IV. A physician shall respect the rights of patients, colleagues, and other health professionals, and shall safeguard patient confidences and privacy within the constraints of the law, V. A physician shall continue to study, apply, and advance scientific knowledge, maintain a commitment to medical education, make relevant information available to patients, colleagues, and the public, obtain consultation, and use the talents of other health professionals when indicated, VI. A physician shall, in the provision of appropriate patient care, except in emergencies, be free to choose whom to serve, with whom to associate, and the environment in which to provide medical care, VII. A physician shall recognize a responsibility to participate in activities contributing to the improvement of the community and the betterment of public health, VIII. A physician shall, while caring for a patient, regard responsibility to the patient as paramount, and IX. A physician shall support access to medical care for all people.

For people on the outside of the medical field, I think that most would agree that these are reasonable and responsible to follow. For the most part, I think that it is easy to guess what the medical code of ethics are and most people do know them, which is good because it can be useful for not only the doctors of the world, but also them when they are being treated if they do not feel like their caregiver is following them. As a general standard, people do believe that medical professionals follow these ethical guidelines. People put their full trust in doctors and other people in the medical field and I do not think that they would be able to do that if they did not think that they followed their code of ethics.

All information found on http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-ethics/principles-medical-ethics.page

Principles of Medical Ethics

written by Alex Reddy

A series of unspoken laws govern those who practice in the medical field. Unlike authentic laws, breaking these won't send you to jail. However, by breaking these unspoken laws, you could put yourself out of a job. These “unspoken laws” are known as Medical Ethics.

Everyone would like to believe they have perfect ethics, but the truth is, sometimes people don't know what to do in a certain situation and need guidance. Ethics are most commonly known as morals or principles that shape the way someone behaves (Merriam-Webster). Not everyone has good ethics; Therefore, to work in the medical field, medical professionals follow a nation wide ethical baseline. The baseline for all medical professionals in the United States is known as, the principles of medical ethics.

Adopted in June of 1957, the principles of medical ethics were put into place in order to create an overall standard to how medical professionals should carry themselves. The ethics outline a variety of important topics. Some of these topics included supporting patients personal dignity, respecting the law, bettering public health, upholding high standards of professionalism, and also supporting the access of medical care to all people (AMA). Although it has been quite a while since the principles of medical ethics have been revised, the same principles are used today and still supported in the professional medical field.

Personally, I believe the principles of medical ethics are a very useful collection of ideals for all medical professionals to follow. Aside from just medical professionals, I think we all could learn a thing or two from this list of ethics. Supporting care to all people and respecting others rights and religion are just two of the many principles that I fully respect and wish to share with other professional fields.

If you wish to check out the full list of medical ethics, visit the website of the American Medical Association here.

Sources:

"Principles of Medical Ethics." Principles of Medical Ethics. American Medical Association, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.

"Simple Definition of Ethic." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.

Forensic Nursing

  By: Hyaal Wehab

   My post this week is regarding an article that I found through the Michigan State University library database. This article, by Kara Douglas, focuses on the importance of Forensic Nurse examiners, yet that there are very few amounts in this occupation.

    

   At the time of a crime, or sexual assault, forensic nurses are the first line of defense for victims, due to the fact that they are the ones who collect the evidence and information necessary to further investigate the situation of the victim. Although “nursing” is in the name of the occupation, forensic nurses are set apart from other nursing professions for various reasons. Although they are working in a clinic or hospital like other nursing professions, they are linked closely with police departments and even investigative services. Since they are linked to these services, they provide them with all of the information necessary to continue in an investigation; basically they are the ones to find the evidence before it is too late, and if they do not document this evidence in a timely fashion, then  both the victim and the suspect can face negative consequences. The outcome of any case depends on the work of a forensic nurse. Though the importance of a forensic nurse’s job is clear, the amount of support that they receive lacks immensely. Many nurses in this field realize that they do not receive the support that they need, financially and mentally, and they end up resigning, leaving a gap in the field of forensic examiners. In Alice Springs, Australia, many forensic nurses resigned, only leaving patients in need of forensic examination, the option of flying to different parts of Australia, in order to receive the service that they need. Situations like these are what can influence the outcome of a crime investigation, because in the time that the patients are flying to another part of Australia, the time frame that the DNA needs to be collected in begins to close, affecting the amount of evidence available. Along with very little emotional support, the financial support that they receive lacks, which also affects the employment rate of nurses in this field. In the United States, forensic nursing is much more established, but that does not mean that they did not have a few bumps in the road. Evidence claims that the field of Forensic nursing will grow as years go on.

