Final Day in Manchester...

---

Once again we have a couple of our students writting some of our travel update to get you a feel of the students are thinking and experiencing...

Hello from across the pond!

Today (I can’t believe it’s already Friday!) the Health Exercise group had the amazing opportunity to participate and run two biomechanical experiments in the University of Salford’s labs. In both labs there were about twelve infrared cameras that were analyzing movements. I was selected as the volunteer for the Fit Flops experiment (which was based on shoe size). The Fit Flops are supposed to exercise your bums, thighs and calves while walking. They do this by having the densest part at the heel of the sandal, a softer section in the middle and a medium density by your toes. The idea is to allow the lower extremity to fire more in order to maintain balance. I was marked up on my legs and electrodes were placed on my right leg to measure how much the muscles were being worked. Then they put on these wart-looking silver reflecting balls so that the cameras could pick up my movement. They had me stand in the middle and were able to use their computer to create a skeleton image. I moved my legs crazily on the platform and the skeleton danced. The first actual test I did was to walk bare-footed across a pressure sensitive surface. I walked with the fit flops for the next test and the final three were in these Fit Flop tennis shoes with three different density inserts. The Fit Flops were extremely comfortable and I really want to own a pair now!  - MiKayla Sanocki
(NOTE: Fit Flops shoes have been released worldwide and have become the latest craze. Even Oprah has become a fan! She recently gave a pair to everyone in her audience. There was a feature in Vanity Fair last month. And to think - they were developed here in Manchester at the University of Salford by our friend Phil!!!!)


Yesterday the nursing group spent the day at Hope Christian Hospital shadowing nurses in different departments. A couple of us were shadowing nurses in the OR, a couple of us were shadowing in what is called the A & E (ER), and a couple of us were in the ICU. I shadowed a nurse in the ICU, and it has been the most memorable experience of the trip so far. While I was a little nervous about my first clinical experience, I was much more excited. When we walked into the ICU it was a little intimidating. In the U.S. the ICU ward of a hospital consists of a single room for each ICU patient, or at least a solid wall between the patients so that everyone has their own private space. This was not the case at Hope Christian Hospital. The ICU ward of the hospital consisted of one huge room with about 8 beds on either side of the room. Thin curtains were the only thing separating the patients from one another, and the curtains were only drawn when the patient was undergoing an examination or having their bedding changed. So when we walked in to the ICU we could see every patient in the ward and it was a little intimidating for me having that as my first clinical experience. My nurse, however, was very warm and inviting and after a while I felt really comfortable. She explained to me why my patient had been admitted into the ICU, and all the treatments she had received so far. My patient was scheduled to undergo tracheostomy placement that afternoon, and the doctor asked if I felt up to helping with the procedure. So I got “scrubbed up”. My job was to hold her airway tube in place while the tube that was being placed in her trachea was put in by the doctor. I had a front row seat during the whole procedure, and the doctor explained everything to me as he did it. While I don’t understand everything that happened, it was such an incredible experience!! -Kristin Douglas

---