HCMC Network: Faces and Stories
HCMC supporters come from across Minnesota, around the region, and other parts of the world. Here are stories submitted by patients, family members, clinicians of all kinds who trained at HCMC, HCMC staff, and friends from the community who care about HCMC for lots of different reasons.
Scroll through and read different stories, or click on the Categories menu in the sidebar and go straight to stories that interest you. Stories will be added regularly, as we build our network, and new story categories will be added to the menu.
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Featured
This is Real World Stuff
Edina Police Department Patrol Officer and Training Coordinator, Officer Kevin Rofidal (left) and Sergeant Vik Konters (right) with Dr. Jeff Ho (middle) at TEMPO training course.
Officer Kevin Rofidal has been a patrol officer with the Edina Police Department for 17 years and is in his second year as Training Coordinator. He is also a member of the Edina SWAT Team and has trained in the U.S Army combat lifesaver course and U.S. Coast Guard tactical combat casualty care course. Officer Kenna Dick has been a patrol officer with the Edina Police Department for 6 years and is also the School Resource Officer. She was previously a paramedic with Allina Medical Transport. Both completed the HCMC/Hennepin EMS Tactical Emergency Medical Peace Officer (TEMPO) training in 2010.
Edina Police Department Patrol Officer and School Resource Officer, Officer Kenna Dick
Officer Dick: TEMPO is a great course. It's very realistic. So often, when I get training, I go and sit and listen to people talk and at the end, I wonder, "What did I really learn?" The TEMPO course is different. There are hands-on scenarios that are so relevant and presented in very realistic contexts. TEMPO training has scenarios with active shooters and training where participants have to put their hands in cold water and then give effective care with cold, numb hands, because that's realistic. My course was in February, with much of it taught outside, so we had to respond and effectively manage calls with cold hands and in bulky clothing, just as we do when we are on patrol. As a former paramedic, I've taken many emergency medical training courses. What was different with TEMPO was training with adrenaline pumping and having to react quickly, effectively manage a physically stressful situation, and administer care. There's a lot to be said for getting sim rounds (simulated ammunition) shot at you and practicing giving care to a partner in a simulated hostile setting versus practicing on a dummy in a classroom.
Officer Kevin Rofidal with Kodiak, former member of the K-9 Unit (Kodiak now retired)
Officer Rofidal: Effective emergency medical training is key for all of our medical calls. Edina police officers are trained as EMT's and are the designated First Responders to all emergency calls. I am most often the first on the scene and my training as an EMT gives me a comfort level in dealing with calls on my own or providing back-up to paramedics when they arrive. Effective emergency medical training makes a huge difference for confidence and comfort level and effective emergency care at the scene.
When our police department began training in the HCMC TEMPO EMT-Refresher course in 2009, veteran officers came back excited – salty officers, who had taken numerous refresher classes, were saying great things about the course. I took it myself in 2010 and then, in 2011, I took the broader step as training coordinator to establish that all officers in the Edina Police Department go thru TEMPO training. Why? The biggest difference between a regular EMT-Refresher class and TEMPO is that TEMPO gives you skills of how to help someone else and yourself, while under fire. A typical refresher course ensures competence on benchmark emergency medical skills. This course took us past that to learn new material and we walked away with new skills, because the training was specific to our needs as police officers. We learned how to apply tourniquets to ourselves and to others; now all officers are encouraged to carry tourniquets on their person. An article in the Washington Post reported how sheriff's deputies were the first on the scene of the Arizona shooting of Representative Gabby Gifford and were able to immediately provide emergency medical care, thanks to training and recently provided medical kits. This past fall, TEMPO instructors helped us create a tactical medical bag, which is now carried in every squad trunk; we can grab the sling with the medical kit and carry it onto the scene.
TEMPO training changes in line with what's changing in the world. Last year, for the first time in 15 years, the number of police officers killed nationwide by gunfire surpassed deaths in motor vehicle collisions. The number of ambush attacks is skyrocketing (see Kare11 News story) so training has to change and TEMPO training changes too. Mental preparation is key; now we train officers ahead of time for what might happen after a shooting; when I started 17 years ago, we were just scratching the surface of that kind of training. I work with TEMPO instructors to develop realistic scenarios and assist in role-playing when they need an injured officer or civilian with a medical condition.
