Doctor in Latin means, “to teach.” As the clerkship director at Summa Akron City Hospital, it is my job to embrace the medical students, teach them, and challenge them to reflect upon their clinical experiences in an effort to help identify their future specialty before they become med school graduates and hospital residents.
Reflection is an essential part of any experiential training experience. One will never grow as a person or a professional without reflecting upon past experiences. We encourage students to think about the experiences they are having, how it relates to the curriculum, and how they will apply these experiences to their future practice.
A reflection is not a work log of tasks, events, times and dates. Instead, it is a tool to capture one’s thoughts and allow for future growth. A true reflection contains three components: “What?” “So What?” and “Now What?” At the conclusion of our third year exploratory clerkships, we have the students write a reflective essay.
Jay Patibandla, M3
Indeed, this was a great reflection and captured his experience, feelings and the “now what?” Inspiring the next generation of physicians is the whole point of the clinical rotations.“Upon completing my OB/GYN rotation, I felt pleasantly surprised that I had taken to the field so strongly. The mornings were earlier, and the hours longer compared to my other rotations, but for some reason, the time just flew by. There was always something to be done, something interesting to see, and it changed things up so frequently. When it came time to choose an exploratory, it was easy to settle on OB/GYN. I quickly contacted my school about doing a rotation at Summa Akron City Hospital.
“During my time at Summa, I felt like I got a whirlwind tour of the field. While spending time on high risk OB, I rounded on some of the most interesting OB cases I’ve ever seen. I felt like I was actually being exposed to the rare disorders that you might only find in a textbook. I also appreciated how much a role medicine played in the specialty. The residents really gave me so much insight into the field that I had never even considered.
“The residents were helpful in showing me the ropes and offered advice. Whether it was discussing how they settled on this field or what to expect during an OB/GYN residency, I learned some invaluable information. Working with them was a joy, and I felt like I was a part of the team right away. This didn’t just go for the residents though – all of the attendings I’ve worked with have been great! My afternoon with Dr. Rooney, of urogynecology, gave me a chance to get some hands-on experience in a field I didn’t know much about. When it comes down to choosing a field of medicine to go into, Urology and OB/GYN are right at the top of my list. Urogynecology seems to fit in a nice medium between both fields and is definitely now on my radar.
“Finally, working with Dr. Andrews and the residents rotating through GYN-ONC was a blast. The amount of knowledge and experience that goes into that field is something to marvel at. I’ve thought about how great it would be to have that kind of skill at my fingertips, and it makes me want to work harder than I’ve ever worked before. Dr. Andrews specifically was just an amazing teacher who pushed me to learn by allowing me to be involved the patients care.
“This is an exciting and a mildly terrifying time in my medical career, but these two weeks have really opened my eyes to some amazing stuff. I can’t wait to move forward and learn more!”
Jay Patibandla, M3
Northeast Ohio Medical University
Cheryl Johnson, M.D.
Summa Health System
Clerkship Director, Summa Women’s Health Services
