America has been besieged by natural disasters and acts of terrorism over the last 18 years. So many American citizens are impoverished and cannot afford medical care. My chosen profession, Surgical Technician, positively impacts the United States by providing medical assistance to the victims of disasters, terrorism, and the poor. Ferguson’s book Careers in Focus (2009, p. 194) explains the many roles of a Surgical Technician. One role of a Surgical Technician is being a member of the surgical team and working in an operating room along with surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses before, during and after surgery.
In addition, Surgical Technicians are responsible for ensuring a safe and sterile environment, preparing the patient for surgery, and arranging the equipment, instruments, and supplies in the operating room. They are responsible for handing the instruments, needles, sponges to the surgeons, and may be required to administer fluids, hold retractors, and cut sutures. After the operation, they may sterilize the used equipment, and clean and restock the operating room. The role of a Surgical Technologist began on the battlefields in World War I and World War II.
The Army used personnel called “medics” to work directly under the supervision of the surgeon. In the division of the Navy, medical “corpsman” worked under surgeons aboard combat ships. At this time nurses were not allowed on battlefields or aboard combat ships. This new group of professionals, “medics” and “corpsman” were referred to as operating room technicians (ORTs). During World War II, there was a shortage of qualified personnel to assist in surgeries, therefore, the profession of Surgical Technicians began and grew drastically. This was the beginning of formal educational programs for Surgical Technicians.
Today Surgical Technicians are required to earn a certificate of competence by attending a MY DREAM OF A LIFETIME 3 community college, a hospital-sponsored program, or vocational or technical school. Surgical Technicians require not only substantial education but also perfect self-discipline and enhanced professional ethics. The 2012-13 edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor, expects that employment of surgical technologists is going to increase 19 percent from 2010 to 2020 (2012). Today’s economy is very tough and it can be very challenging to find a job.
With that being said, working as a Surgical Technician will provide job security and benefits to many individuals who are interested in working in the medical field. Surgical Technicians not only play an important role in their everyday jobs but also in times of disasters and terrorism. The United States has encountered many different types of natural disasters over the last 18 years such as hurricanes, tornadoes, heat waves, and severely damaging winter storms to name a just a few. In addition, terrorism has become a part of modern life in America.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes ever to hit theUnited States (Zimmerman, 2009) causing devastation in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Katrina killed approximately 1,836 people (Zimmerman), left millions homeless, and had estimated damage that reached at least $84 billion. Another natural disaster, the tornado outbreak of April 25 -28, 2011 was one of the largest tornado outbreaks ever recorded in the United States. Its destruction affected the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, and many other areas throughout the Eastern and Southern United States.
A total MY DREAM OF A LIFETIME 4 of 358 tornadoes were recorded, killing an estimated 321 people, and causing damage totaling $11 billion (2011 Tornado… n. d. ). Furthermore, the 1995 Chicago heat wave led to approximately 750 deaths over a five day period. Most of the victims were the elderly and the poor residents of the inner city who were afraid to open their windows for fear of crime or could not afford to run their air conditioners. Eric Klinenberg, author of the book, Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, notes that the map of heat-related deaths in Chicago mirrors the map of poverty (2002).
Terrorism has haunted American people over the last decade causing them to live in fear. The most recent attack, the Boston Marathon Bombing, took place in 2013. Two pressure cookers were used as bombs with the end result of killing 3 people and injuring 264. The injured were treated in 27 in Greater Boston (Kotz, 2013). Medical personnel and rescue workers were on hand to assist runners and offer aid to wounded victims. September 11, 2001 is a day that will never be forgotten in United States history. On that day a terrorist attack was launched upon the United States by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda.
The attack consisted of the hijacking and crashing of planes in Washington, D. C. and New York City. 2,996 people were killed (9/11 Death… 2012), and the World Trade Center was destroyed and as was part of the Pentagon. Emergency medical technicians (EMTs), along with 911 system ambulances, operated by voluntary hospitals and volunteer ambulance corps, began arriving at 8:53 a. m. At 9:59 a. m. , the South Tour collapsed, and emergency personnel were in disarray. They quickly regrouped and set up two separate staging areas; one for the more seriously injured and one for the walking injured.
The MY DREAM OF A LIFETIME 5 response to this disaster from the American Red Cross, the New York Fire and Police Department, and Disaster Medical Assistance Team was awe inspiring. A group of professional medical personnel, Disaster Medical Assistance Team, provides medical assistance during disasters. DMAT’s are designed to be a rapid response element to supplement local Medical care until other Federal or contract resources can be mobilized or the situation is resolved (Disaster Medical… 2011). Following a disaster DMAT’s are deployed to the site with enough supplies and equipment to assist for 72 hours.
In mass casualty incidents, their responsibilities may include triaging patients, providing high-quality medical care despite the adverse and austere environment often found at a disaster site, patient reception at staging facilities and preparing patients for evacuation (Disaster Medical… ). A disaster relief team has many different roles in assisting others after a disaster not only medically but also trying to make the patient feel as comfortable and safe as possible. Being part of a disaster relief team would be very difficult but also very rewarding. Most people are unaware of the disturbing Third-World conditions on American Indian Reservations.
Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Poplor, Montana, is hindered by abstract poverty, dismal education, unemployment, and inadequate healthcare services (National Center for Education Statistic, 2008). The presence of disease, depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug abuse, sexual transmitted diseases, and diabetes is almost higher than any place in the United States. Love Has No Color is a group of Chiropractors trying to ensure that every child on the Fort Peck Reservation grows up healthy and has a childhood filled with hopes and dreams as well as practical ways of achieving them.
“When the needs of a child are met during childhood they turn into a healthy, compassionate, successful adult who will make MY DREAM OF A LIFETIME 6 the reservation a sacred place to live for the next generation. ” (Plentz, n. d. ). Love Has No Color was created to give these children the opportunity, the tools, the care, and the belief in them needed to prevent and eliminate extreme hopelessness. This will also help them achieve a healthy, productive, fulfilling, and prosperous life. “We support every child on the reservation using healthcare, social programs and teachings to help children live a healthier life. ”(Plentz)
This is proof that we need people to be more passionate about helping those that live in impoverished areas who are lacking medical care, medical supplies, and the knowledge of how to prevent disease. The time has come for someone to help these people. Sharon Stanley, PhD, RN, chief nurse and director of disaster health and mental health services for the American Red Cross explains, “I think at the core of their being, [doctors who go to disaster scenes] have the service mindset that brought them into the healthcare arena. ”(n. d. ). Surgical technicians, alongside doctors and the rest of their medical team have a passion inside them that fuels their work.
When the Cumberland River flooded, Jordan Asher, MD, joined a medical team helping the residents by administering first aid to those that are in need. Asher recounts, “You just do it. ” (Bendix, 2010 p. 1). In a disaster there so many people that need medical assistance that you don’t have the luxury of time to process what has happened. The main goal is to help as many people as possible. The American College of Surgeons points out, “the goal is for surgical technologists to be able to anticipate the next move the surgeon is going to make in order to make the procedure as smooth and efficient as possible.
” (Occupational Outlook Handbook, n. d. ). This means that the surgical technician must be extremely MY DREAM OF A LIFETIME 7 comfortable and familiar with the operating room. Working hand and hand with the surgeon and the rest of the surgical team. Surgical technicians are a very vital part of a surgery team, without them, performing surgeries would be very difficult, if not impossible. Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests the large number of Baby Boomers is expected to increase the need for surgical technologists because older people usually require more operations, including joint replacements and heart-related procedures.
The healthcare of Baby Boomers has become prominent in the medical community today requiring an increase in all aspects of their care. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics states about 60 percent of Surgical Technologists in the United States work in hospitals, mainly in operating and delivery rooms (2011). With that being said, I would personally love to work in the Labor and Delivery Room. Ever since I was a little child I have always been intrigued by the medical field. When going to the doctors I was interested in what they were doing and why they were doing it.
I, like many other children, liked to pretend to be a doctor and when I had children of my own we would pretend together. As a mother I often played the role of doctor when they were ill. It always seemed to come easy to me and I was usually right diagnosing what was wrong with them.
In addition, my husband had clients that were affected by the floods of New Orleans. He went to inspect the damage of the floods his clients had experienced. Flying over the area he witnessed total devastation and later recalled to me that it was eerie. Hearing the details of what he had seen made me realize that I had something I could MY DREAM OF A LIFETIME 8 contribute to people in situations of disasters, terrorism, and also in helping the less fortunate.
I look forward to giving back and helping others!
References Bendix, Jeffrey. (2010). Tales from the Front. Retrieved from http://medicaleconomics. modernmedicine. com Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT). (2011, November 18). Retrieved from: http://www. phe. gov/Preparedness/responders/ndms/teams/Pages/dmat. aspx Fergusons Careers in Focus Medical Technicians and Technologists (5th ed. ). (2009). New York, NY : Infobase Publishing Klinenberg, E. (2012). Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago.
Chicago: University Of Chicago Press. Kotz, D. (2013, April 23). Injury Toll from Marathon Rises. Retrieved from: http://www. bostonglobe. com/metro/massachusetts/2013/04/22/just-bombing- victims-still-critically-ill-but-count-injured-rises/7mUGAu5tJgKsxc634NCAJJ/story. html National Center for Education Statistics. (2008). Statistical Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaska Natives . Washington, D. C. United States Department of Education Occupational Outlook Handbook. (n. d. ). Surgical Technologists. Retrieved from http://www. bls. gov/ooh/healthcare/surgical-technologists. htm Plentz, Ed. (n. d. ).
Love Has No Color: Providing Hope and Solutions for America’s First People. Poplor, Montana . The New Renaissance. MY DREAM OF A LIFETIME 9 Surgical Technologists. (2012, March 29). Retrieved from: http://www. bls. gov/ooh/healthcare/surgical-technologists. htm Zimmerman, Kim Ann. (2012). Hurricane Katrina: Facts, Damage and Aftermath. http://www. livescience. com/22522-hurricane-katrina-facts. html 9/11 Death Statistics. (2012, September 26). Retrieved from: http://www. statisticbrain. com/911-death-statistics 2011 Tornado Information. (n. d. ) Retrieved from: http://www. noaanews. noaa. gov/2011_tornado_information. htm.