When an on-the-job injury landed a young Electric Boat (EB) engineer in the L+M Hospital Emergency Department, it turned out to be the start of an eye-opening transformation for Javier Pratdesaba.
That day, while awaiting test results, the inquisitive chemical and bio-molecular engineer encountered a work environment vastly different from that of an engineer helping to design nuclear submarines.
Pratdesaba saw doctors, nurses, patient care assistants, interpreters, technologists and others caring for people from all walks of life, in real time, and with a level of teamwork that mesmerized him with its intensity and complexity.
Once healed and back to his routine, Pratdesaba couldn’t shake the feeling that he witnessed something extraordinary, so he contacted the hospital about volunteering. Soon he was back in the ED, helping out and learning all he could.
“A few shifts in, I had already made up my mind (to become a doctor),” Pratdesaba said. “I kept thinking, ‘This is where I belong. This is where I want my career to take me.’”
Looking back, Pratdesaba loved math, physics and chemistry, and thought engineering was his best career path. “I enjoyed working at Electric Boat, but little did I know there was a missing component to really make me feel satisfied,” he said.
Call it the human element. “The ED is like a window to the community,” he said. “I saw patients who had just had accidents, others who were intoxicated or homeless, or people going through very profound challenges.”
One day, while chatting with a patient who was giving the nurses a hard time, Pratdesaba learned their family situation involved substance abuse and estrangement. “It really struck me,” he said. “This person was a bright individual who just wasn’t dealt the best hand in life. That experience taught me not to be so judgmental, especially when you want to attribute someone’s behaviors to their disposition instead of their situation.”
L+M doctors were quick to assess Pratdesaba’s intelligence and potential. Deirdre Cronin, MD, Emergency Medicine, encouraged him to shadow her. Pratdesaba also observed surgeries, including a robotic prostatectomy performed by Joseph Renzulli, MD, chief of Urology at L+M and Westerly hospitals and associate professor of Urology at Yale School of Medicine.
“It was a mentoring opportunity that truly aligned with Yale New Haven Health’s philosophy as an academic health system,” Dr. Renzulli said. “We need to nurture the next generation of medical professionals if we want to continue to thrive. Maybe one day Javier will be back to join our team.”
Pratdesaba also credits Shelly Warrander, manager of Volunteer Services and Guest Relations, for giving him the opportunity of a lifetime. “Through these volunteer experiences I saw just how much the quality of care can impact someone’s life,” he said.
“The hospital accepts hundreds of volunteers, but it’s rare to see someone as awestruck as Javier,” Warrender said. “It was a true joy to see our doctors and nurses give him such encouragement and inspiration. They literally set him on a new lifetime journey – one of caring for his fellow human beings.”
As a future doctor, Pratdesaba said he wants not only to treat patients’ conditions but advocate to improve root causes of societal problems, including gun violence, homelessness and addiction.
Pratdesaba departed Electric Boat and is doing graduate work until he can enter medical school. He recently took his MCATs, the test required to get into medical school. He not only passed; his scores were among the highest in the country.
