Today was the 9th day of Tier I of MedEx. To start the day Dr. Sarah Fabiano came to speak with our group. She is an ER Physician. Dr. Fabiano discussed what it is like to live in a crazy world, the Emergency Room. She showed us case studies of some of her patients (who were unidentifiable). One of the cases was about a boy who complained to his parents about leg pain. They attributed it to growing pains, however, after three weeks or so they took him to the ER. It turned out to be osteosarcoma. Dr. Fabiano told us about how hard it was to go to the parents and the patient and say, "You have cancer." She said that a few days later she saw someone who had major wrist damage because of a gunshot wound. Dr. Fabiano's main thoughts about the ER were that you have to stay up to date on a lot of subjects because of the variability of patients' issues, work well in a fast paced environment, and enjoy dealing with diversity and unpredictability (in scheduling, too). Afterwards, we split into our research groups to find out more about our body projects. My group's assignment is to discuss a case study of a patient who has a BMI of 48 with Metabolic Syndrome and who is about to undergo gastric bypass surgery. My research entailed finding out more on gastric bypass surgery, alternatives to gastric bypass surgery, and learning about metabolic syndrome. First, gastric bypass surgery is a very effective way to lose weight because a bariatric surgeon reduces one's stomach to the size of a walnut (rerouting the jejunum to a new hole in the stomach). Typically patients who undergo the procedure see weight loss of 10-20 lbs per month for a full year after the surgery. In our scenario this is perfect as a BMI over 40 indicates that someone is morbidly obese and at least 100 lbs overweight. Alternatives to this approach include liposuction surgery and endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG). Neither would be effective in this scenario because liposuction is primarily designed to reduce fat in specific areas of the body without producing life changing results; ESG wouldn't be effective since it is primarily designed for people who have BMI's in the low 30's because it does not cause as much weight reduction as gastric bypass surgery. Finally, metabolic syndrome is diagnosed when one has high blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, body fat percentage, and triglycerides. After researching, Mr. Squire presented to us on interviewing, how to better prepare to apply to college, and writing scholarship essays. Lots of great advice was given regarding all three topics. A common theme was to make sure that every single piece on an application or interview is fresh and not repetitive. The purpose of an interview or application is to showcase oneself in a short period of time, therefore, one must do their best to spotlight all aspects of oneself. To end, the day all of MedEx Tier I went to do Yoga (pictured above). I enjoyed Yoga, however, it might have been a little too relaxing because I fell asleep halfway through. Great day!
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