Year in Review

Who were you at the beginning of your time as a Health Sciences Scholar and who are you now?  Did you meet your initial expectations for your first two years?  What do you plan to do for the remainder of your OSU experience?

At the beginning of my time as a Health Sciences Scholar I was a COMPLETELY different person. I was young, naive, and greatly motivated. I had not yet been afflicted by chemistry or all-nighters. I have experienced so many things since then that have changed who I am, not all negative of course. I have struggled through some very tough classes, but not only did I finish them, but I did well in them. This is something I never knew I could do, and maybe the Katelyn at the beginning couldn’t. I definitely met my initial expectations for my first two years. I met friends that will last a lifetime, I cried over grades (good and bad), and I went to school events that I could have never experienced anywhere else. I feel full of knowledge and experience, and I still have two years of undergraduate left! For the remainder of my experience, I plan to get involved more at work. My boss has been working on setting up some research experience with one of our surgeons, and hopefully I can eventually add that on to my resume. Additionally, I want to be a campus coordinator for the medical trip that I went on this previous summer, so I can recruit more students just like me so I can share my passion. This will allow me to go on at least one more trip out of the country, but hopefully two if all goes well. I also plan to join Chaarg this fall because I have been so concentrated in doing well in classes, but I want to find a new hobby and make sure I have an outlet to have fun!

Major Service Project

Describe your involvement with this organization.

For my major service project I volunteered at The James Cancer Hospital in the Surgical Visitor Lounge for two hours every week on Tuesdays 4-6pm. It involved walking families back to see the patient after surgery has completed, and taking the family members to a conference room to speak with the doctor. I also escorted families throughout the hospital whether it be for prescriptions, food, or the gift shop.

Describe what you gained as a result of this experience.

As a result of this experience, I gained a great amount of empathy. I regularly spend time in the Operating Room on that same exact floor, and it’s a nice change of view from dealing with doctors and the patient who is asleep during surgery, to comforting the worrying patients. It’s also nice because many of the families don’t understand what all is happening while the patient is in surgery and in recovery after surgery, and I am able to explain to them what all happens in order to calm their worries. This is something I would have to deal with as a doctor, so I am already gaining valuable experience easing nervous, anxious families.

Describe positive changes to the community as a result of your service experience.

The Wexner Medical Center is a crazy large hospital. People get very confused at the idea of The James, Ross, and University all being connected. This could add additional stress to their already bad day, and I am able to provide a smile and assistance to make their day just a little bit easier. Also, because I am able to take the families to see the patient after surgery, that allows for the nurses to continue caring for the patients without interruption.

Describe a person with whom you interacted that made a strong impression on you, positive or negative.

Just this past week, a woman was frantic and explained that her husband had just gone in for emergency surgery. This was the first time I have experienced an emergency surgery situation at  The James, but I knew it was obviously even more scary than a scheduled surgery. I went out of my way to make her comfortable and ease her worries about the procedure, and she thanked me over and over for spending time with her before her son got there to be with her. It showed me that I could make a more positive experience for these families, regardless of their situation.

Complete the following sentence: “Because of this service experience, I am__________”

Because of this service experience, I am more aware of the worries and fears that families experience during oncological surgeries and procedures and how to comfort those.

Informational Interview

For my informational interview, I interviewed Dr. Roman Skoracki, the Chief of Oncological Plastic Surgery at the Wexner Medical Center.

Why did you select this individual to interview?

I selected Dr. Skoracki because I have come in contact with him during my volunteer position in the surgical visitor lounge because he will often come straight out and get the families himself instead of calling the front desk and asking them to do it. Also, I know several people who work with him around him and they had nothing but good things to say.

Describe the major responsibilities associated with their current role

On top of obviously performing surgery and seeing patients at the James Cancer Hospital, he also has clinical hours at the Eye & Ear Institute and as the Breast Cancer Center. Additionally, since he is Chief of Oncological Plastic Surgery, he is a leader in his field. This position mostly consists of maintaining cohesion among colleagues but also to serve as a mentor for incoming physicians.

Discuss how the person prepared for this role, and if they provided you with any advice as what you might be able to do to prepare for a similar career

Dr. Skoracki actually wanted to go into engineering, but decided last second to apply to Medical School. By no standards was he prepared for Medical School, but he is passionate in everything that he does which allowed him to quickly adjust and become the best physician he could possibly be. This shows me that I am well over-prepared by knowing this far ahead of time what I want to do, and also a little bit of passion and hard work can really carry you far in life.

Summarize any insights from the interview that might be helpful in your academic or career preparation

The most interesting insight that Dr. Skoracki had for me was that he views himself as a servant for his patients. It is his job to make the patient comfortable, safe, and do everything in his capabilities to make the patient as happy as possible while potentially going through something very devastating. He builds a relationship with his patients and even with his coworkers that caught my eye from the very beginning and continues to intrigue me.

Service Engagement

My second year service project was at The James Cancer Hospital. I volunteer for 2 hours weekly in the surgical visitor lounge. My favorite part about this is I see the patients at work, but during my volunteer time I get to spend time with the worried families.

Leadership Development

I become certified in Canine Body Language to assist with my involvement with the Franklin County Animal Shelter and Central Ohio Pit Savers.

This will be very helpful in protecting myself and the dogs as I become more involved and hands on with nervous and afraid shelter dogs.

Academic Enrichment

I interviewed Dr. Roman Skoracki, the Chief of the Division of Reconstructive Oncological Plastic Surgery.

I learned a lot about his experiences before medical school, during medical school, and then after. I also used this as an opportunity to request to shadow him, which was approved and will occur sometime this summer.

Original Inquiry

I attended an event where Dr. Omalu spoke.

I loved how he referenced the movie, “Concussion,” and how closely the plot line of the movie followed the events that actually happened to him. What I found most interesting, is he went to Hollywood to get the movie filmed because it wanted the general public to know his story and to be informed of the potential consequences of playing contact sports.

Global Awareness

I attended The Taste of OSU event at the Ohio Union on February 19th.

The lines were super long, so I didn’t get to taste the food; however, I was able to walk past all of the food stands and watch several performances. I didn’t realize how much food that we eat in America was actually adopted from another culture! The performances were the best part in my opinion. It was cool to see how each culture has a very distinct style of dance, completely different from American style.

Health & Wellness

I took a semester-long yoga class Fall Semester 2015 at the RPAC for university credit.

This time each week allowed me to set aside a couple hours to focus on relaxing the mind and body. I found myself less stressed, and my neck and back muscles were relieved from all of the studying throughout the week.

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]