My Journey
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Blog post Count
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This past week was uneventful for ISM, once again. In my research assessment, which went towards my original work hours, I did some further research on deep brain stimulation. It was a more detailed report on the discoveries of deep brain stimulation and went over closed-loop deep brain stimulation. I thought it was interesting how this kind of deep brain stimulation addresses the issues of battery life and immunity to the constant stimulation. I was disappointed, though, that the source I chose did not go over the actual procedure and more so focused on the results in the subjects. Despite this issue with my choice of source, the information it gave me is something that I can address in my original work. Another thing I did this week was finish up my thank you notes for the professionals that I interviewed. In my letters, I was able to recount what they informed me about and the most memorable things they said during the interview. I hope that in the future when I need help with my final product, I can get their opinions over what will be the next step in my plan for my second semester of ISM. So, this week I 'Thanked My Interviewees And Researched Closed-Loop Deep Brain Stimulation.'
This is unrelated to my ISM journey, but this is now my second time writing this blog due to it not saving. Anyway, this past week has been uneventful compared to the others in the past month. But, I do enjoy that as I now have the time and energy to just sit down and learn more about specific topics I'm interested in the broad field of neurosurgery. After receiving advice from Dr. Salah Aoun during my last interview, I decided to research deep brain stimulation once again to gain a full understanding of the entire procedure and how it effects the motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. I thought it was interesting how the electrode that the neurosurgeons implant into the brain is so small and needs to be inserted into a precise location. I also thought it was interesting how the actual results from the procedure occur after quite a bit of time passes. The doctors and surgeons need to work to program the electrodes in the brain to make positive results, so that's why it takes so long. Deep brain stimulation really is a fascinating topic, and it is something I will be including in my original work. I do question how practical it would be to do a mock surgery of the insertion of the electrodes in my second semester. Nonetheless, this past week I 'Started On My Original Work.'
In the past the week, I feel as though my knowledge over my field of study has not expanded. I want to do more research interviews and more research that will contribute to my original work research. I completed another interview this past week on Zoom with Dr. Salah Aoun. He has been the neurosurgeon that I most looked forward to, as he was one of the first to respond, and the date of the interview kept getting pushed back due to the work he does. The most interesting part of the interview was when he recounted his experience with operating on a 40-year-old man whose back had a significant curvature due to a previous accident. When I write an assessment on this interview, I will need to listen back to that part of the interview just to listen to him describing it again. His story felt very inspirational to me as he clearly worked hard to obtain his success and believed in himself throughout residency, which led him to becoming a neurosurgeon at UT Southwestern Medical Center. This coming week, I will need to take the time to write all my Thank You notes to these professionals that have taken the time to have an interview with me. I look forward to being able to give my thanks and hope that all my interviews in the future will be as promising as these. So, this week, I had 'My First Zoom Call Interview.'
These weeks of ISM have become busier and busier. I had my first in-person interview just last Tuesday with Dr. Nader Pouratian, who is a newer neurosurgeon at the UT Southwestern Medical Center. Once again, this surgeon was very kind to offer me his time and I learned much while at his office. One thing that I noted was how my questions needed adjusting in what I took from the interview and how some of them wee repetitive. That is something I must work on prior to my next interview, which will be this week on Friday. Another major event was the business symposium. Seeing a bunch of students wearing suits was a sight to see. The speakers themselves were all so diverse in the fields they worked in and the kind of work they did. Unfortunately, I did not participate as much as I had hoped and did not get to meet with any professionals practicing neurosurgery. It was still exciting and a great experience for a student like me with limited opportunities and contact with professionals. And, although there weren't any neurosurgeons, I still got to hear from different medical professionals and those working in business. So, this week I had 'Another Interview And I Went To The Business Symposium.'
his week was pretty exciting, to be honest. I had my first interview last Thursday, and I would say it went pretty well. I was supposed to have two interviews, but the neurosurgeon rescheduled due to being called to the OR. Those short-notice changes in schedule are understandable and make me realize just how demanding being a neurosurgeon. Anyway, the interview I was able to do with Dr. Audrey Allen went very well. She was very kind, and really was a great interviewee for my first interview to be with. After the interview, I realized that some things I needed to work on was how awkward I was, how I thought of a response instead of just listening to what she was saying, and how I needed to make the conversation flow more instead of just making a comment and then asking the next question. I hope to work on all of these things as I have more interviews! This coming week will be even more exciting. I have another interview tomorrow, which will be my first in-person interview, and then I have the business symposium on Thursday. I'm not looking forward to missing school, but it's a small sacrifice for ISM. This week marks the week that 'I Had My First Interview.'
