Student Voices: Raphael Milne – Exploring novel approaches to treating out of hospital cardiac arrests

Our Summer Research Students have been settling into life at EHAAT, so we caught up with Raphael to find out more about his first couple of weeks with us.

Tell us a little bit about yourself

My name is Raphael and I am a final year medical student at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. I’ve got a keen interest in Anaesthetics and Pre-Hospital Care and I have a degree in Pre-Hospital Medicine. Outside of my studies, I love cooking and I am really into field hockey and the gym.

What made you want to take part in the Summer Research Programme?

During my degree in Pre-Hospital Medicine, I became more interested in pre-hospital research. EHAAT’s Centre for Excellence conducts research in many of these areas. Prior to this research programme, I had the pleasure of working with some of EHAAT’s clinicians as part of some research I conducted during my degree, as well as undertaking clinical shifts with the critical care team. I really wanted to develop my research literacy which to help me in my future career endeavours, so when the opportunity arose to apply to this programme, it was a no-brainer for me as everyone at EHAAT are such lovely and inspiring individuals.

What project have you been working on?

I’m thrilled to be working on a project delving into novel approaches to treating out of hospital cardiac arrests. Many of the patients and families that EHAAT attend each year are impacted by out of hospital cardiac arrest. My project examines possible tools that EHAAT could use to increase the performance of CPR given to patients in cardiac arrest.  It lays the groundwork for investigating whether different equipment could help EHAAT clinicians to provide higher quality CPR.

What was your favourite part of the programme this week?

My most memorable part of this week was when I attended the Clinico-Pathological Correlation (CPC) meeting. This is quite an innovative development and something that I have not seen throughout my medical career so far. These meetings allow for clinical teams to discuss complex presentations of patients in the presence of an expert forensic pathologist, Dr Ben Swift. Ben was able to shed light on the true underlying reasons for the clinical presentations of some of the patients that EHAAT helps to treat. Rather than hypothesising about the clinical pictures, medical syndromes and traumatic injuries that patients have, these meetings allow for the clinical team to fully understand the exact causes behind the medical emergencies they attend.

What was most challenging for you this week?

The most challenging part of this week has been looking into the possible ways I can develop my project into a study. This has taken up a considerable amount of time and careful attention to detail. Over the past few weeks, I have been reading through hundreds of medical research papers on cardiac arrest to gauge the current backdrop of cardiac arrest care. What I have realised throughout this time, is that the more papers that I have been reading, the more questions I have surrounding this topic. I have found this naturally frustrating; however, I recognise it is extremely important to truly understand the topic before writing about it.

If you had to share one takeaway from the Programme so far, what would it be?

So far, my biggest takeaway has been how to apply the theory of “garbage in, garbage out.”

Conclusions are only as good as the data that you collect and in medical research, sometimes it can be challenging to collect data that is accurate, reliable, and generalisable. When analysing research, it is therefore important to establish whether the data that has led to a particular conclusion is relevant and reliable. Essentially, don’t believe everything you read blindly! I have realised that it is important to exercise this approach to anything and everything I read going forwards, including news articles and especially posts on social media! In today’s day and age, misinformation is rife. An analytical approach allows for a better understanding of facts versus fiction.

Do you have anything other comments you’d like to share?

I would strongly urge anyone who is considering applying to this programme in the future to give it a go! Research can be daunting, and I never thought I would make it here, but it is always worth saying yes to every opportunity.

 We look forward to sharing more from the students in the coming weeks!

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