Tag Archives: medical field

Dipping My Toes in the Pool of Medical Professionalism

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This past week has been much more relaxing than the week before and I’ve started to become more content with my uncertain future. I finished up my time at both of my jobs at home and am now in Claremont visiting friends before I leave for Dublin!

Before I left, I had the chance to talk with three different medical professionals, all women, and all very excited about their work. One was a PT, and MD, and an NP. It was really interesting to hear them all talk about their schooling and their work environment, soaking up the pros and cons of each. The biggest idea I took away from the conversation was that they are never bored at work and often feel like detectives, trying to figure out what’s wrong with a patient, and developing the proper treatment plan for each individual. This felt promising, as my main concern for most potential jobs is that I will get tired of them.

Even though I could’ve guessed that their day to day work likely remained interesting, even after many years, to hear it from the source comforted me and is now a big factor in my potential decision to enter the medical field. Another distinction they made between their patients was that, even if two patients presented symptoms pointing to a particular illness or disease, they could rarely address the situation in a similar fashion. They noted that oftentimes, patients present different symptoms that reflect their living environment and that is when they really have to play detective.  

They must dive into their patient’s medical history and develop the best treatment plan for that individual. In that way, the MD noted that, talking can be the best way to figure out what’s wrong with a patient. She described an experience with a patient where she needed his family’s medical history and ruled out many potential diagnoses based on that information alone. This was also exciting news to hear and made me realize that social skills are very important in medicine, as they can help you, help your patient in a less invasive way.

I consider myself to be a social person and know that my friends feel comfortable confiding in me because I will listen openly. Based on my conversation with these medical professionals, those to qualities seem like they would help me be a more effective medical professional and help me patients more in the long run. I was also able to talk with a friend who has decided to go to nursing school, and eventually become a nurse practitioner. It was nice to have her perspective, as she is still a student in Claremont and also went through a period where she considered both nursing and medical school. She suggested that I make a list of the pros and cons for each profession and really highlight what means the most to me.

Although it’s hard to determine what might be important to me in the future, there are definitely things, like whether or not I want to have a family or travel the world, that will be big factors in the list as of right now. I think this list will allow me to figure out what is most important to me and will help me figure out if one profession will allow me more chances to accomplish those things or if it will hinder my ability to do them. Here’s to a great week, and some list making!

How One Patient Changed My Career Path

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From the vast exploration in academia I have experienced up to this point, I have always enjoyed  helping people and studying science. As a potential career path,  I thought nursing or being a physician would be a good fit. I have heard that one of the questions asked to get in to medical school is “Why do you want to be a doctor?” and it is a pretty fair question that I am sure medical schools get some cookie cutter answers to. So before I direct my life towards a career in medicine, I wanted to find an honest answer to why I want to be a doctor. Luckily I met a woman who showed me why I wanted to pursue medicine.

For the first eight weeks of my internship at the Washington Hospital Center’s Center for Ethics, I mostly saw patients in the intensive care units (ICUs) and Burn Center who were mentally incapacitated. As a part of the medical team, ethics usually makes a recommendation concerning the care of the patient. Since many of the patients were unable to make decisions for themselves, Ethics often relies on the physicians and nurses involved with the patient, the social worker, and the decision maker for the patient. In the last week of my time in Washington, D.C., Ethics was consulted on a case in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU). The patient was a weak and very frail, elderly woman with inexplicable lung and respiratory problems, and a history of heart problems that were fixed through surgery; however, some of the wires from the surgery needed to be repaired. In the meeting with her, the resident intensivist (the physician in the ICU) asked the patient several yes / no questions through a translator to which the patient responded appropriately. She then reached out to the intensivist, and held his hand for a moment that happened so quickly in real time but I remember with such detail that I will never forget.

My research mentor told me and the others in his lab that he was inspired to go in to research when he found someone who he looked up to and wanted to be. In that moment of the patient holding the intensivist’s hand, showing honest gratitude, and expressing so many words despite all the communication barriers, I wanted to be that doctor. I want to enable people to reach their goals, especially at the end of life, and to hold a patient’s hand knowing that I am a part of the team responsible for giving this person some happiness, despite the exhaustion and confusion. The frail, elderly woman, suffering from inexplicable lung failure inspired me to pursue medicine and gave me one of the most precious memories, without saying a word.

Editor’s Note: This guest blogger was a 2014 Scripps College Internship Grant recipient. To learn more about the 2015 Internship Grant process, click here.  Deadline Feb. 5.

Learning the Personal Side of Healthcare

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There was never really a typical day in my internship and that’s what I loved so much about it. In the field of medicine you’ll see new patients and meet new people every day. The idea of people coming together to heal another reflects one of the best parts of humanity.

Every specialty I’ve gotten to shadow as a part of my internship – pathology, cardiology, obstetrics and gynecology, oncology, internal medicine, dermatology – all demonstrated a passion for the well being of others. I got to see a few autopsies, got to hear a yet-to-be-born baby’s heartbeat, witnessed the heart beating and lungs expanding in a patient having lung cancer removed, got to see countless cardiology procedures from kids to adults and from stents to defibrillators. I sat in on a patient visit discussing with the whole family whether grandpa should get chemotherapy or go into palliative care. I got to sit in on morning hospital rounds discussing patient cases and what should be done for each patient in the ICU. I even saw skin cancer cut out of patients’ face. I learned a lot about the methodology behind how the patient is diagnosed and treated.

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Here, I am pictured presenting my pharmacogenetics project.

There were many “a-ha” moments experienced during my internship, but two stick out in my mind at this time. One was when I was shadowing a physician. We just saw a patient who believed that when he pinched himself and he saw it turn red, it meant he had enough salt in his body. Afterwards, in his office, the physician explained to me that many patients bring superstitious beliefs to him. As long as the superstitions don’t interfere with their health or treatment, he let’s them believe whatever they want. He then went on to relate the patient’s belief in superstition to religion. Patient’s superstitions about their body calm them down and give them a sense of control, knowledge, and assurance. Through superstitions, patients find a way to explain what’s happening with their bodies similar to how we look to religion for solace.

The second time was during my volunteer shift at the ER. While restocking patient rooms I came across an aggravated old lady in a hospital bed. While informing the patient I’d just be restocking the room, she asked when the ambulance would be coming to take her to the nursing home. I checked with her nurse and he explained that it would be 15 minutes. She was frustrated so I talked to her; she expressed her concerns and I expressed empathy. At one point eventually, she started telling me about how her cats like to watch the birds on her patio. She smiled many times and with her lifted mood, before long, 15 minutes had passed.

There were interactions like these with patients where I realized that sometimes all a patient wants is someone to be there for them and for someone to care. Sometimes I would be out in the hospital from 7:30am to 8:00pm and I’d enjoy every minute of it.

Editor’s Note: This guest blogger was a 2014 Scripps College Internship Grant recipient. To learn more about the 2015 Internship Grant process, click here.  Deadline Feb. 5.