This week of ISM has been the most eventful thus far. I am amazed at how much I was able to get done this week. I'll just go down the list so whoever is reading this can get a better understanding of the big steps I took. First, at the beginning of the week, I had contacted two neurosurgeons to interview but got no responses. Then, in class on Wednesday, I decided to go ahead and just email every single person on the UT Southwestern website with neurological surgery experience. I still did this with care, but I did not expect any person to respond to my attempt at reaching out. To my surprise, I now have five confirmed interviews, three pending (or we are working out a time), and one professional checking how in-person interviews are conducted at their facility. There's a certain feeling I get when I accomplish a lot in a short amount of time, and I love it. Second, I managed to get all my assignments due by Friday done on Thursday. This included the S.M.A.R.T. goals, topic proposal, and research assessment. Although I am nervous about the amount of interviews, I am confident that I will be able to impress by the way I conduct myself and engage in conversation. This may seem like a bad statement for some people, but for me, I'm glad that 'I Got Nine Interviews This Week And Other Things Done.'
This week, I explored more about neurodegenerative diseases (NDD) in my research assessment. I learned a lot about autophagy and how melatonin has protective properties against NDDs. I am starting to think that I want my original work or final product to be related to NDDs, but I'm still having a difficult time creating ideas. Along with my research assessment, I also made the first draft of my resume this week. It was a bit disappointing coming to the realization that I had little to no achievements related to neurosurgery or neurology, other than placing at a Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) competition. I am also beginning to connect with neurosurgeons and professionals involved in neurosurgery, so I am one step closer to finding a mentor that I can learn more about neurosurgery under. The Independent Study and Mentorship (ISM) program provides me with so many new opportunities that I would otherwise never do in other classes. This includes making a LinkedIn, contacting adults outside of school-sponsored activities, and actually going out of my way to interview professionals in a field of study I am genuinely interested in. I am pleased with the work I did this week in that I got to learn 'More About Neurodegenerative Diseases,' but I look forward to weeks after today, because I will have hopefully completed my first interview and expanded my network of connections.
Yesterday marked the day I completed my second research assessment. I read and annotated an article about Parkinson's Disease (PD). The article, once again, was targeted towards doctors, medical students, and those in residency, so it would be an understatement to say that the article was a bit advanced for me to understand completely. There were so many terms that I did not already know, which required me to take the time to look up each term and acronym, and there was also a vast amount of information in such a small number of pages. Although I did a research presentation in PD in freshman year, I would say that I learned so much more about the current state of research on PD treatments. It fascinates me to know that these less popularized treatments I am reading about now may be more commonly used when I become a doctor. And in ISM, the next time I write an assessment, it will be about my first interview. Time really does fly. Now that I am doing research assessments and other assignments in other classes, it really does feel like the school year has officially started and I am back to in-person schooling rather than being stuck behind a computer screen at home! 'I Learned About Parkinson's Disease This Week' is the acronym for today, and maybe I will delve more into PD for my original work or final product.
While I enjoy writing papers and various essays for school, the assessment that I turned in last Friday was a growing experience. During class, I was surprised at the vague instructions of Coach Goff since I am accustomed to direct instructions that tell me the exact structure and wording of the paper. ISM has "Independent" in it for a reason. Anyway, during my research, my findings were intriguing to say the least. To be honest, my paper was more about criticizing the author than analyzing the information he presented, so if I were to approach the assignment again, I would have worded my observations a bit differently. I was aware of how much a neurosurgeon makes, so I looked at advantages and disadvantages plus what it took to get to where someone could be called successful. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that mentorship was discussed in the article. The target audience of the article was medical school students and those in residency, but when the author talked about mentorship, I felt as though it applied to me as well. To say the least, the article only made me more 'Excited As To What I Will Accomplish With My Future Mentor.'
Back in 2019, upon my enrollment in Frisco High School, I decided I wanted to be a part of the Independent Study and Mentorship (ISM) Program. I remember frantically searching for my ID number when the email came in regarding my acceptance status, and saying that I was overjoyed in that moment is an understatement. ISM took the spot of the first serious application in my life. Even though I've only attended six periods of ISM in the three weeks school has been in session, I can confidently say that I am never going to regret wanting to enroll in this course. Along with my peers, I have already had my first speech of the year, made a LinkedIn, made a Digital Portfolio, and now: wrote this blog post. So, this is the start of my journey. The me speaking right now did not have a mentor, did not have any original work ideas, and did not have a sixteenth birthday yet. I'm at rock bottom, so the only way I can do is go up. Oh, and I also forgot to say that the title is an acronym for 'I Just Completed My Third Week Of The ISM Program.'
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2022
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