The night before starting my shadowing experience in Neurosurgery, I couldn’t sleep. A mix of excitement and nerves ran through my body. I wasn’t sure what to prepare for. Will they ask me the steps for a temporal lobectomy? Or, maybe they’ll test my understanding of the management of a ruptured aneurysm? The truth is no one expected me to know anything about Neurosurgery. After all, I’m only 17 and getting ready to start my senior year of high school. In reality, there was nothing I could possibly do in the span of eight hours that would replace an undergraduate degree, medical school, and seven years of residency. However, I still wanted to be ready for what I was about to experience.
I’ve always been interested in surgery. From practicing with suture kits on rubber models to ordering anatomy coloring books, I’m constantly curious to know more. The next step in my journey was to see actual medicine in action — specifically neurosurgery. In my anatomy and physiology class, I learned the basics about the central nervous system and wrote essays on the cranial nerves, but to me, the information wasn’t complete without a clinical scenario. Neurosurgery draws my attention for a multitude of reasons. The pressure and precision of each case reminds me of my life-long passion of synchronized ice skating. But unlike the sport, becoming a surgeon has real consequences, and there’s always a balance between excitement and respect for what each patient has been through.
After checking in, I was shown to the resident work room. This room was a hub of productivity with a sense of constant movement and energy that seemed to buzz through the air. I always felt the need to get out my computer to write college essays or to read neurosurgical papers to prepare for the academic sessions. This was a stark contrast to what I experienced in my average high school classroom. The people who become neurosurgeons are passionate about learning and are always pushing themselves and each other to learn more. When they did have free time, I never saw the residents just sit around. Instead, they started going through practice questions for the boards or reviewing cases. I never felt so motivated and inspired in my life. At that moment, I really understood that the path to becoming a neurosurgeon is one where I will be surrounded by people who are just as interested as I am.
Over my month of shadowing the neurosurgery team, I found the environment to foster collaboration with a mix of different opinions. Something that really made me feel comfortable was getting to talk to the female neurosurgery residents. It was motivating to be surrounded by women who have pursued their passions and are paving the path for future generations of female neurosurgeons. Besides being drawn in by the people, I was intrigued by each surgery I was allowed to observe. I tried to learn as much as possible about each surgery before observing so that I could follow along. In the operating room, I also talked with the nurses, anesthesiologists, surgical technicians and radiology technicians about why they chose their path in medicine. Even though I have years of school to complete, this experience has inspired me to pursue a career in the medical field.
Neurosurgery is a constantly changing field full of new challenges that are being faced by some of the most motivated and dedicated people I’ve ever met. The feeling of belonging to something is very important when choosing what to do with the rest of your life. For me, that moment was being around residents who all helped each other learn more and weren’t afraid to correct each other because they knew it would be for the benefit of future patients. In my career, I want a high-pressure environment full of unknown factors and new problems to be solved. For every neurosurgeon, their lifecycle begins the moment they consider neurosurgery as their calling. While I still have a long way to go, and many more things to accomplish, I will always remember the excitement and curiosity I felt with this first experience.
