Here's a little more background about me. I’m a fourth year resident in general surgery. Residency in general surgery takes five years. During that time, a resident learns how to take care of patients before and after surgery, decide when a patient needs surgery and ultimately perform surgery. Training includes experience in abdominal/gastrointestinal, thoracic, vascular, transplant, trauma, endocrine, and other subspecialities of surgery. I haven’t quite decided what direction I’ll take my career, but I’m interested in endocrine surgery. For those of you who don’t know, endocrine surgery includes the surgical management of diseases of the thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal glands (and sometimes the pancreas, too). Many diseases of the endocrine organs require special tests and making the correct diagnosis demands true understanding of the physiology and pathophysiology involved.
My residency program allows me to choose an elective rotation for one month in my fourth year – anywhere I want to go. The possibilities are overwhelming! Like many of you, I learned about the Norman Parathyroid Center online and emailed Dr. Norman. He helped to set up a rotation for me to observe their practice and learn about parathyroid disease. I want to share with you what I learn during what is turning out to be an amazing experience.
Arriving on my first morning, I felt like I was swept from person to person. I was introduced to at least a dozen people who all shook my hand and offered their assistance. I repeated each person’s name in my head, hoping that I will be able to recall it the next time we meet. I was given a tour of the Parathyroid Center at Tampa General Hospital and then immediately went to work. As the doctors talked with the patients, I listened to each story. This was my favorite part of the day. We met with a woman from California who had primary hyperparathyroidism for many years and became frustrated with her doctors. Another woman, this one from Massachusetts, also struggled for years to get the medical attention she needed. Like so many patients I saw on my first day, these patients took their medical care into their own hands, ending up in Tampa. As I was listening, I realized that the patients were teaching me. With their stories, I was learning how parathyroid disease changes people’s lives. Shouldn’t I be learning about patients’ symptoms from a textbook? The textbooks never talk about what it feels like to have parathyroid disease. The books never taught me how tired people feel, how their legs ache at night, and, most importantly, how often parathyroid disease is overlooked.
I will continue to post during the week. Stay tuned for more!