Post Mentorship Review

        Now that my yearlong mentorship has officially ended I am eager to move on and have new experiences. With all the knowledge I gained this past school year I am confident that I will have a wonderful and successful time in my collegiate career. Whether it be continuing my knowledge of basic human Biology, Chemistry and Cardiology or learning new and challenging subjects, I know that my buildup of endurance and resilience this past school year has provided me with confidence to become the great doctor I want to be.
        Not only was my mentorship fun and exciting, but it provided me with a challenging environment that allowed me to learn about my strengths and weaknesses and my likes and dislikes. I worked with several doctors that all taught me in different ways. There were those who allowed me to ask questions while they answered them, and there were those that questioned me about health and cardiology facts, which helped expand my knowledge. Throughout this process I learned that I retain knowledge through visual situations, rather than information I simply acquire through auditory situations. Knowing this has allowed me to implement my best learning methods in school, which has  helped me greatly.
        My mentorship this year has given me the ability to see what my life will be like in the future. Going off of that, I realize that while I loved every procedure and aspect of what I sat in on, I want to devote my future to something a little more hands on. For this reason, I am now interested in being a cardiothoracic surgeon. While I know that the amount of schooling will be longer I am prepared to spend as much time needed in school to become successful. I will always appreciate this year-long experience with the doctors. My experience only assured me and gave me the motivation to go through medical school expecting anything and awaiting a great future. For those interested in joining Honors Mentorship, I fully encourage that they do it in an area you are seriously considering, as it provides a lot of insight and experience.

                                                                            * found on google images. 

My Presentation

        Although an exact date has not been set yet, my presentation is coming up soon and I am both excited and nervous about it. In all my years of school I have only done two fairly serious presentations, and they were both in front of a very comfortable crowd. I will say that the first time I had to present to my peers was in my Theory of Knowledge class, and that was all but pleasant. To begin, I had no water to clear my throat, which was lousy considering I had a serious case of cotton mouth. Even more, I was not as well prepared as I should have been, therefore my ideas were not very coherent and well-stated. All in all, the experience was not fun and I don't intend to relive it.

        Therefore, in order to make my presentation go a whole lot smoother that my prior experience, I have learned that the number one method to remember is to prepare in advance. For this presentation I plan on making some note cards that will allow me to stay organized and on topic. I will also have some kind of visual to support what I am saying, to make the presentation understandable and fact-based. I will then present this information in a manner that is appealing to my young audience. Therefore, as long as I prepare well enough and present my information confidently, my overall presentation will go well, and the students I will be presenting to will leave with new and beneficial information regarding some rising health problems in today's society. 

        As the following few months have gone by and my exposure to the medical field has increased, I have come to conclusion that this is the career path I will follow in the years to come. When I initially began asking my mentor questions as to why she chose her career and some of the things she did to help reassure her that the choice was correct, she simply told me, "I just couldn't see myself doing anything else." While it's not the elaborate response I was looking for, it's the one that has helped me the most, because I truly can't envision myself as anything other than a doctor. All I need is patience, dedication to my studies, and resilience. 

        My experiences the last six months of this mentorship have taught me a great deal about my likes and dislikes of the job. While I love every part the job entails, I have realized that I don't enjoy the part of the job that is more routine-based. I enjoy a more fast-pased, action-filled environment that comes with being in the hospital. Knowing this I going to be crucial in how I plan my actions and studies from here on out. I began this mentorship simply exploring the career I had in mind, but now find myself near the end and ready to commit to the long journey and rewarding experiences that I await me in the future. 

My interview with an EMT

1. Do you think the education system is lacking in heart health education and awareness? What are your opinions on that?
Answer: From my experiences, most schools teach health classes that cover general anatomy and physiology, but students today are not taught the importance of a healthy heart.
My Reflection: I completely agree. Although I have been taught how to maintain not only a healthy heart, but overall health, teachers have not enforced the importance of implementing the healthy habits we are taught, and the negative outcomes that can occur if you don't maintain a healthy lifestyle.

2. If you could design a curriculum, what would you suggest are some of the major subjects that should be taught?
Answer: My curriculum would include how to achieve a healthy heart through proper diet and exercise.
Reflection: Again, I completely agree with that. However, I would also want to discuss how one's family health history can affect their health, and the negative effects that can occur if one does not attain healthy habits.

3. What are some of the most common risk factors that lead to Heart Disease?
Answer: Some of common risk factors of heart disease include uncontrollable factors such as age or genetic inheritance. However there are controllable factors such as diet, exercise, and smoking. 
Reflection: According to my research, these are the main factors I discovered. I also found that those with a Diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure have a higher risk of Heart Disease. 

