This summer is the last summer break I will ever get in my life. Half of my class is went on medical missions abroad but I opted to stay in the Chicago area and do research. No, I am not at all jealous of my globetrotting classmates since I am still tuckered out from last year's adventures. The project on which I am working is so perfect, so up my alley, so fun (as fun as things like this can get) that I look forward to the 45-minute commute to the hospital every morning.
I am working with a pediatric critical care doctor at a really big hospital in the Chicago suburbs. Together we are creating America's first pediatric-focused ultrasound course. I spent weeks learning how to interpret and perform ultrasound imaging on the heart (these are called echoes or echocardiograms), lungs, abdomen, bladder, and vessels. For example:
One of the doctors captured this image but I edited and labeled it. While learning how to do ultrasound from doctors and from books, I wrote a 50 page handbook on learning to do it:
It took five weeks to write! There are thirteen pediatric interns at the hospital who are divided into three groups that we will teach. The first group of interns went through the course last week - it was six hours of nonstop ultrasound learning. The cool part is that I taught five of those six hours. Me, a medical student. Teaching doctors.
What I always like to ask people about their research is: why is this important? Well, ultrasound has become so inexpensive and easy to do that it's a good complement to a standard physical exam, especially during emergency situations. Ultrasound traditionally is performed by cardiologists and radiologists who, in the United States, are trying to protect their turf and prevent other types of doctors from learning how to do it. In critical care medicine, though, there often is not enough time to wait for a qualified doctor to show up - we need to teach these skills to those doctors who are already at the bedside. Also, ultrasound helps perform procedures like inserting a central line and getting it on the first try; since America is so happy to sue physicians over the smallest thing, ultrasound can help cut down on the number of mistakes made.
The best part about this research is that it, like the CHOICE Project, is very interdisciplinary. It is clinical, academic, and policy changing. It is a big deal!
I can go on and on about this. In fact, my assignment right now is to write a manuscript that synthesizes all of the literature I have read on the topic. Once groups two and three complete the course, I can insert the data into the article and cross my fingers hoping to get it published.
I am working with a pediatric critical care doctor at a really big hospital in the Chicago suburbs. Together we are creating America's first pediatric-focused ultrasound course. I spent weeks learning how to interpret and perform ultrasound imaging on the heart (these are called echoes or echocardiograms), lungs, abdomen, bladder, and vessels. For example:
 |
| Apical 5-chamber (A5C) view, too much gain. RA = right atrium; LA = left atrium; Ao = aorta; RV = right ventricle; LV = left ventricle |
What I always like to ask people about their research is: why is this important? Well, ultrasound has become so inexpensive and easy to do that it's a good complement to a standard physical exam, especially during emergency situations. Ultrasound traditionally is performed by cardiologists and radiologists who, in the United States, are trying to protect their turf and prevent other types of doctors from learning how to do it. In critical care medicine, though, there often is not enough time to wait for a qualified doctor to show up - we need to teach these skills to those doctors who are already at the bedside. Also, ultrasound helps perform procedures like inserting a central line and getting it on the first try; since America is so happy to sue physicians over the smallest thing, ultrasound can help cut down on the number of mistakes made.
The best part about this research is that it, like the CHOICE Project, is very interdisciplinary. It is clinical, academic, and policy changing. It is a big deal!
I can go on and on about this. In fact, my assignment right now is to write a manuscript that synthesizes all of the literature I have read on the topic. Once groups two and three complete the course, I can insert the data into the article and cross my fingers hoping to get it published.
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