Jill Brown is a student at St. Gianna Health Academy who has been doing rotations at various medical facilities. At the OR at St. Francis, she observed several surgeries including a total hip replacement, artery repair, and tonsil removal. She found the total hip replacement most interesting as she was able to see the procedure and fake hip implanted. Brown also did a rotation in the burn unit where she observed the treatment of a man who was electrocuted, including scraping off his dead skin. She finds she could see herself working in either the OR or burn unit.

1. St. Gianna
Health
Academy
By
Jill Brown
15

2. Back in junior year I was super
excited when I found out I
would be getting interviewed
for St. Gianna Health
Academy. Once I found out that
I had gotten in I was pumped!
The first week of school we went
of over a lot of information. We
went over what Mrs. Clark-
Hang expected from us and the
rules of the hospital. We had a
few speakers talk to us such as
the security officer. After I
knew all the rules I was excited
to get out and start doing
rotations!

4. December 7, 2011
Jo Chance
6 East
St. Joseph Campus
Dear 6 E staff,
I would like to thank all the staff members who let me follow them during my rotation. It was
truly a great experience and I really learned a lot. I learned that being a nurse is so much more than just
taking care of patients, but also being involved in their families too.
A goal of mine is to become a registered nurse and being able to shadow this unit has really
confirmed even future my wanting to be a nurse. I really love how nurses are there for the patient 24/7.
They get to watch the patient grow and progress every day. That is the one thing that appeals to me the
most about being a nurse.
Once again, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to let me shadow your unit. God
Bless and Happy Holidays.
Sincerely,
Jill Brown

5. On Thursday and Friday I went to the OR in St. Franic and it was
AAAAAWWWWWEEESSSSOOOMMMMEEE! The first procedure that I
saw was called a total hip (hip replacement) I came in at about half way
through and I thought that I was going to have to be super quiet and stay
out of everyone's way. But, actually it was really fun. They had heavy
metal music playing on the speaker system and everyone was just chilll
and talking about the weekend. I stood some what far back because
apparently during total hip's spluting is common because they are using
a drill so blood can sometimes just go out everywhere. Once they put the
fake hip in, which is actually a plastic femoral ball and a femoral sleeve.
The doctor let me come over and another guy help his leg and moved it
and I got to see his hip and leg move as if he was walking, totally cut
open and saw it
all! The
second procedure I was as a pseudoaneurysm femoral artery repair.
This man had a heart cath a few weeks ago and for some reason his
artery in his right leg didn't heal right and he got a really bad infection. If
he wouldn't had done anything for it then he would have died. But they
went in his lower leg and took part of a vein and replaced it on his artory.
It was really awesome because of how small the utensils they used were
and they didn't know how bad the infection was so they thought the
procedure was only going to take 45 minutes, but actually took about 4
hours. The cool part about this was that when they stitched him up some
they also stappled gunned his leg shut. I thought that was legit and really
wanted to do it. The third procedure I saw was on a little child who had
their tonsils taken out a few weeks, but for some reason was bleeding
like crazy so she came into the ER. I walked in right at the end of that
surgery so I didn't see much at all. On Friday I saw a femoral artery
repair. This man had a stint in his leg to circulate blood somehow, I didn't
quite understand all they said. But, there was an actually nursing student
in there watching so he was basically surrounded by people so I couldn't
really see much. Most of the time I talked to the nurse and asked her a
bunch of questions about her job. She was super helpful. By far the
coolest thing that I saw the total hipped and i really fell in love with OR!

6. Back when we all went on rotation 4 I was sick so I couldn't go. I just
made up this past Friday and it was actually pretty interesting.
When I first got there all I did was look at what they call the Burn
Book, it explains all about burns and types of treatment. After I read
that there wasn't really anything for me to do. Most pateints were
sleeping and I just sat there for about an hour. Finally, they had
something for me to see. They had a patient from another town be
helipcoptered into St. Francis because he was electricuted. I watched
them as they admitted him and scrapped off all his dead skin off his
body where the burns were. He had some 3rd degree burns and 2nd
degree burns. Finally it was time for me to leave, but I really liked
the burn unit a lot & I could definitely see myself working in it!

