CAES reflection

In this reflective essay, I aim to reflect on my experience of

visiting the Respirology ward at the Grantham hospital, through the
Gibbs Reflective cycle. It was the first time for me to encounter
patients with severe Tuberculosis infection and it was an
unforgettable experience.
My group was assigned to visit the Grantham Hospital,
Tuberculosis ward in August. It was my first visit to a hospital ward,
and my first time to see Tuberculosis patients.
I always thought that all hospitals would provide all visiting
students with the highest level of protection against infection. I was
extremely shocked when staff of the Grantham hospital informed us
to put only surgical masks on when our group was on the
Tuberculosis ward. I have always believed that a N95 respirator
mask is vital when attending these wards as it offers the best
protection to hospital staff and visitors against Tuberculosis infection
amongst all the other types of commonly used masks. However the
doctor in charge told me that, with adequate ventilation (i.e. natural
ventilation, without air conditioning), a N95 respirator was not
necessary on the ward. That was totally different from what I have
learnt from medical textbooks. I also learnt that, through a power
point made by the doctor (which was extremely high-yield in terms
of information) that around 80% of the Hong Kong population is
already infected with the Mycobacterium Tuberculosis bacteria. The
vast majority of the people infected, fortunately, have either
eradicated the bacteria by their immune system, or the bacteria
remained latent within the body of these people. Only a relatively
small proportion of people had their latent Tuberculosis re-activated
(especially
the
elderly,
the
weak,
or
people
in
an
immunocompromised state such as AIDs), and progressed to
military Tuberculosis, a condition where the bacteria disseminate
and seed to different parts of the human body.
The learning experience on the Respirology ward completely
changed my understanding of Tuberculosis and view towards people
infected with the bacteria. Moreover, the experience inspired me
that sufficient rest is important, especially for people (such as
medical students) who may likely sleep late at night and wake early
in the morning - there is a greater chance for latent Tuberculosis to
re-activate because the immune status will be weakened in people
with such sleeping habits. In the future, I will take more rest when
possible and live a more healthy life, to prevent the possible
reactivation of Tuberculosis in my body, and to protect the patients
that I will be seeing from infection.