Another reason that we committed to training all of our officers through TEMPO is that our department still carries memories of November 2000, when two of our force, Officer Mike Blood and Officer Billie Moir, were shot by a bank robber. We still have officers on the force who were here at the time, and new hires since then have all heard the story. We see Mike Blood, who was taken to HCMC for emergency treatment, multiple surgeries, and rehabilitation — he has recovered remarkably from grievous injuries from multiple point-blank rifle shots, but when we see him we are reminded of what he went through. There is no room for complacency.
This is real world stuff. The kind of training that will save your life or someone else, so take it seriously and be honored that we have great opportunities like this in Minnesota.
Watch video of TEMPO training in a CBS Minnesota TEMPO story and in an HHF Video—HCMC Teaching and Training.
HCMC Health Care Stories
We Need to Laugh More
I was on dialysis for almost 10 years before I had a kidney transplant at HCMC. Mary Alexander was my donor (see story below). Mary's son heard about me in a TV news report. Mary's son goes to school with my daughter and Mary called me to ask about being a donor. Mary contacted the transplant unit and took care of everything – she let me pick the date for it and then I just had to show up.
My doctors, nurses, everyone talked to me to explain things. It's hard to put in words, but you know they are there for you. The whole team are molding you – grooming you to be a better person in health. Putting pieces together to build you back up. Everyone!! From receptionists to surgeons. They had encouraging words for me. Sometimes, with the way the world is, we need to laugh more. People in professional positions need to step out and be another person and laugh with you.
If there was one thing I'd want people around Minnesota to know about HCMC, it's that they work as a team. I had 4 surgeries in one week, and they took care of me throughout. One day after I had a biopsy, I was hemorrhaging. The nurses knew me and saw that I wasn't being myself – the nurse called the nurse practitioner, she called the surgeon, and they immediately took me to surgery to stop the bleeding. They were quick-thinking, they listened to each other and immediately went into action. They saved my life.
Lajuana Somefun (left photo, story above) and Mary Alexander (right photo, story below).
Mom, can I do it for her?
My son, Alex, heard in a TV story that Lajuana was sick and needed a kidney (see Lajuana's story above). He asked, "Mom can I do it for her?" I told him, "No, you're too young for it, I'll try out," never thinking that I'd be a match. When I found out that I was a match, I was terrified. My family was worried for me, but I felt like it was meant to be and I would have liked someone to do it for me, so I did it. Now my family has gotten to know Lajuana and I think they are proud of me for giving her my kidney.
When the doctors did a CT scan to make sure that everything was okay for the surgery, they saw a mass behind my kidney, which turned out to be a tumor. They tested it to make sure it was safe for Lajuana to get my kidney, and then they took the kidney and tumor out. They told me that the tumor might have become cancerous later, inside me, so I feel like, because Lajuana needed my kidney, it saved my life too!
HCMC took really good care of me. They explained everything, all the way along, step by step—I didn't have any questions, because they answered everything. Eugenia Steffens, the donor coordinator, was with me every step of the way, from start to finish. And I recovered much faster than I expected. I thought it would be really hard to give a kidney, but it wasn't -- it was easy for me. I'd like other people to know that.
HCMC really does seem like a tight knit family. I feel like it's the kind of place where I would like to work, because they're so close. It's like one big, happy family.
Don Rott, Roseville, MN
Active Is An Understatement
I'm 80 years old and my grandkids say that "active" is an understatement! I love to slalom water ski, bike 10 miles around the neighborhood, play ice hockey, and roller blade. All of this, after a devastating airplane accident in 2001. I was a passenger in a private airplane whose engine failed, causing it to crash and erupt in flames. HCMC emergency personnel were on the scene and took me HCMC, where they put in a surgical airway so that my breathing wouldn't stop. I had facial injuries and complex pelvic and hip fractures, so I spent weeks at HCMC, where trauma, ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat), orthopedic and burn surgeons took care of me, along with ophthalmologists and numerous physical and occupational therapists. I made quite a recovery and, despite the potential outcome of never skiing again, am back to living life to the fullest. Thanks HCMC!
Tisha Sherdan, Waconia, MN
Photo: Tisha and her son, Bernie
An Uphill Roller Coaster Ride
My son, Bernie, and I go to HCMC for our medical care. Bernie was born at HCMC and then spent 109 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). When he was finally able to come home with me, he needed to go in every week for doctor's appointments. Bernie is 15 months old now, and we still go the HCMC. We live in Waconia and we could go to a local doctor's office, but I feel that the best medical care that we can receive is at HCMC. We have a team that we partner with.
