Personal Narrative: My Shadowing Experience

The emergency department has always drawn my interest due to unexpected injuries, and how many people walk through the doors. I don't know who will come in next, and have no way to prepare besides making sure the equipment is working. During my shadow experience, it was not at all busy, and I was able to follow the doctor to discharge one patient who tried to pass a bowel movement, and fainted, while driving. I also got to greet a tachycardic patient complaining of chest pain with the nurses, and later with the doctor. Although I was unable to witness many patient interactions with the doctor I shadowed, it allowed me to see the other side of his role. As a doctor, part of his role is to document everything, complete paperwork, and order tests for the patients. I spent Much of my shadowing visit was in the office sitting as the doctor documented and communicated to other healthcare members such as the pharmacists and nurses.

not long after my partner and I arrived

One thing that surprised me is that the nurse, rather than the doctor, was with the patient who was experiencing chest pain, was short of breath, and had tachycardia. There were two nurses; one did the physical assessment as the other ran an EKG. I followed the nurse as he/she showed the results of the EKG to the doctor, and without having seen the patient, he ordered chest x-rays, and said that he would meet the patient after the x-ray. I was surprised at first that the doctor was ordering the x-ray without having seen the patient, but it also stressed how much doctors rely on the nurses for a detailed assessment, and rely on them to communicate any problem areas or concerns, whether noted by them or addressed by the patient or the patient’s family. this, in particular, made me realize how detailed that my initial assessment needs to be, and the subjective questions I need to