Considering that only a small portion of one’s lifespan (~2%) is spent in the classroom, it is especially important to consider how informal learning helps to shape the experiences of an individual. Premedical students, like myself, are encouraged to volunteer at local hospitals, and healthcare related activities have truly been wonderful learning opportunities. For my Theory in Action Paper, I therefore decided to explore how informal learning was related to my personal experiences with volunteering at the hospital.
I have been volunteering at the St. Mary’s Hospital Emergency Department for just over two years and have accumulated nearly 200 volunteer hours. My experiences at the hospital have provided me with the initial exposure to our …show more content…
Hospitals like St. Mary’s have a variety of medical instruments and imaging machines (ultrasound, MRI & x-ray machines, and PET & CT scanners) that contain the intelligence of their designers, thereby augmenting intelligence. Medical imaging technology has revolutionized health care, and combining these advances with the power of digital and information technology may foster greater efficiency, quality and value in health care. Cognition may also be distributed across time because healthcare providers rely on the knowledge imparted to them by their medical school instructors, more experienced doctors who have trained them during residency, as well as former colleagues. A physician once told me about how your years in residency are probably the most stressful years of life, but that time is especially valuable because the knowledge you acquire during residency essentially prepares you for practicing medicine on your own. This means that what we learn before impacts how we practice medicine today. Finally, the Emergency Department at St. Mary’s also distributes its intelligence across space. For example, I have seen physicians contact a patient’s primary care provider (PCP) to review patient health history or to discuss potential treatment options with the PCP. Another example is when emergency care physicians refer patients to health care providers who …show more content…
According to Albert Bandura, observational learning occurs when an observer’s behavior changes after viewing the behavior of a model. From a SCT perspective, much of our learning occurs via modeling. New volunteers St. Mary’s are not allowed to volunteer on their own, unless they attend an orientation and complete a shadowing session with an experienced volunteer. The volunteer coordinators have this rule for a reason, as they want new volunteers to learn the appropriate hospital etiquette. I learned so much from the lead volunteer who I shadowed, making her an effective model. I considered her to be a very competent and ambitious individual who I could look up to because she was a premedical student, just like me. Another application of the SCT was when I made the realization that I should not be wearing jeans in the emergency department because nobody else was wearing jeans. This scenario is an example of learning through observation because I considered everyone around me to be a model for how I should behave in such professional environments. Additionally, another volunteer was asked not to wear scrubs. Through vicarious learning, or learning that happens through observing the consequences to other people, I realized that it was inappropriate for volunteers to wear scrubs. A similar example of learning vicariously was
I have been volunteering at the St. Mary’s Hospital Emergency Department for just over two years and have accumulated nearly 200 volunteer hours. My experiences at the hospital have provided me with the initial exposure to our …show more content…
Hospitals like St. Mary’s have a variety of medical instruments and imaging machines (ultrasound, MRI & x-ray machines, and PET & CT scanners) that contain the intelligence of their designers, thereby augmenting intelligence. Medical imaging technology has revolutionized health care, and combining these advances with the power of digital and information technology may foster greater efficiency, quality and value in health care. Cognition may also be distributed across time because healthcare providers rely on the knowledge imparted to them by their medical school instructors, more experienced doctors who have trained them during residency, as well as former colleagues. A physician once told me about how your years in residency are probably the most stressful years of life, but that time is especially valuable because the knowledge you acquire during residency essentially prepares you for practicing medicine on your own. This means that what we learn before impacts how we practice medicine today. Finally, the Emergency Department at St. Mary’s also distributes its intelligence across space. For example, I have seen physicians contact a patient’s primary care provider (PCP) to review patient health history or to discuss potential treatment options with the PCP. Another example is when emergency care physicians refer patients to health care providers who …show more content…
According to Albert Bandura, observational learning occurs when an observer’s behavior changes after viewing the behavior of a model. From a SCT perspective, much of our learning occurs via modeling. New volunteers St. Mary’s are not allowed to volunteer on their own, unless they attend an orientation and complete a shadowing session with an experienced volunteer. The volunteer coordinators have this rule for a reason, as they want new volunteers to learn the appropriate hospital etiquette. I learned so much from the lead volunteer who I shadowed, making her an effective model. I considered her to be a very competent and ambitious individual who I could look up to because she was a premedical student, just like me. Another application of the SCT was when I made the realization that I should not be wearing jeans in the emergency department because nobody else was wearing jeans. This scenario is an example of learning through observation because I considered everyone around me to be a model for how I should behave in such professional environments. Additionally, another volunteer was asked not to wear scrubs. Through vicarious learning, or learning that happens through observing the consequences to other people, I realized that it was inappropriate for volunteers to wear scrubs. A similar example of learning vicariously was