My practicum project showed me what goes on in hospitals. I didn’t just learn about patient to doctor relations, but I also learned some administrative processes, like all the work that goes into hospital billing, and how some machines are used in the hospital. I shadowed Dr. Buari Osman in various medical settings over the duration of winter break. We worked at different dialysis centers which include RAI Baltimore Beltsville, RAI Indian Head Oxon Hill, and DaVita GWU Southeast Dialysis. We also worked in different hospitals which include Doctors Community Hospital and Greater Southeast Community Hospital. The reason why I decided to shadow Dr. Osman is because he is a much respected Nephrology specialist who is well known in the metropolitan area. He is also my father and my greatest resource towards my interest in the medical field.
While shadowing Dr. Osman, I was able to observe the use of dialysis machines and interactions between him, the doctor and nurse staff, and the patients. I learned about nephrology and how delicate the renal system is. I also observed how some doctors are like leaders of a unit. When we would go to dialysis units, it seemed like all the nurses and doctors there reported to Dr. Osman so he could make informed decisions about a patient’s medication and treatment from dialysis machines. I also learned how dialysis machines worked. They’re like big artificial kidneys that filter out a patient’s bloodstream. The blood from a patient is pumped and pushed through tubes composed of semi-porous membranes. Salt, urea, and other things that should be filtered from the blood go through the membranes into a sterile solution and are removed from the bloodstream. The dialysis machine then pumps back the clean blood into the patient, free of any of the unhealthy things that were in it before. I didn’t even know that too much potassium could be a bad thing. As I shadowed Dr. Osman I also saw him go through binders of monthly bloodwork reviews. These reviews showed whether a patient is getting the right treatment. If not then the nephrology specialist, Dr. Osman, changes the patient’s dialysis prescription and the rate that the patient gets dialyzed.
I enjoyed being able to shadow a doctor who didn’t just work at one hospital and just make rounds there. It was like shadowing an investigator for me, because if a patient had kidney or renal problems that a normal doctor couldn’t really diagnose, that doctor would immediately call Dr. Osman. Dr. Osman would have to find out what’s wrong with the patient based on symptoms and prior health history. Sometimes it would take him minutes to discover the problem, and other times it would take him a day or two. Being able to interact with the nurses was also pleasant for me. The doctors, nurses, and specialists are like one big team who work together to better the health and the lives of their patients.
Doing this project has influenced my future career plans to work as an engineer to continue building helpful machines, like dialysis machines, that aid doctors. Although I don’t want to exactly be a doctor, I’m interested in helping them from afar by providing them with newer and better medical supplies and machines that are easy to use. Although the dialysis machine is very helpful, there is a better way that dialysis can be performed. Maybe I can be the person that creates a tool so that dialysis patients don’t have to drive to a dialysis center and sit by a machine for at least 4 to 5 hours. This project has really made me want to do something like that, and I thank Dr. Osman for giving me some experience in the field. Hopefully one day I can pay him, and all the other doctors back, by giving them new machines to use.