MedEx Day 10 - May 27, 2022

Today was the final day of the second week of MedEx. We had our 4th shadowing day, and I got to shadow Dr. Michael Beasley, an otolaryngologist. Dr. Beasley was performing outpatient surgeries at Patewood, and I was with him all day (hence my skull cap hair seen in the photo above). During my time with him, I witnessed around 15 surgeries and procedures. Around 6-8 of these were tonsillectomies, 3 were sinus surgeries, 2 were ear canal tube placements/ removals, and 1 was a cancerous mass removal. Dr. Beasley tried to stay ahead of everything by talking with his next 2-3 patients about their surgeries before he performed one. He also tried to stay ahead on charting by doing it before each operation began.

A few of Dr. Beasley's surgeries required a microscope, which I had never seen used in an OR. Dr. Beasley allowed me to look through the microscope and view the tympanic membrane, which was extremely fascinating. Dr. Beasley also allowed me to see the tonsils that he had removed, as well as told me how he tried to decide if a mass was cancerous or not during surgery and on imaging.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed my day with Dr. Beasley. I truly love being in the OR and am looking forward to my next shadowing days there!