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THE OCHSNER STAR SUMMER SCHOLARS NEWSLETTER

Emergency Flight Care

On Tuesday, STAR students were introduced to Flight Care - an emergency medicine department that may seem unfamiliar to most. This a 24 hour team of emergency and critical care experts that treat ill or wounded patients with varying ages- in a HELICOPTER!

Star students learned about the safeties, policies, and procedures people in this field take to ensure the patient has quality health care at a fast and chaotic pace. To really put the icing on the cake, students were able to climb into the helicopter and see the medical magic from the inside. As cool and exciting this department was, it all had to come to an end. During the end of this amazing encounter, students saw the helicopter take off.

Interview/Resume Writing

This past Monday, we had the pleasure of speaking with Karen Landry and Morgan Falgoust about

Interview Skills and Resume Writing. We each brought in our resumes in order to review and make edits.

By engaging in activities about transferrable skills, we were able to use descriptive text and maximize our

wording. Additionally, we learned what’s just right for an interview, such as dress, preparation, and next

steps. Each student partnered up with another and performed a mock job interview. We were able to rate

responses, make comments, and offer advice to the interviewee. Overall, as STAR students, we feel

better prepared for writing college resumes and attending interviews.

Bioethics Debate: Opioid Crisis The opioid crisis is a well-known, controversial issue that spans across many professions. Some people blame physicians, pharmacists, law enforcement, or even the individuals for the abuse of opioid prescriptions. Of course, the epidemic doesn’t stop there; often times, patients will turn to cheaper drugs, such as heroin, when prescriptions run out. So what should be done? We divided up into four groups (physicians, law enforcement, addicts, family members) to debate the next steps for combatting the crisis. After very hot arguments over who should take blame, we finally came together to form a compromise. As a group, we decided that rehab is the better alternative to incarceration due to cost. We also brainstormed about legalizing all opioids in order to better regulate drug use. Even with all of these wonderful ideas, the crisis still stands.

STAR - Resident Luncheon

No one gives more insight into the lifestyle of a medical professional than residents themselves! We had the pleasure of sitting down with some residents on Monday and enjoying really a tasty La Madeleine’s lunch. Of course, the food wasn’t the only good part! The residents covered everything we had questions about, from undergraduate life to future career plans. They offered advice and tips on how to survive college and medical school, while also maintaining a heathy social life. We learned that although medicine is a difficult path to take, it is possible and will be extremely rewarding in the long run. Through hard work and dedication, we just may be the next generation of doctors.

Intro to Lit Search Ashley Couget

Med Term Video and Quiz Kalyn Green

Craniofacial Care

On Wednesday afternoon, we had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Bronfin, a prominent pediatric surgeon who deals with facial deformities, specifically craft lips and palettes. He first began by giving us a brief history lesson on the progression of cleft lip and palate treatment. He ended with talking about modern treatment teams and the role of each member. He gave us a great example of teamwork: ENTs, speech therapists, plastic surgeons, audiologist, social worker, dentist, and a pediatric oral surgeon all working together to help a patient. He explained to us how to talk to parents who have a newborn with a disorder. He has dealt with plenty of worried parents and gave us excellent tips on good bedside manner. Dr. Bronfin taught us so much about pediatric and facial care and how to care for patients and their family members.

STAR – ORG Luncheon

Lunch on Tuesday can be described as enlightening and empowering as the STAR students met with a panel of Ochsner Resource Group (ORG) leaders in the Caldwell conference room.

These organizations benefit the working environment at Ochsner by encouraging inclusion and diversity. The organizations represented included WOW (Women Empowering Women), YPA (Young Professionals Association), ABLE (African Americans Building and Leading Equality), Vet Force One, and Ochsner PRIDE.

We learned about each organization’s goals. For example, ABLE had a goal of creating a pipeline for African Americans to a wide variety of departments in the healthcare field. After the introductions and a brief summary of what these organizations were about, we asked questions like “Why did you join your resource group?” and “Have you ever faced discrimination in the workplace?”

