Project Blog #8

 I have known that I wanted to make my project related to the medical field for a while. Ever since I tore my ACL, I have wanted to go into sports medicine, and this time was the perfect opportunity for me to do that. Another part of this project was my student athletic training aid internship with Hawken's athletic trainer Sarah Royan. That internship was a stepping stone to a bigger project such as this one. Thanks to Sarah, I was able to make the connection with Dr. Schroeder and shadow her for the three week period. I think my project went extremely well with engagement, exposure, and learning. Looking back, my initial goals were to learn about what a sports medicine physician like Dr. Schroeder does and gain insight and exposure, all of which I think I accomplished. I loved being in with patients and learning the different ways to evaluate an injury and come up with a good treatment path. I felt very engaged through patient interactions, getting to know other doctors, and the procedures Dr. Schroeder does. I one hundred percent answered my essential question for this project, which was "what does the daily life of an orthopedic physician consist of and is this career path what I want to pursue in the future?" After this project, I learned what it consists of from a clinical standpoint as well as other ways like affiliations with other doctors and professional sports teams. Dr. Schroeder is on the medical team for a couple USFL (minor league football) teams out of Canton. I learned how she helps out there and what that job consists of. In addition, I still definitely want to go into sports medicine, and I learned that I have a lot of time to figure out if I want to go the non-surgical or surgical route since they are very different.

I don't even know where to begin about the things I have learned during my time on project. To start, I learned medical terms galore, all about the ultrasound machine and ultrasound injections, and about diagnosing injuries. For example, I learned how to scan my knee on the ultrasound and learned how to recognize bones, tendons, ligaments, etc., which is honestly really hard to do. With this, I visually learned the general concept behind how to do ultrasound injections; my job during the procedures was to take pictures and videos on the machine. With the patients, one of the skills I learned is vital is critical thinking and approaching an issue multiple different ways. It takes a lot of practice and skill, but I now know this is what I want to do in the future and I am ready to learn. 

Since my organization was University Hospitals, service is most likely not an option. However, I think the ability that high schools student have to observe a doctor at UH is a great opportunity and should remain an option. I know a couple other people who have done a project with UH and had a great time, so I think this connection is really beneficial for a student to do a project they are passionate about. With that, I advise rising juniors/seniors to do a project they are very passionate about in order to get the most out of the time. My other advice is to step out of your comfort zone and experience new things, people, and places. I feel this project was very much out of my comfort zone, but I ended up getting so much more out of it than had I done something within my comfort zone. 

I don't think I have one takeaway that trumps over the others, but if I had to pick one, it is that  stepping out of your comfort zone can lead to experiencing things you wouldn't otherwise. Another takeaway is that it takes a lot of time, people, effort, and paperwork to be a doctor, something I hadn't realized fully until now. Finally, a huge takeaway is how lucky I am to have Hawken projects and the ability to immerse myself into an unknown environment so easily. I cannot stress how beneficial this project was to me and my learning, as well as my goals for the future. 

With that, a HUGE thank you to Dr. Schroeder, Melissa, Sarah, and all those involved in my project. Thank you Dr. Schroeder and Melissa for letting me shadow and follow you around for three weeks and teach me about all the things you do to help people. I had a great time and am excited for the next step in my life!