I was, somewhat, awake at 7am, relying on recently chugged black coffee to instill in me some sense of alertness. My short frame, donning a scrub, fell next to much taller Dr. Fritz, a thoracic surgeon at Gwinnett Medical Center. Once Dr. Fritz’s I.D. met the door scanner, a bustling energy swirled around me.
Nurses spoke to one another succinctly. Doctors reviewed patient records and xrays. And I-- I followed Dr. Fritz’s long strides into an operating theater where bright overhead lights beamed into the center of the room and country music rang softly in the background-- the “operating time” playlist as Dr. Fritz had referred to it. Adrenaline rushed through the veins of my toes and fingers, making them tremble with a violent nervousness, but I mirrored Dr. Fritz’s actions-- glancing down at my scrubs, and lifting the surgical mask from my neck until the stiff edge met the bridge of my nose.
Moments later, a nurse wheeled in a middle-aged man, gently transferring him from his bed to the operating table. The anesthesiologist prepared to deliver the patient medications, …show more content…
There I was, in the midst of science and technology working together to truly enhance lives. This doing was a work of people--educated, creative people-- who had been inspired. For me, nothing could have been more exciting. I had seen first hand a field I wanted to become a part of, a field enhanced by the interdisciplinary works of engineers, scientists, and physicians. It’s so exciting and inspiring to know that by the time I enter this field, so many more advancements will have been made. Humans are so interesting in that we are constantly creating, but I think the one of the fascinating things we have ever done has been applying our inventions to directly better the health of our own kind. That day, standing in the operating room, I became more excited than I had ever been to enter the STEM
Nurses spoke to one another succinctly. Doctors reviewed patient records and xrays. And I-- I followed Dr. Fritz’s long strides into an operating theater where bright overhead lights beamed into the center of the room and country music rang softly in the background-- the “operating time” playlist as Dr. Fritz had referred to it. Adrenaline rushed through the veins of my toes and fingers, making them tremble with a violent nervousness, but I mirrored Dr. Fritz’s actions-- glancing down at my scrubs, and lifting the surgical mask from my neck until the stiff edge met the bridge of my nose.
Moments later, a nurse wheeled in a middle-aged man, gently transferring him from his bed to the operating table. The anesthesiologist prepared to deliver the patient medications, …show more content…
There I was, in the midst of science and technology working together to truly enhance lives. This doing was a work of people--educated, creative people-- who had been inspired. For me, nothing could have been more exciting. I had seen first hand a field I wanted to become a part of, a field enhanced by the interdisciplinary works of engineers, scientists, and physicians. It’s so exciting and inspiring to know that by the time I enter this field, so many more advancements will have been made. Humans are so interesting in that we are constantly creating, but I think the one of the fascinating things we have ever done has been applying our inventions to directly better the health of our own kind. That day, standing in the operating room, I became more excited than I had ever been to enter the STEM