Weekly Reports
Weekly Reports
Week 3/27/18 - 4/2/18 - This week in ISM I worked on my final product and contacted Dr. Jose Iglesias, about observing his operations. I have been thinking a lot about my product since my dad suggested the Tesla valve. I believe the valve will work as long as it can be shrunk to about 3 centimeters by 3 centimeters. The parts will have to be extremely small, but they should be still work the same.
This week I also contacted Dr. Jose Iglesias, he is the head of pediatric surgery at Cooks Childrens hospital in Fort Worth. He has operated on me in the past and he is my dads friend from college. I called him this week about observing and he said yes, and that he would check the rules. Later in the week he emailed me all the information I needed to complete in order to observe. I completed all the online forms and now I am just waiting on a response from the education department about my forms. I hope the forms will get put through in a timely manner. On the website it says that it takes about 30 days to process everything, but I hope it will go faster than that.
Next week I will continue to work on my product and continue calling the Dr. Magee’s assistant.
Week 3/20/18 - 3/26/18 - This past week in ISM I have been thinking a lot about my final product and my mentor situation. I called my mentors assistant again and they told me she was out of town until today. It came to me this past week that I could just call my dads friend, Dr. Jose Iglesias, who is a pediatric surgeon at cooks childrens hospital, at Fort Worth. I do not know why I did not think about this sooner, but better late than never.
This week, I was also talking with my dad about my final product and he gave me a great idea for a replacement valve. My dad suggested I look into the tesla valve, which has never been incorporated into anything. As I was looking at pictures of the tesla valve on the internet I found that it is possible to implement the valve into the heart. I think if the valve is condensed to about three centimeters it is a plausible solution.
This next week I will be calling Dr. Magee’s assistant and calling Dr. Jose Iglesias. I am hopeful that I will be able watch operations from both doctors, but if worst comes to worst I am prepared.
Week 3/6/18 - 3/19/18 - These past couple weeks in ISM have not been as productive as I had hoped. I finally got through to Dr. MaGee’s assistant and she told me she contacted someone that knows more about the paperwork necessary for me to observe surgery. She said she would call me back when she heard more. Since that has not happened yet I will be calling her everyday until I can get ahold of her again. I also am going to contact one of my dads friends from college, that I interviewed last year. He is head of pediatric surgery at Cooks Childrens hospital in Fort Worth. I know I will be able to observe under him because he said I would be able to once I was 18.
I have been done with most of my research for my final product for a while now and I have been trying to think of a better heart valve replacement. I have finally determined that I cannot think of anything without some help, so I decided to talk to my dad who is an inventor and has multiple patents. I gave him an article that generalizes what I am trying to do and pictures of the current valves. He has already given me a great suggestion that I need to do more research on.
These next couple weeks should be great if everything I am thinking of goes according to plan.
Week 2/27/18 - 3/5/18 - This week in ISM I watched another operation with Dr. Schwartz and called Dr. MaGee’s assistant everyday. I also continued my work with artificial heart valves. As far as calling Dr. MaGee’s assistant I cannot seem to get through to her. Everytime I call she is always in a meeting or not in the office. The only thing I can do is call everyday and hope one day she is available.
The next thing I did this week was work on my final product. I realized I need someone else to look at my work because I cannot think of any original ideas for a new design, This is not for my lack of trying, I look at the valves everyday, but I cannot seem to come up with anything. I want to show my father my work because he is very creative. He holds multiple U.S. patents and he seems to think of new designs for new things everyday.
The last thing that happened this week was my visit to the OR with Dr. Schwartz. This was a unique experience because I believe the patient almost died. The surgery seemed to last longer than expected and at one point about 10 people rushed the room carrying multiple machines. I am not sure what happened because I had to leave before the operation finished, but I really would like to ask Dr. Schwartz next time I see him.
