Week 6:
Shadowing Surgeons and Scoring COVI-SWA

July 14, 2021

Coming off a four-day weekend this week, we continued to set up the preliminary files for the COVID-19 positive and control patient PSGs: the EDFs, text files, arousal text files, and scoring files. With some of the scoring files already uploaded, we could finally begin to score these files for muscle activity, calculate statistics of RSWA, and add this data to the sheets denoting the COVI-SWA study data thus far. We learned how to independently make the EDF files using Natus to prune the original sleep study by taking the master patient PSG file, cutting it down to the appropriate size in a saved copy to transfer to hypnolab, loading the scoring file over, and beginning to actually score. It has been precious for me as a learner to adopt these new data and computer skills we use to create the bare bones of the COVI-SWA study and expand on the finalized framework. I have gained more Windows fluency and the fear of accidentally deleting or moving folders, and I have lost my fear of trying out (safe) random buttons.

Dr. St Louis’s Minions in front of the Plummer Building doors

I got to begin shadowing this week, beginning with thoracic surgeon Dr. Shanda Blackmon (MD, MPH), who specializes in a minimally invasive esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. Dr. Blackmon is also a PI in several clinical trials, has submitted 17 manuscripts for IRB review in the last year, pioneers 3-D printing for surgical devices, and manages a great work-life balance on top of it all. I have not yet had the chance to shadow her in the OR as many departments have not opened their ORs to shadows due to COVID-19 concerns, but I have had the chance to shadow for 8 hours of her clinical rounds and have seen her amazing dedication to her patients. Dr. Blackmon’s advocacy for her patients has been what has stood out most to me thus far. She will attempt to problem-solve for everything that she can right on the spot for those under her care, whether that is calling different departments at Mayo to get her patients taken care of ASAP or even calling consulting physicians on the spot. She is a fantastic example of a great multitasker who manages to talk quickly and coherently, listen well, and take every measure to deliver excellent patient-first care according to Mayo Clinic standards.

Dr. Blackmon and I in her office after clinical rounds

I also had the opportunity to shadow trauma surgeon Dr. Mariela Rivera (MD) in the OR beginning at 7 AM sharp on Thursday at Mayo Clinic St. Marys Campus in the Trauma Center. Dr. Rivera is a professor of the general surgery residency program at Mayo Clinic who won the best teacher award of 2018 for her program. Dr. Rivera is also co-author of many publications about trauma surgery and improving the international education of surgical residents post-pandemic. I watched residents supervised by Dr. Rivera perform a lipoma and an exploratory surgery on a patient with an abdominal infection. The surgeries were fascinating to me, and I found myself wishing to go through surgical training and the residents. Immediately upon meeting Dr. Rivera, I could tell her devotion to her students and Mayo Clinic was immense. She spoke with the general surgery residents as though they were family, and she made me feel very welcomed. Many of those residents came up to me just to say how much they adore her as a mentor and as a highly-skilled surgeon. Our conversation was full of guidance on the medical school application process, my goals as a pre-med student, and what she wished she would’ve known as a young pre-med student. I greatly look forward to shadowing both Dr. Rivera and Dr. Blackmon again before the summer’s end. They have both enlightened and excited me concerning my future career path.

Dr. Rivera and I in her office after surgical rounds