Even though the drive takes us about an hour to get to HCMC, the care far exceeds the distance. I do not care about the distance because, when it comes to my son's health, nothing else is more important. Bernie's pediatrician, eye doctor, nurses, care coordinator, and neurologist are heaven sent. I feel that we have the best team and they genuinely take interest in Bernie's well being. My doctors are great as well and they actively listen to my concerns and treat me with respect.
With Bernie being premature, it was an uphill roller coaster ride and I did not know where it would stop. I will always be grateful to the staff at HCMC for helping my son stay alive. He was my first pregnancy, so the experience has been a unique one from the perspective of being a first time mother and having a child prematurely. The emotions of the experience run deep. My son has inspired me to create and write a presentation and journey workbook for families who experience the birth of a premature child. The medical staff has the expertise of medicine, but they cannot fully understand the emotions that parents go through with this experience. I hope that my presentation and workbook will bring comfort to other parents, as they journey on the roller coaster ride of premature childbirth, knowing that they have support from different perspectives.
HCMC has given my family the support and care that we need to be healthy. Distance will never stop us from going to the place where we know we are valued and will receive excellent medical care.
Rob Ley, Minneapolis, MN
That's What We Do Here
When I think of HCMC, it's not the maze of buildings that come to mind. To me, HCMC is about individuals and how they've affected me. My memory is a bit fuzzy, but some people and incidents never dim.
I recall one particular event vividly. I'm starting the final stage of relearning how to walk, some four months after a motor scooter accident left me with one kidney, a spinal cord injury, and a dubious sense of balance. I'm a patient at HCMC's Knapp Rehab Center, but my physical therapist Amanda and I have roamed into a different unit. At Amanda's suggestion, we're on a walk, with no walker and no canes. It's a Neil Armstrong deal for me. Amanda's worked with me for weeks building my confidence on rails and padded mats. I feel ready but it's semi-terrifying. It's going great, better than expected. The walls of the hallway are there for support and Amanda is behind me. No matter that she's a foot shorter than me and appears to be about 18. I've learned to trust Amanda.
On the final turn leading back to Knapp, I'm anxious to get back before fatigue becomes an issue. Just then comes the sickening sense of losing my balance. I throw my hands out to a wall that isn't there. I am going down, fast. As the floor races to my face, I can only hope that this doesn't hurt much. Incredibly, I suddenly feel myself being jerked up by the waist and shoulders.
"Oops. Got ya." Amanda smiles. I study her face. She's kidding right? I had no idea she was even close enough, yet alone strong enough to catch me. And quick, like one of those dogs snagging a Frisbee out of mid air.
"Nice freakin' catch!" I exclaim.
Amanda laughs. "I was right behind you. I'd said I wasn't going to let you fall. That was a tricky area, with these two hallways crossing and no walls."
"Still, I'm impressed. Nice job." I say as we continue on, more slowly.
Blushing, Amanda says, "Oh, it's just what I do. It's my job."
A month before, I am just getting settled into my room at Knapp Rehab, after three months of surgeries and procedures.
"Excuse me," someone at the door says to my admitting nurse. "I'm looking for Robert Ley. Is this his room?" She looks over at me. "Look at you! You look great! Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Dr. Trish. I'm a resident in the ICU and treated you there. I saw on Caring Bridge you were coming back here from another hospital and just had to come by."
"You're the Doctor Trish?" I ask. "The one my family told me about when I came out of my coma? The one who actually gave my wife her cell phone number?"
"You look great" she repeats. How ya doing?"
Dr. Trish sits down and we speak briefly. She explains that she had gotten to know my wife and a few of my siblings and was just curious on my progress. It's her first visit to Knapp. As she gets up to leave, I thank this person I'd never met for saving my life.
"Oh" she says, looking away. "That's what we do here."
Shortly after that, I meet Steve, my nurse on most nights. He's tall, about my age, calm and casual. We hit it off. Steve asks questions about my accident, what I recall about ICU (nothing) and how I'm handling it all. Steve picks up that what I'd really like is a shower. A real one, not a sponge bath, but one in a stall, with water all over, soap, shampoo and everything. My last shower was on the morning of the day of my accident. Steve says he'll check with my doctors.
