For my practicum project, I interned at the General Surgery department at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. I contacted the graduate medical education department to learn about what clinical observership programs they had available, and applied a few months before in order to receive adequate time to obtain clearance to access the hospital case. For future SGC students, I would not hesitate to reach out and ask someone if they have open programs, or simply if they would be willing to take on a student. Additionally, if they are acquainted with anyone in the field, it would be beneficial to reach out to them and see if they could direct you to any opportunities. Networking is key when trying to find opportunities and while you are looking for any sort of internship or job.
While at Walter Reed, I stood in during numerous procedures that ranged from solely general surgery staff, to much larger teams when it came to serious operations. Some of the major surgeries I stood in for included hernia repairs, Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal), robotic kidney removal (due to the presence of cysts post-transplant), bowel resection, carcinoma removal, and occasionally some laparoscopic diagnoses. These operations took place within the major operating room floor of the wing of the hospital and involved a group of anesthesiologists, nurses, and surgical technologists in addition to the surgeons. I would accompany my supervising doctor to meet the patient shortly before their surgery, watch as they were put under anesthesia right after being wheeled into the OR, observe prep procedures, and stay until they were sent back out to the recovery area. In addition to this, I attended appointments within the general surgery clinic for patients who were coming in for consultation, check-ups, etc. In the clinic, they also had smaller procedure rooms for cases like lipoma removals. During these, the patient would be fully awake and only be administered a dose of local anesthetic while being operated on.
During my time at Walter Reed, I was able to interact with medical students, students of various residency years, chiefs, and many others. I met patients who were war veterans, and those who were soon to be deployed for the first time. Being in those environments taught me a lot about the different people, and how different their lives were. It was a great experience for me to see what exactly a doctor had to go through beyond just when they scrubbed in for surgery. They had long hours, cranky patients, and the occasional unexpected obstacle during a surgery where they would need to problem solve on the spot. It was important for me to see just how hard these doctors had to work and the impact it had on their personal lives as well. I still would like to pursue my plans of going to medical school after graduating from UMD, but this experience was very eye-opening to see the difficulties actually play out in people's lives.