Ayers
10-04-2002, 06:25 AM
I'm going to send it off this weekend... If you could help me with grammar, spelling, or how to fix transitions please post any suggestions! Or PM me!
Thanks so much
--------------------
Seeing my grandmother lying in that emergency room gurney for first time in awhile, the first thing I noticed was her spastic legs and her upgoing big toes. Having just recently rotated through Neurology, I began to wonder less about the stroke the emergency room physicians were concerned about and more about a spinal cord process occurring. Unfortunately the answer came soon enough when my grandmother’s magnetic resonance image of her cervical spine revealed marked compression of her cervical spine from a diffuse infiltrative process replacing her cervical vertebrae. After the internist, neurosurgeon, and radiation oncologist met with my family, the collective decision was that emergent radiation therapy was the best course of action for my grandmother. However before any treatment could begin, my grandmother’s clinicians felt the radiologic findings needed to be confirmed histologically. Within hours, the radiologist obtained several core samples from my grandmother’s neck under CT-guidance. That evening the clinicians relayed the grim news from the pathologist who had prepared frozen sections from the CT-guided biopsy – metastatic cancer likely from breast.
Radiology strikes me as a very dynamic field, constantly expanding with every advancement in technology. While studying Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I worked as a HelpDesk consultant, troubleshooting computing and networking problems for all of MIT. Part of my job was learning how to make a diagnosis over the phone, without ever seeing the computer. Luckily being on a network facilitated the transfer of information, and made it easier for me to solve their problems. I could remotely view the computer files and settings without having the client lug their computer into the office building. I was reminded of how important the transfer of information could be as UC San Diego made the transition to the Picture Archive and Communications Systems. While rotating on neurosurgery, I recall having dinner at the home of the attending and the chief resident. The resident on-call paged the chief about a patient who arrived with asymmetric pupil dilation in a coma. While talking on the phone, the neurosurgery team reviewed the CT images remotely, and decided to put a ventriculostomy drain. Allowing teleradiology will open the opportunity for hospitals and clinics to staff an on-call radiologist hundreds of miles away. This is just one example of the advances made in radiology in recent years.
Recalling back to my training at San Diego I was reminded of how important Radiology was in every aspect of medicine. While volunteering at the Free Clinic, I encountered patients with a variety of problems. I remember one particular patient who arrived complaining of a cough, fever, and chills. He had been seen at a local Emergency Room and was treated empirically with antibiotics for a community-acquired pneumonia, but no chest radiograph was obtained. After the exam, I ordered a chest film, which showed bilateral ground glass opacities suspicious for Pneumocytsis carinii pneumonia. Further inquiry revealed a history of unprotected sex in the past and I counseled the patient to seek HIV testing. Like my own experience with my grandmother, the radiographic findings were instrumental in reaching the proper diagnosis for this patient and helping receive the proper treatment.
My grandmother’s neurologic status has slightly improved after completing several rounds of radiation therapy. Although this time has been filled with much sadness for my family, I have found some solace in my conviction to pursue a career in radiology, the same field that helped provide my family with peace through answers and more importantly, my grandmother with neurologic improvement through the image directed radiation treatment.
Thanks so much
--------------------
Seeing my grandmother lying in that emergency room gurney for first time in awhile, the first thing I noticed was her spastic legs and her upgoing big toes. Having just recently rotated through Neurology, I began to wonder less about the stroke the emergency room physicians were concerned about and more about a spinal cord process occurring. Unfortunately the answer came soon enough when my grandmother’s magnetic resonance image of her cervical spine revealed marked compression of her cervical spine from a diffuse infiltrative process replacing her cervical vertebrae. After the internist, neurosurgeon, and radiation oncologist met with my family, the collective decision was that emergent radiation therapy was the best course of action for my grandmother. However before any treatment could begin, my grandmother’s clinicians felt the radiologic findings needed to be confirmed histologically. Within hours, the radiologist obtained several core samples from my grandmother’s neck under CT-guidance. That evening the clinicians relayed the grim news from the pathologist who had prepared frozen sections from the CT-guided biopsy – metastatic cancer likely from breast.
Radiology strikes me as a very dynamic field, constantly expanding with every advancement in technology. While studying Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I worked as a HelpDesk consultant, troubleshooting computing and networking problems for all of MIT. Part of my job was learning how to make a diagnosis over the phone, without ever seeing the computer. Luckily being on a network facilitated the transfer of information, and made it easier for me to solve their problems. I could remotely view the computer files and settings without having the client lug their computer into the office building. I was reminded of how important the transfer of information could be as UC San Diego made the transition to the Picture Archive and Communications Systems. While rotating on neurosurgery, I recall having dinner at the home of the attending and the chief resident. The resident on-call paged the chief about a patient who arrived with asymmetric pupil dilation in a coma. While talking on the phone, the neurosurgery team reviewed the CT images remotely, and decided to put a ventriculostomy drain. Allowing teleradiology will open the opportunity for hospitals and clinics to staff an on-call radiologist hundreds of miles away. This is just one example of the advances made in radiology in recent years.
Recalling back to my training at San Diego I was reminded of how important Radiology was in every aspect of medicine. While volunteering at the Free Clinic, I encountered patients with a variety of problems. I remember one particular patient who arrived complaining of a cough, fever, and chills. He had been seen at a local Emergency Room and was treated empirically with antibiotics for a community-acquired pneumonia, but no chest radiograph was obtained. After the exam, I ordered a chest film, which showed bilateral ground glass opacities suspicious for Pneumocytsis carinii pneumonia. Further inquiry revealed a history of unprotected sex in the past and I counseled the patient to seek HIV testing. Like my own experience with my grandmother, the radiographic findings were instrumental in reaching the proper diagnosis for this patient and helping receive the proper treatment.
My grandmother’s neurologic status has slightly improved after completing several rounds of radiation therapy. Although this time has been filled with much sadness for my family, I have found some solace in my conviction to pursue a career in radiology, the same field that helped provide my family with peace through answers and more importantly, my grandmother with neurologic improvement through the image directed radiation treatment.