Rotating through the emergency department was one of the most thrilling, busy, and instructive months of my life. I was lucky enough to be assigned to the Staten Island University Hospital sites, one of which was only a five-minute drive from the house that I was raised in. For the first time I really felt the impact that I could make in the medical field, as I was helping treat people that could very well be my neighbors.

During my time at the south site, I was being challenged more than I had at any of my other rotations up to that point. I was sent to see adult patients on my own, take a history, do an exam, and then immediately present to a PA or attending and come up with a plan. I was extremely nervous at first, as I did not get much experience in presenting previous to this, but after doing it dozens of times per day for a week I started to become much more adept at including relevant information and creating concise exam findings. Formulating plans typically revolved around figuring out which labs and imaging tests to order for the patient in order to rule in or out our suspected diagnoses. I learned about the typical chest and abdominal pain work-up tests, as well as pertinent questions to follow up with when interviewing the patient.

Following my first week, I began rotating through the north site, where I saw and experienced more than I could’ve imagined. During my first day, while walking past a room, I heard a resident call out that a patient was experiencing cardiac arrest. I immediately went into the room and saw a nurse performing CPR while a PA began putting in a central line in order to transfuse blood to the patient. I offered to switch out to help with chest compressions, and the code team set to work on trying to revive the patient. After 10 or so minutes (which felt like an eternity) we managed to restore a stable pulse and spontaneous circulation, a fairly rare event after a patient’s heart stops beating. I felt a rush of several different emotions all at once: gratitude for having been part of the team, relief that the patient was alive, and exhaustion from the strenuous activity. I really began to re-evaluate what I wanted to do after I graduated and which career path I’d like to pursue. I also had another important experience during this time; after 3 years of practicing suturing on mice during my previous occupation as a biology researcher, I finally did my first human laceration repair. I was completely surprised at how comfortable I was and let muscle-memory take over – it was a huge success and I constantly asked every resident and PA I saw to let me do any other repairs that they happened to pick up. I went on to drain abscesses, place a nasogastric tube, assist with a chest tube in a pneumothorax, perform an echocardiogram, and place IVs. I was truly enamored with everything I got to do, and I received a ton of one-on-one learning and attention from the staff.

I would like my preceptor and colleagues to see that I’ve gotten much better at presenting patients and performing several routine procedures. I would also like for them to see that I gained a deeper knowledge of different antibiotics and medications that we would use in an emergency setting. I would like them to recognize my enthusiasm for emergency medicine and the interest I have in applying to a fellowship program to learn how to perform competently in the role.