How to Save a Life . . .

For the past two months, I got a taste of the life I've chosen. First, I had a one month subinternship in shoulder and elbow surgery. I got the chance to work with this awesome attending-- the only female surgeon in the medical school's ortho department. Admittedly, the first week or two was rough. The time in the operating room mainly consisted of me squirming uncomfortably as I got asked tons of shoulder anatomy questions I did not know, and conference time consisted of me squirming as I tried to interpret radiographs. However, my fear at not being able to answer the questions motivated me to learn lots about the shoulder and elbow. I think I may have learned more during those four weeks than I learned during four months of third year. And, as I started to figure out what types of details I needed to learn/ memorize, my time in the operating room got a lot more pleasant and interesting as well. After my four weeks of shoulder and elbow, I did another subinternship in pediatric orthopedic surgery. The surgeons were gentler when it came to operating room questions, and I got to do a lot on this rotation both during the surgeries and in the emergency room. However, there was so much work to be done and not enough people to do it. On most days, I was getting in at five to see patients and do paperwork, and there were many nights when we left the hospital around seven or later.

Anyway, after spending the last two months working 70-90 hours per week, you might think that I'd be second-guessing my career choice. I'm not. Despite the crazy hours, I quickly came to realize that I wouldn't be happy if I didn't give myself the chance to learn how to do all the surgeries/ procedures that I saw during my subinternships.

Unfortunately, I now have to find an elegant way to say all of the above in the form of a residency application personal statement. I've been explicitly told not be creative with this (i.e. no quotes, no poetry, etc.) So instead, I'll be spending the next week trying to stay awake as I craft a more generic "why I would make a good orthopedic surgeon" statement. On the plus side, once I get all the application stuff turned in (it's all due by September 1st), I'll finally get the chance to enjoy the relaxing part of fourth year.

That said, I better get back to this personal statement. I'll write more when applications have been turned in :)
--Jenny