Running Head: THE RITUAL WITHIN THE ROUTINE 1

Summer at the Hospital:

The Ritual Within the Routine

Ritika Gupta

Arizona State University

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The Ritual Within the Routine

Just stop and drop everything that you are doing. Close your eyes and imagine that there

is a human lying on a hospital bed in front of you. With an IV line hanging and the patient is

unconscious due to the anesthesia, the doctor proceeds down the esophagus using an endoscope.

On the digital 48 TV screen, one is able to travel down the digestive system of the patient. Try

to visualize sitting with 5 year-old patients while running through a dyslexia screening tool with

them for two hours. They have an attention span of ten minutes max, and you have to do

everything to make sure they finish the exam. Imagine sitting side-by-side with telemetry neuro

nurses answering call lights and working with them to meet patient care? Hard to picture, right?

For most it should be, but for me that was the usual routine.

During the two months of summer break, I was clocking in 16 hours a week at the

hospital. It was an intense, miraculous and wonderful learning experience. I had planned out my

entire summer in May. Four days a week I would go to the hospital and work for 4-6 hours.

Monday was research day, Tuesday was pediatrics day, Wednesday was GI day, and Thursday

was volunteer day! Working with three different medical professionals, each gave me a different

insight into the life in medicine. There was a gastrointestinal (GI) doctor, a pediatrician, and

telemetry nurses. I shadowed the two doctors, volunteered for the nurses, and spearheaded a

research alongside the pediatrician.

Dyslexia was the word of the day for Mondays. The entire day would be spent on testing

the patients further to see if they had dyslexia and to analyze if our screening questionnaire was
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accurate. I would arrive at the pediatricians office around noon and stay there until 5 p.m. There

were about 3-4 appointments per day, because each testing protocol took over an hour to

complete. Every week the patients I saw would be different to test on. Some were shy while

others were eager to test. A handful could not concentrate for more than a minute. My job

throughout was to come up with ways to make sure they finished the dyslexia screening, explain

to the parents what dyslexia is, and to maintain my patience, . Every Monday I learned the many

different types of patients who walk into hospitals and what methods work to deal with them.

I would be back at the pediatricians office for Tuesdays. However, instead of research, I

would be shadowing her. I accompanied her in all her well-check ups. Walking in the room

together, she would greet the parents and then introduce me as her pre-medical student. As she

continued through the check-ups, I would stand back and observe the way she carried herself in

the room. She always stood erect with her chin held high as her ora evoked her prominence. She

would go through the set questions that were necessary for the patients age group. Next came

the dreaded part, the pediatrician would check the patients private parts. This was the most

uncomfortable part... I didnt know what to do. I could not just continue watching the doctor

examine the patients privates, so I would awkwardly glance into a corner and pretend some

mark on the wall was perplexing. It was the ritual. And it happened with every patient. With

every check-up. Every Tuesday.

Wednesdays were different. Dr. Lims main goal was to provide me the best learning

experience he could. To accomplish that he would call me in when he had the most interesting
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cases. The location would switch between four different offices. And

unlike the other days, I would never know what I was in for that day.

One thing that I knew for a fact was the procedures were all

endoscopies, but what I would see during each one was unpredictable.

Sometimes it was an ulcer causing the patients GI problem, other

times it could be an irritated duodenum, and on rare occasions it could

be hepatitis C. One of my fondest memories was seeing melanoma for

the first time. My mentor was testing me to see what I remembered

about the digestive anatomy, it was going very smoothly until I saw

black liquid in the colon (usually there is bile in the colon but it is either yellow or green). Dr.

Lim took a look at my astonished face and laughed; he said, I had made his day. He went on to

explain that the black liquid was actual oxidized blood coming from a rupture in the upper torso

of the patients body. He quickly went and cauterized the bleed and the patient was fixed and

ready to be discharged. I had several more procedures where I did not know what to expect;

Wednesdays were always a surprise.

The last day of the week at the hospitals. My most structured day. Thursday. I

volunteered at Chandler Regional Medical Center, A3 Telemetry Neuro Unit. My routine was

the exact same every Thursday. I would drive in and hand my keys to the valet, quickly run in

and sign in. After grabbing a snack, I would use the elevator to go up to the third floor and check

in with my advisor. My tasks were identical every week with some minor tweaks. First, I would

make my rounds and ask the patients if they wanted me to get them anything. Then, I would

re-stock the medical supply closet and the linen closet. Finally, I would sit down with the nurses
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and answer the call lights/ phone calls. Most of the were from the patients requesting assistance

from their nurses, but at times, nurses or doctors from other floors

would call to be transferred to a specific A3 nurse. My favorite

nurse was Evandro; he was very friendly and answered all my

questions thoroughly (trust me, I had A LOT of questions!) I would

sit down with him with some patients files and try to understand

the patient's condition and what the information in the files meant.

He also provided me amplitude of knowledge on nutrition and how

the diet charts were assigned to the patients. The nurses had a running joke; whenever I started

my four hour shift, they would say Hi, Cutie! and laugh. As a Level 4 Volunteen, I was

required to wear a bright orange shirt with khaki pants and white shoes, so the nurses called me

Cutie in honor of the small oranges. I looked forward to these moments every Thursday

because the atmosphere was very amicable and enjoyable.

This summer was my most planned out summer. My routine was set and perfect. There

was never enough time for me to become bored. Though it is true that most of my summer was

spent in the hospital, I enjoyed every moment. I got to experience different parts of the hospital

and examine the life in the medical field. The interaction with the patients and the chances to

meet the great people I did. Dr. Lim, Nurse Evandro, and the pediatrician provided me an

outlook their practice and their patient care. Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

was scheduled and the rituals within my summer routine were perfect.