LINK Project Proposal
Internship Site-I will be working at Mercy Regional Medical Center, at the Durango Orthopedic offices, where several musculoskeletal services and procedures are performed. Their mission is to “provide the patients in the Four Corners Area with timely access to the most comprehensive, knowledgeable, professional, respectful, and compassionate musculoskeletal services available. Their medical group is committed to ethical and highly competent treatment of all patients in a fiscally appropriate and responsible manner.”
Internship Mentor-I will be working with Rich Lawton, who is a Mayo Clinic-trained, board certified fellowship trained orthopedic surgeon at Durango Orthopedics. Dr. Lawton specializes in the treatment of knee, hip and elbow problems. He addresses most problems with non-operative treatments, but for those patients requiring surgery, he utilizes arthroscopic or minimally invasive techniques. He has special interest in sports related injuries, arthritis and all elbow problems. Dr. Lawton is a very experienced orthopedic surgeon who I have gotten to know through the community, and would be a very valuable mentor because of his extensive knowledge in the subject area, as well as his passion for his studies. I also think that my being there will help him to be more efficient with his patients, as well as reflect on what it took him to get to where he is today, beginning with his high school career.
Explanation of Internship-I have known for several years that I have wanted my profession to be involved in the medical field, but it wasn’t until I discovered my love of anatomy in the dissection of a cat that I realized that I would love to be a surgeon. My only problem is that I have no idea which area of surgery I want to get into. Even in the surgical field, there are several different options. I think that this experience will help me to get an idea of what I would or wouldn’t like to do as a future career option.
Abstract of Project-I will be doing a brochure for patient education on what patients can expect before and after surgery. It will help patients to better understand the surgical process, without going into it blindly and unprepared. I think that I will first ask patients what they are most concerned about before going into surgery, and create a list of FAQs. I will also conduct interviews with patients post-surgery, asking them about their experiences with anesthesiologists and the physician, as well as how they thought the overall procedure went for them.
Meaning of Project-This project will help to inform patients about what the basic procedure of surgery consists of, and what they can expect to happen during the process. This will provide the hospital with a resource that they can supply to their patients in order to help answer questions and calm the nerves associated with the uncertainties of surgery.
Relevance of Project-I know that this project will be helpful to other patients because it is what I needed before I went into surgery myself. Not only will the information provided help to calm patients, it will answer any question they may have about the general procedure. Usually, patients do not think to ask their doctor about what they should expect to happen before and after surgery, because they are all caught up on what is going to be happening during the surgery. Looking back, I realize that what scared me the most about the surgery was unknown. This project should help to answer most of those question, and prepare patients as much as possible for their impending surgery.
Steps to Take-
1. Develop a survey about what scares patients the most about going into surgery
2. Based on survey results, develop a brief interview format that would be able to get the specifics about what patients may have questions about, and what their greatest concerns are about the surgery.
A. If I find that there are themes about questions that correlate to different types of surgeries, I can either separate the pamphlet into different sections, or create several different pamphlets.
3. Interview Lawton and an anesthesiologist about what the basic procedures in a surgery are, including care for the patient.
4. Make the pamphlet!
Internship Mentor-I will be working with Rich Lawton, who is a Mayo Clinic-trained, board certified fellowship trained orthopedic surgeon at Durango Orthopedics. Dr. Lawton specializes in the treatment of knee, hip and elbow problems. He addresses most problems with non-operative treatments, but for those patients requiring surgery, he utilizes arthroscopic or minimally invasive techniques. He has special interest in sports related injuries, arthritis and all elbow problems. Dr. Lawton is a very experienced orthopedic surgeon who I have gotten to know through the community, and would be a very valuable mentor because of his extensive knowledge in the subject area, as well as his passion for his studies. I also think that my being there will help him to be more efficient with his patients, as well as reflect on what it took him to get to where he is today, beginning with his high school career.
Explanation of Internship-I have known for several years that I have wanted my profession to be involved in the medical field, but it wasn’t until I discovered my love of anatomy in the dissection of a cat that I realized that I would love to be a surgeon. My only problem is that I have no idea which area of surgery I want to get into. Even in the surgical field, there are several different options. I think that this experience will help me to get an idea of what I would or wouldn’t like to do as a future career option.
Abstract of Project-I will be doing a brochure for patient education on what patients can expect before and after surgery. It will help patients to better understand the surgical process, without going into it blindly and unprepared. I think that I will first ask patients what they are most concerned about before going into surgery, and create a list of FAQs. I will also conduct interviews with patients post-surgery, asking them about their experiences with anesthesiologists and the physician, as well as how they thought the overall procedure went for them.
Meaning of Project-This project will help to inform patients about what the basic procedure of surgery consists of, and what they can expect to happen during the process. This will provide the hospital with a resource that they can supply to their patients in order to help answer questions and calm the nerves associated with the uncertainties of surgery.
Relevance of Project-I know that this project will be helpful to other patients because it is what I needed before I went into surgery myself. Not only will the information provided help to calm patients, it will answer any question they may have about the general procedure. Usually, patients do not think to ask their doctor about what they should expect to happen before and after surgery, because they are all caught up on what is going to be happening during the surgery. Looking back, I realize that what scared me the most about the surgery was unknown. This project should help to answer most of those question, and prepare patients as much as possible for their impending surgery.
Steps to Take-
1. Develop a survey about what scares patients the most about going into surgery
2. Based on survey results, develop a brief interview format that would be able to get the specifics about what patients may have questions about, and what their greatest concerns are about the surgery.
A. If I find that there are themes about questions that correlate to different types of surgeries, I can either separate the pamphlet into different sections, or create several different pamphlets.
3. Interview Lawton and an anesthesiologist about what the basic procedures in a surgery are, including care for the patient.
4. Make the pamphlet!