  Reading this article helped me realize the importance of this field of nursing, and the importance of teamwork in everything, whether it is a school project, or between the police department and forensic nurses. Forensic nurses are just as important in the medical field as is a geriatric, neonatal or addiction nurse. I would like to know more about the procedures that a Forensic Nurse uses when investigating or caring for a victim. Are there different procedures for certain cases? If so, when does a forensic specialist know when to use a certain procedure? Do these nurses face any dangerous situations while working with victims or suspects? These are just a few of the things I would like to investigate deeper into. I hope this article was helpful for others, including myself, and gives others a view on the importance of this field in nursing occupations.

Article: SPOTLIGHT ON FORENSIC NURSING

Real thoughts about doctors

By Laura Villarreal

I found this week that some people are not as appreciative of doctors as I had previously thought. I was not aware of the negative connotations that comes with being a doctor. In my search for “doctor” related articles in MSU’s library’s database, I found a poem that was quietly criticizing doctors. The author was slyly sharing her negative opinion while not being outwardly offensive.

Author Anne Sexton’s poem “Doctors” shows how she finds doctors to be too highly revered and arrogant. For example,

“they are not Gods

though they would like to be;

they are only human  

trying to fix up a human.”

and

“The doctors should fear arrogance
more than cardiac arrest.
If they are too proud,
and some are,
then they leave home on horseback
but God returns them on foot.”

These excerpts from her poem show her feelings well. On the outside, the poem itself is not necessarily offensive, but a deeper look shows some really negative thoughts about doctors.

I am not a doctor yet but this poem still somewhat offended me. I think that doctors should be highly revered because of how much good they contribute to society. They save lives every day. I think that is something to be arrogant about. I would be too.

Money in the Medicine

Post by: Madison Elliott

As a person seeking a career in the healthcare system, I have thought about all aspects of the pros and cons of these types of jobs. This week, however, I have decided to focus on one of the pros, as I see it, of a lot of jobs in the medical field. I know that everyone says that you shouldn’t choose a job or do something just because of the money aspect, but let’s be honest, a lot of us would like to earn a decent amount of money when we finally get a job in the real world.

According to Business Insider, the top thirty highest paying careers are all a part of the medical field. So, this week, I decided to look inside the medical field and find out which jobs have the top five highest salaries, and here is what I found.

The fifth highest paying job is an orthodontist. On average, they can make around $201,030 a year. Orthodontics is a dental specialty that focuses on irregularities of the mouth, such as someone’s bite or the alignment of their teeth.

Number four is an obstetrician and a gynecologist. They can make up to $214,750 in their annual salary. Gynecologists and obstetricians usually have an MD and they focus on women’s health, but obstetrician are just surgeons that practice gynecology.

The third highest paid job in the medical field is an oral and facial surgeon. Their average annual salary is about $219,600. They focus on a variety of diseases, injuries, and deformities around the face, neck, head, and jaw.

The second best paying health care job is a general surgeon. These are surgeons who focus on procedures in the abdominal region. They generally make around $240,440 a year.

The highest paying job in the medical field is an anesthesiologist, which is actually the career that I am looking to go into. They make, on average, $246,320 annually. They give preoperative care, develop a plan for the anesthetics and administer them, and monitor the patient’s vitals throughout surgery.

You should always do the job that you love, because having something that makes you excited and looking forward to the future is always fulfilling, but making good amount of money is just a bonus that comes along with that.

All information found on http://www.businessinsider.com/top-paying-jobs-in-america-2015-9/#2-surgeons-29

Things to consider before choosing your career

By, Laura Villarreal.

