Accessing clinical rotations is an important step in helping medical trainees realize their goals of becoming physicians. For Brianae, that’s exactly what her AMO rotation in plastic surgery helped her do.

Read her full story below!

 

Realizing a Dream

Plastic surgery is a field that, where I come from, people assume is all about aesthetics and wanting a “dream body.” In reality, there is way more to plastic surgery than people think. Starting from wound healing procedures to head and neck reconstruction to upper and lower extremity reconstruction to gender-affirming surgery to finally aesthetics including breast augmentation, facelifts, and even liposuction. The amount of information I learned during my four-week rotation is insane, but I have enjoyed every minute of it. The different approaches plastic surgeons take on every type of procedure depending on certain situations astonishes me. For every procedure, there are different techniques used, and most of the time, it is solely the physician’s preference unless there are specific exceptions.

The medical field has always been a dream of mine since high school when I entered into Medical Academy, a program offered to students at my high school. I am currently a 2nd-year medical student at St. George’s University in Grenada. Prior to my medical education, I achieved a BA in Behavioral Neuroscience with a minor in Business Administration at the University of San Diego. While in San Diego, I was granted an internship with Palomar Health. I worked side by side with anesthesiologists preparing patients for nerve block injections and recovery after surgery. I realized I could contribute more to healthcare patients: the compassion to listen and guide them through unfamiliar options. The satisfaction of caring and being there for a suffering family, a patient in need of a friend, or a family grieving a lost one goes way beyond healthcare. That’s why I chose to join an industry with a massive role in caring for others’ needs during times like these when we are challenged by COVID-19.

This dream of becoming a physician is a reality, and the excitement I get when I say that, makes me sure this is the field for me.