Week 2/20/18 - 2/26/18 - This week in ISM I finally managed to get into the operating room! Thanks to Dr. Schwartz I observed part of a lung removal and two lobectomies. These operations were intriguing, and I really enjoyed observing them. Watching minimally invasive surgery is amazing. I read about minimally invasive surgery a little, but not enough to picture it. When I saw what they did my mind was completely blown. I was even more fascinated when watching the open lung removal operation. When I walked into the operating room the smell of the cotary hit my like a truck. I have smelled burning flesh before but nothing as strong as it was. I worked my way around everyone to see what the doctors were doing, and what I saw was the patients chest wide open with the heart sitting alone beating. I was captivated by the heart and I stood there for about five minutes just watching it beat. The pericardium had been completely removed from the heart, so I was literally staring at the bare heart. My fascination grew even more when I watched the surgeons remove the patients right lung, and art of the trachea. Both were covered in cancer “bumps”. I left a few minutes afterward to watch the other operations, but I came back later to see the patient all sewed up. And I was amazed how they were just able to situate everything back in the patients chest and simply sew him back up.
This was the highlight of my week and next week I will be observing another operation!
Week 2/13/ - 2/19/18 - This week in ISM I continued my research for my final product and I finally interviewed Dr. MaGee. The interview was not one of my best interviews but it was not terrible. I believe I succeeded in impressing him with the amount of knowledge I had about heart transplants and mitral valves. Dr. MaGee seemed pleased with my questions and my overall understanding of what he was talking about. After the interview I asked Dr. MaGee to be my mentor and he said yes! I am very excited to shadow and talk with him about my final product. Dr. MaGee even has a partner that specializes in heart valves! As for Dr. MaGee, he specializes in heart transplants and oncology of the esophagus and that prompted me talk with him about my original work. Talking with him about this really made me wish I had found him sooner so I could have found out more about the heart at the time.
Overall I am very pleased that I have a mentor, and coach Goff put me into contact with another surgeon so I will be observing an operation next wednesday! This week has been fantastic and I hope to continue my research and now observations!
Week 2/06/18 - 2/12/18 - This week in ISM I continued my research on my final product. This week was quite uneventful except for my research. Coach Goff gave me another contact just in case my interview with Dr. Mitchell MaGee does not go according to plan. The doctor's name is Dr. Alberto de Hoyos and I will be contacting him depending on if I actually have the interview today with Dr. Magee.
As for my research this week I made a few breakthroughs relating to what is needed to make the artificial valve thromboresistant. I am not sure what I am hoping for when I conduct my next set of research plans. As of right now it looks as if I will have to modify the existing valve by either changing the coating to something other than pyrolytic carbon and stopping the little backflow that occurs with the valve. The pyrolytic carbon is thromboresistant but it is not completely resistant which is why patients need to take blood thinners forever if they have this valve implanted. I need to find out how the material is molecularly structured to find out a material that will stop all clotting. If I do end up designing a new valve I am not sure where to start. I might have to use the same design, but use different materials than are currently used. This is no easy task because as soon as something foreign enters the body the immune system attacks it.
I hope I get farther next week and I am hoping for a great interview with Dr. Magee or Dr. Hoyos, or both!
Week 1/30/18 - 2/05/ 18 - This week in Independent student and mentorship I rescheduled my final interview and worked on my final product. For the final interview this is the third time I am rescheduling it. The first time Gloria and I, Gloria is Dr. MaGee’s assistant, scheduled the interview it was cancelled because of a surprise operation. The second time was no different, except for the fact that I was already at medical city and I had to drive all the way home empty handed. This time we scheduled the interview a week from now, so hopefully Dr. Magee will have time to see the interview on his calendar beforehand.
Secondly, this week I have been working on my research for my final product. I have gotten farther into my research, which is good, and I might have t change my proposal a little. I found out that the material the artificial valves are made of help with prevent some of the side effects that occur from having a artificial heart valve. I was thinking that maybe the same valve can be used, but a different substance can be used to coat the valve.
I have been working diligently this week in ISM and I hope to continue my work and get my last interview in.
Week 1/23/18 - 1/29/18 - This week in independent student and mentorship I gave my original work speech and scheduled (hopefully) my last interview. For the original work speech I decided to be the first student to go in my class. I signed up for the tuesday slot (1/23) and I did not think much of this. I practiced over the weekend and when I got to class on tuesday I did a final rehearsal in my head. Right before I am about to give my speech the principal (Ms. Miller) walked into my ISM classroom with a laptop and a clipboard. In all honesty, I had a mini panic attack. As it is, I get really nervous giving any speech to anyone, and I do not enjoy talking to crowds no matter the size. So when the principal walked into the classroom I completely freaked. I believe I was able to save face, and give an alright speech.
