Independent Component 1

Literal

I, Kenji Karuhaka, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.

While working at San Dimas Community Hospital under Winston Gotte, I have learned about some of the basics of being a Biomed. I have helped repair and maintain different equipment during "Preventative Maintenance" or PM's. I have also taken apart and put back together several defective medical equipment in order to get used to taking things apart, the layouts of common equipment, and get an intro to electrical engineering.

This is where I work when in Biomed and taking things apart.



This is used to test patient boxes which are used to monitor patient vitals.



These are also used with the above monitor and can simulate different situations.



This is an analyzer that Winston had me take apart and pointed out different parts of the circuit board.






Interpretive

I worked at the hospital in the Biomed department during my service learning. I feel that since my topic is Biomedical Engineering, this is very relevant. I am also learning about hospital layouts, basic skills for a Biomed, the different equipment within a hospital, and how different departments associate with Biomed. Much of my service learning, is spent shadowing and assisting in little jobs with Winston. However, when we have free time, he shows me different things that he feels is important to know or does things that he usually does with trainees, such as taking apart medical equipment. 

This is an IV pump which I also got to take apart when I started. This is one of the most common pieces of equipment in a hospital.

 I also took apart this recorder for practice.


Applied

I feel that it helps answer my EQ because hospital equipment is essential and makes a job a lot easier if you know what everything is. There were times where I had to pick up a piece of equipment from a department. I would use the exact name for whatever I had to pick up, however, sometimes people would get confused as to what I was asking for. However, if it was a new piece of equipment to me, I had no way to explain it. This resulted in the errand taking longer than it had to. 

Communication is also very important because sometimes, you are asked a question by a patient and you need to assist as much as possible. Or when, like mentioned before, you are talking to hospital staff and can not get a message across. I have also seen this with Winston when someone asks about "defective" equipment, and he has to explain that it was just a small error. It can sometimes be irritating, however, you must always remain patient and collected. 

Simplicity is a big thing for Biomeds. This is because sometimes, the problem is so small and there is no need to over complicate things. Time wasted on something is time that could have been used more efficiently on another item. Winston told me that one thing he feels is essential is do to repairs, even if you have to do it on your own time. He said that he likes to tinker with different things in order to learn their layouts. "PM's rot your brain" is the reason why he suggests doing full repairs and tinkering in order to stay used to the technology.