New Orleans: Where The Unusual Occurs and Miracles Happen...

UMC main lobby

Despite growing up in Thibodaux, LA, I've always considered New Orleans to be my second home. I remember visiting the Audubon Zoo with my grandfather, seeing plays at the Saenger Theatre, and riding on the street car for the first time. I moved here after graduating from Louisiana State University in May 2014. One thing that drew me to the Tulane Pharmacology program is its commitment to giving back to the New Orleans community.

Last week the city commemorated the ten year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. As part of the scheduled activities, I went to see a showing of Big Charity, a documentary by Alexander Glustrom, at the Joy Theater with a group of my classmates. The film describes in detail the politics behind the closing of Charity Hospital and the eventual shutdown of the charity medical system in Louisiana. Inscribed on the wall of the old Charity Hospital building is "Where the Unusual Occurs and Miracles Happen." I can't think of a more fitting quote for a city that is defying the odds and rebuilding, despite the extensive damages from the storm and the levee breaks.

Sculpture in UMC main lobby depicting the location
 of the charity hospitals in New Orleans through time. 

I began volunteering weekly with Patient Liaison at the Interim LSU Hospital in February 2015. My duties typically involve registering patients at the online kiosk and bringing patients to see family members. One of the most exciting parts of this volunteering experience is that I am able to observe trauma activations at the only L1 trauma center in Southeast Louisiana.

This month we moved into the brand-spanking new facility: University Medical Center. The new hospital is incredibly busy and not yet functioning at full capacity. As such, the wait times are long and the patients are often frustrated with the speed at which they receive their care. It has been difficult for me to tell patients that I do not know the estimated time before they will see a provider, especially when I can see that they are in extreme discomfort.

I am continuing to work as an Emergency Department Medical Scribe at Ochsner Baptist Medical Center. Through my classes, I am beginning to understand the thought process of how physicians choose certain drugs for the treatment of their patients. For example, during one of my shifts, a patient presented for a wound infection from a surgery three months prior. Several days after finishing a course of antibiotics, she had onset of increasing erythema and edema at the surgical site, as well as fever and chills. Because of the rapid onset of symptoms, the physician quickly started her on more potent IV antibiotics and admitted her to the hospital for further management.

Today I signed up for the background check required for volunteering at Sci High. I'm looking forward to (hopefully) assisting a teacher in chemistry/biology or doing one-on-one tutoring with a student.

Volunteering:
UMC 8/14 1.5 hours
UMC 8/21 1.5 hours
UMC 8/27 2 hours

August total: 5 hours