Blog #1 - Introduction

Hey everyone!

My name is Aiden Golub, and I am a senior in the class of 2023. I have been fascinated by medicine since watching my father diagnose complex medical cases in his office when I was young. And this year, I took an anatomy and physiology class and became even more interested in the field.

I wanted to see first-hand what the medical field entails and whether I should pursue the pre-med track as an undergrad in college next year. So, I arranged to shadow three physicians at the Cleveland Clinic and UH for my Hawken project.

Starting this Wednesday, I will be shadowing Dr. Alan Hoffer, a neurosurgeon at UH; Dr. Walter Cha, a general surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic; and Dr. Bindu Sangani, a hospitalist at the Clinic.

The best way to discover if something is right for you is to try and experience it yourself. That’s why I’m excited to shadow these physicians who cover a relatively broad medical field spectrum. I hope that in these next few weeks, I will gain a more profound insight into the medical field and, therefore, uncover if medicine is the correct path for my future profession.

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Blog #2 - Day 1 in the Neuro ICU and Day 2 in the OR

Day #1 : For the majority of the day #1, Dr. Hoffer and I planned out the week, toured the neurology department, and I spent time with neuro ICU rotation staff visiting patients in their rooms. Every day, I kept a journal of my events. Unfortunately, taking photos are generally frowned upon in a hospital, so most of the photos are from Google. Today I arrived at the UH Bolwell building at 7:30 and signed in through the volunteer kiosk. I met Dr. Hoffer in the neurology lobby and walked to his office together. He explained what his job was generally about and asked about my goals for the week. He explained that a significant OR (operating room) case was canceled that day because of some insurance mess-up. Still, he had already postponed his other patients until a different date. So, he brought me to the neuro ICU (intensive care unit), where I met some doctors/fellows/other shadows. We started in a small room with about ten different doctors. A lead doctor arrived and asked for a one t

Blog #8 - Final Reflection

Hey everyone! I just wanted to start off this final reflection by thanking my mentors, Dr. Hoffer, Dr. Cha, Dr. Kaur, and Dr. Sangani (and Dr. Bencsath for day ten) for allowing me to follow them around the hospital and going out of their way to showcase a raw medical experience to a high school senior. The amount of support I received from the countless physicians and nurses I met along the way to pursue biology and medicine as an undergraduate next year was staggering. Looking back to my initial blog, I said that “the best way to discover if something is right for you is to try and experience it yourself,” referring to a potential pre-med path in college. I didn’t know any plans or schedules for the next few weeks when I wrote that comment. I assumed I would only be a “fly-on-the-wall,” lucky to view a procedure or patient visit exteriorly. Luckily, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Dr. Hoffer and Dr. Cha pulled me to their side during their operations. They allowed me to watch their

Blog #5 - Gallbladder Removal and More on Day 9 & 10 of the OR

Day #9 : My ninth day was spent in the OR again where I watched Dr. Cha perform a gallbladder removal. After watching these surgeries in UH and the Clinic, it is making me a lot more appreciative of the work physicians and nurses do each day behind the scenes for our wellbeing. Today, I arrived at the Clinic OR at 7:00 AM. Dr. Cha walked me to the break area, where we grabbed masks, headgear, and safety glasses. Then we walked to a perioperative room to check in with the patient before the procedure. The patient stated they were nervous but were ready to start. Dr. Cha and the patient signed a consent form, and we left the room. About 10 minutes later, we made our way to OR 16. The patient was lying on a hospital bed with oxygen tubes and IVs hanging from their mouth and arms. Once everyone got to the room, Dr. Cha signaled that he was ready to start the cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal). The anesthesiologist talked to the patient to calm her down while they started pumping sleepy

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