Mark+Thurner

=**Reading EKGs, The Heart, and BLS/ACLS**= > toc
 * [[image:IMG_0698.JPG width="240" height="315" align="center"]]
 * Reading EKGs, The Heart, and BLS/ACLS**=
 * ==Goals==
 * The goal for my project was to understand the heart as an electrical organ and the systems used to save it when in arrest. To understand the heart better and to learn how to save it I learned how to read EKGs, CPR (Basic Life Support) and attended an ACLS (Advanced Life Support) to understand overarching heart care techniques in the Emergency Room (ER). I also spent a 13 1/2 hour shift in an ER following a nurse practitioner. I had thought I would simply discover certain techniques and ways of saving lives through medication ect. While I did discover those things I also discovered that there are incredible people working every day to save our lives when we are in need. The ER is a very streamlined "organized chaos". While it can be stressful at times it can be a happy place too. The nurses and doctors working there are extremely professional and kind. They can't make any mistakes, there are no second chances.
 * ==Discoveries==
 * I learned that there are many incredible people at work for our lives every day of the year. These people are kind, caring, and forgiving. They deal with some of the ugliest injuries and the most difficult people which are in need of help. They deal with some of the hardest decisions; they are life and death decisions.
 * ==Challenges==
 * The biggest challenges I encountered were organizing it and getting my topic together. I had trouble figuring out what the final goal of the project was because I was following someone. I managed in the end (with help of the man I shadowed) to figure out which part of the heart was the most important for me. I decided on the electrical part as it is easily measured and there is a lot of research on the topic.
 * ==Solutions==
 * I solved my problems by talking with the people around me and Mrs.Sweeney to figure out what was most important and what I needed to focus in on.
 * ==Looking Back==
 * If I were to repeat this project I would go to the ER more than once. It was an incredible experience and I learned a great deal just by watching the men and women there work. I also wish I had been able to witness a cardiac arrest and recitation.
 * ==5 Ideas For The Future==
 * 1) I would have started much earlier and chosen one topic earlier.
 * 2) I recommend if you are following to follow more than once as it will broaden your experiences (see what has changed after the first time you visited!)
 * 3) I would have taken more pictures and better notes at the classes I attended. (Don't forget to bring your camera!)
 * 4) When following someone be sure to chose a specific topic far before you begin the actual work. Work with your teacher to narrow down what it truly is you need to do before you begin writing.
 * 5) Have fun! Don't do something you won't enjoy or it will make the project a whole lot worse. There are literally thousands of venues to have fun doing this project, I know I did. If you make this an experience nothing will stop you from getting an A.