How I Spent My Summer Vacation
By Christopher M. Kriebel
My desire to pursue a career in the medical field developed in college after suffering a cervical spine injury that ended my collegiate wrestling career at Kent State. It was eventually a new technique being researched, that was successful in providing an appropriate countermeasure to alleviate my symptoms, and it was at this moment I learned the value of research. During my undergraduate studies at the University of Akron I had the opportunity to explore the immunologic responses to spinal cord injury. As a result of this work I came across a Summer Research Fellowship opportunity in the Department of Surgical Education and Research (DSER) at the Summa Health System. To my surprise one of the options was for a student to support a study looking at the innate immune response in elderly trauma patients. I was fortunate to be accepted for the position which is very, very competitive. Going into the summer fellowship program I did not know what to expect. I figured I would have a small role in the study; little did I know how involved I would become. In the end, my participation in this program was a life changing experience for me. I would like to share with you this experience.
Most college students take the summers to sleep in. I, on the other hand, would arrive at the hospital early in the morning to pull the trauma list from the previous day. The research study protocol required recruitment of elderly (greater than 65yrs) and young (18-40 yrs) trauma patients that are admitted into the hospital to be study subjects. They must be recruited within 48 hrs of injury and have a blood sample drawn. After printing the trauma list I would go through and exclude the patients that did not qualify based on age. The next step was to meet the trauma team in the ICU for rounds. It was important that I attended rounds for many reasons. This study has exclusion and inclusion criteria that could only be determined by looking at the patient’s charts and obtaining crucial information from the attending physician. Once a patient was determined to be eligible for enrollment, it was important that we obtained the patient’s consent to be a research subject. Although drawing blood is not included in my scope of practice I was able to communicate with the patient to obtain other vital information.
My experience did not stop in the ICU with the trauma team. I also had the opportunity to track the samples back to the laboratory where I was taught how to properly analyze them for the study specific parameters. Moving from the laboratory to the office, I was given the task of updating the current literature related to the study. I was also asked to create a database to store the study results.
In addition to my role in the trauma study I had the opportunity to participate in other programs within the DSER. The DSER is very involved in resident skills training for surgery. Residents have the opportunity to use current laparoscopic training simulators and practice knot tying on suture boards to enhance their proficiency. Being a part of the DSER I had full access to this equipment and I took full advantage of that access spending hours learning surgical skills. Another unique side of medicine that I got to see this summer was resident training using the animal laboratory facilities. During my fellowship the summer fellows helped in orchestrating a general surgery resident “boot camp”. I was assigned to a group of residents were I took the vitals of the animal being used and also served as an assistant to the residents during the procedure. Interestingly enough, the very next day while rounding in the ICU a case presented that needed immediate surgical intervention. The surgeon that was performing the operation had just taught this procedure to the residents the previous day, and asked if I would like to observe the case. What an exceptional experience, to learn a procedure in the lab, and the next day observe a live case!
When I thought I had seen all Summa had to offer Dr. Fallon included me in a new research initiative. The goal of the new study is to use the elderly trauma study as an analog population to compare the innate immune response in astronauts. To do this we had to start by responding to a general inquiry for information regarding the topic that had been sent by NASA. Once NASA decided this topic was a crucial factor in understanding crew health, they asked for proposals. We have made it through the first step, and are currently working to finish the final proposal for submission.
Although the Summer Fellowship Research Program officially ended after the poster day presentation, the experience and new friends I gained will remain with me forever. Shortly after the conclusion of the program a research technologist position opened in the DSER, and I was asked to stay on. I currently am awaiting acceptance into medical school, with the goal of becoming a general surgeon, a medical specialty that was brought to my attention through the Summa Summer Research Fellowship Program.