Today was back to the busy 7:45am-5pm schedule, but I didn’t mind as I saw lots of cool procedures, pre-cancerous and cancerous spots (not “cool” per say, but interesting to see what characteristics differ from something benign to something cancerous), and biopsies. To start the day off, several biopsies were done to remove spots on the skin that Dr. Mangelsdorf deemed concerning- one of which she told me may be Melanoma. In order to understand the difference between Basal cancer cells and Melanoma, I completed the Melanoma module online. Here, I learned all the symptoms and signs that characterize Melanoma as well as the best ways to treat it! Bringing both the visual I had of the spot from the patient and the knowledge I obtained from the module together incited deep understanding and excitement in me!
At lunch, a potluck was held in honor of a member of the practice’s last day in the office. Christina, who’s work experience was close by Cary Dermatology today, came by and ate with me in our hour long lunch break. There was a variety of different foods that employees of Cary Dermatology brought or made and Christina and I were not shy when it came to stacking our plates with food! This was a great midday break to a crazy morning at work and really helped refuel me for the packed afternoon to come.
My favorite part of work experience today was getting to shadow a surgery after lunch. Here, I was able to watch Dr. Mangelsdorf preform a procedure that I had watched earlier in the day on one of my modules. It was amazing to get a front row view of what was being done as well as knowing what and why Dr. Mangelsdorf did what she did during the surgery! After the surgery was finished, Dr. Mangelsdorf explained the steps she took to ensure that the sutures were placed correctly and that the scar would heal in a flat and clean manor. It is really an artful practice!
Lastly, before I went home for the day, I watched Dr. Mangelsdorf use a tool I had seen thousands of times on Dr. Pimple Popper- a circular scalpel used to punch a hole into the skin! This was super exciting for me because I knew exactly what it would be used for and how it would be used before I saw Dr. Mangelsdorf use it! Overall, today was the best day so far and I can’t wait to see what another 7:45am-5pm day tomorrow holds.
