Wrapping up this semester, always has this fast intense feeling to it. Especially for most knowing it leads into summer. Some people might say when you’re not in school you aren’t actively learning anything. Which can be true to some, but personally I think everyone can learn a little bit of everything. Even from the simple things. My time at Concordia helped me install this thought processing. Concordia has especially taught me that learning isn’t only restricted down to math formulas and chemical reactions. Learning is knowing that all things are relevant.
For example, in one of my past neuroscience classes my group looked into American sign language (ASL) and behaviors and cognitive learning effects. Well from that research not only did I learn function of the brain. Like how facial recognition works and the importance of it. I also learned and gained an insight about a whole different community. Why am I telling you about this? Well, I am a phlebotomist at a local hospital. If you don’t know what that is, I draw blood. I typically work in the ER, one thing about the ER you never know what to expect. Sadly, it is typical that some people have their worst days involving that place. My education and personal experiences have taught me to never assume things. That even if things seem like one thing it can be completely different. I have had very confused patients that came in and at time act neurotic. Stepping back, they are there due to an emergency. Fear, adrenalin, and other instincts can easily cause this especially in a place that is new to you with people poking and prodding at you.
One day I had a patient who was in what we call the pod. It is a behavioral unit for patients that could possibly be unsafe to themselves or other people. I was paged for a room; the nurse informed me that the patient was agitated and deaf but can read lips. So, with no interpreter I took the time to write who I was, what I was doing and showed it to him. In an ER it can be very fast paced. Where a little thing like this can’t always be done. Everything was going great and the end I remembered the sign for thank you from my research at school. With that simple motion, this patient got so excited. He was genuinely amazed. He was so excited he grabbed my arm and repeated the same thank you motion over and over. I can say that I had a smile on my face the rest of the day, even typing this I do as well. It was just such a heartwarming experience being able to connect with someone that didn’t seem possible.
I currently work in healthcare and plan on always working in healthcare. Concordia helped me open my eyes that the only thing in common about all people is that we are all completely different. If language is the barrier, culture, religion, physical perceptions, and even down to nitty gritty like neuro pathways. Everything can change everyone’s perceptions of any different thing. I would love to say that I actively try to greater inform myself on all different things, but there isn’t a clean list on how to do that. This class especially has made my curiosity even stronger in trying to physically understand how we each are different. In layman’s terms, the brain is like slime. Anything around gets incorporated and change change the whole classification of it. Environments, experiences, chemicals, genetics the list can go on and on all these things cause physical impact on the brain. It can alter it indefinitely or just at the moment. This class has helped me understand the physical impacts that happen, but become curious on sharing that information to others.