Near the end of the luncheon many students were inspired to talk about what they’ve learned into their schools! With the ORG leaders, we brainstormed and discussed ways we can support an inclusive environment in high schools.

Orthopedic Surgery

On Wednesday afternoon, Dr. Meyer and a group of orthopedic residents led us through another medical specialty. Dr. Meyer led us as we got hand-on experience with the Mako Robot, which provides a high level of accuracy for knee replacement. The residents taught us about the anatomy of the knee joint and let us practice with the arthroscope and model knee. The residents also gave us great insight into medical school and residency as well as guiding us through a simulation of the knee. All of us really enjoyed being able to perform cuts and procedures on a realistic model. We learned all about becoming an Orthopedic Surgeon and asked Dr. Meyer a plethora of questions on his day-to-day responsibilities. Multiple STAR students have already expressed interest in the orthopedic field. We all enjoyed the simulation and knee operation and learned a great deal from this experience.

Simulation Center: Code Blue As we filed into the classroom, we saw a video screen of a doll with vitals, fluids, and many other features. Dr. Smith explained that it was a simulation manikins used to train Ochsner employees at all levels of education. He then took us on a tour of the all of the “patients”. This included a preemie baby, pregnant mother, child, and multiple adults. Dr. Smith then went all the different simulations that can be run on the manikins and how medical providers can learn from them. We then got to treat a patient crashing and experience a mock Code Blue in groups of four. We administered CPR, gave rescue breaths, and shocked the patient with a defibrillator. While we made plenty of mistakes, we learned a great deal about how fast-paced and important emergency medicine practice is to life saving procedures.

UQ Mock Clinical Exam 4 patients. 16 students. No room for failure. No, this is not a game show. Yes, this will determine our future. I am describing the Ochsner STAR program’s mock clinical test conducted by University of Queensland – Ochsner Medical Clinical School students. Since week 1 of the STAR program, we have been given diseases to research, identify, treat, and explain. These diseases include COPD, hypertension, hypoglycemia, spondylolisthesis, and chicken pox among others. Before entering the room, a group of four students and a UQ mentor got 10 minutes to review the mock patient’s medical history, symptoms, lab results, and injury. After our talk with the patient, we went outside to discuss treatment options and verify the diagnosis. We then informed the patient of his or her diagnosis and talked to him or her about treatment options. The UQ students guided us through the whole process and gave us great feedback on patient interactions and treatments.

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Child Life

Near the end of Tuesday, STAR students were introduced to Child Life, a specialty in Pediatrics. Here they learned about how children of varying ages are being mentally supported while inside they hospital.

Children staying in the hospital are helped by Child Lift Specialist who can support and educate them on their diagnosis. Specialists also help with coping and normalizing the child patient to the hospital lifestyle.

While being told of this amazing field, we were able to sit in a playroom specifically designed for teens in the hospital. This room was filled with nice board games, a lounge area, and even a guitar! Next to this room was another play area for kids who were a little younger, which was also filled with cool toys to play with!

Psychiatry

When I first think about hospital specialties,

Psychiatry does not usually come to mind at

first. However, this past Wednesday, we had the

opportunity to chat with Dr. Galarneau about the

fascinating field of Inpatient Psychiatry. Most of

us had little to no idea about what exactly

Psychiatrists see every day; for instance, who

knew that schizophrenia affects 1% of the

population?

Psychiatrists can see patients for a multitude of

disorders, ranging from generalized anxiety to

bipolar to schizophrenia in many places like

hospitals, prisons, or outpatient clinics.

Psychiatry is considered a main branch of

medicine and requires medical students to

rotate through in order to become exposed to

mental illness. Overall, Dr. Galarneau taught us

so much about a field that is incredibly

important.

Milk Bank

The Milk Bank is a really interesting

kind of place. They take the breast

milk from donors and then use it to

nourish premature babies. It was really

fun to talk to Dr. Shelley Thibeau who

headed the department at Ochsner

Baptist.