TIL: Career Research

TIL: Career Research

11/19/2014

The career I chose was pediatric surgery. I hope to one day spend the rest of my life in this career. Medicine is something I am very passionate about, and I love working with children. Surgery is hardcore, it requires the best precision and snap decision making. It will keep my on my toes every second. 

Pediatric surgeons do a lot of different things. They perform surgery on children, in many different ways. Pediatric surgeons care for children both during and after surgery. Children are a little different to work with, and, in a way, easier. They won't lie about their medical history, they will tell you when it hurts and where with no discretion. They know what is going on with them on an elementary level, and they will share. This is unlike adults because as we grow up we become ashamed of some of our life choices. So we hide them. Children don't do that. 

The schooling required for any type of surgeon includes an undergraduate degree of some kind, then medical school, then residency, then fellowship, and then they can practice on their own. Residency is spent working with surgeons in general, then toward the end of residency and through fellowship they begin to specialize. 

Since there is so much schooling involved, it gets pricey. All that tuition adds up. At Creighton University, for example, the cost of one year is about $46,000. 

The job outlook is good. People will always get sick and need surgery. Even with more machines helping out, there will always be a need for a human surgeon. Surgeons are paid in the top 1% of the population. 

TIL: National Patient Safety Goals

TIL: National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG)

November 5th, 2014

Today I learned that the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) are a set of goals and regulations set forth by the Joint Commission. They were first developed in 2002 but not enacted until 2003. All accredited institutions are required to comply with these goals, however, they are only required to comply with the goals that apply to that specific institution. The Joint Commission reviews the goals annually based on data given to them by the accredited institutions complying with the goals. All of these accredited institutions are required to report mistakes, patients, etc to the Joint Commission each year to help improve the goals. These goals were designed to prevent hospital mistakes that never should have happened originally. NPSGs are "goals" published by the Commission that targets specific areas where goals are needed to improve patient care.