My iQuest Experience

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.