Tuesday, Oct. 5, 1999 - Since it was my first day at the clinic, I met with Col. Lee, who took me on a tour of the clinic. We also went to Linen Supply, where I was given a lab coat, then Col. Lee had a security badge made for me. We went to the Pediatrics clinic where I was introduced to the staff Sergeant Campbell taught me how to work the screening equipment. Because I've often been a patient in Pediatrics, I was already familiar with most of the instruments. Since they did not have any more patients that day, I helped clean up the waiting room. I was impressed with the enthusiasm of every single person I met today. They were all very friendly and helpful. I was very surprised by their willingness to take the time to teach me about the clinic. It made me feel welcome--like the people in this group feel like a family and automatically included me in it.

Thursday, Oct. 7, 1999 - I returned to Pediatrics, arriving just as the last patient was being screened. So, I was given a demonstration of the crash cart. It had all sorts of interesting stuff, such as IV's. I learned that a "butterfly" is a needle with little 'wings' that attach to the person to keep the needle in place. I also learned about a new type of syringe that, when put in the patient, can be used either to draw blood or to administer the IV. Later, I visited the Isolation room, which has an interesting air cleaning system that I'd never seen before. After someone with a disease, i.e., tuberculosis, has been in the room, the machine sucks all the bad germs and particles out of the air in the room and dumps them outside. From there, I assumed that the germs spread out so much that our immune systems would be able to defeat the few that we might breathe in.

Tuesday, Oct. 12, 1999 - Today, I worked in Physical Therapy. The staff showed me how they use ultrasound to create heat and soothe spots on the body. They also demonstrated a wall ladder, a treadmill, a hand-rotation device, and a balancing device. I later met Capt. Shields, one of the Physical Therapists, and we talked about the years of college I would have to go through to be a doctor. He figured that it would take four years to get my Bachelor's Degree, four more years to get a degree in medicine, and two years in residency. It seems like a lot of schooling. I sort of wish I could skip high school and go straight to college.

Thursday, Oct. 14, 1999 - Today was X-ray day. I checked in at the front desk of Radiology, and before I knew it, I was sitting with the radiologist reading x-rays, ultrasounds, and mammograms. We looked at an x-ray of a child's foot and ankle. Nothing was wrong except for an unusual mark on the tibia. I asked about the mark and was told that it was a bone structure quite common in kids. I didn't know what a mammogram was at first, but I thought it was interesting that you could see part of the pectoralis as well as the glands. I would have liked to see an ultrasound of a baby in the mother's womb, but they didn't have any. I felt that I learned a lot in Radiology--it was an especially good test of my anatomy! I later found out that the Radiologist was impressed with my knowledge of anatomy, which made me feel intelligent and grateful toward my mom for teaching me and the staff for taking the time for me.

Tuesday, Oct. 19,1999 - I worked in Orthopedics today, with a man named Dr. Hope. The first case I saw was a man with a swollen ankle and foot. I think he had sprained his ankle. Dr. Hope gave him a shot and told him to rotate his ankle. Dr. Hope saw several patients while I was with him. One of the most interesting cases was a man who kept dislocating his arm. He had dislocated it a couple times previously and couldn't raise it past chest height. Dr. Hope recommended using hand weights to exercise the arm, gradually bringing it up higher and higher. Dr. Hope also told him to hold his arm out at a 45 degree angle from his body if he ever dislocated it again. He said the deltoid would become tired and eventually relax, allowing the shoulder to pop back into place. I thought that was really cool. Later, another interesting case arrived. A woman with a big squishy cast on her leg came into the clinic. I never knew what happened in the first place, but they had to cut the cast off her leg. Then, they took out some stitches she had. Finally, they put a new cast on her. She had to keep her foot up so that the new cast would mold a certain way; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to wear a shoe on that foot.

Thursday, Oct. 21, 1999 - Today, I was in two places. First, I worked for about an hour in Pediatrics. I arrived early enough to see the clinic full of patients. I observed a screening done on a young girl. Then, I accompanied a doctor in an examination room and watched him diagnose a cold in a one-year-old. I was excited to finally be helping with what I hope to do someday--be a doctor in Pediatrics. After we were done seeing patients at Pediatrics, I walked to another building to do my orientation. The staff set me up in front of a computer, and I started taking the de Medici medical courses. Most of the courses were cool and taught me a lot. One of the most interesting subjects concerned chemicals. I learned how to read their labels-- all those little diamonds that have the red, blue, yellow, and white squares on them. I didn't finish all the courses, so I'll be continuing them next week.

Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1999 - Good drugs were the subject of the day today, as I was in the Pharmacy. The Pharmacy team has to be very efficient because their goal is to get the prescriptions out as fast as possible. To help them do that, they have machines that fill bottles with the right number of pills. It's like an assembly line:

1. a prescription comes in;
2. using computers and various machines, someone fills the prescription;
3. someone else checks the prescription for accuracy; and
4. the prescription is distributed to the customer.

With some help, I filled seven prescriptions. I also went back to Orientation today. I was almost done with de Medici when it was time to go. Although I had only one course left to complete, I decided I would finish it up on Thursday.

Thursday, Oct. 28, 1999 - Today, I learned about the importance of blood and other body fluids in medical research in the Laboratory. The lab was shut down for the most part, because they were in a staff meeting. Most of the people that came in gave blood samples, but a few gave urine samples. I learned that the reason for samples is to see if there are unusual levels of specific microbes or if an imbalance exists. I finished Orientation today, as well. After I finished de Medici, I had to read a group of papers. I finished the group just as it was time to go. I also learned that Code Blue meant someone had lost their pulse and that I was to get out of the way! There seem to be a lot of restrictions and procedures to go by in the medical field, yet they're all probably necessary for the safety and well-being of the patients and staff.

Tuesday, Nov. 02, 1999 - I learned more about teeth today, since I was at the Dental Clinic as a volunteer instead of as a patient. I signed in and had to wait a bit before being taken on a tour. I was then shown how blood pressure affects the teeth. I was also able to watch an examination and see a filling being put in. I learned that everyday things can either help or harm your teeth. Listening to a song on the radio helps you brush your teeth long enough, and eating sticky foods can take sealants off. I also learned what a crown is and how it is put on to the tooth. They would have liked to teach me more but couldn't today, so I hope to return to the Dental Clinic in the future.

Thursday, Nov. 04, 1999 - Today, I worked in Public Health. When I arrived, they were in a staff meeting. I was invited to listen to the conversation, most of which was over my head. After the meeting, we watched a presentation about deployment. It was very informative for me, especially concerning chemical and biological weapons. After that, I learned what Public Heath does. They make sure public places are kept clean and germ-free. Then, I went out to see some of the facilities that Public Health checks. We went to a maintenance shop to see that everyone required to have earplugs and gloves had them. Then, we went to the Outback and to the Flight Kitchen. We viewed its level of cleanliness. The workers also have to keep their hands very clean. There are a lot of precautions, all necessary to keep people safe.

Tuesday, Nov. 16, 1999 - I spent the afternoon in the Facilities Management office. They take care of the different medical buildings. They control the fire alarms and all other aspects of the buildings and have control of the keys. They showed me the utility room which had the circuit box and water pipes. They are also in charge of the management of the new hospital and must care for some of the electrical wiring and plumbing. Visiting this office was an interesting switch from the clinics partly because it was nonmedical. It still dealt with the safety and well-being of the people, but from a building and location perspective versus a physiological perspective. I appreciated the opportunity to visit this office for my own edification; however, I don't have a strong interest in it and would probably not pursue this career field.

Tuesday, Nov. 30, 1999 - Today, I was in Bioenvironmental Engineering. These people manage the chemical, light, sound, and various other levels in the work environment. They have a variety of instruments to assist them in reading and recording these levels. I thought the most interesting instrument was the ionizer used to detect radiation levels. It had a little chamber with special gases that ionized the air, then sent messages via wires to a computer. SSgt. Shannon turned it on at the beginning and let me use it. The closer to ground I held it, the higher the levels went. He said that was likely due to the levels of radiation in the earth. Another interesting piece of equipment was a sound-level detection device. It looks like a little wireless microphone. They clip it on to someone before he goes to work, and it records the sound levels as he goes about his job. They can then determine if workers in that location need hearing protection. This was another unexpected part of the base's medical program. I never expected it to be so big or to have an impact on every aspect of activity on the base.

Thursday, Dec. 02, 1999 - I went to a Casualty Response Training in the field today. My father dropped me off at Col. Lee's office just before 7:10 AM. Col. Lee took me to the theater and put me in Delta Flight. Then, I put on some of my chem. gear. After getting on the bus, we had to wait ten minutes for the first two buses to leave before ours. When we got there, we walked down a trail to get to camp. The safest route was to follow the tree-line.

