HELP WITH DISC (2) AND REPLIES (2) DUE IN 24 HOURS

Week 9 - Practicum

Discussion Topic

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As this course comes to an end, I want you to reflect and discuss how you will use what you have learned in the embalming room. I understand many of you might automatically think you will never use this again, however dig deep and really discuss where this will come in to play in your future. 

The discussions are a great way to learn and exchange information with others in the class.

TRENT’S POST:Bottom of Form

I can actually give an example of how it helped me two days ago, but I'll have to play the devil's advocate here as well. I noticed that a decedent who I was embalming most likely had graves disease, which is a condition that I learned about in this class. I noticed a bulging in the eyes where fluid was present. I was with my mentor at the time, and he knew how to treat it(but he didn't know what it was called). However, had this happened later on down the road once I'm no longer an apprentice, I would have been able to go online and figure out the best method for treating this case; because I knew what it was(If I remember it for that long). This same thing can happen with many other conditions we've learned about in this class. With that said, is the depth of the content in this class a little bit over the top? I'd have to argue that it is. I say that as somebody who works in a prep room on a near-daily basis and consistently achieves great results. The fact of the matter is that it really isn't that difficult to embalm a body with complications(there's always complications, that's why they're dead) if you know even just the basics of modern embalming and you train under a skilled professional. 9.9 times out of 10, you can look at a body, assess the conditions that are currently present, and make your plan from there. Is edema present? Are they emaciated? Is tissue gas present? Are decubitus ulcers present? Is staining present? You get the drift. Modern embalming has a solution for all of these variables, and if you took embalming, you should know how to assess and treat them. Understanding the pathogenesis of the microorganisms that lead to these conditions, or the "why" in the case of embalming is a lot less important than the "how". If we didn't have/use universal precaution, then I'd say this class would be much more essential. But we do, and we have pathology to thank for that. So I treat every case as though it has the bubonic plague and is still infested with plague-carrying fleas, and I stick to my embalming principles. If you ever find yourself confused or stumped in the prep room, the best thing to do is to stop what you're doing and consult with somebody that has more experience than you. 

CHRISTINA’S POST:

I enjoyed this course. It has been a tough one because of the amount of material covered. I feel like understanding the diseases we have learned about and their effects they have postmortem is extremely beneficial. When we know a little about how the deceased passed (we won't always know) we can better treat, embalm, and handle the bodies. When someone is jaundiced we now know what chemicals are suggested for use, and slow injection rate. We know what disease we can possibly face as embalmers as well. I thoroughly believe the material we have covered in this class will be beneficial in the field. We know what diseases are dangerous, and how they affect the body, in turn affecting the embalmer. I also thought I was going to dread the research paper assignment, but once I got started I loved it. I learned a substantial amount about my topic. Good luck on finals everyone.