For three weeks in January, I
commuted daily from Springfield to Boston. My travel destination was
the Floating Hospital for Children at the New England Medical Center
and the Amino Acids Laboratory of Dr. Mary Ampola. Dr. Ampola, a
pediatrician who is the chief of metabolism at Floating, cares for
children (and some adults) with metabolic disorders. These metabolic
disorders, such as phenylketonuria (PKU) and homocystinuria (HCU),
are hereditary and are due either to the inactivity or deficiency of
an enzyme caused by the biochemical mutation of a gene involved in
metabolism. My internship at the Amino Acids Laboratory consisted of
the screening and quantitative testing of blood and urine of patients
for amino acid or organic acid analysis, along with quantitative
tests on sweat for cystic fibrosis. Along with my work in the Amino
Acids Laboratory, I was also able to observe the relationship of Dr.
Ampola to her patients and their families, her commitment to working
with her patients, and the successful treatment and recovery of most
of them. This internship expanded my
knowledge of fields of medicine different from my current interests
in pediatrics and neurosurgery. I attended various nephrology,
pathology, neurology, etc. conferences, and attended case study
conferences with medical students. I shadowed a pediatrician in a
general pediatric clinic and followed a seven-year-old cleft palate
patient throughout the day as he went from speech pathology and
audiology to otolaryngology. My pediatric rounds with a senior
resident, Dr. Prophete, were one of the many experiences in this
internship that further demonstrated to me the challenge of medicine,
the importance of supervising patient care, the importance of
establishing a desirable physician-patient/family relationship, and
the rewards of being instrumental in the recovery of a patient.
On rounds with Dr. Prophete
in the pediatric ward, I was able to observe and examine children of
varying ages suffering from a range of illnesses. One of the patients
that I helped to physically examine was a sixteen-year-old autistic
male with muscular dystrophy. Upon review of his O2 saturation and
respiratory rate, the patient appeared to be in respiratory distress.
While listening with a stethoscope to his heart rate and breathing, I
noticed that his breathing was rapid. With Dr. Prophete and the
radiologist, I viewed and discussed particular abnormalities in the
patient's X rays, which helped in the diagnosis of the patient's
illness as pneumonia. Since most patients with MD die from pulmonary
distress, this patient was placed on a breathing tube and treated
with antibiotics. Some of the other patients I examined with Dr.
Prophete included a child with infantile spasms, a sixteen-year-old
female with a pseudo tumor, and children with pneumonia and
bronchiolitis. This internship was all that
I expected and much more. Dr. Ampola and the CDC gave me the
opportunity to combine my love of medicine, people, and biochemistry,
to make this internship a thoroughly unforgettable experience. During
my internship, many people said to me, "Gosh, I wish I had the
opportunity to do what you're doing while in college."
Dr. Mary Ampola has been a
dedicated sponsor of January Term interns for more than five years
and has offered many students the opportunity to learn under her
tutelage.
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