Blog #15: Independent Component 1

Log of hours: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Alm-Z8n5yVdZdHpOUDFMN0s0TndwdW1makk5RFlHSUE

1. Literal:
• I, John Shahin, affirm that I completed my Independent Component which represents 30 hours of work.
• For my Independent Component, I have done an excess amount of service learning, which entails 8 hours of volunteering at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center's Emergency Room. At the Emergency room, I shadow Physicians, Nurses, and EMT's as they do their job. As a volunteer I also help keep the hospital running smoothly by restocking different materials such as linens and medical supplies in hospital rooms, I take specimens to labs, I assist with different tests such as EKG, blood pressure, and blood oxygen monitors.
2. Applied: 
• My service learning has reflected 30 hours of work because I have continuously attended my Sunday shifts since the first week of senior year. On Sundays, I drive down to Los Angeles to complete my 8 hour shift which begins at 8am and ends at 4pm.

Here is a scanned image of my signed/approved sign in sheet for the months of November-January. As you can see, I have consistently attended my shift.

3. Interpretive

•  This service learning/independent task has helped me to achieve my goals of answering my EQ  (What are the best ways to becoming a successful psychiatrist) because I am able to get a hands-on, as well as a spectators experience. Through service learning, I am able to use what I have learned from my extensive research and interviews, and incorporate it on my weekend shifts. One specific experience that has truly helped me get closer to a definitive answer to my EQ occurred on one of my volunteer days; A man, who was tied to his wheelchair, was admitted to the hospital by 4 paramedics who were trying to keep him contained. The man was in an absolute rage, screaming at the top of his lungs. After he was admitted, he was placed in a secured hospital bed which kept him strapped down. Nurses and Doctors expected him to be under the influence of PCP, but the man refused to take a urine test. The nurses and doctors seemed annoyed and rude making comments such as "kids, dont do drugs" After hours in his room, a psychiatrist was called in to do a simple evaluation. After 20 minutes alone with the patient, the psychiatrist was able to get the patient unstrapped and seated upright without any retaliation. The patient was speaking in a normal tone and he even took a urine test, followed by a handshake with the psychiatrist. 

 To me, this was an example of a successful psychiatrist. Through a clinical, yet intimate evaluation, the psychiatrist did his job in a swift and effective manner. The psychiatrist didn't talk down to the patient, but rather, he treated him as an actual human being. I think that the experience i gained just on that day, has helped me to achieve an answer to my EQ.