   This week I focused on different career pathways in the medical field. I learned some of the important factors one must consider before choosing their right medical career. These factors include caring for patients, responsibility, income, schedule, etc. These are something anyone going into the medical field should look into because different jobs have different ways of being conducted. For example, some doctors, like oncologists, are with their patients multiple times a week and have constant contact or interaction with their patients, whereas, primary care doctors see their patients only once or twice a year.

   The website, http://www.smbs.buffalo.edu/RESIDENT/CareerCounseling/intro.htm, gave me a look into careers that follow the things that I think are important for my career in the medical field. The website started off by giving me a self-assessment asking questions for like “How much time do you prefer directly seeing and caring for patients?” My response was on a scale of 0-10, 0 being no time at all and 10 being most of my time. The assessment was 18 questions asked the same way about various topics. Then, it took me to another self-assessment which asked me to rate each of the topics on how important they are to me. Once all of the assessments were completed I received a compatibility chart to the careers that fit me best.

This was my personal result. Click on the picture to view it better.

   I haven’t always been certain on the kind of doctor I want to be because there is so many options to choose from. I am glad i stumbled onto this website. It gave me options that I haven’t considered before. I recommend anyone who is considering a medical career to look into this website. I definitely have more options to look into now.

Registered Nurses

By: Hyaal Wehab

   

  

  As a current Pre-Nursing student, many of my free blog posts will be filled with information regarding nursing. As I get further into this project, I will begin to focus on the field of nursing that I would like to pursue, but for my first post, I will focus on talking about the information I have retrieved online about the basics of nursing.

  The field of Nursing consists of multiple tasks, occupations and difficulties. A typical day in the life of a Registered Nurse (RN) not only consists of caring for patients of all ages, elderly or young, but also giving emotional support to their patients and the families of patients. Although most Nurses care for patients daily, their tasks also depend on the field they are concentrating and working in. For example, and Oncology Nurse would focus on work with cancer patients, while an Addiction Nurse works with patients that are looking to overcome an addiction with drugs, alcohol, etc., and Genetic Nurses work with patients with genetic disabilities while Neonatal Nurses work with newborn babies. While caring for patients, they also work with much of the machinery in the environments that they are working in, alongside many doctors, working as a team for the best care and results for their patients. Registered Nurses are known to be the largest, and growing health occupation due to the multiple fields available. It is said that employment for nurses will increase about 16% from 2014 to 2024. This is due to the continuous growth of the elderly population. Older patients require more care and medical attention than younger patients do, so this increases the demand for healthcare employees, providing more job opportunities for Registered Nurses all over. Also, easier access to healthcare leads to an increase of patients seeking medical attention, so this promotes an increase in jobs and demand for nurses and other healthcare occupations. Along with multiple different fields of work to choose from, Registered Nurses also work in many different settings. General settings include Hospitals, Physician’s offices, nursing homes, even in the military. Sometimes, nurses even travel to different homes,schools, etc. Depending on a nurses placement or position, they can work up to twenty-four hour shifts, and even work on weekends, holidays, and also be on call. A Registered Nurses’ occupation level or placement can also depend of the level of education they have acquired. All Nurses must atleast have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), or an Associate degree in Nursing (ASN), acquire a nursing license, and also have supervised clinical experience. In order to become a licensed nurse, nursing students must be accepted to and graduated from an approved nursing school, and they must also pass the National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX-RN). Most higher-scaled nursing occupations require at least a BSN (four year program), but nurses that hope to take on managerial positions, or higher positions in a specific field will go on to receive a master’s degree. Also depending on the level of a nurse's degree or occupation, the median wage nurses anually make is about $67,490, while the lower 10% make about $46,360 annually, and the top 10% make about $101,630 annually.

