Implicit Association Test

I found while doing the tests that my fingers got moving too fast that even though I knew the answer I was already pressing the wrong key. I thought my results were fairly accurate, but I think that no matter what we all have our own little bias. I come from a small town where the majority of people are caucasian. And when I say majority I mean I could probably count the number of people of other ethnicities on my hands. I find with this I have some bias as I do not have much knowledge of other cultures. Even though I don't have much knowledge and have had little contact with people of other cultures, I don't think I treat them differently. Which I feel is important. I think I will gain knowledge as I am working as well as living in a city. I think as a sonographer you are entitled to your own opinion as long as you treat everyone with the same courtesy and respect.

Nonverbal communication

I observed two men and a women talking at school over coffee. They were all dressed casually. They seemed relaxed to me by the way they were sitting and the expressions on their faces. It seemed to me that they were all paying attention to eachother and were involved in their conversation. I noticed the women used more hand gestures when she was talking than the men. They all seemed to be listening to eachother as they were nodding their heads and looking at the person talking. They responsed to the person talking with either a comment of their own, a laugh or a smile. To me this conversation seemed relaxed and that they were comfortable with eachother.

Good/Bad ultrasound

What stuck out in my mind most about the good video was that the lady didn't really comment on the sonographer. Even though her appointment was 45 mins late she was still happy with her ultrasound because she got to see her baby; got a recording; and her husband was present.

The bad ultrasound even though her appointment was on time and her husband was present she felt uncomfortable because the lack of communication with the sonographer. It really surprised me that the sonographer never said anything when the patient was crying, but when the husband came into the room the sonographer said everything was good.

These videos show the impact of communication on a patient. I think it was good to watch these videos to see how different aspects affect a patient. How a patient feels during an sonogram can really impact how they perceive the experience no matter what goes wrong or right.

Prenatal Ultrasound Article

After reading this article, I understand how the women felt uncomfortable. Being in that situation not knowing what was going on would make anyone nervous. It really must be hard to be in that situation for both the patient and sonographer. I think it is important to communicate with the patient and make them feel comfortable as they are the reason sonographers have a job in the first place.
I like that the article outlined some important points to communicate to the patient. I think it is good to read articles like this as to know the prespective of the patient and allows you to be more aware of how a sonographer acts affects the patient.

Professionalism

About 3 years ago, my brother's wife gave birth to my nephew. My brother was working out of town at the time. So, my mom and I went into the delivery room with her. We lived in a small town , so there was only one nurse on and the doctor was on call. The nurse that was working that night just happened to be a male nurse. He continually checked on her before the doctor arrived. When it came time to push, the doctor had just arrived. The nurse inserted her IV and continued to hold her hand through the birth. I can remember not knowing what to say to comfort her, but watching the nurse holding her hand and encouraging her. My brother's wife doesn't remember the nurse holding her hand, but she was touched by his kindness when I told her later.