4. What is the range of the patients you see with heart problems? 
Answer: I have treated people with heart problems ranging from those in their late teens to elderly people.
Reflection: While this answer is kind of shocking, it is evident how heart health and awareness lacks in our education system. Not many teenagers believe they have to worry about being heart healthy, but we can see that it affects people of all ages. 

5. What is your most common age group that you see who have heart problems?
Answer:  In my experiences, most people with heart related problems that I have to treat are 40-60 years old. Most people with newly onset Heart Disease fall within this category. 
Reflection: His range of patients is very interesting. The doctor I shadow has a slightly higher age range. 

6. What are some things that you suggest people should do to prevent diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.?
Answer: To me, the best prevention for any medical problems is diet and exercise. Eating a healthy and natural diet will go a long way. Physical activity will also keep your heart healthy and strong, wether its walking the block everyday or a strict workout regimen.
Reflection: As much as a lot of us hate to do this, exercise is the number one method to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and preventing life-risking conditions such as HD and Diabetes. 

7. What is one thing that you believe has to be done in order to stay heart healthy?
Answer: Diet and exercise = Heart healthy!
Reflection: This is short and simple, but it signifies and reiterates the importance of exercise in everybody's lives. As much as we might hate it, it;s a necessity to staying healthy. 

8. Do you suggest that those with a family history of heart disease get checked regularly or go through extra health precautions?
Answer: If you have heart disease as a family medical problem, I do believe that you should pay special attention to the controllable risk factors as well as keep on top of receiving routine medical evaluations.
Reflection: This makes sense!  If you know you have a higher risk of attaining such problems, taking extra precautions is only logical. Even if you don't necessarily have a family history of these diseases,   extra health precautions aren't necessarily a bad thing, but allow you to be prepared. 

9. What do you think about aspirin as a daily regimen for prevention for cardiac related problems?
Answer: I believe that it is a necessity for those who have suffered heart attack or strokes. However, I do believe that it is over prescribed and can cause serious health problems for those that may not need it. These health problems include internal bleeding and ulcers. 
Reflection: There is a huge debate between people in the medical field regarding the over prescription of Aspirin. I think this is a very interesting point of view and it would be interesting to see varying opinions. Furthermore, it would be interesting to see how an EMT's opinion varies from that of a doctor, and how that might vary from one of a nurse. 

10. Do you think the amount of heart related problems seen in patients will continue to increase in the future? 
Answer: Definitely! In America especially, there is a rising trend in being fast and saving time, therefore, picking up a cheeseburger with fries is the easiest thing to do. Furthermore, exercise has been on the back burner for many years now, which promotes a very unhealthy generations to come. 
Reflection: I couldn't agree more. Speaking from experience, when times get too bust, I do tend to pick up fast food. Therefore, I think we must all begin to promote healthy habits more in order to decrease the rising health problems that are occurring nowadays. 

        This week I have been working on the fact-based information pertaining to my project. I processed the data from the surveys I took, which asked people how aware they are of their family health history and about questions regarding their own healthy habits. With this information, I will then see if there is a relationship between those with a family history of Diabetes and those with unhealthy habits. I have also been working on collecting more facts and studies regarding my project so that I can make a brochure or information packet to hand out. Next week, I will be working on preparing the visuals for the project. Ultimately, all of this information will come together to support my conclusion and to make my project more well-rounded and supported holistically.

        According to the World Health Organization, Heart Disease remains the number one cause of death worldwide. This can result from unhealthy life choices and/or family medical history. Fortunately, I am aware that my family has a history of heart disease, therefore I can make health decisions based off of that, but there are many people who aren't aware of their family's health history, the health problems associated with this disease, or what they can do to prevent them from having it.  For this reason I have slightly altered my essential question to following: How can one integrate the knowledge of their family's medical history with their current life choices to prevent Heart Disease? 
        In order to conduct this project,  I will be using my research to generate questions that I will ask a wide range of people. Next, I will use the data I receive from the survey to come to a conclusion about my essential question. I will then orally present and explain the answer(s) with a powerpoint and maybe a model to help demonstrate any facts or visuals needed for the project.

My Essential Question:

How can I integrate my family's medical history with my current life choices to prevent Heart Disease?


I chose this question not only because of my interests in Cardiology, but because ailments such as heart disease and hypertension run in my family. Heart disease is currently the number one cause of death in the United States. For this reason, I am eager to learn about the actions I can take in order to prevent these conditions from occurring in my life, and in the lives of those around me. Because of my desire to pursue a career in the medical field, I know that researching more into this topic will be very helpful for my own personal life, but also will prove beneficial for the community as a whole.