The second thing that occured this week was finally scheduling an interview with Dr. Mitchell McGee, a cardiothoracic surgeon at medical city. I have been trying to get in touch with him for two weeks, and his assistants finally called me back on Friday! When I got the phone call I was so excited I forgot to ask where the interview was going to be held, so on monday morning I have to call and confirm the location. I hope this will be the end my searching for a mentor, I have high hopes for tomorrow.
This next week I have to come up with my final product idea, I already have something in mind for this though.
Week 1/16/18 - 1/22/18 - This week in ISM I participated in the yearly research showcase. This is where every ISM student in the district come to the star to present their original work and show off everything they have done so far. The showcase was 2 hours and it was exciting, fun, and tiring. I talked to about eight people regarding my original work and general things about cardiothoracic surgery. I had some time to walk around and look at most people’s display boards. The display boards looked great and I really enjoyed seeing them all.
This week I also tried setting up the surgery with Dr. Hamman and a meeting with Dr. Mitchell McGee. I have been calling them every day to see what progress has been made. I am just waiting for Dr. McGee to set a date for the interview, and I am waiting for a response from one of Dr. Hammans Assistant.
Next week I have to give a speech regarding my original work. I am nervous for this presentation, but I am practicing. I think I will do great as long as I can calm down before the speech.
This week was eventful and I enjoyed working on and persevering through every obstacle.
Week 1/9/18 - 1/15/18 - This week in ISM I was putting the finishing touches on my original work poster and my portfolio. I also talked with coach Goff about my mentor situation. I have been waiting for a response from Dr. Hamman’s assistant, Lisa, so I could go observe a heart surgery. I was not aware coach Goff had gone completely around her and began communicating with Baylor Scott and white directly. I am extremely grateful for her persistence and help with this matter, and because of her I am closer than ever to getting a mentor. I also was talking to Dr. Mazow about meeting with one of his associates who is a cardiothoracic surgeon. Dr. Mazow reached out to him and gave me a number to call to set up an interview with him. Unfortunately, when I called the number the front desk was unaware of our arrangement, so his assistant said she needs to check with the doctor first. I hope this is my final break through.
This week I finished up my poster for the research showcase and I am really happy with the way it turned out. I can not wait for the showcase. Next week is the showcase and I hope it goes as well as last year.
Week 12/5/17 - 1/8/18 - The past couple weeks in ISM have been quite busy. I have been emailing back and forth with my mentor from last year to try and set up an interview with a cardiothoracic surgeon. I am extremely hopeful for this interview because as of right now it looks like I won’t be able to watch a surgery with Dr. Hamman. I have also been working, and recently completed my original work. This was a really tough project considering how much research and effort was put into the project. I also had to keep changing my proposal, so it would match my completed original work. My research altered my proposal because my ideas did not always match what was possible. I completed my original work over the break, and I am looking forward to moving onto my final product.
Before winter break I had an interview with Dr. Bajona, another cardiothoracic surgeon at UT Southwestern. I had to do the interview with a student from liberty, but it actually worked out nicely. I got to compare some of the things I was asking to what another student was asking, and I got some answers to questions I usually do not get to ask. I really liked the way this interview went, and I hope my future ones go this well.
Overall ISM has been going very smoothly, and I hope it continues to go off without a hitch.
Week 11/21 - 12/4 - These past two weeks in ISM I have been quite busy. I have been trying to set up a time to catch up with my mentor from last year, Dr. Mazow. I have also been setting up another interview, and trying to go observe a surgery with Dr. Hamman. I have also made a great deal of progress with my original work. Dr. Wait sped up my progress about a month with his statements alone, and I hope to ask more questions about it to my next interviewee. I have not made much progress with Dr. Hamman and his secretary because she has been on vacation, and she has to go through the people at the head of the arlington surgery center. I really would like to go and observe under him, I turn 18 this month so I am hoping that will allow me to and observe. I contacted Dr. Mazow about a week ago to try and set up a meeting, but I think has been extremely busy. I also think he thinks I want something from him, which I do not. I just want to catch up and talk, which does take time out of his day. I hope I will be able to set something up with him within the next week. I hope I continue working diligently on my original work and i hope to have a mentor by the end of december.
