Wednesday, March 26

     Today, I shadowed two otolaryngologists (ear, nose, and throat specialists) in the clinic. All day, I observed appointments about various issues such as ear infections, earwax blockages, eustachian tube problems, sinus infections, deviated septums, congestion, tonsillitis, laryngitis, sleep apnea, thyroid nodules, Graves' Disease, tumors, facial deformities, and aplastic anemia. A lot of the appointments were to follow up after surgeries, so I got to see the aftermath of the surgeries I witnessed yesterday. The most interesting issue I saw today was aplastic anemia, which is a disorder that occurs when the bone marrow cannot produce enough blood cells. Aplastic anemia increases the patient's risk of getting cancer, so it requires biannual checkups. A common symptom of aplastic anemia and aplastic anemia medications is bleeding gums, so that was one of the things that the doctor checked for. 

    During lunch today, I sat in on a Zoom meeting about thyroid cases. The meeting was with a team of doctors who presented patients with various thyroid issues to discuss and sort out the best treatment for them.

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