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(From left) Guy Merchant, EMRA study coordinator, Sarvenaz Alibeigi, fourth-year psychobiology st
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Science&Health: Students lend a hand in ER
Roland Palvolgyi heard a helicopter drone overhead, and the intercom in the Emergency Department buzzed “ETA, five minutes.”
Along with doctors and nurses, Palvolgyi watched as the TV broadcast images of a helicopter landing on the helipad above the UCLA hospital, and the Emergency Medical Technicians unloaded a man onto a stretcher.
The man had driven his motorcycle off a cliff and was badly wounded.
The Emergency Department, or ED, was suddenly awash with activity. Palvolgyi put on his X-ray-proof vest and hurried to the trauma room, where doctors would begin assessing the man’s injuries.
Palvolgyi, a second-year physiological science student, is one of 30 Emergency Medical Research Associates, or EMRAs, who conduct research in the ED for physicians’ studies.
To gather data for the various studies the program undertakes, EMRAs interview physicians and sometimes follow up with patients. In addition, EMRAs are able to observe major traumas treated in the ED.
“We are here to do research but in the ED anything can happen, and the doctors may need our help at any time,” Palvolgyi said.
EMRAs said the experience they gain is unique because it combines research and clinical experience.
“There are other ways to get clinical experience, but being an EMRA allows you to have consistent exposure to the ED,” said Sarvenaz Alibeigi, a coordinator of the program and a fourth-year premed and psychobiology student. “Each shift I have I see something new,” she added.
Doctors cannot focus on collecting data from patients for research because there is too much going on. “In this way, we can act as the eyes and ears of the ED,” she said.
Each EMRA completes a weekly four-hour shift in which he or she periodically checks for patients in the ER who meet the criteria for the current study.
“To have a dedicated person in the ED ... to screen patients from 8 am to 12 am seven days a week ... makes resources available that otherwise wouldn’t be,” said Guy Merchant, study coordinator for the EMRA program.
The EMRA program began in April 2005, and since then, EMRAs have assisted with studies focused on syncope, or fainting episodes, adolescent suicide prevention and smoking-cessation counseling.
Currently, the EMRAs are researching head Computed Tomography (CT) scans in order to make the process of ordering a head CT scan more efficient.
Researchers want to isolate the reasons doctors order head CT scans for patients that do not display an obvious need for one because these scans are expensive and also expose patients to radiation.
Aside from experiencing the excitement of the ED, some research associates also find satisfaction in the application of the research initiatives.
“Being a part of this (program) has helped to build my interest in public health, because many of our studies look at how health care is provided,” said Heidi Vanyo, an EMRA coordinator and UCLA graduate.
EMRAs also said the clinical experience they gained through the program played an important role in affirming their desire to pursue medicine.
“You can say you want to be a doctor, but until you go into the ER you don’t really know what it takes,” said Tasha Fernando, a third-year physiological science student and EMRA coordinator.
As part of the EMRA program, students receive two units a quarter of pass/no pass Student Research Program credit and UCLA hospital volunteer hours. “It’s the whole package,” Palvolgyi said.
Most EMRAs are premed or interested in public health, but the program also welcomes students who are trying to decide if medicine suits them.
The EMRA program coordinators said they look for students who are passionate about medicine and able to devote at least two quarters to the program.
For more information about the EMRA program, e-mail uclaemrastaff@gmail.com.
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