Hello once again! I can’t believe that this is Week 5, and that we’re already halfway through! I’ve slowly been coming back to full energy, and was on site for the full time this week. It was a very busy week, and I saw more than 15 patients.
But this week when I shadowed Dr. Barker, I was not alone. She had a student (named Heather) from Western Osteopathic Medical School completing a short clinical rotation at the practice as well! Whenever we entered a patient room, Dr. Barker introduced us as her “entourage”, as 4 people fill up a small visit room quite easily.
Getting to talk to and learn alongside Heather was so fascinating, as she is just a week away from Match Day (March 17th, the day around the world where 4th year medical students are told where they will be completing their residencies), and I’m just starting this whole journey as a pre-med undergrad student. Seeing her interact with patients was interesting as well. Even though every doctor has their own “bedside manner”, I could still recognize Heather’s Osteopathic training in her approach to care.
She gave me so much amazing advice, from how to survive pre-med undergrad, finish 9 hour board exams first year (yay testing), or stand through 6 hour surgeries without passing out (a lesson she learned the hard way after hitting the floor after about 4). Heather applied for Pediatric Residencies, and starts them in June. I can’t wait to hear where she’s headed, and was so grateful to have this little glimpse to my own future.
This week I also began to read some of the papers from the Women’s Health Convention! I only just started though, and have much more to go. I started with the recommended preventative screening standards this year, and the major one that’s changed is the screening test for cervical cancer, a pap smear. It was previously recommended annually from age 21-30, and then from age 31-65, every 3 years. Now, it is recommended every 3 years from age 21-65.
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| Except not 3 years more like 10 |
A possible reason for this decrease in screening is the fact that the presence of the HPV (the virus that causes cervical cancer) virus has severely decreased in the last several years due to the use of the Gardasil (HPV virus) vaccine. Thus the incidence of cervical cancer has also decreased (aka the vaccine is working and we are making great progress towards completing preventing cervical cancer!!)
So those are my highlights from this week. Thanks for reading; I’ll be back soon with more!
Hey Julia! I'm so sad to hear that you cannot post gifs :( It's always something I look forward to in everyone's blogs. Glad to hear that you're feeling better!!! My allergies are finally getting somewhat better. Quick question- sorry if this is silly- but why has there been fluctuations in the age range for the pap smear? Is there a particular reason behind it? Thank you, and I hope your gif situation is resolved soon :D
ReplyDeleteHi Saleena! Thankfully I have now fixed it. They have been changing based on their statistical efficacy (aka how significant the results are and how much they catch/learn from pap smears at certain ages). Pap smears check for cervical cancer, which is caused by the HPV virus and since the levels of the HPV virus are down, this again could account for the changes. Thanks for reading!
DeleteHey Julia! Your week sounds like so much fun! I'm glad you had someone to talk to about all those "what is the future" questions! Also, that 6 hour surgery story sounds terrifying; it's reminders like those that really make me appreciate people and what they do for us. Like Heather applied for Pediatrics, is there a certain field of medicine you wish to explore? I loved hearing about the papers from the convention, because I really didn't know that about cervical cancer. Anyway, great post (even without the gifs), and I can't wait to hear more!
ReplyDeleteHi Korina! Me too-- it was such a great and informative week! I am planning on applying for an emergency medicine residency, as that as the field I am most interested in. However, my mind could change in medical school or even sooner than that! I'm so glad you could learn about it then! And as usual, thanks for reading!!
DeleteHey Julia!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are feeling better. Interacting with another student finishing medical school must have been interesting. It's interesting to see where you might be a couple years ahead. Nine hour exams seem kind of excessive don't you think? Honestly, I'm not looking forward to that myself. I can't wait to hear about next week!
Shivalee Nigam
Hi Shivalee! It was amazing! And yes just sitting APs and SATs was terrible so tests twice as long are going to be a bit rough. But worth it! Thanks for reading!
DeleteHey Julia!
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to hear that this week has been so fulfilling! It must be so exciting to interact and learn from another medical school student in order to have a glimpse of how you may work in the future. Can you already tell how your bedside manner is developing? Could you explain more on some of the meetings with the patients with some specific details? I'm so excited to read next week's blog!
