Shadowing at the Med Center
This past Tuesday I got to see a hip replacement, spine surgery, and the inside of Vanderbilt Medical Center.
I signed up to shadow an anesthesiologist this semester through Alpha Epsilon Delta, the National Health pre-professional Honor Society. I’m not technically a member of AED but the process was really easy and open to anyone who completed the training. There was a huge variety of doctors to shadow and I even got my first choice, as did two of my friends who are shadowing surgeons. We had to complete a little extra training to go in the OR but it’s been worth it!
About a week ago I ventured into the Medical Center to get my VUMC badge (so official!) and then on Tuesday I managed to get lost while trying to find the Anesthesiology department. Luckily, the executive secretary found me wondering the halls and gave me my first pair of scrubs (also so official!).
As soon as the doctor arrived we went downstairs to the operating rooms and checked in on different operations for the next three hours. Basically, it was super exciting and completely reinforced my desire to be a doctor. I got to ask tons of questions and see the ins and outs of being an anesthesiologist—and I get to see more next week!