7. This week I went to the Heart
Cath Lab. The atmosphere at
this place is really chill. The
x-ray techs/nurses work 8
hour days 5 days a week and
some days they are busy and
some days they are not. When
I went in they were not busy
at all, I just sat in the lounge
and did homework. I saw one
man get a heart catheter and
another had a fluttering hear
beat so he had to get his heart
shocked and set back to a
normal beat. That was really
it and it was actually pretty
interesting and I could see
myself working there.

8. This week I went to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. There were about 10 babies there. Most of
them were about a month old, some were just a day old. The NICU isn't exactly what I
thought it was giong to be. I was expecting sweet little babies, but in reality, while they are
absolutely precious, they are very sick and fragile. A lot of the families were there while I
was there and I think I would have a hard time dealing with the parents, because a lot of the
mothers are drug users which really upsets me and some are just teenagers who didn't take
care of themselves well while pregnant, and it frustrates me that their precious babies have to
suffer from their mistakes. I am a very verbal person and don't have a problem saying my
thoughts so I feel like it would be hard to keep them to myself, but I would have to. I mostly
watched nurses feed babies and change their diapers. One baby was going through withdrawl
because her mother used drugs while pregnant and this caused her skin to be super sensitive.
She has horrible super red diaper rash and they had to put this speical light on her to help get
rid of it. I felt so bad because it looked like the worse rug burn I've ever seen. The second day I
was there I followed a nurse who was in charge of this week old boy. He came from a normal
healthy family and was a healthy new born and went home with his family after birth.
But, for some reason he wasn't haveing an bowels which a baby is supposed to have one
within the first 48 hours of being born. His stomach was extremely swollen. I watched a
doctor give him an enima and flush him out and some stool came out, but not very much.
Finally, they realized he had what is called hershbergers disease. This is when the lower part
of your large intestine has no nerve endings so it can't tell you when you need to have a
bowel or to push the stool down to the rectum, causing constant constipation. Often if is found
and treated in newborns. This baby was planned to have surgery to cut out intenstine that
doesn't have nerves and just pull down the normal part and he'll be able to live a regular life.
He will be more difficult to potty train, but can basically live a normal life. He will though
have frequent diharrea his whole life, but that is better than constantly being constipated. I
enjoyed my time in the NICU because obviously how can you not love the most precious
beings on earth? But, I do not exactly think it's my passion.

9. For this rotation I went to the
CICU at St. Francis. I'd
already been to the CICU at
St. Jo's.. a lot of it is people
come here who have gone into
cardiac arrest, or respitory
stress, just really anything
really serious. When I was
here my nurse had one patient
who had a hip replacement a
few months ago and just
wasn't the same since and he
had been having a super hard
time breathing. He ate some
pudding and was coughing
like crazy because it kept
getting all stuck in his
escophogus (sp?) so the nurse
had to hurry and stick this
tube down his mouth and
suction it out.. it was
crazzzzzy! Anyways, that's
pretty much all that I saw, I
like this unit a lot and could
see myself working in it one
day.

12.  03 October 2011

 Jill Brown
 (316) 210-0291
 jillb100@yahoo.com
 St. Gianna Health Academy Student
 607 Partridge Ln
 Derby, KS 67037

 Krista Thacker, Talent Sourcing Manager
 Via Christi Hospital
 929 N. St. Francis
 Wichita, KS 67214

 Dear Krista Thacker,

 I am pursuing a career as a Registered Nurse. Enclosed is my resume for your review.

 I am currently attended classes for the St. Gianna Health Academy at Via Christi Hospital which has helped me realized that I truly do what to
pursue a career in nursing. All my life I have been involved in sports, mainly soccer, volleyball, and tennis. Along with being an athlete comes
injuries. I have suffered many injuries and have had the experience of being around many nurses. I love how doctors diagnose the issue and map
out the plan for treatment, but I love how the nurse is by your side the whole time and going through it with you. I want to help someone who
needs someone by their side by being a nurse.

 I would excel in nursing because I have always had a passion helping others; whether it be coaching a little league soccer team or volunteering at
the Lord’s Diner. Helping and assisting others has always been easy and enjoyable for me.

 I feel that I would be a valuable asset to your company.

