November: Extra Blog

For both my research checks and my Critical Thinking class, I have been researching medical conspiracies. I am interested in learning about the arguments people make for this and against this. From my critical thinking class, I want to learn what fallacies and illogical arguments are being made as well. I have found out that there are 6 main fallacies that exist currently. One is that people believe the government wants to dump dangerous waste into our water systems under the guise of "water fluoridation". Another is how people believe the government intentionlly infected African Americans with HIV. The third one is people believing that vaccines cause autism and the government knows this. The fourth is that our government is keeping back the cure for cancer so they profit out of it. The 5th is that the government performed illegal experiments on people. And the sixth is that cell phones cause cancer.


I am more interested in learning about, "The Medical Establishment Wants to Keep us Sick" though. There are many conspiracies out there that say the medical establishment gives us medicine we don't need, they purposefully leave something in us so we can come back for another checkup, and also that they withhold cures from us. I will be conducting more research on this.

Blog 10 - EQ

Content

1.   Review this.  Confirm by stating "I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ."

Essential Question 
Once a topic is chosen, the student will develop a working essential question.  The purpose of the working essential question is to help the student build a strong foundation of research which will allow him or her to create an essential question that encourages depth and rigor in the chosen topic.  An essential question must:

• Provide a framework for studies (It calls for breadth and depth of research, Is not a yes/no question)
• Take a stance (It allows you to argue some point, Cannot be a recitation of facts or a list)
•  Format (It is specific, The wording makes sense)

2.  Review the following EQs and

• Tell us if each meets the rule of three.
• Tell why they do or don't.

 a.  What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?

No. Because it does not have a clear stance you can argue for

 b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?

Yes. You can research this. You can take a stance. Wording makes sense.

 c.  What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?

No. It is too specific. 

 d.  How can an anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?

Yes. It is researchable. You can argue a point. It makes sense.


3.  Based on your review of the rule of 3 and your experience with assessing four EQs, please write another draft EQ for your senior project.  The senior team will be meeting with students shortly for EQ revision and approval; you are expected to bring your research notebook to that meeting with your EQ draft written inside in pencil.

How can a cardiologist effectively combat cardiovascular disease?

Blog 9: Lesson 1 Reflection

Content:

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 1 Presentation and why?

I am really glad that I was able to mention and fulfill the requirements to the rubric for the Lesson Plan. The reason is because I was on a such a tight schedule because I was studying for my critical thinking midterm which made it hard for me to work on this, but thank God I was able to still work on it.

2. Questions to Consider
a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 1 Presentation (self-assessment)?

AE P AP CR NC

P.

b. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 1 component contract.
I fulfilled all the requirements that the contract asked for. Had I spoken in a more confident and fluid (smooth) way, I believe the AE would be fair to ask for.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 1?

The articles I chose (Angina, Atherosclerosis, and Coronary Artery Disease) and talking about my mentorship.

4. (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 1?

Prepare more and rehearse a few times beforehand. And talk more confidently, relaxed, and smoothly. 

October Extra Post

At last I finally was able to do my first mentorship today. I had gotten confirmation of who my mentor was in the summer, but he is such a busy man that it was hard to make a schedule on when I could come to shadow him. I witnessed myself today how busy of a man he is. I went to his clinic, Chaparral Medical Group, which is literally right in front of the Pomona Hospital. I went inside the waiting room where all the nurser and offices of the cardiologists were (my mentor worked in this area). I was talking to the nurses and asked for Michelle, who is the medical assistant of Dr. Muthiah. In the meanwhile while I waited, the nurses were having fun by teasing me and they taught me a new word: "baller". They asked me if I wanted to become a doctor and I said yes smiling and they said I was going to become a baller. I honestly didn't even know what that is, so I asked for the meaning. This one nurse started cracking up and then told me that it is someone that makes a lot of money. The nurses and staff are very friendly and nice, so i'm glad I will be working with them for my future mentorships. I finally got to see my mentor again and almost immediately he took me into his next patient's room. He conducted a Stress Test on the patient. The patient was put on a treadmill and Dr. Muthiah was measuring his heart rate for prognosis. He was using Standard Bruce Protocol. I observed Dr. Muthiah dealing with 6 more patients with the last patient conducting a Standard Bruce Protocol as well. Funny enough, when Dr. Muthiah started doing paperwork, the nurses asked him about "baller" and he didn't know what that was and he found out then. He made a joke immediately out of it by patting his hand on my back and asking me, "So, you're going to become a baller in the future?" It was pretty funny. I tried doing my interview on him as I was finally able to see him. It was hard enough to get 1 question done. He had to leave to the Pomona Hospital then to check on his patient (the 7th patient I saw for the day). I asked him the remaining questions on the way to the hospital. I learned a lot from my observations from my mentor on how he dealt with different kinds of patients. He really does have good character like the nurses at the Pomona Hospital stated before I mentored him. I am truly blessed and lucky to have him as my mentor.

