Since my first week at Children’s Hospital Colorado, the following weeks have been amazing! I have learned a lot through my project, attended several lab meetings and lectures, made friendships with fellow interns, and shadowed doctors in both clinical and operating room (OR) settings. Let’s dive in!
Working in Dr. David Howell’s concussion lab, I have been assigned to write a manuscript for a prior study guided by Dr. Donahue. The data for the study was collected by measuring sleep quality across clinically relevant time points in adolescents who had recently sustained a sports-related concussion. Overall sleep quality was measured over three visits: the acute phase of recovery (<16 days after injury), self-reported symptom resolution, and an 8-week follow up after symptom resolution. By measuring sleep across these timepoints, results showed that patients who were poor sleepers in their first visit had increased odds of having persistent sleep issues in visits 2 and 3 (beyond their initial symptom resolution). Persistent sleep disturbances can lead to a number of behavioral issues and poor mental health, so the study’s results advocate for a standardized sleep evaluation in clinics evaluating concussions to catch potential sleep issues before they become persistent and lead to more implications. Writing the manuscript has been difficult and new, but I am so thankful for the endless help and encouragement from Dr. Donahue! I am grateful for my prior experience writing scientific papers through classes at Cornell, as well. Although the manuscript is a little different and complex, I feel that my papers I have written at Cornell have given me a strong scientific writing foundation.
I have attended several lab meetings and lectures over the weeks. The concussion lab meetings are held in the basement, where the lab has talked through future study design and implemented new measurement tools into their studies for data collection. I got to be the test dummy for a new eye-tracking tool in the lab! Each member of the lab has been extremely welcoming and helpful. The lecture series happens once a week for our group of interns. Different doctors will present on topics providing specific details from their niches in medicine. The lectures have been extremely engaging and cool to see the paths of each distinguished individual. There are also a number of optional lectures around the extensive University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. I have attended a few of those as well; all have been great learning experiences.
I recently shadowed Dr. Wilson in the clinic and Dr. De in the OR last week. Dr. Wilson is a general orthopedics doctor; it was a fun afternoon looking at imaging together and watching her examine patients and diagnose their respective injuries. Among other things, I learned summer is the popular time to fracture a bone in pediatrics…
Shadowing in the OR was an incredible experience! In one of the cases I saw, the patient's legs were uneven lengths. To counter this, temporary plates were screwed on the growth plates of the tibia and femur on either side of the knee of the longer leg. This temporarily prevents the longer leg from growing, allowing the other leg to catch up and become even (such an innovative procedure). Before shadowing, I was under the impression that the OR was a very tense atmosphere, but the doctors made it a comfortable experience and were happy to help me learn and answer my questions.
I have really enjoyed the company of my fellow interns as well. Passing conversation around lunch has been a highlight for me this summer. The hospital bought us tickets to a Rockies game, and it was a blast! We have all become pretty good friends and have plans to hang out more in the future.
Being from Alaska, it has been a very hot summer for me in Denver. My brother and I have been escaping the heat up in the mountains by backpacking, floating rivers, and fishing. Our most recent trip was a three-day float in the Gunnison Gorge over the 4th of July weekend. There were many extreme rapids, and the fishing and scenery were exceptional.
First camping spot in the Gunnison Gorge along the river on 4th of July weekend;
Luke, brother, with a healthy rainbow trout on one of our float trips.