My pager began frantically vibrating while I was pulling instrument sets for an upcoming surgical case. The glowing screen alerted me that a trauma patient would soon be entering the operating room. I rushed over to OR 26 where a flurry of activity was beginning as doctors, nurses, and surgical techs were preparing for every possible situation that could enter through the doors. A man in his late 20’s was soon carted into the room surrounded by a small fleet of emergency personnel and equipment. Several trauma surgeons began an exploratory laparotomy to assess the extent of his injuries from a motorcycle accident. Four separate teams of surgeons conducted five procedures on the patient during an eight-hour operation. Amid the frenzy, I was able to perform a myriad of tasks, from positioning the patient, preparing instruments, and retrieving hundreds of units of blood as I attempted to catch my breath from miles of running. I was
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When I was younger, my picture was very narrow and out of focus. In 2012, my grandfather passed away from complications of a metastatic prostate cancer that he had battled for more than half a decade. I was 16 at the time, and I don’t think I was able to fully comprehend the intricacies of the medical treatments that were used to extend his life. Back then and for as long as I can remember, I have been interested in science and the natural world. I have spent many hours dedicated to activities like building collections of fossils and adding to bird watching lists. Importantly, I have always been a biologist at heart, so the science of human body was not something I was unfamiliar with or uninterested in. What was keeping me from understanding the bigger picture of my grandfather’s situation was the perspective and compassion that are realized when one commits to scientific inquiry and serves others through medical
When I was younger, my picture was very narrow and out of focus. In 2012, my grandfather passed away from complications of a metastatic prostate cancer that he had battled for more than half a decade. I was 16 at the time, and I don’t think I was able to fully comprehend the intricacies of the medical treatments that were used to extend his life. Back then and for as long as I can remember, I have been interested in science and the natural world. I have spent many hours dedicated to activities like building collections of fossils and adding to bird watching lists. Importantly, I have always been a biologist at heart, so the science of human body was not something I was unfamiliar with or uninterested in. What was keeping me from understanding the bigger picture of my grandfather’s situation was the perspective and compassion that are realized when one commits to scientific inquiry and serves others through medical