Six Things I Learned from Shadowing in a Hospital
The Perspective of a 16-Year-Old
The genesis of my interest in science began when I was around six years old when I would listen to my neurosurgeon mother dictate notes after performing her cases. As soon as she finished, I would ask her to explain the terminology and methods she used to execute the surgeries. At that age I didn’t truly understand what she would tell me, but as the years went on, I learned more about medical-related terms and became more curious about the scientific concepts around me that I had not previously considered. For instance, whenever I was on the train and saw an advertisement for vitamins or hair loss, I would look online to explore these topics more to understand their medical underpinnings.
This curiosity didn’t extend solely to advertisements on the subway; when we were taught a concept in science class, I would investigate it further at home, whether it was Newton’s Laws or the digestive system of a sea cucumber. Outside of school, I started reading books on neuroscience, marine biology, and anatomy when I was around 12 years old.
Beyond my personal research, I have explored and shared my interests by becoming a co-founder and co-head of my school’s Medical Club, an ambassador for YWIB (Young Women in Bio), and an ambassador for Cancer Pathways. To further pursue (and ideally cement) my desire to be a doctor, I spent this past summer traveling to Costa Rica and Ecuador for medical missions. I volunteered in mobile clinics, learned about these countries’ healthcare systems, and analyzed how their systems impact the population.
Prior to going on these missions, TV shows and movies made up my perception of the experience of working in a hospital. However, after I came home from these overseas trips, I spent a week volunteering at my local hospital, and I quickly realized that these preconceived notions were mostly false. In this piece below, I point out six things I noticed while working at the hospital to show the reality of this environment. Additionally, as a teenager and a first-time hospital volunteer, I had a new perspective when writing this article.
—Pearl Marks.
I have always wanted to be a doctor. As long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by the ways the different systems and parts of the human body function together, and by the way a team of doctors can help people heal when things go wrong.
This past summer, I finally had the chance to spend a week volunteering at a hospital and shadowing a surgeon. As a high school junior, I realize that I still have a lot of study ahead of me before I can even apply to med-school, but visiting the hospital left me all the more excited by all there is to learn. What follows are the observations I made during my time at the hospital.
1. You’re always moving.
At the start of the first day, the surgeon and I walked into the office only to drop off our bags and leave immediately to visit patients in the nearby exam room. I soon realized that the buffer between patient exams was used for appointments that ran long; when we finished each meeting, we immediately moved to the next exam room or the surgeon’s office to see another patient. By 2:30pm, we still hadn’t eaten lunch, and had time only to take quick bites of our sandwiches as we moved from room to room. Even during days reserved for surgical procedures, you’re still on your feet from the moment you arrive in the operating room.
2. The hospital is a maze.
Getting to the hospital is straightforward, but as soon as you need to move between departments, you face a bewildering layout of buildings connected by above ground bridges. Even within a speciality, for example, travel between a physician’s office, examination rooms, and patient recovery center can require several minutes of fast walking. After operations, it took us at least 5 minutes to get to the operating rooms or to the level where patients stay after their surgeries. As the week went on, I realized how the connections between the hospital’s spaces reflect not only the way different specialties work together, but also the complexity of the healthcare system as a whole.
3. Scheduling is an art form.
On several afternoons, I worked in the back office and was able to help with scheduling and insurance documentation. Given the complexity of the intake process, I was surprised by how many patients didn’t even show up for their appointments. Even more surprising, however, was that missed appointments didn’t make the day any less busy for the doctor. Patient exams often run long so that the doctor can properly analyze test results or answer questions. The office support team needs to determine how many patients to schedule each day so that the doctor won’t be overwhelmed, given that some of them will cancel.
4. Surgery involves the entire hospital.
TV shows don’t come close to showing the activity of the operating room. Even before the medical team arrives, the room feels packed with the complex machinery and supplies that operations require. The first person to arrive is the scrub nurse, who sets up the surgical instruments and prepares to assist the surgeon. Next arrives the charge nurse, who manages the entire environment of the operating room. The anesthesiologist administers anesthesia and any other drugs required throughout the operation, and, for the surgeries I attended, an additional neuromonitoring technician was present to analyze the electrical activity of the brain. In some cases, more than one attending surgeon is present and they work in parallel.
5. Operations follow a strict procedure.
Every operating room displays a detailed wall placard listing key operation goals and safety precautions. Before every surgery, everyone present is required to review the listed sequence. During a surgical procedure, there are specific responses to different complications that might arise, so that all the doctors present know how they’ll work together no matter what situation they find themselves in. Even before the staff members enter the room, they have to scrub their hands for at least five minutes, and to rinse and dry them according to protocol; they even put on their surgical gowns and double-glove their hands in a specific order. In addition to protecting the patient at all stages of the operation, these strict sequences allow the physician to focus on the most critical decisions during the operation.
6. Patience is everything.
Even with strict procedures in place, the surgeon’s entire schedule of the day is in flux. Whether it comes to rephrasing simple questions, repeating explanations, or even guiding a patient slowly down the hall, patience is the key to all a doctor does. One day, during a surgery that required two surgeons, one doctor ran late from a previous operation, and I noticed that even if a few members on the team were annoyed by the delay, they maintained their focus and calm, and they completely shielded their patient from any feeling of delay or frustration. Proper care takes time.
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My experience volunteering showed me that the work of a surgeon is far more complex than I had expected. Instead of deterring me, however, seeing the process made me all the more inspired to one day become a doctor myself. By working in the actual hospital environment, I not only learned about the great variety of roles, but also about the complex and gratifying experience of collaboration that plays out between the different specialties.
If you have any interest in medicine, I encourage you to do anything you can to find a volunteer opportunity at a hospital. Even if it’s a bit overwhelming, visiting the hospital will inspire you in your work today and help you imagine your own life in medicine in the future.
—Pearl Marks has recently turned 17. She lives in New York.