The past few weeks have been very exciting and very eye-opening for me at MGH. The amount that I have seen and the amount I have learned so far have surpassed some of the expectations I had going into this program and I hope to continue this going forward in the summer. More specifically, I have been fortunate enough to get involved with the research going on in the Colorectal Surgery Department as well as shadow some of the doctors from the department in the OR and watch their surgeries.
The research I have been helping the department with is centered around data collection and analysis regarding mainly the lives of post-operation patients. While the actual operations that patients undergo are very important, it is arguably just as important to track their status days, weeks, months, and even years after their surgeries. Data like this can be collected from both patients as well as clinicians as a way to prioritize the most important post-operation issues so we can know which to tackle first. Under the guidance of Ms. Leiba Savitt, we are trying to put something forward in order to collect this data in the best way and this has encompassed various new and familiar platforms. Additionally, it has exposed me to the different ways in which clinical research can be dealt with. In doing this, I have also engaged myself with the literature in the field in hopes of identifying gaps or points worth pursuing in regard to post-operative patients and hospital readmission rates.
The other component to my time in the department has been the opportunity to accompany doctors into the operating room. This was an especially new experience for me and I am continuously amazed with each surgery I watch. Moreover, being at a large and renowned hospital such as MGH, I know that I am seeing some of the best in the field doing their jobs. From watching the surgeons work along the digestive tract of patients, to seeing robotic surgeries, and getting an idea of the team effort that is needed between surgeons, nurses, and anesthesiologists, the experience has been truly inspiring and astonishing every week. Thanks to open arms from some of the surgeons in the department like Dr. Bordeianou, Dr. Ricciardi, and Dr. Kunitake, I have been successfully introduced to the field and have gained much exposure already. Every person in the room has a distinct role and I have been lucky enough to have all my questions answered throughout the surgeries with the help of medical students also observing in the OR. The great sense of community the doctors and nurses have at MGH has also allowed me to shadow some surgeries concerning other departments as well. I have enjoyed my time so far and hope to learn and contribute further to the work of the Colorectal Surgery Department.