Then, we went to two briefings, one about the camp and the other about setting up a hospital tent. The Alpha and Bravo flights set up one tent while Charlie and Delta set up another tent. With the two demonstration tents, we had four tents. Each flight took down a tent. Then, we had a quick briefing on compasses and litters and had lunch. After lunch, Delta flight did the obstacle course. In two lines, we walked to a clearing. The left line ran across the clearing, and both lines ran up the tree-line. We came to an area with litters and sandbags. Four people handled a litter. Each litter got one 75 pound sandbag. The toughest part of the course was doing the two-man low crawl through the barbed wire-covered trenches. My partner pulled the litter, while I pushed. I got really tired but kept on going. I was thrilled to get out of the trenches. After that, we had two briefings. The first one was about the Chem. mask -- how to take care of it and how to wear it. The second was about deployment. Then, we went on a compass course. We got three points, which was average. When we got back to camp, I found out that we were in > MOPP 2--YELLOW ALERT. So, we had to get on our charcoal pants and jackets. Then, we had to assemble to make sure we had everything put on properly. Someone called "Gas!" and we put on our Chem. masks and gloves. Then, we were checked by the coaches. Afterward, we had dinner. After dinner, we did the Mass Casualty Response. I was a runner for the hospital and CCP. The casualties were JROTC students from Houston County High. I was constantly being sent to the hospital to fetch litters and manpower. In the midst of the commotion, I found a friend of mine--a JROTC student. After the Mass Casualty, we cleaned up the site and rode the buses back to the warehouse. Then, we turned our Chem. gear in and went home.

Tuesday, Dec. 07, 1999 - Today, I learned about vision in the Optometry Clinic. I now know a few of the clinic staff from the field training last week. I went to Capt. Wise's office, where she was examining a patient and dilating her eyes. While waiting for the next patient, Capt. Wise showed me how some of the equipment worked. It was very interesting. After a while, we brought the patient with dilated eyes back into the room. Capt. Wise put on some head gear and started examining her eyes. Capt. Wise was checking the condition of a mole on the back of the patient's eye. That was her last official appointment, but she did one more exam for a friend. Later, just before I left, I was given some home-made peanut brittle. Needless to say, I enjoyed it.

Thursday, Dec. 09, 1999 - Today, I went to the Heath And Wellness Center. I listened to a discussion about physical fitness requirements for Officer Training School, first. That was especially interesting since my father attended OTS when I was three years old. I also had some time to talk to a customer about physical fitness and other acitivities in Scouts, as she was considering putting her son in Cub Scouts. Later, I talked to the dietician, Michelle, and other people about their jobs. I also learned what the HAWC does, then helped with some of the work. Some reports needed to be transferred from the computer and printed, so they showed me how to operate the computer and I went staight to work. It was a fairly simple task. I selected the person's file on the computer, then printed it. I finished just as it was time to go.

Tuesday, Dec. 14, 1999 - Today, I was in Biomedical Equipment Repair. I learned that they fix medical equipment, such as an OB baby heartbeat monitor. If there is a piece of equipment that they aren't sure how to fix, they have manuals for every single piece to help them. There was one piece of equipment still under warranty, so they packed it up in preparation for shipment back to the manufacturer. A little later, I was allowed to help 'gut' a piece of equipment used by the Dental Clinic to clean a smoker's teeth. I decided that this job takes a lot of technical and engineering skills. I thought it was interesting, but my cousin would enjoy this aspect of the medical field more than me.

Personal Analysis - I have occasionally felt a little disappointed that I'm not doing more actual help. I didn't expect this experience to involve so much learning and so little hands on; however, I am glad to be learning so much, and I am thrilled that I've been allowed to observe and be a part of all the different clinics and offices in the hospital. As I continue this exploration, I am looking forward to participating in more exercises, such as a fire drill and a Code Blue drill. I am also looking forward to going to other areas I've not yet visited, such as Family Practice, the Immunization clinic, and riding the ambulances. I'd like to return to those clinics which have more to show me (i.e. the Dental Clinic, Biomedical Equip. Repair), and I am also hoping to do more in-depth and active participation in a few clinics, especially Radiology and Pediatrics.