My iQuest experience has been
life changing. The amount of knowledge
that I have acquired over the past year has been tremendous. I have been exposed to the professional side
of the health care industry instead of the usual patient view. From technicians to nurses to physicians, I
have been able to see the great variety of jobs that make up the healthy
industry. I have been given the
opportunity to see many complex operations and procedures. I would not change this experience for
anything else.
It was very difficult to find a
medical internship. Since I am
particularly interested in dermatology, I tried asking my dermatologist if he
would allow me to shadow him. However,
since I am a minor, he did not feel comfortable with me interning at his office
due to liability issues. I looked up the
available volunteer opportunities at hospitals such as Kaiser and Valley Care,
however, these hospitals were looking for high school freshmen for their interns. I didn’t know what to do. I had looked everywhere for internships
around San Ramon and I was ineligible for all of them. However, when I had my interview for iQuest,
Mrs. Bonagura told me of the opportunity for me to intern at San Ramon Regional
Medical Center. This was such a
relief. I thought that the idea of me
interning would be unattainable. When
Mrs. Bonagura told me that I was one of the four lucky students to receive the
internship at San Ramon Regional, I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait to start my journey in the
medical field.
In order to intern at San Ramon
Regional Medical Center, I had to attend a mandatory orientation, where I
learned of the rules of working at a hospital as well as about disease
prevention and control. I also received
the name of my nurse preceptor at this orientation. My preceptor was a lady named Brea and I can
honestly say that she was the best mentor.
She allowed me to shadow her as she worked with patients. She also gave
me opportunities to view different surgeries and procedures such as
broncoscopies and blood diffusions. She
also connected me to other nurses such as a cardiology nurse named Mike, who
took time out of his day to show me all of the different units in the
hospital. He showed me how an MRI works
and how to read its images. He also allowed
me to view a left heart catheterization procesure as well as an anterior back
surgery. Together, Mike and Brea showed
me almost every career that exists in the health industry which allowed me to
see what I am most interested in.
No class as Cal High would have
taught me as much about the medical field as this internship had taught me. I learned how to interact with patients in
order to help comfort them during their difficult time. I also
saw the insertions of IVs hundreds of times. I bet I could do them myself at this point! I had been given the opportunity to see a
PICC line insertion on my first day of interning. This procedure involves the insertion of a
catheter through the peripheral vein so that the patient can receive
medications, fluids, and other nutrients for an extended period of time. I have also seen a bronchoscopy. During this procedure, a viewing tube is sent
down a patients nose and into their lungs in order examine for any lung
abnormalities. In addition to
bronchoscopies and PICC line insertions, I have also seen an anterior approach
to spinal surgery. During this surgery,
one surgeon created a small incision in the stomach and stretched it out so
that he could enter the abdominal area.
This general surgeon also moved the stomach and other organs to the side
so that the back surgeon could perform his procedure. As the surgery went on, I was able to meet and
talk with the general anesthesiologist.
She expressed her love for her job and told me her educational journey that
got her to where she is today. This surgery was among my favorites to watch
since it was cool to see how three different doctors work together to perform
one surgery. Not only have I viewed
various surgeries and procedures, I have also seen a platelet transfusion for a
cancer patient through the use of a platelet apheresis machine. This patient received side effects from her
chemotherapy, causing her platelet count to decrease significantly. While
interning at San Ramon Regional, I have seen a lot of technological devices
that I did not know existed. I was able
to see operations that many pre-med students my age and older have not yet
seen. Through this experience, I was
able to conclude that a future career in the health industry is the perfect fit
for me.
There are things that I wish I could
have done better during my time as an intern at San Ramon Regional Medical
Center. I wish I was able to go to the
hospital more often. I would usually go
for 1-2 hours a week. Having high school
sports after school limited my ability to stay at the hospital for an extended
period of time. However, I know that
this is not under my control and I am glad that I was still able to balance
sports, school, and my internship. I
also wish that I kept up with my journal entries. I wanted to write an entry each day about
everything I learned about at the hospital.
However, I was unable to keep up with this goal of mine. Although I have a couple regrets, I still
feel that I learned a lot of valuable things through this internship. I learned things about myself, such as how I
have the ability to view unpleasing procedures and surgeries without feeling
sick. I have also learned that I enjoy
being able to constantly interact with patients
I am blessed for receiving this special
opportunity to intern at a hospital.
Real life experience is so much more valuable than learning from a
textbook. I want to continue my medical
education next year by finding another internship near UCSB, the university
that I am attending next year. I am looking forward to my future as a health
professional who can provide quality health care to patients in need.
