Shark Tank, Forensic Pathology, and Orthopaedic Surgery, Oh My!

Group selfie with Dr. James Lewis, D.O.

I’ve been super busy since I last wrote, so this is a really late post, but I just couldn’t go without telling everyone about two awesome experiences I recently had! Last week, our school hosted Dr. James Lewis as part of our Diversity Speaker series, and I had the honor of being able to introduce him to the school. For those of you who do not know who Dr. Lewis is, he is a world-renowned forensic pathologist (and the first black D.O. one for that matter), a winner of "Shark Tank" (a television show where entrepreneurs get big names to invest in them), a former consultant for shows such as "The X-Files," and a PCOM alum. That is just to name a few of his many accomplishments. A few of us were able to have dinner with him the night he arrived into town, and it was really nice being able to pick his mind and get to know him. I think we talked about everything from ways people try to get away with murder to if O.J. Simpson actually committed the murder (Dr. Lewis was also a consultant for CNBC during his trial). It was also interesting learning how Dr. Lewis entered into the field of pathology, and his thoughts on if he would become a physician if he could do it all over again. The best part was when he let us take selfies with him though :-)

It was an honor being able to introduce Dr. Lewis to GA-PCOM

The next day I was a little nervous before I did his introduction, so I told him, and he proceeded to tell me a story about an experience he had which made him nervous. At the end, he asked me if my life was in danger or if someone would be coming after me, and when I said no, his reply was “well, you have nothing to be nervous about then!” That definitely put things into perspective, LOL! But all-in-all, it was a really great experience, and I really took a lot away from the talk he gave to our school.

Had a great time learning about orthopaedic surgery through the Perry Initiative!

Last Friday, I had another great experience being a part of the Perry Initiative Medical Student Outreach Program in Orthopaedic Surgery that was hosted by Emory University in Atlanta. I absolutely love surgery, although I am keeping my options open as to what specialty I will pursue, so it was fun spending the night learning about all things ortho. The event started with talks from female attendings describing their journey into orthopaedic surgery and how they handle work and their personal lives. We then had a hands-on activity where we learned how to perform both an internal and external fixation. I have to admit, it was pretty fun sawing and drilling into the bone models, and I learned a lot in the process. After the activity, we were able to listen to female residents give their current experiences in the field, and there was a question and answer session. I had previously shadowed in on a few ortho surgeries in the past and wasn’t too hot on the idea of just drilling and sawing all day, but after participating in this experience, I think I might keep the option open.

Other than that, I had an exam this Monday and what seems like a million other things to do that have kept me from being able to blog. I also haven’t been answering my e-mails or messages since my last post, but hopefully I will be all caught up on everything tonight. Until next time!