Two nights later is the night of a full lunar eclipse. It's also the night of my first shower in three months. Steve shaves me afterward as my right hand is not yet strong enough. He skillfully rinses the shaver after each stroke and comments on the peculiarities of my beard. With all due respect to the other nurses who had done their best to shave me before, Steve really knows shaving. I've been bumped up to first class.
When Steve ensures that I'm dry and dressed, he allows me to sit at the narrow, vertical window to look at the eclipse. I explain to him that there's a prayer service occurring at my church right then, for me and two other parishioners who are ailing. I feel lucky to have so many friends and acquaintances concerned about me. I wish they could know about Steve and the fine care I'm receiving.
That was nearly four years ago. I've since met HCMC professionals who have trained there, met their spouse there and had their children delivered at HCMC. Some have spent their entire careers there. Second generation HCMC medical professionals are not unheard of. In these times, buildings full of top medical equipment and systems do not create that kind of attachment. In my view, it's extraordinary people that make HCMC exceptional.
Kevin Kling, Minneapolis, MN
Accident/HCMC
On August 11th, 2001, I got on my motorcycle for a quick trip to the coffee shop. At the intersection of Lyndale Avenue and Lake Street a car pulled in front of me and before I could touch the brakes I crashed. I was rushed to HCMC unconscious, though I remember very clearly having the choice to come back to this plane of existence or move on. Neither seemed like a wrong choice. I decided to try and come back, even though I knew there would be consequences.
As the Emergency room team worked to save my life, people were praying and sending well wishes. It's hard to deny the power of prayer when you're on the receiving end of it. At times it was like skiing behind a powerboat. All I had to do was hang on.
My girlfriend Mary brought in photographs, so the plastic surgeons could put my face back the way it was. There was some concern from my buddies, because in one picture I was holding the dog. Friends started showing up. They brought books on tape to help me through. I found Harry Potter got me to sleep at night, and when I couldn't go to the bathroom, Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation got the nation moving again.
There was extensive nerve damage to my right arm, so I don't have feeling or motor skills. As terrible as this was, and as scared as I am sometimes, I still feel blessed. I'm happy to be alive and have such incredible people in my life.
It's been said that God loved stories so much that he created people so there would be an endless supply. And thanks to the doctors and nurses at HCMC I've been given the chance to rework my ending.
Lance Hegland, Minneapolis, MN
Metropolitan Medical Center, Small Town Friendliness
I grew up in rural Minnesota in the small community of Crosby-Ironton, near Brainerd. I thought of HCMC as a multi-specialty trauma hospital with a highly-respected burn unit. When I was referred to HCMC's outpatient clinic for routine primary care, I was surprised to learn that HCMC has clinics for routine care plus the specialized clinics for complex conditions and trauma. Still, I was apprehensive. I expected the culture to be fast-paced and impersonal, as many urban trauma centers are portrayed. But, I was relieved to discover an intense focus on patient- and family-centered care at HCMC; personal care, at your pace, while still having access to all their advanced resources. Before long, HCMC began to feel like an extended family. There are numerous opportunities to be involved in the HCMC community as a patient and family member. Long-term personal relationships blossomed. Basically, I have a rural community experience within an award-winning metropolitan medical center.
I've attended two Patient- and Family-Centered Care rallies for HCMC staff, which were educational and inspirational. From a patient's point of view, it's helpful and comforting to know those values are part of HCMC's culture; they put a lot of work into promoting and guaranteeing those values. Just knowing that encourages and empowers me to advocate for myself; to really speak-up about my concerns, what I've already tried, what doesn't work for me, and what does work.
At HCMC, they treat the patient as the "expert about themselves." I think their culture ensures patients are included as respected members of the healthcare team; to be able to say, "On paper, in academia, or in protocols, maybe this is the way people think will work best. But, based on my experience with my unique condition, this other way seems to work better." This allows the patient to get — and HCMC to give — more comfortable, more effective, and less costly care.
Medical Education & Training Stories
Dr Michael "Joe" Walz, Brainerd, Minnesota
HCMC Helps Me Give Quality Care In Brainerd
I attended medical school at the University of Minnesota from 1980-1984 and then completed a family practice residency through 1987. During my training, I did clinical rotations at HCMC. Now, as a practicing emergency medicine physician at Essentia St Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd, MN, I still come to HCMC for educational opportunities such as the CALS lab and primary care and emergency medicine conferences, including ultrasound training. I also routinely transfer patients down to HCMC for those who have experienced serious trauma or are critically ill. HCMC has helped me, throughout my training and practice, to stay current in my field and give my patients quality medical care. Thanks HCMC!
