Today, the last day, was another day of clinic. Today was just as busy as Monday if not more busy because of all of the invitations to travel to give speeches Dr. McElveen has. Today was similar to Monday, but I was more independent. I interviewed new patients to see where they were at and what symptoms they were having, I filled out and completed patient’s charts, presented patients to Dr. McElveen as if we were doing grand rounds in medical school and then sat in on the consultations that Dr. McElveen had with the patients.
I saw many new things happen today (steroid injections to the ear drum/round window), but one of the coolest things I saw today was Dr. McElveen implanting a hearing device onto a patients ear drum as part of a trial. This implant was special because it was a tiny tiny device with a motor and surface that uses light to produce sound transmitted through the ear. They programmed it to play a certain song and tested it with a light instrument. What was really cool about it was it was implanted on the patients ear drum so it was like a mini speaker that produced sounds only he could hear with the activation of light. Dr. McElveen noted it was very new technology and only in testing phases, but I found it fascinating. I really enjoyed my time with Dr. McElveen, and found it very useful in figuring out where exactly I want to go with my career.