Blog 8 - Research and Working EQ

1. What is your working EQ?


What is the best way for a cardiologist to perform surgery on a cautious and fearful patient?


2. What is a possible answer to your working EQ? Please write the answer in thesis format.


My EQ: What is the best way for a cardiologist to perform surgery on a cautious and fearful patient?

• Cardiologists can perform Cardiac Catherization on their patients which is a form of minimal surgery
• Cardiologists can perform the surgery using a machine while operating it from a different room (remote surgery)

3. What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ?


It was the article, "Robot-Assisted Surgery." In this article, it talks about remote surgery and the benefits of it. It also talks about how this will be in the future and many doctors will be implementing this.


4. Who is your mentor, or where are you doing mentorship, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?


Dr. Muthusamy Muthiah

I have yet to do my mentorship but it will be in Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC) and his clinic which is right next to PVHMC.

He is a cardiologist and a interventional cardiologist in which he tries innovative styles to treat patients. He performs surgery regularly and I can observe him which help me answer my EQ.

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

One thing I plan to do is have my dad mentor me for about 10 hours. He is an Ultrasound Technician and I by shadowing him, I would be able to see people's hearts through Ultrasound which would be pretty cool. My dad could teach me medical terminology, especially about the heart. For another 10-15 hours, I can ask my volunteer director, Stacy Mittelstaedt, if she put me in heart related department in the hospital in which I can volunteer in. Since I already did the Cath Lab, I can maybe be allowed to do Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU). And for the remaining 5-10 hours, I could also ask my dad if his hospital would let me volunteer in a heart department for a temporary time. His hospital, Arrowhead Hospital, is much more large-scale than my hospital, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC), is.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I would take pictures of my dad doing what he does for job. I would take pictures of myself with my dad (and maybe even trying out the Ultrasound Tech stuff on my own). For the second part, I would take pictures of myself in the department and then also pictures of me doing errands or jobs. For the third part, it would be the same as the second.

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

With the first part, I would actually gain access to see a real heart (well in ultrasound, but close enough) while also learning about the anatomy and physiology of the heart. I would possibly learn terminology that my dad uses on a daily base and I can apply those words to my Senior Project. With the second part, since i've already been in the Catherization Lab, I would get another feel of what it is like in the hospital since I haven't really volunteered in the ICU yet and since this is for Cardiac patients, it would help me. For the third part, it is basically the same reason as the second part is except that I would get a feel and new perspective from a different hospital.

4.  Update your Senior Project Hours log.

Updated.

Extra September Post

In this month, I honestly didn't do anything with my mentor except see him on September 4th. He went on vacation right afterwords till the 22nd and I haven't seen him since. But when I did see him on the 4th, I got to see part of a surgery which was interesting.

The most interesting thing regarding my senior project was probably the Research Checks. I was finally able to decide on specific articles rather than random articles. I researched Angina and Coronary Artery Disease. Angina is basically chest pain which can potentially lead to a heart attack. And coronary artery disease is the number 1 killer in America. I also researched about robotic surgery, remote surgery, and similar things. It was quite fascinating how doctors can now and on a mass scale in the future will be operating on their patient while not operation on their patient; they will be in a different room controlling a robot. One robot that exists right now is the Da Vinci. Another is ZEUS.

I hope to talk with my mentor in October so that I can set up times to meet with him and mentor under him.