Journal Entry 9 - Faith Fordjour

I did a lot of shadowing this week. Since I am having my final project on Hematology/Oncology, Sonia, my mentor allowed me to shadow two nurses on the HemOnc unit. I learned a lot about Hematology/Oncology. Hematology is the study of blood disease. Oncology is the study of cancer. The reason why they are put together is because they are kind of related. Even though I had a lot of information from the two nurses, Amy and Tenesha, there is a lot of research I need to do myself.

Some of the things I learned are that Hematology consists of Hemophelia, Sickle cell, Leukemia and vWD. These are all bleeding disorders except for Sickle cell which is a blood disease and Leukemia which is a blood cancer.

Journal Entry 9 - Faith Fordjour

Journal Entry 8 - Faith Fordjour

Although I thought I would finish shadowing Dr. Davis, she ended up being very busy. I was disappointed but I decided to look at the bright side; I got to spend more time with the patients. Monday was the best day at Mount Sinai this week. I met a lot of interesting kids. I met this boy who said he was a "mermaid boy." It was quite funny, plus, he had a lot of energy. There was another child who got so attached to me that he wanted me to sit right next to him and give him all my attention. He only knew a few words in English and he kept shouting "nice!" every time he scribbled something on the paper.

Kids are the cutest.

The other two days were a bit less exciting. on Thursday I met with a girl who read to me. She was a second grader and she was quite a good reader. I was very impressed.

Journal Entry 8 - Faith Fordjour

Faith Fordjour 8 - Journal Entry

This week was alright. I was supposed to shadow a doctor but they were all very busy. Sonia, my mentor was asking nurses to allow me to shadow them like I did the last time. The nurses were also busy so I went back to helping the kids read and color. This was good for me because we have been so busy, I haven't done this in a while!

One time I helped another volunteer clean up Sonia's Office. Sonia's office is like a closet filled with books so Paul, one of the volunteers, and I decided to clean it out. It was a lot of hard work and organization but we did it. We made the office look half empty by the time we were done. We sorted out the books and placed them in categories. this was a good lesson to me because i learned not to wait until things pile up to start them!

Faith Fordjour 8 - Journal Entry

Journal Entry 7 -- Faith Fordjour

This week was so wonderful. I finally got the chance to shadow a nurse. But that was on Friday. Before that I went to my placement and my mentor was not there so I busied myself with cleaning and tidying the tables with crayon marks on them. On Friday, it was very interesting. We had to ask the kids to help us make Thank You! cards for an organization that donated books for the kids. It was amazing what some kids made. It was art. After that, Sonia asked one of the nurses if I could shadow her. Her name was Diane and she was very nice. We talked about her job, what education is required and how long you have to be in school. I walked with her and she gave this girl asthma medication which helps her breathe better. She also gave this six month old her first flu shot. It was cute. I found out that babies get their shots on their thighs where their biggest muscles are.

Journal Entry 7 -- Faith Fordjour

Journal Entry 6 - Faith Fordjour

This week was interesting in a way. I got the chance to interview my mentor Sonia Lugo. I learned a lot from her life experience. The main point of the interview was to get to know our mentors and that is what I did. I got to know my mentor on a personal level and she was very open to my questions. At the end of the interview, she gave me some advice on my career choice. She told me to never give up on my dreams and to not let anyone stop me from achieving my goals.

I also gave my mentor a card for Mentor Month in order to thank her for mentoring me. She was so happy to receive it. On Monday, I was visited by Sarah at my placement at Mt. Sinai. I was happy to see her and I showed her around my work place. After she left, there was this boy, Jose who came and started coloring. He left to see the doctor but he kept coming back to color. I got really fond of him and I even saw him when I was leaving. He came to say goodbye.

Journal Entry 6 - Faith Fordjour

Writing Workshop - Faith Fordjour

Exercise: Profiling an Obstetrician/Gynecologist using the My Health Career website. Faith would like to be an OBGYN so she answered the question "Why would you be a good OBGYN?"

Obstetricians and Gynecologists are two different types of physicians put into one due to the reproductive system. It is mostly simplified as an OBGYN. The Obstetrician specializes in the woman during pregnancy. Their job is to make sure that the woman is healthy and in good condition and also will come out as healthy as possible. That is where the Gynecologist comes in. The Gynecologist specializes in the woman's internal and external reproductive systems and how well it is or what they can do to make it better and/or healthier.

I would be a very good OBGYN. This is because I have the study of human anatomy and how the body works. Plus, as an OBGYN, I have to work with pregnant women and babies which is where my interests lie. I will have to be able to learn in a way that others will not have to and that works for me fine. What interests me the most is the fact that I am a female and I would like to learn about how my own body works and why it is what it is sometimes. Plus, as a female I be able to connect with the women. Most women would not like a man to be their OBGYN, as I wouldn't, so as a female OBGYN, it will help most women feel more comfortable and at ease so they can get the help that they need; whether doing during pregnancy or to make sure their reproductive systems are functioning well.

Writing Workshop - Faith Fordjour

Writing Workshop - Faith Fordjour

Exercise: Learning Log on Resident Mandy Sacher's Depression/Anxiety presentation.

