Tag: Clinical Work

Catch 22 – Day 3

Today I shadowed Dr. Summers at Wake Orthopedics to see what a day in the life of an orthopedic doctor was (at least when they’re doing clinical work). Before I came to shadow, Dr. Summers told me to review the muscle groups of the general areas he sees the most, shoulder and knee, and sure enough, 90% if not more of the patients today were for the shoulder and knee.

The morning was mostly smooth sailing except for one difficult patient who was requesting some things the doctor just could not give her and feel medically ok with doing. I know that sounds vague, but for obvious reasons, I can’t really explain further. I must say though, the most informative part of my day was actually learning how to read an MRI scan. I had always seen them on the computer screens in those medical tv shows, but it just looked like a bunch of black and grey blobs everywhere. By the end of the day I was able to spot some of the tears in ligaments in the knee on the MRI scan without Dr. Summers having to specifically point it out, which was a major accomplishment in my opinion. Because I got to work in Cary today, I was actually super close to my mom’s workplace and got to drive over there for their potluck lunch and visit Hannah! It was great getting to see a friendly face after so much time working and so little time to hang out with people. We had an amazing lunch and then it was back to the races.

The reason I named this post “Catch 22” is because that was a phrase that can sum up a lot of the patients’ stories. For many of them, their problem was caused by a lifestyle choice, and by fixing their lifestyle choice they could fix the problem. The catch 22 though, is that the problem often inhibits them from being able to make that lifestyle change, therefore leaving them between a rock and a hard place.

I did very much appreciate by time in orthopedics, although brief. It sparked a new interest I never really knew I had!

Day 4

Today I got to work in the clinic alongside Dr. Hsu which meant that I went a couple buildings over to the medical center. I got to meet five cancer patients that day with ages ranging from 42 to 81 with cancers ranging from colorectal cancer to anal cancer to pancreatic cancer to even lung cancer. I couldn’t take many pictures because by law, you’re not allowed to take pictures within the clinical facility, but the picture below is of the office space that I sat in while Dr. Hsu showed me different CT scans and showed me how to identify cancer or abnormal spotting on a patient. The first patient that we saw had colorectal cancer and had already gotten most of his colon removed in surgery; however, what we saw on the CT scans was a little disheartening as we found an abnormal spot on his lungs not because the cancer had spread from his colon, but because he was a heavy smoker. So Dr. Hsu ordered more scans and tests to continue with treatment. Another patient that we saw that day was in the terminal stages of his cancer. Dr. Hsu explained to me that his cancer started out as colorectal cancer and then spread to his pancreas where the cancer cells multiplied so quickly that it completely compressed his stomach (you could see the dramatic decrease in the size of his stomach on the scan) so that he needed a feeding tube to consume food. His cancer, unfortunately, was completely untreatable, but Dr. Hsu saw that he was healthy enough and strong enough (despite losing more than twenty pounds) to undergo another round of chemotherapy just to contain the cancer enough to give him a few more good living months. Another patient we saw that previously had anal cancer came in because of an arterial clot. What Dr. Hsu explained to me is that venal clots are common, easier to detect and treat, and sometimes occur without another factor or cause influencing it. However, arterial clots are much rarer and can easily be fatal, and they are primarily caused by some other disease or outside influencer. What Dr. Hsu was worried about was that his cancer had returned and that was what was causing the clot, so he ordered more scans be completed to check for any signs of recurring cancer.

The experience in the clinic was totally different than all of my other days in the lab. And what struck me most about my experience in the clinic was the general disposition of all of the cancer patients. The relationship that the cancer patients have with their doctors is absolutely spectacular. Because the oncologist sees them regularly for long periods of time, they become extremely attached; I was really fascinated and comforted by the positive relationships that the oncologists formed with their patients and vice versa.

 

 

 

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