Week 11/13 - 11/20 - This week in ISM I had my Second interview with Dr. Wait at UT Southwestern. Dr. Wait was nice and we talked for about an hour. He answered all my questions and we even asked his own questions about me. I also turned in my original work proposal and Dr. Wait answered one of my questions for my original work. I completed an interview assessment, showcase invitation and guest list, and I turned in a research assessment about what Dr. Wait and I talked about. We talked about ethics and how it relates to medicine. Dr. Wait advised me to do a little research about it, so I did. This week was very successful, and I even might have third interview. Dr. Waits assistant gave me the contact information for another cardio thoracic surgeon at UT southwestern, so I will be shooting them an email soon. I hope next week is just as successful as this week, even though it is thanksgiving break. I only have to do a few more things for my original work to complete it, and I am hoping I will be able to do what I want to do. This week was great let's hope next week is better!
Week 10/23 - 10/29 - In ISM this week I was busy trying to set up my interviews, email UNT teachers, and completing my research assessment. I made it my goal to call at least five people a day until I complete my interviews. It has been extremely hard to get call backs or people that are willing to talk to me. Most of the time I am just forwarded to the doctor's secretary or someone who handles, “things like this.” Every call I make I always end up leaving a voicemail on someone's answering machine. I would not mind this if they at least called me back saying they were not interested, but this almost never the case. This is teaching me perseverance, and I am learning about how the real world operates. On a less painful note, I emailed all three professors on thursday and they all emailed me back within a matter of minutes. I was very happy with this because last year only two of my three professors emailed me back. I am looking forward to the UNT visit because last year I learned a lot and I had fun walking around the campus. It is a great opportunity to see what college is like without going on a visit. I hope to schedule my interviews this week and I am looking forward to the UNT visit.
Week 10/10 - 10/22 - This week in ISM I have been trying to set up my observation surgery with Dr. hamman. His assistant, Sonia, told me she would call Coach Goff. I see Coach Goff tomorrow so I will be able to ask her if she ever came into contact with Sonia. This week I only had one ISM class because of all the breaks and PSAT testing. I was able to complete my first interview assessment and my fourth research assessment. My research assessment was over coronary artery bypass surgery, and my interview assessment was over my interview with Dr. Hamman. I decided to do my research assessment over coronary artery bypass surgery because that is the operation I will most likely be observing when I go to watch Dr. Hamman operate. This next week I will be calling professionals everyday in the hopes of scheduling my last interviews. I am behind on them, but not because I haven't been trying. It has been very to get surgeons to respond to your call when they have many people calling the office that are much more important than me. I hope to have more success this week with this by scheduling at least three interviews..
Week 10/3 - 10/9 - This week in ISM I had first face to face interview and my first phone interview. The face to face interview was with Dr. Baron Hamman, a cardiac and thoracic surgeon, and the phone interview was with Dr. Megha Agrawal, an ophthalmologist. Both interviews went very well and I learned a great deal from them. The face to face interview went so well, in fact, that I asked to see observe a surgery. Dr, Hamman’s said he would like for me to come and watch one next friday on the 13th. The surgery is going to be a coronary artery bypass operation, and I am extremely excited about observing it. This will be my first true taste of the field of cardiac surgery. This week I also attended the ISM business symposium. This allowed me to practice my interview skills and talk with other ISM student in the district. I found the business symposium to be helpful, and it brought back fond memories from last year. I have narrowed my topic of study between cardiac surgery and neurosurgery simply because I want to gain experience in other fields. I hope next week is very productive and I cannot wait to watch the Coronary Artery Bypass surgery!