  The information provided above all came from an article, which I will post the direct link at the bottom of this post. This article was very helpful and it helped me reach a deeper understanding about multiple different aspects of nursing whether it was wages, education, work hours, or even the basic duties of a Registered Nurse. Reading this gave me a better understanding of what type of degree I should acquire and if whether I should continue to a higher degree of education after receiving a BSN. Next time I post a free write, I hope to find out more about the different parts of each field. What exactly does a nurse do in each field beside care for patients? Does the pay differ depending on the difficulty of the field? How does a person know if they are best fit for that environment? These are just a few of the things I hope to learn about. I hope this post is of assistance or provides extra information to current or future nursing students as well as it did to me.

Link:  Article: Registered Nurses

Asking Questions and Breaking Assumptions: The Medical Field

Written by Alex Reddy

Image credit to classroom.synonym.com

The journey to working in a medical field is very rigorous and time consuming. Hundreds of young students dedicate many study hours just to devote their whole life to helping others. However, once out of school and officially in the medical field, these doctors have it easy. Or do they?

Is it true working as a doctor is a very competitive field? What about the credibility, is it true you're guaranteed a job when you have a MD?

This post was created to answer these questions and many more preconceptions about the medical field.

It’s true that it takes an average of 9 years to secure your MD. To many students, this fact alone can immediately change their mind when it comes to tackling medical school. On top of the extensive time in school, the amount of requirements to become a professional in the medical field are vastly greater than the requirements for many other fields. Is focusing all this time in one field even going to guarantee you a job? Is putting in all this time and hard work even worth it?

Graduating with an MD can be one of the most rewarding and honorable certifications a student is able to receive. On top of achieving the rewarding diploma, many medical students would be happy to hear that there is currently a 14% job increase in the medical field (Occupational Outlook Handbook). This is great news for medical students because it almost guarantees them a working position straight out of college. However, there are also many disadvantages when practicing as a doctor. One large disadvantage is Malpractice insurance. When working in the medical field there are some situations when a doctor gets blamed for faults in his or her practice. In these cases, doctors need malpractice insurance to protect them from some unruly patients. Unfortunately, malpractice insurance is very expensive and costs hundreds of dollars a month.

You might hear many people say that doctors get paid a very reasonable amount of money. You might also hear that they get to choose their own hours, vacation time, and don't have to put in substantial amounts of work outside of their job hours. This is only mostly true. These statements depend largely on what type of doctor you are and what field you work in. However, on average, one could say hours are normally very flexible. In addition to flexible hours, If a doctor owns their own practice, he/she is in complete control of the time they spend at work.

Aside from flexible hours, working as a doctor is not easy. From the outside, it looks as if doctors spend the majority of their time visiting patients and writing brief appointment summaries. However, as any doctor would know, there is a great amount of time spent on paperwork and activities aside from meeting with patients. Depending on what field of the profession you work in, most doctors even spend a great amount of unpaid time at home reviewing patient's notes and medical history.

A slightly useful resource, “The White Coat Investor: A Doctor’s Guide To Personal Finance And Investing,” helped me to answer some of these many myths and misconceptions. This book covers many different factual points about working in the medical field. The school debt involved, finding a job, and discussing the advantages and disadvantages were all covered within this book. If interested in the medical field I would highly recommend reading, “The White Coat Investor: A Doctor’s Guide To Personal Finance And Investing” because it takes you inside the world of the medical field particularly explaining life after graduating with an MD.

After doing a decent amount of reading up on the medical field and breaking a few of my own assumptions, through my research i've learned that the majority of my initial knowledge still holds true. There were a few surprising and interesting facts I learned along the way which lead me to a deeper understanding of the complicated profession they call the medical field. Many people may look at the life of a doctor and believe they have it made and everything comes easy, but the truth is, working in the medical field is nothing close to easy. Many people put their lives in the hands of doctors, and on top of a great deal of pressure, people who work in the medical field have endless amounts of paperwork and case files to review. From the outside, working in the medical field may appear like the ideal job. The truth is, people who work in the medical field put a great amount of money, time, and effort into what they do proving it’s no easy job.

Sources:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections. Occupational Outlook Handbook. http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physicians-and-surgeons.htm. 17 September 2016.

James M. Dahle. The White Coat Investor: A Doctor’s Guide To Personal Finance And Investing. United States of America : The White Coat Investor, LCC; 2014.