ELMC Internship Wrap-Up
My time as an intern at Exempla Lutheran Medical Center was a great experience for me and I was able to learn a lot about how different areas of the hospital and how they operate. The emergency room was one of my favorite experiences and there was a lot going on. Getting to interact with the patients and getting to see the wide variety of disorders and problems definitely gave me a new perspective on what the ER does. It was very eye opening to see how many patients came in to the ER with alcohol related problems and not seeing as many cuts and broken bones as I thought that I would. One of the downsides to interning in the ER was a lack of understanding as to what I was getting into before I got into it. For example you as an intern/volunteer was to get the patients water, food, blankets, and make them comfortable. What was never mentioned to me before I got there was that there are some patients who cannot have water or food (because they are waiting for CT scans, blood work, MRI’s, reacted with the drugs they were given, or the disorder they were in for) and I learned this by brining a patient water when they were not supposed to have any. The nurse in charge of that patient let me know about it and I felt like I was stepping on the nurses toes. It would have nice to have a paper with the intro papers that was written by past students that gave you a heads up on some of the things you might need to know about the department that you were going to intern/volunteer in so you don’t have to learn it as you go. But other than that I felt like everything else ( shadowings and the surgery viewing) went very well and I had little to no problems getting them set up. The nurses and doctors were very receptive and more than willing to teach you and the amount of information that I got from them was very helpful for preparing me for a career in the medical field and gave me a unique opportunity to see what I’m getting myself into. Overall my time at Exempla Lutheran Medical Center was very well spent and I would do it again in a heart beat.