Immersion Week 1: Just getting started

Whoa… All I can say is wow. The city is so bustling and full of life. It is honestly all a little overwhelming with all the sounds and smells. Coming from a sleepy beach town and then to an even sleepier Ithaca, it has been a trial by fire getting use to the city and all it has to offer. In the first short days here, I have made an effort to get out of my comfort zone and explore the city.  In the first hours upon arriving, in the pouring rain a group of us walked the 8 or 9 blocks to a place called Gotham Pizza. I was able to try my first slice of New York pizza and I gotta say it was tasty.

My mentor, Dr. Linda Vahdat, was out of the city for the first couple days I was in town. So, I was able to get acclimated to the city before having to devote a lot of time to the hospital. On Monday, after getting my ID, I went with a couple other students and searched the Upper East Side for some lunch. We headed to the Pastrami Queen and were flabbergasted by the prices. $22.00 for a sandwich? Insane!  I don’t think we were prepared for the high cost associated with living in the city. So, we settled for a less ambitious choice and headed to the park to enjoy our lunches. Tuesday, this was a day devoted to walking around. I went to Laduree and tried some macaroons for the first time.  I tried citron and mixed berries, definitely interesting texture and flavor.  Wednesday, I was able to meet with Dr. Vahdat and I am very excited for the rest of the summer. Dr. Vahdat has organized a list of Doctors from various specialties ranging from plastics, surgery, oncology, and radiology for me to shadow. I plan to get a well-rounded picture of the patient experience when fighting metastatic breast cancer.  Thursday, I was able to see patients with Dr. Vahdat and this was an eye opener to the real pain that cancer causes to not only patients, but their families.  Friday, we had our meeting with Dr. Ming and he was glad to hear that so many of us are already started and this was a great change from last year’s struggles.  Later in the day, I was able to sit in with Dr. Vahdat and the other oncologists while they had their case meetings and see how the doctors collaborate to best treat difficult patients.

The upcoming week I will be shadowing Dr. Otterburn in surgery and see a resection of a tumor and restructuring of the chest wall.