Week 9/25 - 10/2- This week in ISM I set up two interviews. One is a phone interview and the other is face to face on tuesday. I do not feel as nervous as I used to because I feel confident in my ability to interview a professional. My only fear is that the professional does not take me serious. I also had another interview scheduled, but they canceled me at the last moment. I have already contacted all of my professionals on my contact list, and I have only received four call backs. Unfortunately, I do not think anyone else will call me back, so I have to add more people to my contact list. I honestly do not enjoy cold calling professionals because I never reach them directly, and if I reach their voicemail it is highly unlikely that I will receive a call back. I hope to call at least five people a day during this next week so that I can schedule my interviews as soon as possible. This week I also have the business symposium to go to. The business symposium is something that I am looking forward to because it is a great way practice and learn more about professionals and the interview process. I hope this week is as productive as I want it to be.
Weekly 9/18 - 9/24 - This week in ISM I completed my third research assessment and I contacted all of my professionals on my contact list and correspondence log. I had the same problem last year that I am currently having, which is getting the professionals to contact me back after I cold call them. When I contact these people I usually end up talking to their assistant or the person at the front desk. These people usually just redirect me to someone else who then gives me another number call at a specific time. The problem is usually that time is during school and I cannot just walk out of anatomy and physiology to make a call to someone I haven't ever spoken to. Also, when I call these people most of the time I end up leaving my information with their secretary and I hope they will get back to me. They usually do not and it is extremely frustrating especially when I hear people already have multiple interviews because they were able to email there professionally directly. Doctors are very careful about keeping their personal information secrete. If the professionals I have already contacted do not respond I will have to add more people to my log soon. I hope I do not have to do this; however, if I have to will. I hope this week I will be able to set up my interviews.
Week 9/11 - 9/17 - This week in ISM I completed my second research assessment. I researched about the disorders of the brain and how some of them can be cured. I found out that I enjoy researching about the diseases and disorders of the brain. It is fun to learn about a topic and think about how someday I will be the one performing the operations I read about and watch on youtube. I was watching a craniectomy to try and show my brother that brain surgery was cool, he did not find it very cool. The human body has always fascinated me and will continue to fascinate me. As I watch procedures I always think about who ever thought about digging around in someone's skull to try and fix them? Most of the time when I am watching these videos I find myself lost because I have no idea what the operation is trying to accomplish; however, the doctor performing the procedure is usually talking about the procedure and walking me through it, this is very helpful especially because I am a visual learner. This week has been very interesting I finally feel confident enough to start contacting professionals, and I will do that this coming week!
Week 9/4 - 9/10 - This week in ISM I completed my first research assessment of the year. I have decided to break my research assessment into the categories of my research, neurosurgery, cardiovascular surgery, and ophthalmology. My first research assessment was over cardiovascular surgery and the different types of surgeries within this field. This assessment was really my intro into the field of heart surgery. I watched a couple of the videos over this and it was quite interesting. I felt a little tingly while watching these videos just because the amount of blood and the amount of moving parts throughout these surgeries. The next research assessment I will be completing will be over neurosurgery. This will include the brain, skull, and spine because most of the people I will be contacting operate on all these parts. After that I will probably do an assessment over ophthalmology but it will be very specific. This year if I do decide to do opthalmology it will probably be with a specialist in a specific area of ophthalmology, such as glaucoma. I believe I will focus on more towards eye cancer or disease of the eye that can kill the patient. This might be a little morbid, but it is exciting and a very fascinating subject. I hope to continue working hard and making progress this year. This week I will be contacting professionals and setting up interviews. I believe this process will be a little easier than last year considering I have a good amount of experience with this.
Week 8/21 - 9/3 - The first two weeks of ISM were as I remembered them last year, exciting, nerve wracking, and a true demonstration that summer is over. Last year I remember panicking when I realized the amount of work that I had on my plate, this year I am much more relaxed and I feel like I know what to do and how to do it. I have begun working on most of the assignments that are due closer to the end of this week, and as I do them I am looking back at my old work and I am using that as a template. As I read through all the past assignments I use them to improve upon my work this year. There are also many memories that come to mind as I read through my old work, sudden memories of Dr. Mazow and I talking about surgery or life come to mind, and I use that as extra motivation to push myself this year in ISM. I remember last year how exciting it was to have a mentor, and I want to have another great experience like the one Dr. Mazow and I had. I find myself working harder and faster than I did last year. This might be because of last years experiences or because I know I graduate this year and I want to make the most out of it. The first two weeks have been nice and as fast pace as I remember, and I hope to continue doing great work this year in ISM.