“Going from full-time patient to health care worker made me a better sonographer\ from how to worker Watch Video

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✓ Published: 01-Apr-2024

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A woman who went from full-time patient to health care worker says her experiences made her a “better” sonographer.<br/><br/>Jackie Penn, 31, spent eight years of her life in and out of hospital battling several autoimmune diseases.<br/><br/>She was diagnosed with Crohn's disease aged 13 after experiencing stomach issues.<br/><br/>Jackie was then diagnosed with bronchiectasis aged 15 – a long-term condition that can make the lungs more vulnerable to infection – and was constantly being admitted to hospital with pneumonia.<br/><br/>After finally finding the drugs which could help keep her conditions under control Jackie felt inspired to go back to school to retrain as a sonographer.<br/><br/>She experienced a mixture of good and bad bedside manner as a patient and wanted to make a difference to how people are treated.<br/><br/>Jackie, a sonographer, from Los Angeles, California, US, said: “From aged 13 to 21 I spent a lot of time in and out of hospital.<br/><br/>“What was happening to my body was traumatic.<br/><br/>“Sometimes people don’t treat you like a human.<br/><br/>“I thought ‘I can do better than that’.<br/><br/>“There has to be a better way to treat patients.<br/><br/>“My goal is to have people leave happier than when they came in.<br/><br/>“I feel I can relate to a patient and it makes them feel relaxed.<br/><br/>“I’m a better healthcare professional because of my experience.”<br/><br/>Jackie struggled with a loss of appetite as a child and noticed blood in her poo.<br/><br/>She was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease aged 13 and was fitted with a colostomy bag aged 21.<br/><br/>She also struggled with her breathing and constant illness as a child and was diagnosed with bronchiectasis aged 15.<br/><br/>Jackie spent the next eight years in and out of hospital while doctors worked to find a drug that helped ease both her conditions.<br/><br/>She remembers the positive and negative experiences she had with healthcare professionals and their bedside manner.<br/><br/>Jackie said: “One nurse came in and tried to move me around after I had surgery to remove my intestines.<br/><br/>“I said ‘what are you doing?’ and they ignored me.<br/><br/>“Once a nurse was chewing gum. It’s pretty unprofessional.<br/><br/>“You feel like you’re vulnerable.”<br/><br/>When Jackie had her colostomy reversed in May 2017 she decided she wanted to go back to school to go into a medical profession.<br/><br/>She left her photography job and started ultrasound tech school in January 2021 – after working out she wanted to go into sonography.<br/><br/>Jackie said: “I did a lot of shadowing.<br/><br/>“I found I really enjoyed ultrasound tech.<br/><br/>“I felt like a detective.”<br/><br/>Jackie graduated and started her job as a sonographer in July 2022.