A seemingly tradition and disciplined medical profession surgery is perhaps one of the most fast paced and constant in terms of change of all medical disciplines. Alternative and innovative methods constantly come into practise each year and can help to improve the rates of success immensely. New techniques such as key hole surgery and gastric bypasses have seen revolutionary changes in the profession and it is this evolution of proficiency and ability which makes the career so exciting.
Mr Ahmed works as a consultant colorectal surgeon, working mainly to remove cancerous lumps from the rectal areas. He is also the first ever surgeon to broadcast surgery live to 14,000 students using a 'google glass'. The basis for this avant-garde idea comes from a lack of first hand experience of surgery amongst medical students. The extortionate costs of medical school seem wildly disproportionate when you learn how difficult it is for students to catch a glimpse of the action going on in surgeries at the cutting forefront of medicine. Based on this problem Mr Ahmed has given students the perfect view, directly transmitting his own line of site during surgery worldwide. This allows students to access a view they would normally never have the opportunity to and allows them to become more experienced and educated. The project labelled as 'Virtual Surgeons' has been hugely successful worldwide, with the most viewers coming in from more isolated countries where students lack access to surgery. The first surgical procedure received attraction from 300 newspapers in 30 different languages and even gained a segment on ITV news at ten, in addition #googleglass trended on twitter and 'Virtual Surgeons' became the 4th reason why London is the tech capital of the world according to the magazine 'Entertainment Weekly'.
The idea has been taken even further than just simply transmitting information though as students can text questions to the surgeon during procedures and receive feedback. The project is also now being integrated into some curricula including Queen Mary's University's medical programme.
The project has potential yet and could lead on to further developments to do with broadcasting medical practise. There are however some issues being provoked by this idea as some professionals are questioning the privacy issues and pressure for a surgeon that could be invoked by broadcasting surgery. It is also key to remember that lives are saved by doctors and not just technology; overreliance on this miraculous idea could have potentially devastating consequences. Yet this beautifully simple idea, elegantly executed has proven the amazing potential technology has within surgery and healthcare.
-Izzie
Sunday, 23 November 2014
Sunday, 9 November 2014
Alleyn's Medical Society: Mrs Heimann on Childcare and Development
Compassion and skill go hand in hand when it comes running a children's ward and the skills required to treat children vary hugely from their adult counterparts. The age of patients makes childcare a particularly sensitive and often emotional job for those who work there and nurses on a children's ward will come face-to-face with a variety of new challenges each day.
Mrs Heimann trained as a nurse at the Royal College of Nursing, Manchester University. She specialised in Child Health Nursing, has been involved in the production of a number of papers on childcare and has worked on children's wards at a number of locations including our local Guy's and Thomas' Hospital. She now works as a course director at the London South Bank University.
Mrs Heimann began by discussing the key differences between treating children and adults. By nature children are far more vulnerable. Not only do they have a greater surface area and so are at a greater risk of dehydration and hypothermia due to loss of heat and fluids but their organ systems are immature and exposed to the foreign pathogens we as adults have built up some resistance to. Mentally children are also underdeveloped and so it can pose a serious challenge for nurses to communicate with children and gain an understanding of their basic needs. Parents and carers are often essential sources of information for a healthcare worker to build up a picture of how a child is acting differently and gain a diagnosis, instruments like pictured pain scales can also be used to estimate the amount of pain a child is experiencing.
Mrs Heimann then went on to speak about the difference between stages of development in children using the Piaget Cognitive Theory as a crude outline for her explanations. Piaget was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive child development using simple but ingenious tests to reveal different cognitive abilities. This theory helped to eradicate the common assumption that children are just less competent thinkers than adults and is now used in both healthcare and education to utilise resources more efficiently for a child's needs, Mrs Heimann did however note that this system is far from perfect and whilst approaching a situation, common sense and intuition are just as important in handling complications to do with children.
After describing her experience working on a children's mental health ward Mrs Heimann noted how many children only require simply yet providable measures such as a set routine, care. attention and cleanliness to recover from conditions such as persistent bed wetting and depression. Mrs Heinmann poignantly went on to describe how young babies suffering from depression can often after a period of crying fall silent, not mistakenly out of exhaustion or relief, but as they have completely lost hope a parent will return to them. It is these everyday emotional experiences that can often make childcare a very difficult speciality and one where a boundary should remain between patient and nurse. Not only to respect a parents role but to allow childcare workers some relief from emotional attachment and its often distressing consequences.
-Izzie
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Mrs Heimann trained as a nurse at the Royal College of Nursing, Manchester University. She specialised in Child Health Nursing, has been involved in the production of a number of papers on childcare and has worked on children's wards at a number of locations including our local Guy's and Thomas' Hospital. She now works as a course director at the London South Bank University.
Mrs Heimann began by discussing the key differences between treating children and adults. By nature children are far more vulnerable. Not only do they have a greater surface area and so are at a greater risk of dehydration and hypothermia due to loss of heat and fluids but their organ systems are immature and exposed to the foreign pathogens we as adults have built up some resistance to. Mentally children are also underdeveloped and so it can pose a serious challenge for nurses to communicate with children and gain an understanding of their basic needs. Parents and carers are often essential sources of information for a healthcare worker to build up a picture of how a child is acting differently and gain a diagnosis, instruments like pictured pain scales can also be used to estimate the amount of pain a child is experiencing.
Mrs Heimann then went on to speak about the difference between stages of development in children using the Piaget Cognitive Theory as a crude outline for her explanations. Piaget was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive child development using simple but ingenious tests to reveal different cognitive abilities. This theory helped to eradicate the common assumption that children are just less competent thinkers than adults and is now used in both healthcare and education to utilise resources more efficiently for a child's needs, Mrs Heimann did however note that this system is far from perfect and whilst approaching a situation, common sense and intuition are just as important in handling complications to do with children.
After describing her experience working on a children's mental health ward Mrs Heimann noted how many children only require simply yet providable measures such as a set routine, care. attention and cleanliness to recover from conditions such as persistent bed wetting and depression. Mrs Heinmann poignantly went on to describe how young babies suffering from depression can often after a period of crying fall silent, not mistakenly out of exhaustion or relief, but as they have completely lost hope a parent will return to them. It is these everyday emotional experiences that can often make childcare a very difficult speciality and one where a boundary should remain between patient and nurse. Not only to respect a parents role but to allow childcare workers some relief from emotional attachment and its often distressing consequences.
-Izzie
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