Linda Reading the Vital Signs

Linda Reading the Vital Signs
Originally uploaded by Creation Care Study Program.

These past two weeks I have been doing a nursing observation at La Loma Luz Adventist Hospital in nearby Santa Elena. I spent my time shadowing doctors as they talked with and examined patients, practicing taking vital signs, and observing one surgery and one endoscopy. Two of the doctors that I shadowed were especially helpful in explaining their diagnosis of each patient’s condition and their treatment plan. I was allowed to see lab results and x-rays and try to formulate my own diagnosis as well which I could then discuss with the doctor after the patient left. Toward the end of my time there, I cared for the hospital patients by collecting food trays, monitoring vital signs, and being there for moral and emotional support. I also had the opportunity to get to know many of the hospital and clinic staff during the afternoons when there weren’t that many patients. One of the highlights of my time at La Loma Luz was observing the gynecologist use the fetal heart monitor to hear a seven month old fetus’s heartbeat and then seeing the image on the ultrasound. I will never cease to be amazed at the miracle of life.

Linda Deddo
Messiah College