 Sincerely,



 Jill Brown

13.  Jill Brown
 607 Partridge Ln Derby, KS 67037
 Phone: (316) 210-0291 Email: jillb100@yahoo.com

 Objective
 Strong willed, patient, kind, reliable, and punctual.
 Experience


 2011 Wheat State Pizza Derby, KS
 Waitress
 Waited on customers, took orders, and attended to their needs.
 Occasionally would work as a cook preparing the food.
 Maintenance – cleaning the bathroom, lobby, salad bar, and kitchen.

 2010-2011 Rock River Rapids Derby Aquatic Park Derby, KS
 Lifeguard
 Watched patrons to ensure their safety.
 Maintained the facilities such as bathrooms, lockers, and
 Suggested new products that increased earnings by 23%.

 2009-2010 Oakwood Valley Home Owner Association Derby, KS
 Lifeguard
 Watched over patrons to ensure safety.
 Tested the pool and ensured that it was properly taken care of.
 Maintenance – clean the facility and its grounds, bathroom and club house.
 Education
 2011- Present Newman University Wichita, KS
 Medical Terminology Course
 Career Options Course
 2011-Present St. Gianna Health Academy Via Christi Wichita, KS
 Will finish in December 2011.
 Standing with a 3.5 GPA
 2008-Present Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School Wichita, KS
 Will be graduating in Spring of 2012.
 Standing with a 3.0 GPA.
 Interests
 Volunteer for A Better Choice, tennis, running baking, and reading.

14.  Jill Brown
 607 Partridge Ln Derby, KS 67037
 Phone: (316) 210-0291 Email: jillb100@yahoo.com




 EMPLOYMENT Michael Lindal – Concessions Manager
 REFERENCES SMG Savor Intrust Bank Arena
 500 E Waterman Street
 Wichita, KS 67202
 (316) 440-9000





 Kathy Zech – Aquatic Facilities Coordinator
 Rock River Rapids Derby Aquatic Park
 1900 E. James Street
 Derby, KS 67037
 (316) 788-3781





 Chelsea Hopkins – Customer Service Manager
 Wheat State Pizza
 236 W Greenway Street
 Derby, KS 67037
 316) 295-2200


15. Respitory Therapy Assistant - The entry level job that I am intested in is being a respitory
therapist. Respitory therapists are responsible for diagnosing, treating, and caring for patients
with breathing issues/problems. Schooling for respitory therapy are offered mostly at any
secondary schools along with any medical schools. The course work included in the schooling
includes microbiology, pateient assessment, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Once you have
graduated from school you will receive a license. No speical requirements are needed to work as a
respitory therapist except that you of course need to have a license and experience is always
favored. Respitory therapy interests me because as a young child I had asthma and had to do
breathing treatments once a week so I know what I can be like to have breathing problems, and I
feel like I could be very good with dealing with children who also have the same issues.
Certified Nurses Assitant - The entry level job that I am interested in would have to be a CNA.
CNA stands for certified nurses assistant. A CNA’s job requirements depeding on where they can
work can be observing residents, taking care of resident’s personl hygiene, toileting
residents, emptying catheter bags, feeding residents, making beds, transporting residents to
different areas of the facility, and monitoring vital signs of residents. The average pay is anywhere
between $9.50 to $12.00 per hour. The education required to become a CNA are offered at
healthcare facilities and community colleges. No previous healthcare experience is required. I am
very interested in becoming a CNA because I plan on being a registered nurse and I feel that being
a CNA will give me a headstart on my journey of becoming a nurse.

16. Occupational Therapy Assistant - The third career field I am interested in is
occupational therapy assistant. Ocupational therapists help injured patients
with re-learning daily life tasks that include motor skills. The ususal hourly
wage is $20. The schooling required to become an occupational therapist
assistant is an associate degree which can be taken as a community college
or technical college. Once you finish school you have to complete 16 weeks
of course work in a community or clinical setting. You do not need any
certain requirements but those who have a highschool diploma are definitely
more wanted. I think being an occupational therapist assistant would really
suit me well because I think that I am a very patient person which I know you
need a lot of patience to help someone re-learn life skills.
Nursing - The fourth career field that I am interested in is nursing. The main
career I am looking into right now is Nursing. I would love to be a registered
nurse. Registered nurses job requirements are to take care of the patients
overall health and actually make up the majority of healthy care industry. The
wage for nurses vary from state to state. Usually starting salary is around
$50,000. The schooling required to becom to beome a RN is completeing a
bachelor’s degree or some associate degree programs. Most university or
community colleges off nursing school.

