New London ― Three Mitchell College students considering careers in public health had an eyeful Wednesday at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, where they toured the pathology and emergency departments.
Seeing, they later confirmed, is believing.
What impressed them most, they said, was the seemingly smooth operation of a place that relies on protocols, precision and — as Dr. Craig Mittleman, director of emergency services, told them of L+M – careful observation of the condition of patients.
“Everyone has separate responsibilities, but works together as a team,” said Bella Avalos, a junior from Southern California. “It shows in the way they sort. »
Francesca Zamarripa, a junior from Tampa, Fla., and Lonnie Johnson, a senior from Freeport, Bahamas, also marveled at the teamwork.
Professor Erica Watson, who teaches a public health course at Mitchell, said she contacted the hospital and other institutions in the community to ask if they would offer her students a look at what’s happening in the wings.
In addition to L+M, the firefighters, a homeless shelter and public health in the region responded favorably.
“I was very impressed by their openness and welcomingness of all the staff,” Watson said after her nearly two-hour visit to the hospital, with her students, which she described as of “useful and educational”.
For L+M, it was an opportunity to offer careers in the healthcare sector.
Nicole Caillouette, director of laboratory services at L+M, guided students through the pathology department’s chemistry laboratory and blood bank as well as areas dedicated to microbiology, hematology, blood diseases, and histology, the microscopic analysis of tissues.
People who analyze blood, urine and other bodily fluids as well as tissue samples are known as medical technologists, Caillouette said, but most people don’t know what they do.
“They ask, ‘Are you a nurse?’ “, she said. “Not many people go into this field.”
L+M’s pathology department supports nearly a dozen nursing homes as well as assisted living facilities and doctors’ offices, sending couriers to pick up samples for testing. Ensuring that samples are correctly identified is a first step in the process. The vials carry barcodes that tell the story of each specimen. A network of pneumatic tubes transports them throughout the hospital.
“We do two million tests a year in this lab,” Caillouette said.
The blood bank gets its blood from the Red Cross and other places and sends it where it’s needed in the Yale New Haven Health System, Caillouette said. Even if the blood is collected at the hospital, it must be sent to the Red Cross for processing.
In hematology, pathology specialist Dr. Victoria Reyes discussed a computer image of a blood test and what the white blood cell count can reveal.
The students went to the emergency room, which Mittleman said was busy treating patients with respiratory illnesses, including RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, the flu and “a little bit of COVID.”
“ER sees everything,” Mittleman said. “The old and the young. Babies are delivered here. …Everyone works side by side. It’s not for everyone, but some people, like me, really thrive on this energy.
L+M’s emergency department sees 160 patients per day, he said, adding that if family and friends who accompany patients are included, the figure is more like 400 to 500 people per day. .
Mittleman noted that about a third of emergency room patients have some type of mental health issue, an area Avalos said he has an interest in. When these patients cannot be treated in the emergency room, they are admitted to the main hospital, frequently filling its 17 psychiatric beds.
“There are never enough people getting into the (behavioral health) field,” Mittleman said.
Mittleman discovered a connection with Johnson, the Bahamian student, who is a cousin of Jonquel Jones, the Bahamian-born WNBA star player who played six seasons with the Connecticut Sun before being traded to the New York Liberty. Mittleman is part of a team from Yale New Haven Health that provides medical care to The Sun.
