With years of experience working as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in the admitting department, I have developed a strong relationship (attachment) with colleagues. I have a passion and strong interest in aiding patients to overcome various life challenges even though I have not been officially assigned the counseling duties legally (psychotherapy). I believe in offering the best services as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) because for every good service I render, we save a life as a team. I do my work diligently and respectfully without any form of discrimination to aid all patients received at the emergency department to gain full recovery and get back to their families (humanism). As an EMT I am most happy when my team smiles after successfully saving a life (body language).
I have worked in the admitting department and garnered several memories. Some are quite painful; for instance, I vividly remember a woman who started sweating and having difficulty breathing after her son was received at the emergency department (panic attack). The boy had been involved in a car accident, and he was in critical condition. The woman was seriously affected, and she was afraid she could lose her son. Such memories remind me of my responsibilities at the emergency department ad how detrimental my mistakes can be to the lives of others (flashbacks). When patients succumb to death within the admitting department, I always believe something different could have been done to save the patients (confirmation bias), although, in most cases, nothing within the healthcare providers’ knowledge could have been done to save them (inductive reasoning).
Healthcare teams face multiple problems while working at the hospitals. I once had colleagues complaining about an admitted patient who was suffering from diabetes as a result of a failure of the organ which releases insulin (Pancreas). The patient was brought into the hospital through the emergency department and later on admitted. He did not have an appetite for food, and his condition worsened on a daily basis. The gland responsible for producing chemical substances (hormones) enhancing appetite in the human body seemed to be compromised hence loss of appetite (thyroid gland). The patient was a staunch Christian who believed God was going to heal him without medication. Various healthcare providers advised the patient on the importance of medicine from a Christian perspective. However, he remained adamant about considering their perspective on the matter (egocentrism). Due to his stubbornness and resistance to taking medicine, he died of chronic diabetes (placebo effect). Such dreadful circumstances at work remind me of the values which I have to embrace and nurture both at work and at home.
Furthermore, I am a mother to a 12-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl who are at critical stages of their lives and need to learn values that will help them later in life. All of my children have reached a delicate stage of development where they are faced with challenges of determining their identities (adolescent stage). I have to provide proper guidance as part of sound parenthood. As a parent, it is my responsibility to counsel my son, who is quite defiant, and discourage him from inappropriate behaviors and characters (informed consent). My daughter believes she is mature enough to handle most tasks independently. She does not seem to recognize either my presence or absence when performing her tasks (avoidant attachment).
I try to handle my children with dignity and respect, similar to how I interact with colleagues and patients at work. My son is excessively worried about his education, and he complains a lot about some teachers and their subjects (anxiety disorder). Emotionally, he experiences severe disturbance due to several events happening around him (mood disorder) (Spielman et al., 2020). As a parent, I have to constantly offer him assurance and encouragement regarding the importance of positivity in life.
At the emergency department, we have received several patients struggling with different family issues over the years. The challenges prompt some of them to consider death as the escape route to problems (suicidal ideation), hence finding their way to the emergency department in critical conditions. Such an exhibition of individuality on a personal behavior needs professional counseling (personality disorder) (Spielman et al., 2020). Although my daughter exhibits a high level of maturity, she has a weakness of unexpectedly changing her mood (bipolar disorder). Sometimes she willingly seeks my advice (voluntary treatment). However, in most circumstances, she disregards my suggestions.
- Attachment: the narrator has developed deep bonds with colleagues and some of the hospital patients (9.3, Attachment).
- Psychotherapy: In some instances, the narrator helps patients’ with mental problems by talking to them on how to overcome life challenges (16.2, learning objectives).
- Humanism: the narrator offers her services wholeheartedly to help patients in the admitting department overcome their illnesses and join their families (1.2, Maslow, Rogers, and humanism).
- Body language: the healthcare providers smile as a sign of happiness after successfully helping their patients (10.4, facial expression and recognition of emotions).
- Panic attack: the lady with the sick son experienced extreme discomfort and fear while watching over her son in the admitting department (15.4, Panic disorder).
- Flashbacks: the narrator recalls so many events, both happy and sad moments, while in hospital (15.6, a broader definition of PTSD).
- Confirmation bias: the narrator believed something different could have been done to save the dying patient without considering the reality of the situation (2.3, Illusory Correlations).
- Inductive reasoning: some diseases are beyond a doctor’s logical thinking, and conclusions cannot be made from mere observations (2.1, The Process of Scientific Research).
- The pancreas: an organ responsible for releasing insulin and glucagon for regulating blood sugar. The pancreas of the patient had some complications since he was suffering from diabetes (3.5, Major Glands).
- Hormones: chemical substances responsible for essential body metabolic processes (3.5, Learning Objectives).
- The thyroid gland: a gland responsible for producing hormones regulating metabolism, growth, and appetite (3.5, Major glands).
- Egocentrism: the diabetic patient sticks to his opinion about his condition without considering the opinion of the healthcare providers (9.2, Cognitive Theory of Development).
- Placebo effect: the narrator’s expectation and belief of the defiant diabetic patient succumbing to death happened (2.3, designing an experiment).
- Adolescent stage: the narrator’s children were at the adolescence stage (12-18 years), and they were facing some challenges while trying to develop self-identity (9.2, Psychosocial Theory of Development).
- Informed consent: from peer pressure, the son of the narrator believes he already understands what is right and wrong for him without considering his parent’s opinion (2.4, Research Involving Human Participants).
- Avoidant Attachment: the daughter of the narrator does not seem to be interested in her parent guidance, and she seems unresponsive to the narrator (9.3, Attachment).
- Anxiety disorder: the son of the narrator is excessively anxious about his education and life in general. He has developed fear about teachers and learning activities (15.4, Learning Objectives).
- Mood disorder: the narrator’s son experiences emotional disturbances and fluctuation of moods due to school challenges. Also, the adolescent stage can be the cause of his emotional instabilities (15.7, Mood disorders).
- Suicidal ideation: life challenges have forced some patients to have negative thoughts of committing suicide without experiencing any fear of dying (15.7, Major Depressive Disorder).
- Personality disorder: it is expected of human beings to be afraid of untimely death. However, when an individual’s plan of committing suicide when pressed with life challenges, then they have a disorder. From the accepted life code, challenges are meant to be endured and solved (15.11, Personality disorders).
- Bipolar disorder: the narrator’s daughter exhibits fluctuating moods which hinders the narrator from fully understanding her (15.7, Bipolar Disorder).
- Voluntary treatment: sometimes, the narrator’s daughter seeks advice and help from the narrator without the parent forcing her to do so (16.1, Mental Health Treatment Today).
Reference
Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax.