Faith Muriuki - Dr. Spector - Week 4

 6/24/2024 - 6/28/2024


Monday started off with clinics. There were a lot of patients that Dr. Spector had to see. He had back-to-back appointments. The reasoning behind the appointments ranged from cosmetic consultations to pre-surgery check-ups. 

The last one, the pre-surgery check-up, was because Dr. Spector was the plastic surgeon selected to be responsible for the abdominal reconstruction of a transplant patient. It was fascinating to be in the room during the meeting, as I got to see how Dr. Spector interacts with a patient before he operates on them. He took the time to explain the intent and procedures behind the surgery while also addressing any questions the patient and their family had. A few days later, I got to witness some of the surgery, which was really cool. This was the first time I saw a patient both conscious and responsive during a clinical visit before I saw them being operated on.

There were also other OR cases that I observed throughout the week. Not all of these cases were led by Dr. Spector. As a result, I was able to see how different doctors perform the same type of surgery.

I also made it a point to drop by the lab every day to see if there was anything I could observe. By doing this, I was able to see a lot of breast tissue isolation. At one point, I observed the spheroid-making process used by the Fishbach lab. As Jenny, who is from the Fishbach lab and is also shadowing Dr. Spector, was trying to teach the Spector lab how to make spheroids. The resulting data from all these observations were then presented in today's lab meeting.


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