Dr. Heidi Flashinski Walz, Roseville, MN
HCMC Was the Perfect Fit For Me
I attended the University of Minnesota Medical School from 2003-2007 and then completed an emergency medicine residency at HCMC. I was drawn to the ER because of the wide variety of patients who come there for help. HCMC was the perfect fit for me! I was a chief resident in my final year of residency and was awarded the Ernie Ruiz Resident Achievement Award — Ernie Ruiz was one of the founders of Emergency Medicine in this country and an innovator in Emergency Medicine practice and training. Now I practice at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, but I still volunteer at HCMC, including in the simulation lab with emergency medicine residents, which helps the ER doctors-in-training work through difficult cases and hone their skills. I, like many other HCMC alumni, am devoted to continuing to support HCMC because, after spending time there, one realizes what a unique and valuable place it is!
International Connections
Australian Helicopter Doctors and Hennepin County Medical Centre
Dr. Cliff Reid, New South Wales, Australia
Photo: Left to right, Drs. Karel Habig, Sarah Coombes, Ruby Hsu, and Cliff Reid
It all started with a need to drill holes in people's heads.
Australian emergency physicians who specialise in pre-hospital and retrieval medicine – transferring ill and injured patients by helicopter across the state of New South Wales – decided it was time to increase the skills they could offer to patients with severe head injury. It is rare for physicians who are not trained neurosurgeons to undertake the procedure of skull trephination, but the technique may be life-saving, particularly when the patient may be many hours' travel away from specialist neurosurgical care.
Thanks to published research from Hennepin County Medical Centre, the Australian retrieval physicians led by Dr Cliff Reid read a published review of the procedure and how it is taught at Hennepin County Medical Centre, in which Dr Stephen Smith reported successful outcomes of patients undergoing skull trephination by emergency physicians. It was from this article that Dr Reid's team learned of the pioneering Comprehensive Advanced Life Support program, in which HCMC's expert team of emergency physicians teach their life-saving skills to physicians from all over Minnesota and elsewhere.
An exploratory email opened the door to an overwhelmingly helpful offer of targeted training – in HCMC's Dr Bill Heegaard's words: "anything you guys want." Ten thousand miles later the Australians were being escorted by Paula Chambers, trauma outreach nurse, to the cadaver lab to begin an unforgettable training experience. The HCMC emergency physicians spent considerable time (some on days off or between night shifts) over the next two days providing hands on training in a range of life-saving procedures, from advanced surgical access to the airway to critical care ultrasound – a program that went well beyond the original aim of skull trephination, although that procedure was also covered in detail, with the additional expert teaching of HCMC neurosurgeon Dr Bergman.
It is hard to do justice to the experience in a few paragraphs, but the Australian physicians were thoroughly inspired by the expertise, helpfulness and hospitality of the HCMC emergency medicine team. There are many leading figures in American emergency medicine who are not shy to publicise their fame on the conference circuit and via electronic media. The team at HCMC have - in contrast – relatively quietly attained excellence in many aspects of emergency medicine practice and teaching within their cohesive, synergistic team. This combination of humility and formidable competence constitutes a level of mastery that was truly inspiring. I wonder how many of their colleagues around the hospital know that Dr Rob Reardon is the author of the ultrasound textbooks sitting on emergency physicians' shelves halfway round the world, or that Dr Smith's ECG book & blog are the main sources of reference and teaching on emergency electrocardiography for critical care physicians in Australia and the UK? Or that the clinical education videos produced in a cupboard-like makeshift studio in the HCMC's Emergncy Department are watched by thousands of health care providers around the world? It was these physicians, along with their colleagues Drs Joe Clinton and Bill Heegard, and the tirelessly helpful Paula Chambers, who made the trip for the Australian travellers the educational experience of a lifetime. A trip that will ultimately lead to lives saved on a distant continent, all part of the legacy of Emergency Medicine at Hennepin County Medical Centre.
(Note: Other HCMC physicians and staff participated to make the visit of the Australian physician team a resounding success. Heartfelt thanks go to all of you!)