A Learning Log is a notebook in which you can "dig deeper" into what you have learned from classes, lectures, seminars, projects, etc. Some components include a summary, new ideas and concepts, things you want to know more about and arguing for or against a topic (Writer's Inc, 2001).

I learned a lot about Depression and Anxiety last week with the doctor. I learned that depression and anxiety go together but they are two totally different types of diagnoses, but one can lead to the other. I thought depression was just about someone feeling sad about themselves and anxiety was when someone got a panic attack but it goes further than that. There are many forms of depression and anxiety and they can destroy somebody's life. For example, when someone has an extreme form of anxiety, it stops them from doing the normal things they used ot do. That is when it turns into depression. Depression can = Anxiety.

Depression + Anxiety = A very bad situation.

The question is can all people that feel depressed or anxious be diagnosed?

The answer is no. This is because normally everyone experiences some type of depression or anxiety. The doctor has to know when it is so serious that it needs to be diagnosed and treated. When the depression/anxiety are left untreated they can be fatal. One very important thing to know is what type of diagnosis you have and to treat it with the proper medication or therapy before it is too late.

Writing Workshop - Faith Fordjour

Journal Entry 5 - Faith Fordjour

This week I helped my mentor a lot. I had to go to the other side of the hospital to get some packages for Sonia. It was kind of fun because I did not know the way to the mail room and I had no map to show me the way. I had to follow the blue dots. It kind of reminded me of the Wizard of Oz.

On Monday there were not a lot of kids around to read to so it was a bit slow. The kids wanted to color or play and in these situations I walk around until I find something to do. My goal for when I go back after this holiday vacation is to talk more to my mentor.

Journal Entry 5 - Faith Fordjour

Journal Entry 4 - Faith Fordjour

This week was interesting. Like last week, I didn't sit or read with the kids. We had a Christmas party for the kids. I helped set it up and helped the kids settle down at the party. We had so many gifts that we had plenty left after the party. The party was interesting. The kids were making masks and decorating them. That was what I was helping with. We had the tattoo station where the kids got to spray on tattoos.

Since the party began when I was about to leave and they needed my help with the party, I stayed until 5:30. On Monday I went back to my usual routine and read to the kids. I kind of miss the kids after not working with them for two weeks. But I was glad I had a change at Mount Sinai for a while.

Journal Entry 4 - Faith Fordjour

Journal Entry 3 - Faith Fordjour

This week was different from the other weeks. One thing was that I didn't get to read to any of the kids. Well, it's like they would rather play than read. But there was this one boy who actually didn't want to play, he wanted to read! Not me reading to him but him reading to me. He read me this book called "Before the Dinosaurs." I was so amazed by how good his reading was. But then, he didn't finish reading because Sonia, my mentor asked me to do something for him and when I came back, I guess the doctor had called him in.

Well on Friday and Monday my regular routine changed. I was helping with the set up of gifts for the children's holiday party. I had to transfer boxes of donated gifts from the closet to this room. Then we had to open the boxes, take out all the toys and bag them according to gender and age. So for two days that is what I did, putting gifts together for the Christmas party on this coming Thursday.

Journal Entry 3 - Faith Fordjour

Journal Entry 2 - Faith Fordjour

I only went one day to Mount Sinai this week because of the Thanksgiving Holiday. I was there on Monday and it was very interesting. I feel like I'm a kid's magnet. It's like they all like me. There was this boy today, his name was Timothy. He wanted me to play with him but I am not supposed to play with the kids. My job is to read to them but also I can't say no to a child so I went ahead. The hard part about my day was getting someone to read to. Most of the kids don't really want to read, they would rather color or play games. But there is always one child who is interested in reading. This girl today read me a book. She was probably three or four years old. Of course she didn't read the words but she was telling me the story by looking at the pictures. It was so cute.

Journal Entry 2 - Faith Fordjour

Journal Entry 1 - Faith Fordjour (11/24/09)

I started my volunteering on Thursday the 19th of November. For my first day, I had to get my picture taken and get my volunteer ID. My mentor, Sonia Lugo, explained to me what I have to do. My first task on the job was to read to this girl. She reminded me of one of my preschool students from last year. She was so easy to work with. It's a shame I forgot her name. I read her a couple books and she had to go. I found out on Monday that the girl was very shy and it was shocking that she was so free with me.


Friday, which was my second day, was a bit slow at Mount Sinai so I just played games with the kids that were there. Monday was like the official start date. I had my orientation which was me getting to know the floor that I was on. Sonia told me what I have to do when I come in, where to go and the things I can do if there are no kids around to read to. After that I grabbed a couple books and went off to start. For some reason I was a little nervous. I have worked with kids before but I guess having the parents around was what made me nervous. I met this little girl who was probably 4 or 5. Her name was Justine. I sat with her and read to her all the books I had. They was Maicy's Book, The Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly, Goodnight Mood and I forgot the other two books. After i read all the books I went off to find another child. There was this girl doing her homework but she was struggling with one question. I explained it to her, what she can do to make it easy and she did everything by herself. Oh, and I have to read to infants which is different. What I like most is that I get to interact with the kids more than other placements.

Journal Entry 1 - Faith Fordjour (11/24/09)