It's been a while...

6:56 PM

Author | Shannon Flynn

Hello everyone! I was studying this morning and realized mid-question that it has been far, far too long since my last Dose of Reality blog. Between the whirlwind of the holidays and my new clerkship, I really have no idea where the time has gone! My holiday break was really wonderful…it was so nice to go home and spend time with friends and family. I spent Christmas in Connecticut, made a couple of short trips to New York City and Philadelphia to visit college roommates and my sister, and then rang in the New Year in sunny, warm California on a trip to Disneyland with my little siblings (so fun!). With all the traveling, the three weeks flew by, but it was still a wonderful, refreshing break after completing the first two-thirds of my M3 year!

New Year's Eve at Disney with my little brothers

School started back up with a bang, as I jumped right into my surgery rotation. I'll admit that I entered this clerkship with a more than a little trepidation. Surgery is arguably the most physically demanding and time-consuming of the seven clerkships we rotate through our third year, and I wasn't sure how I was going to handle the very early mornings and long hours of standing in the operating room. I'm now six weeks into the rotation, and I can honestly say that I am loving it! I started off on the surgical oncology service, where I saw lots of breast cancer surgeries and melanoma removals. I'm now on thoracic surgery, which has been really amazing so far. The hours definitely are the longest that I've encountered all year, but there is something so exciting about the hands-on and very technical nature of this rotation that makes the time fly right by. I have struggled a little finding adequate time to study, sleep, work out, and relax (sadly the latter two have gone by the wayside a bit these past two months), but overall this clerkship has been a really positive experience, and I will be sad to see it end!

In other news, I have decided to take a research year off between my third and fourth years to do research in otolaryngology. I've been considering ENT as a future career for the past year and a half or so and was waiting to see what I thought of my surgery rotation. After enjoying it as much as I have, I'm now leaning toward this field, and I'm excited for a year off not only to do lab work, but also to learn more about the field and solidify this decision. I can't wait to get started!

Alright, my stack of surgery question books is calling my name once again. My apologies again for the delay since my last post and I promise to check back in again soon! I finish up M3 year with family medicine and neurology and am very much looking forward to having a little more downtime and weekends off once again...until then, enjoy what hopefully continues to be a very mild winter!

Media Contact Public Relations

Department of Communication at Michigan Medicine

[email protected]

734-764-2220

Stay Informed

Want top health & research news weekly? Sign up for Health Lab’s newsletters today!

Subscribe
Featured News & Stories David Bradley in Rwanda
Department News
'Delighted with our progress': Pediatric cardiology training program grows in Rwanda
What Professor of Pediatrics David Bradley started in 2022 has grown into a sustainable program, with the first trainee nearing graduation and others close behind in a growing pipeline.
Health Lab Podcast in brackets with a background with a dark blue translucent layers over cells
Health Lab Podcast
Keeping kids safe in poor air quality conditions
As climate change continues, the growing number and intensity of wildfires creates more air pollution, leading to poor air quality being a more common occurrence in many areas. Most parents are concerned about children's exposure to unhealthy air quality, but may not know the steps to take to help keep kids safe during those conditions. Read the full article on the Health Lab website, and click here for the episode transcript.
bladder full and then drained moving graphic
Health Lab
Recurrent UTIs? A gentamicin bladder instillation may be the answer
Recurrent UTIs can be a relentless battle for some, and also dangerous given how many antibiotics can be used. A leading expert on gentamicin bladder instillations discusses the lesser-known treatment that can get these infections under control.
Gifty Kwakye and Kwabena Agbedinu
Department News
New surgery fellowship program in Ghana marks first graduation
A fellowship program to train Ghanaian colorectal surgeons has produced its first graduate and is expanding with continued support from Michigan Medicine and others.
woman walking on treadmill picking intensity on a chart that reads from easier to harder
Health Lab
Higher costs limit attendance for life changing cardiac rehab
Despite the success cardiac rehabilitation has shown at reducing heart-related deaths and hospital readmissions, higher out-of-pocket costs may prevent patients from participating in the program, a University of Michigan study suggests. 
Yiqun Wang at a local farm
Points of Blue
Yiqun Wang, PhD candidate: Giving back to the biomedical field through research
Hy Do is a PhD Candidate in the Bioinformatics Program.