The Duties and Skills of Each of the Major Departments - Case Study Example

Annual Report Metro General Hospital Descriptive Departmental Listing In order to fully analyze the implications of this years annual report, we must be aware of all the departments available to patients here at Metro General, and what responsibilities those departments have. This report will clarify the duties and skills of each of the major departments: Dermatology, Oncology, Gastroenterology, Pulmonary, Cardiology, Endocrinology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Orthopedics, and Neurology. This includes a listing of the major issues seen in each department, what equipment the department possesses, and the treatment for which our staff is best qualified and known. The Dermatology department deals primarily with skin diseases, their symptoms, and other disorders that manifest with skin symptoms. The most common cases are those of contact dermatitis, acne, and atopic dermatitis. Additionally, the Dermatology department deals with less common benign neoplasms and malignant melanomas. The department consists of the dermatitis treatment team, made up of world-class allergists, the dermatological surgery team, who operate on neoplasms and melanomas that require removal, and the laser clinic, who primarily focus on cosmetic treatments such as hair removal. We have recently obtained equipment for ultraviolet radiation therapy, which is a safer and faster treatment for skin conditions that can be managed with exposure to sunlight. Our oncology department has been growing by leaps and bounds in the past year. The department now contains a pediatric oncology clinic and a breast health center, in addition to our existing radiation treatment clinic, chemotherapy clinic, oncological operating room, breast cancer treatment clinic, and palliative care clinic. We also cross-treat with the cancer clinics within each of the other major departments. Our most common cases are generally breast cancer and gynecological cancers, but the presenting cases are so widely varied that it is difficult to pin down what are the most treated. Radiation therapies we offer include both brachytherapy and external beam treatments. The side effects of these treatments are the obvious reason for the palliative care needed, as many of the patients suffer greatly, and additionally, a patient receiving brachytherapy can stay in one of our shielded rooms to avoid exposing others to their radioactivity. We also offer alternative treatments including ozone therapy, UV therapy, and nutritional guidance including supplements that may help improve a patients comfort level. The Gastroenterology department primarily deals with three common conditions: gastroesophageal reflux, ulcers, and colorectal cancer. Reflux and ulcers are diagnosed by our specialists in endoscopy and esophageal manometry. We can treat extreme cases in our gastrointestinal surgery clinic, which is also used to treat patients with colorectal cancer. The other major responsibility of the gastroenterology department is to diagnose chest pain that has been determined to be non-cardiac in origin. In addition, we have equipment for a variety of treatments, including small bowel enteroscopy, laser endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasounds, and gastric acid secretory analysis. The Pulmonary department deals with many of the critical care cases that come through the hospital doors. We treat cases as varied as cystic fibrosis control, environmental lung disease, pulmonary hypertension and vascular disease, acute injuries, embolisms, COPD, and asthma. Departmental specialists include pulmonary radiologists, surgeons, oncologists, pathologists and allergists, in order to image, diagnose, and treat the patients of the department. The department offers diagnostic testing of bronchoscopy, exercise stress testing, catheterization, and functional testing. We also have equipment for sleep apnea testing for the patients to take home overnight, and a surgical department for trauma cases. The Cardiology department deals with heart disease cases, primarily focusing on acute chest pain diagnosis. We also have an educational center to help with heart health preventative care. We treat congenital heart disease, hypertension, heart failure and cardiac arrest, and we even have a transplant program. Our set-up includes equipment for cardiovascular ultrasounds, electrophysiology, cardiac nuclear imaging, and cardiac stress testing. Our chest pain diagnostic center helps quickly triage the emergency patients and divide them into those who need immediate surgery, those who need continuing care and monitoring by the cardiac unit, and those whose pain is non-cardiac in nature. Our Endocrinology department focuses on hormone conditions, most commonly diabetes- and cholesterol-related conditions. We also diagnose and treat adrenal tumors, acromegaly and other growth disorders, hyper- and hypo-thyroidism, male infertility, and osteoporosis. We have specialists and equipment available for ACTH stimulation testing for adrenal and pituitary function, bone density testing, glucose tolerance testing, thyroid biopsies, semen analyses, and TSH testing. We have specialists in nutrition and metabolism, neuroendocrinology, and several diabetes and glucose specialists. Treatments available in the department include insulin pumps, biphosphonate therapy, and radioactive iodine therapy, and several types of hormone replacement therapy. Our obstetrics and gynecology department includes a womens health clinic, a state-of-the-art birthing center, a fertility treatment laboratory, and a fetal medicine team that focus on high-risk pregnancies. Many of the conditions and treatments may cross over with the endocrinology department, requiring hormone replacement treatment. The diagnostic tools and equipment at the disposal of our gynecological physicians, among others, are reconstructive and cosmetic surgery, colposcopy, hysteroscopy, in vitro fertilization, urodynamic testing, and pubovaginal slings. Our obstetrics team makes use of ultrasounds, chromosome profiling, fetal monitoring, chorionic villi sampling, and amniocentesis to keep track of the health of both the mother and the fetus. Our Orthopedics department deals with many trauma cases involving broken bones or severed tendons and nerves, as well as treating common chronic conditions such as arthritis, lateral epicondylitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. The department also provides a wide range of podiatric care treatments and foot pain management. Our new orthopedic operating room and surgery staff allows us to now offer joint replacement and reconstruction surgery, as well as expanding our range of care for orthopedic cancers to include prosthetics. The department has on staff specialists in rehabilitation and physical therapy to help patients with getting used to their new joints, and several practitioners experienced in prosthetic design, fitting, and installation for those cases where the joint or limb cannot be saved. The department primarily makes use of X-rays, CT scans, and MRI scans as diagnostic tools for trauma cases, but also uses bone density scans, arthrography, and joint aspiration for chronic case diagnosis. Last but not least, we come to our Neurology department. The department has specialists available for the treatment of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, neurological infections, brain tumors, and ALS. The department also has a cerebrovascular center to handle many of the urgent cases from the emergency department, such as cerebral aneurysms and stroke, which require immediate care. We have on-site EEG and EMG laboratories, brainstem auditory monitoring equipment, a transcranial ultrasound machine, and a neuropsychological evaluation specialist for neurobehavioral disorders, all of which make our neurological diagnosis process rapid and efficient. This hospital has always prided itself on excellence. We now provide an astonishingly wide range of services to our patients. As this report shows, in the areas of dermatology, oncology, gastroenterology, pulmonary care, cardiology, endocrinology, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, and neurology, Metro General is unmatched in quality and diversity of patient care. Read More