From Dr. Ruby Hsu
From the trip to HCMC, I was looking for good training on a rare clinical procedure, which itself is valuable and hard to find. To my great delight, the experience not only exceeded my expectation with the excellent practical training on trephination and airway procedures, but also opened my eyes about the great team we met at HCMC. From the impeccable organization of our visit, warm and thoughtful reception, to pleasant and inspiring discussion we shared, what impressed me the most is the absolute "Can-do" attitude and the cohesive team in which everyone complements each other with different expertise and strength. Those who are lucky enough, know what a pleasure it is when like-minded people share the same inspiration and work towards the common goal. This is my impression of HCMC, and to be perfectly honest if you ask me, I am a bit envious…
From Dr. Karel Habig
I want to thank the guys and girls at HCMC for their time and expertise. Like my colleagues, I was highly impressed with the team. We were warmly welcomed and given a great deal of time and attention for which I was most grateful. During our visit of the Emergency Department, I was inspired by the enthusiasm and focus on excellence in all aspects of Emergency Care. You get a real sense that the whole department works cohesively toward a common purpose — to give the best care to their patients. During our visit, Bill and his colleagues, put together an amazing tailor-made programme where I learnt a lot in a short space of time. The passion for teaching and depth of knowledge was inspiring. I look forward to coming back some time in the future!
Suthaporn Lumlertgul, MD
Thai Red Cross Society
King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital
Bangkok, Thailand
Photo: Steve Smith (HCMC ED)
with Suthaporn
All the Way From Bangkok
I was finishing my Emergency Medicine residency program in 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand, and electrocardiography was my favorite subject. Back then, among my peers, electrocardiography was believed not to be a field that should be developed as an area of expertise or studied very hard in Emergency Medicine. The field of Emergency Medicine was ill-defined and expectations for residents were vague, as regards what they should or should not know as Emergency Physicians.
I encountered Dr. Stephen Smith's book, entitled The ECG in Acute Myocardial Infarction: An Evidence-Based Manual of Reperfusion Therapy, and was surprised by the value of ECG's (electrocardiograms) in decision making in emergency medicine. For example, interpretation of the ECG was not just limited to whether there was ST elevation or not, but was also used prognostically. The book also talked about utilizing an objective ratio that would separate ST elevation myocardial infarction (MI) from non-MI conditions with ST elevation. I was impressed by how emergency physicians can utilize objective decision-making in a modern style and wanted to see more about how things worked.
I was lucky to have a chance to come to Minnesota and visit the HCMC Emergency Department. There, I was surprised and impressed to see how much emergency physicians played a role in managing a patient, in both trauma and non trauma-related cases. The system and facility is ideal as a strong Emergency Medicine academic center. I remember that I saw Dr. Smith also reduce a patient's dislocated shoulder, which summed up the role of Emergency Physician for me; a physician who is good with non-trauma is still great with trauma as well!
Peter Liu, MD
Emergency Department
Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Taiwan
Photo: Peter and his wife, Shu-ree, and daughters, Ariel and Alice
I wish I had trained here as an Emergency Medicine resident!
I am an emergency physician at Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, in Taiwan. I came to Minnesota for a year, with my family, to visit hospitals and learn new things. The Minnesota connection came through the founder of my hospital, Dr. Marcy Ditmanson, who graduated from medical school at the U of MN and trained in orthopedic surgery at HCMC. Some of my Taiwanese Emergency Medicine colleagues also recommended HCMC because they had heard HCMC emergency physicians (Dr. Michelle Biros and Dr. Louis Ling and others), speak at emergency medicine conferences in the U.S.
HCMC has a great tradition and culture, which cultivates good clinicians. The Emergency Department (ED) staff are passionate and skillful, and are masters in many subspecialties of emergency medicine, like ultrasound, Emergency Medical Services, toxicology, hyperbaric medicine, ECG's (electrocardiograms), medical education, and research. The ED residency is an excellent teaching program, with diverse patients, and the ED design and physical setting are outstanding.
Since returning to Taiwan, I have started an emergency ultrasound training program at my hospital, a monthly ECG forum, invited other specialists to comment in our meetings, and used ideas from HCMC to redesign our own ED setting.
I feel my learning experience at HCMC also led to personal improvement. I feel that I am more humane, empathetic, and patient-oriented. I have a stronger sense of self-identity as an ED physician, because I've seen role models here at HCMC. I've become a better teacher and doctor, and I think that I am better at fostering teamwork with other ED staff and departments.
I wish I had trained here as an Emergency Medicine resident!
