So for day 4 Kate and I felt so much better after our day in the darkness. We received emergency care at no other than Rush University Health Center. Sad that it still took forever to be admitted. They currently don’t have enough beds to handle demand but they are currently under construction and building another hospital, which should be finished by 2012. As for lectures today at Rush is was an allover type of day. We went into a lecture of cell biology of the heart in which the university no longer keeps slides and microscopes. They have moved into the technological era so there is no need to replace broken microscopes, slides, and everyone can look at the same image during teaching and exams. Then we went on a tour of digital imaging including vascular sonograms, which I am not entirely interested in pursuing. But it was pretty interesting because it is such an important tool for healthcare providers. Then the most important moment of all, we all took at tour of the OR and got a chance to go into an active operating room and view a thoracic surgery. I didn’t see much though I didn’t want to get in the way but one good thing is that, I didn’t faint. So that’s a good sign. We kind of saw “Da Vinci” but it wasn’t on. It is a robot that performs surgery while a surgeon seats and tells it what to do. We also saw a presentation about other professions currently available in the medical field. It was ok, but I had to work really hard to not fall asleep. Finally, after the day was over, we were able to go to dinner and talked to nurses that focused on public health. So in the end, the day was pretty calm, which was good for our weak bodies. And oh yeah, we passed in front of Obama’s house. 

so today was another great day. we had a cell biology of the heart lecture. we were able to look at actual cells via computer. then we compared the cells we were looking at with cells that were damaged or diseased. it was very interesting to see the effect that disease had on individual cells. it was a different way of thinking because we usually think of disease on a wide scale. we see how it affects organs or the body in general, but not how it affects the actual cells. on top of that we got another chance to experience what a lecture in the life of a medical student is like.

after that we got an introduction into the College of Health Sciences. part of the goal this week is to open students minds to the various careers offered in the science profession. so far this week, we have heard almost entirely from the medical students and received information regarding the Medical College. today we got a look into other interesting careers that we could pursue. some of these careers include perfusion, health care management, vascular ultrasound, nutrition, and many others. although i had never considered these careers before, it was good to gain insight about them that could possible help me in the future.

 however, the hands down best part of the day was the tour of the operating room. we followed two OR surgeons through the operating room, recovery center, and prep room. we were able to see the DaVinci machine, which is a machine used in the OR that acts like a robot to help perform surgeries. we continued the tour past each room and we were able to catch a glimpse into the different operating rooms. then, one of our surgeons was called to scrub into a surgery. the surgery was to fix a hole in the trachea of a patient. they had to cut open the breastbone to get to the trachea. we were able to actually go into the operating room with him and look at the trachea being fixed and the breastbone that was cut open. it was a really cool experience.

although wednesday was a bust. i think this week has really been amazing. i have a ton of work to do for my case tomorrow. i cannot believe that its almost friday already and we are going home on saturday. this week just flew by.

After that we had a very moving experience at a local homeless shelter. We brought bread, water, and juice for the guests of the shelter. The director gave us a tour and spoke of the daily hardships in the lives of the homeless people that took refuge in the shelter at night. She told stories of the people that had been coming in and out of the shelter. She admitted that she had to overcome her own prejudice about homeless people and since then has really found the strength to continue working and building a great place for these people. The one scenario that really stuck out in my mind was her story about one person that had been coming to the shelter often. She said that person had been a regular person with a job, until her only son died and caused her life to spiral out of control. I realized that although sometimes we pass people on the street and don’t give them a second thought, that they are people too with feelings and fears, and that each of them have a story. I thought this shelter was a wonderful place and I will really take a lot from this experience. The students at Rush Medical College volunteer at the shelter to provide medical care for these homeless. Ms. Sharon Gates said the hospital provides materials and medicine for these people free of charge. I think that this effort really sets Rush Hospital and Rush University apart from other places because their students truly care about becoming physicians in order to help people.

This experience was followed by the Disparities Lecture by Dr. David Ansell, M.D., the Chief Medical Officer. We were very lucky that the Chief Medical Officer gave his time to speak with us. His presentation was brilliant and I still have not stopped talking about it. The lecture was about the difference in mortality between White people and Black people, with a focus on the Chicago area. The Healthy People 2010 has the goal of completely eliminating health disparities. However, the nation has been progressing very slowly, and Chicago has actually become worse. The amount of black people that die in Chicago far exceeds the amount of white people. Also, the average life expectancy for a black person in Chicago is far lower than that of a white person. I thought the presentation was outstanding because he was not trying to sway us any political way. Instead, he was presenting us with the data and allowing us to critical think and develop our own hypothesis. He also accepted questions regarding how the data was collected and explained the process. My eyes were definitely opened to the forces of racism that underlie our society even today.

We then had a lunch break but our schedule is so packed we don’t ever just eat. Instead, we ate with a group of physicians that discussed their careers in medicine and how it affected their lives socially. Recently, I have been very concerned that in order to become a physician, I would have to sacrifice the option of having a family. However, most of the physicians said that they had families and that if you really want both than you can do both. But more importantly, you can do both well.

The last segment of the day was the Cardiovascular Anatomy Presentation by Dr. Sue Jacob, Ph. D.  I was very curious to see how the presentation would go because I had already heard great things about Dr. Jacob as a teacher during my time at Rush. It turns out she really was a phenomenal teacher. She was able to break things down and make them understandable. In the short amount of time that we had I was able to absorb enough to understand the lab that followed. The lab was a dissection of cadavers. It was really cool. We each broke into groups and were able to see an actual person and see the actual system. What really made the experience very informative was the residents and Medical Students that were helping us did not just tell us the answers. We would have to figure things out by actually examining the body and running our hands through veins and tubes to see where they lead. It was a very hands on learning experience. I really was able to gain a lot of information by actually dealing with the real cardiovascular system of a person. This is an experience that most PreMed students don’t get to encounter until their first year of Medical School. It really made me appreciate the opportunity I have to participate in this program.

 Lastly, we received more information about our case study. Our case deals with a 52 year old woman that has yellow plaques around her eyes and Achilles tendons. That was the extent of information we received the first day. Today they presented us with more information in a similar way they presented us with information in the lab. We received the material regarding heart rate, blood pressure, various ion counts, glucose level, cholesterol level, and much more. We then have to take this information and use it to figure out whether that is a normal level, or if there is something wrong with our patient. We also got a family history and certain lifestyle characteristics. Again, we have to take this information and figure out ourselves what each piece leads to. This form of investigation really helps us to experience the thought process that doctors go through everyday. It is a great way for us to help understand what it will be like to be doctors and if we can handle it.

I really cannot say enough about the wonderful opportunity that PhilaU has provided for Marcell and I. We are the ONLY two students from outside Illinois that are participating. We are the ONLY two students that got the opportunity to have dinner with the Chairman of Admissions at Rush Medical College. We, along with only 7 other students, have been introduced and have spoken to people in positions of great authority not only at Rush University, but also at Rush Hospital. It has been a great way for me to see what kind of place Rush is, as well as a great way for Rush to see what kind of students PhilaU produces. I am truly grateful for everybody that has made this program possible for me and am very excited about the rest of the experiences I will have this week.

- Kate