Coming back to transition to new Blog. This brings an end to one page of my Life. Now onto another!

 Hello to future readers,

This is the last post for this blog. I am transitioning to another blog as well as Wordpress for posting about life and nursing. Thank you for reading up to this point.

See you in the future!

The COVID 19 Pandemic Effect on My Life

 3 effects of the pandemic on my life: 

1st start with the pandemic background 

Work: 

• Changes at work 
• N 95s 
• New gowns and masks from the NYC DOH 
• Dangers of on the job infection 

Education: 

• Already taking online courses, not too much shift 
• Biochemistry online – radically different without lab 

When the coronavirus pandemic first started to show up on the regular news, I saw it as somewhat of a novelty disease like the earlier Ebola scares. I was a medical assistant in a small private practice and international topics like epidemics were distant issues. However, as news continued to filter down of the growing severity of the situation, a chilling atmosphere developed at work. In late February, we had one patient suffering from persistent cough despite using cough suppressants and other medications. Fearing for the worse, the doctor advised the patient to go to the hospital. At the hospital he was placed on a ventilator, but within a week he passed away. His death was foreboding sign of things to come. Within weeks a stream of death notices came in, resulting in the private practice being closed for almost an entire month. 

With the clinic closed, I was stuck at home with only online courses to keep me busy. At first, I did not mind the online-only format as it allowed me extra time to sleep or rest before class. As the weeks dragged on, however, I found myself struggling with the online setup. The voice coming through the screen was hypnotic and the learning process was noninteractive. I felt myself at the brink of falling asleep multiple times. Compounding these difficulties was the sense of isolation from the rest of the class. While sleep could be combatted with periodic breaks and snacks, the inherent problem of online learning, the lack of physical and social interaction, remained. The issues were especially noticeable with the lab portion of my biochemistry class, which attempted to use interactive games to make biochemical process more tangible. However, not working with my physical hands made the entire experience forgettable. To make up for my poor class learning, I had to study for hours after class with a close assortment of textbooks and workbooks. Only after rigorously reading could I manage to acquire somewhat decent and acceptable grades. 

Eventually the clinic was reopened and the doctor began taking in a limited number of patients in person. Most patients were still be treated via telehealth, but severe cases were seen in person. Due to the risk of contracting COVID 19, all the staff now had to don N95 respirators, face shields, and isolation gowns. In addition, all surfaces had to be cleaned with sanitizing wipes periodically. Coming face to face with sick patients during this time was extremely stressful as I had to worry not only about my own safety, but also for my parents and grandparents who I lived with. Thankfully I was able to get the Moderna vaccine early in 2021 when it was first offered and that assuage my fears significantly. 

Personal Statement for PA School Attempt 4

Sweat formed on my forehead and axillaries as I palpated the area for one final time. In my mind, I reviewed the steps needed to pull off this deceptively simple task. Is the tourniquet on correctly? Check. Is the area sterilized with isopropyl alcohol? Check. Are the veins being anchored properly? Check. Then in one slow, but precise movement I pierced the butterfly needle through the skin. For a terrifying second, there was nothing. Then after inching the needle forward, there was a sudden flash of red blood in the tube. I slide forth the serum separator tube into the BD vacutainer and watched as the blood poured in. The sweat evaporated off my body as I breathed a sigh of relief. The rest of the procedure went smoothly as I could now switch over to talking to the patient about their healthcare concerns and day-to-day life. This incident was my first successful attempt at drawing blood from a morbidly obese patient. My success with the phlebotomy procedure highlighted three vital aspects of healthcare: technique, communication, and luck.

Just a few weeks earlier I was a new student fresh from a phlebotomy-training course. It was my first time I came across such a large variety of body types with different vein placements. The result was a chain of ugly hematomas, incomplete blood draws, and multiple sticks attempts. One situation in particular still leaves me reeling every time I remember it.  A wheelchair-bound elderly lady needed a whole batch of blood tests for a preoperative evaluation. Her skin was almost translucent and her veins rolled around as the skin stretched. To my complete shock, I manage to access the vein on my first try. Yet it was during the tube insertion that things went awry. Blood slowed to a dribble and the area surrounding the needle started to swelling. In a panic, I quickly withdrew the needle and began applying pressure to the area. However, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the blue tourniquet was still on! My hand shot forward and pulled the tourniquet loose, but the damage had already been done. The elderly lady was crying out in pain and her daughter right next to her was equally distraught. The senior medical assistant came to the rescue and took over and performed the blood draw seamlessly while I collected the pieces of my shattered confidence.

As luck would have it would be this same Ukrainian medical assistant who served as my mentor. She provided the vital onsite training so lacking from the certificate course. such as setting up the blood drawing apparatus first before anything else and that I should try to draw blood within the first five minutes of meeting a patient. Anything over that time puts added pressure on phlebotomist because all the extra time spent looking for a solid vein increases the patient’s expectation that that first draw will be done right. Always look for veins that rebound, as the ones that do not are often too small for blood draws. Keep calm when switching tubes as once the needle is in and drawing blood it will not usually fall out unless it is accidentally pulled out.