Weekly Blog Posts
In the picture below you will see a knee that has been donated to practice on. On this very same knee I had the opportunity to use Arthroscopic cameras and tools to just start playing around with. The inside of the knee appeared on the tv behind it. This was by far the coolest experience that I had.
Day 1:
The first day on the job was great, I met a ton of very helpful people and learned a bunch...It kinda felt like I was taking an anatomy class but I really enjoyed it. I am very exited for day two because I will be watching a surgery on a knee replacement and total shoulder surgery.
Anticipation for Internship
As we get closer to March, when the internships start, my anticipation and a little bit of fear grows on me each day. I have been preparing and planning for my LINK internship ever since the beginning of October. I have taken the necessary steps to secure an internship that will fit me very well. Although I don't have any experience in Sales or especially medical science, I have been interested in the field for a very long time. When I arrive at my internship for the first day, I am expecting to be shown around while learning the basic duties and skills that a medical sales rep should have. I am just beyond exited to begin my 3 week internship.
Week 1 Overview
The first week on the job was great. For the majority of the week, I spent my time working with my mentor Angelo. Angelo is the medical education manager for this company and manages all of the surgeons that come in and have to practice using the equipment. During the first week, I was able to watch 3 different surgeries in our lab that he manages. The surgeons would come in to the lab and have witch ever body part that they were performing on ready to go. In the first week, this consisted of the first one being an ACL tear and replacement. The second surgery that I watched was a total shoulder surgery. I found this to be the most interesting surgery that I have ever watched, It completely blew my mind. Being able to experience something like that while a surgeon was explaining things to you was one of the coolest learning experiences I have ever had. The third surgery that I watched that week was a meniscal repair. It was tough trying to pick up on all the medical lingo that all of the medical professionals would talk in. In fact, towards the end of the week I was able to start applying some of the language to the conversations that I was having. I felt truly inspired after my first week.
Week 2 Overview
I thought that it would be impossible to have a better week than the first week, but I just proved it possible. The second week that I spent at Arthrex was filled with more surgeries. Not only did I witness another 3 surgeries in the lab, but I was able to attend 2 actual surgeries that week in the hospital. The first one I watched in the hospital was a total hip replacement. This was one of the more gruesome surgeries that I had witnessed, but again it was so visual and I was able to learn so much and pick up on new terms that they would use. For most of the surgeries that I watched, the surgeon would use a method called Arthroscopy. Arthroscopy is a method that uses a camera that has a 70 degree angle on it to arthroscopy repair something without completely opening the body up. In these surgeries they most commonly used sutures to and fiber wire to repair and tendon tears or muscle tears.
Week 3 Overview
The final days of my internship were spent in the lab most of the time and In at the Lone Tree Hospital. I would have to say the the last couple of days was the most amazing feeling that I have ever had. As I watched my very last surgery, I started to feel like I had an empty stomach. It almost felt like It would not be full until I was able to interact in this setting again. At that point I knew that I wanted to go into the medical field more than ever. Particularly, I felt that orthopedics was right for me. I have never felt as motivated as I did in that moment. This last week was really a game changer for me and being a surgeon now lives to be my life long dream.