Julie Loison
Hi Julie! I am starting to figure out a little how I talk to patients, but it's definitely going to take some time! And yes in the future I will definitely go into more detail. Thanks for reading!
DeleteHi Julia! I'm so glad you were able to hear from someone who could give you insight on the long journey you're about to embark on as a pre-med student! It's so nice that each week you're able to move into a new branch of medicine! After being exposed to all of these difference fields, which do you think you'll pursue in the future? I can't wait to hear more about next week's adventures!
ReplyDeleteSophia Vaidya
Hi Sophia! Yes, it was truly amazing! I am still leaning towards emergency medicine; I just love how fast-paced and exciting it is. However, this internship has had me consider family practice, something I wasn't previously thinking about! Thanks for reading!
DeleteHi Julia!
ReplyDeleteIt was great to hear that you were able to talk to another med student to learn about her experience as you go through it yourself! Are there any other topics which you read about or interested you in the articles from the Women's Health Convention that you may be interested to explore in the future? Hope you have another great week with Dr. Barker! Can't wait for your next update
Bhumika K.
Hi Bhumika! There are some, but I haven't read through a ton yet (on topics such as genetic testing)! Thanks, and thanks for reading!
DeleteHi Julia!
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was so cool that you were able to get some perspective into the experiences of a pre-med undergrad! Also, overall, I really liked how much explanation and detail you used, especially when you gave a lot of description about what you read at the Women's Health Convention; i also liked how you gave an explanation as to why the change in screening standards occurred.
I'm excited for next week's post!
Kimmi S
Hi! Thank you so much-- I'm glad you enjoyed reading. I thought that specifically was super interesting, and am glad I could share it! Thanks for reading!
DeleteHi Julia!
ReplyDeleteIt's awesome that you got to talk to an actual medical student and get her advice. Furthermore, how old is Heather? You mentioned that she applied for a residency, so did she already get her M.D. and from where? I'm also glad to hear that the HPV virus has severely decreased. Overall, I have really enjoyed your posts so far. I definitely look forward to the last half of your research!
Best,
Gabby W.
Hi Gabby! Heather is 28, and just completed medical school as a D.O., an osteopath like Dr. Barker! She completed her studies at Western Medical School, an osteopathic medical school in CA. Thanks so much!
DeleteHi Julia! Another great post! Yeah, I had a similar eye-opening "intervention" about the stress of going through Med School from a post-doc researcher. There's a whole lot ahead, but your interest and passion for medicine shows through with your blog. For the Woman's Health Convention, were there any other developments that interested you? Can't wait to see next week's post!
ReplyDeleteHi Sri! That's so awesome. Thanks Sri! I am interested to read more into genetic testing for genetic predisposition caused by the BRCA, HER and other genes. I'll keep you updated, and thanks for reading!
DeleteHi Julia, really well written blog. I really think it was very cool that you got to interact with a student because getting opninon from a experienced person is very important. Overall, loved your blog. Really hope to hear back from you.
ReplyDeleteHi! Thanks so much; it was a really unique experience! Thanks for reading, and I'll post soon!
DeleteI had been to osteopathic treatment since to adhd and aspergers too and and was so relaxing afterwards I can recommend to anyone. See great kundalini yoga pics by Maria Kalinina on YouTube and guru jagat on ustream. Tv enjoy paul
DeleteHi Julia, I always love reading your weekly updates, I find the medical field very interesting. I'm sure that meeting Heather was a great experience to help you discover your own style for treating patients. Also, it is great to hear about the decrease in the HPV virus over time. Until next week, good luck!
ReplyDeleteHi Connor! I'm glad you do, as I do too! Thanks for reading!
DeleteHey Julia! I am happy to hear that this week went great! It must be really exciting to learn from and talk to another medical school student. Hopefully they gave you some insight as to what your experience will be like. Good luck and have fun!
ReplyDeleteHi Jacob! It was so cool and eye-opening. Hopefully one day I can have the same interaction, on the other end! Thanks for reading!
DeleteHow are the surveys going? It must have been quite entertaining for the patients to have you all filing into the rooms! Keep it up, and I'm glad you are feeling better!
ReplyDelete-Ms. Cooney
Hi Ms. Cooney! They are great! We're getting lots of results, and much clearer ones with the adjusted survey. It is awesome to see some of my ideas starting to shape up in the form of data. Thanks so much!
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