17. Once you have graduated from a nursing program you are required to obtain licensure by passing a special
test. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Nurses with a bachelor degree have a greater
chance of advancement in nursing than those with an associates degree. The requirments to become a
nurse are of course a bachelor’s degree and work experience is always favored. I would love to be a nurse
because I think that it is a job that has endless opportunities. I could work in a hospital, or a physicians
office, or maybe even be a school nurse when I am older. I always have the chance to go back to school
and advance in my career.
Physicians Assistant - The fifth and final career that I am interested in would have to be a
physician’s assistant. Physicians asisstants are allowed to practice medecine under a
physicians supervision. PA’s also act as first or secondary assistants in major surgeries.
A lot of physician assistants jobs vary depending on the facility they are working in.
But, in som rural areas physician assistants are the primary care takers. The salary for
physician assistants can start at $86,214. The schooling required to become a PA is
called a physician assistant program. There is usually at least one in every state and
can be anywhere from 3 to 4 years long. After completing school you will need to pass
the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) and once
you’ve passed you will need to complete a residency in a hospital and need to keep at
least 100 years of on going education to pass a recertification test every 6 years. I
would like to be physician’s assistant, but I have heard that it can be very hard to get
into a program. I am of course going to strive to get into a program, but if not I will
most likely become a Nurse.

18. Mark Troilo
Dr. Troilo was one of the more inspiring speakers that I have heard. He told us to ask ourselves if
we want to go into medicine because of the money/status or because we really want to help people. Not
many others speakers spoke about the morals of medicine and I loved that he did.
Dr. Troilo spoke to us about why he loves dentistry so much. He said he can set your own hours, be
your own boss, and go on vacations. Family is very important to him and he always knew he wanted to
spend as much time as possible with his family and dentistry has allowed him to do so. He does have the
occasional emergency call or late night run, but other than that he gets to spend plenty of time with his
family.
Schooling to become a dentist can be very hard. You have to have four years of undergraduate
school and then get accepted into a dental school. There you will be spending about 40 hours a week
studying and working. Dr. Troilo attended Bishop Carroll High School, Newman University, and
Creighton dental School.
Two major types of dentistry now a days are cosmetic dentistry and your regular small dentist
offices. Dr. Troilo runs his own office. He sees a numerous amount of patients every day from small
children to grown adults. Where as with cosmetic dentistry you really only see 2 or 3 patients a day. It’s
not very interactive.
There are also negatives to dentistry as well. Dentistry has one of the highest divorce rates, most
suicide, alcohol and drug abuse. But, Dr. Troilo says you can avoid these if you do one thing. That is to
put God first. He spoke to us about putting God first, family second, and your career third. I really loved
Dr. Trolio’s speech and if I were to ever work in dentistry I would love to work for him.

19. Clint Stucky
Occupational Therapy is on the rise everywhere in the United State and can help someone go from
completely dependent to independent. Clint Stucky was the speaker for this subject at Newman University.
He showed us a lot and shared a lot of information about a career in Occupational Therapy.
Newman is one of the leading schools for occupational therapy. It requires you to have prerequisite
courses finished and once you have then you can apply to the program. It’s about a 20 month long
program. About 30 students are accepted into the program each year. There they will learn the skills and
knowledge to help others who can not help themselves.
There are so many fields that Occupational Therapy Assistants can work in. The three major fields are
geriatrics, pediatrics, and psychology. Geriatrics is the care for the elderly. This field is in great demands for
Occupational Therapy Assistants. Occupational Therapy Assistants can help the elderly stay dependent for
as long as they can. They can show them how to put their socks on after they’ve had a hip replacement, or
even how to button their shirt without hurting their arthritic hands. Occupational Therapy Assistants can
also help children who have not developed thoroughly on hand-eye-coordination. For instance, if a child is
having a hard time writing with a regular pencil, they can show them techniques or utensils to use that can
help them.
I think Occupational Therapy Assistant could be a very interesting and rewarding career and could
definitely see myself working as one some day. I hope to be a nurse, but I think some occupation therapy
knowledge would come in great use in nursing as well.

20. I was really happy when I found out that we were going to have a psychologist as a guest
speaker. I’ve always been really interested in psychology because it’s such an interesting
type of medicine. I learned a lot from this speaker and really did get a lot of questions
answered.
There are mainly two types of psychologist. There are clinical psychologists who
work with individuals and families. They really try to help people with their issues and
work through things. While clinical psychologists work with communities and really work
with prevention. They try to make sure that things don’t happen. They promote healthy
lifestyles, well-being, and growth as a community.
The speaker that came was a clinical psychologist. She works in nursing homes and
really tries to decrease the use of elder speak. Elder speak is when you talk
loudly, slower, and use words such as “honey” and “sweetie” to elderly people. This
makes the patient feel inferior and can make them refuse treatment. A lot of time people
forget that a patients is actually a person and they just want to get the task at hand done.
But, if we can reduce that then we can have happier patients and happier workers.
Clinical psychologists can also do research. They can research and come up with
ways to better train people to do their job better. This is something I never knew. I
learned a lot from this speaker and I really am thankful that she came. I think psychology
really is in a lot of jobs because people are in everything.

21. During this speaker I was absent because I had school retreat to go on. But, I am a little disappointed that
I missed this speaker, because she sounds very interesting. Fortunately though I was able to copy
someone’s notes, she went to Newman University for her undergraduate degree and eventually went to
University of Kansas School of Medecine. She went on to be a resident at Via Christi St. Joseph Hospital In
1993 she started working for LakePoint Family Physicians. She now specializes in Natural Fertility Medical
Consulting.
Natural Family Planning wasn’t created specifically for Catholics, but it does follow all of the
Catholic teachings. It is a way to achieve or avoid pregnancy in a natural way that allows God to be in the
picture. It is safe for everyone, has no negative side effects, and is completely cost free.
There are two different forms of NFP. One is Systematic Natural Family Planning, which uses a
woman’s signs of fertility to determine when she fertile in her times of her cycle. The second is Ecological
breastfeeding Natural Family Planning. This is when a couple spaces their children 2 year apart so it gives
the woman 2 years to breast feed.
Anyone can use NFP, not just Catholics. It is 99% effective and couples that use it actually have a
lower divorce rate. Natural Family Planning is definitely something I would like to use when I am married
because of all the positives side effects I have heard about it.

22. I was excited to meet the teacher who will be instructing my Career Options course
at Newman University. I am glad that I got to learn a little bit about him and the course
he will be teaching. I am excited to listen to all the different speakers whom we will be
listening to. I think it’s neat that we will be listening to different teachers each week
because that keeps the class more exciting.
Dr. Singh told us about how he was from the tropics in India and had never seen
the desert before. He said he went to Arizona and saw some sort of plant grow
formality. He said he spent almost 2 year on trying to figure out how this plant grew in
some formality. I really thought that was neat. That he is that interested in science to be
so dedicated to research and learning new things.
Dr. Singh also spoke to us about all the career options there are in the medical
field. I was excited to hear this because that is why I am in St. Gianna Health
Academy, to learn about my options for ultimately life. All of the speakers are from
some sort of medical field and are experts at what they do.
I feel blessed to be able to attend a class as great as this class. Newman University
is such a refined school and I look forward to learning and expanding my knowledge on
all subjects pertaining to the medical field.

23. I am enrolled at Fort Hays State
University. I plan on majoring in Nursing.
I hope that one day I can work in a
hospital environment and help other less
fortunate than I. I pray and thank God
every day for the blessings he has given
me and I look forward to the future with
an open heart and open mind.

25. I am truly so very thankful for this
experience. Not only has it cofirmed my
interest in nursing, but it has made me
posotive that it the career path I want to
take. There were some great days, and
some days that I wasn’t to thrilled about.
But, I loved all of them regardless. I
learned things and saw things in this class
that I wouldn’t have anywhere else. I wish
that every highschooler could have this
same experience and would highly
suggest it to any of them that have the
chance!