Senior Project Blog 2: New Beginnings

Connor L -

Hello everyone, welcome to week two of my senior project!

 

This week is my last week shadowing Dr. Bonnono. Working with him has been an honor, and he has truly shown me how special working at a hospital is. Last Thursday I was at St. Joseph’s and this Monday I was back at St. Mary’s. The contrast between St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s ERs was very present, as St. Joseph’s ER was a lot more cramped due to the trauma room and it being an older hospital. Additionally, St. Mary’s was less busy overall than St. Joe’s. Nevertheless, the subjects that I interviewed all gave me similar information on the most important aspects of working in the stressful environments of hospitals, and here are a few: 

 

The most important aspect of working in a hospital as a nurse or doctor in correlation to mental health is separating work and your personal life, as failure to do this can result in increased stress and frustration. I learned this aspect from both my surveys but also my personal experiences as a shadowee. Recently, I have been conflicted with many personal issues and I ended up taking these conflicts to the hospital which ended up leaving me with a sense of dread and agony. Furthermore, I ended up taking some of my stresses from the hospital home with me after my shadowing which left me feeling mentally awful and depressed. However, personal reflection and communication with others have helped me resolve my conflicts. I spoke with some of the doctor’s colleagues and they told me that one great thing about working at a hospital, especially a close community like the ER, is that everyone can talk about their inner conflicts with each other as everyone has similar experiences. 

 

In addition, I learned the importance of establishing boundaries as a medical professional. As shown from many of my surveys, many feel that the hospital asks a lot of them and it feels very stressful after a while. On each day that I shadowed Dr. Bonnono, I observed him stay past his 8-hour shift to ensure that all patients were seen and cared for. Furthermore, I have observed how the need to make sure that every patient receives attention and care has affected the mental health of nurses, often leading them to overwork. Coffee is everywhere in the ER because everyone is tired, and yawns are often present in every part of the hospital. When surveyed, the total amount of hours per shift that the medical staff said they had worked ranged from 8 to 13 hours per day, however, one subject said they had worked 16 hours before in a single day. I want to expand on this data further and begin to draw conclusions on the mental health of doctors and nurses in hospitals, and how its environment affects them. Thank you so much for your time and support, and until we meet again. 

 

Connor 

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    karthik_a
    Hey Connor! Sounds like you really learned a lot this week! I definitely agree with separating work and personal life, especially if you are a medical professional. Did you find any differences between doctors and nurses when you interviewed them?
    February 24, 2025 at 8:56 am - Reply
    vera_m
    Hello Connor! Glad you were able to separate the stress from the hospital and protect your personal joy. Were you able to gather information from patients, or can you only interview doctors and nurses?
    February 24, 2025 at 4:03 pm - Reply
    herron_b
    Connor! It's so refreshing to hear how you connect personal anecdotes with the advancements in your project, I love seeing your passion and drive! Have you looked into effective ways medical professionals handle the pressure or ways they create that balanced work/life environment?
    February 25, 2025 at 10:10 am - Reply
    connor_l
    Hey Karthik, thank you so much for your comment! In my surveys, I have found primarily similarities in both parties' responses overall. However, I have found that the main difference between nurses and doctors in regards to mental health was that nurses often deal with more emotional trauma during work due to their close work with the patients. In contrast, doctors feel more stress from trying to stay on schedule with seeing every patient and filing paperwork. Since both parties work together in the hospital a lot, I noticed that they had many similarities in their views on topics such as burnout and mental health decline.
    February 25, 2025 at 2:48 pm - Reply
    connor_l
    Thank you so much, Vera! I really appreciate your comment! Unfortunately, I was not and still am not able to interview patients due to HIPPA as well as to not interfere with the works of the doctors and nurses. Only trained and approved medical professionals are allowed to see the patients privately, and I do not see any way I could gather data on them. I considered having the doctor stay with me as I interviewed the patient, however, I worried that this would interfere with my data as the patient would be potentially hesitant to respond. Additionally, many of my patients were in pain or were visually uncomfortable and I did not believe that surveying them would be beneficial for my or their sake.
    February 25, 2025 at 2:54 pm - Reply
    connor_l
    Herron! I really appreciate your comment and support! I still am in the process of my readings and I anticipate them taking at least a month to get through, however, I have gathered a lot of data on ways that medical professionals handle the pressure and maintain a work/life balance through my surveys. So far in my surveys, the most common theme in handling the pressures of this kind of work is ensuring that work and outside life are kept apart. Many prioritize spending time with their families or doing hobbies to do this. Additionally, many cited talking to loved ones like their wives or husbands when things get particularly stressful at work, as having that communication is vital in handling the mental stress that comes from working at a hospital. I plan to research more of this in my readings, and I will be sure to get back to you!
    February 25, 2025 at 3:00 pm - Reply
    komla_w
    Hello Connor! How are you doing? It sounds like you had an amazing time shadowing your mentor. He seems like an amazing person to have as a mentor and an even better person for staying to check up on patients. From your description, the hospital seems like a stressful environment that can bleed into your personal lives. Do you think that stress is another reason that doctors and nurses may always seem on edge even when not at work?
    February 26, 2025 at 12:14 pm - Reply
    connor_l
    What’s up Lucas! Thank you for your thoughtful comment! I definitely believe that stress bleeds into the personal lives of doctors and nurses and can affect their relationships with their families, friends, partners, and even hobbies. Many of the staff I surveyed heavily emphasized the importance of keeping everything involving work at work to ensure that it doesn’t affect your outside life. However, stress is something that can not simply be forgotten or ignored and that is why coping mechanism are just an important part of being a nurse or doctor. I plan to research coping mechanisms more in my readings and I’ll be sure to get back to you on that!
    February 26, 2025 at 3:29 pm - Reply

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