Kyle Thomas Glasser Offers a Student’s Perspective on Shadowing

Kyle Thomas Glasser Offers a Student’s Perspective on Shadowing

Oceans2003 recently chatted with Kyle Thomas Glasser about what it’s like to shadow an orthopedic surgeon.

Oceans2003: How does a day begin for you?

Kyle Thomas Glasser: Typically, I show up to the hospital around before 7:00 A.M., change into scrubs, then head to surgery with the doctor.

Oceans2003: What types of procedures do you observe?

Kyle Thomas Glasser: Most commonly, total knee replacements, but I have seen Achilles tendon repairs, carpal tunnel surgery, hip replacements and a slew of other surgeries.

Oceans2003: Aside from the doctors, who else is present?

Kyle Thomas Glasser: Well, there is usually a Medical Assistant that scrubs the incision. There are also nurses. They all take a “time out” before actually beginning – this helps make sure everything is done correctly.

Oceans2003: How does a knee replacement work?

Kyle Thomas Glasser: The doctor, with the help of various instruments, creates a surface on which to attach an artificial knee.

Oceans2003: What happens after the surgery?

Kyle Thomas Glasser: The doctor dictates what he’s just done and we exit the operating room – it then gets prepped for the next patient.

Oceans2003: What about the rest of your day?

Kyle Thomas Glasser: We accompany the doctor on rounds in between surgeries, to check on post-operative patients.

Oceans2003: Do you stay at the hospital all day?

Kyle Thomas Glasser: No, once the day’s operations are complete we go to the doctor’s office.

Oceans2003: What happens there?

Kyle Thomas Glasser: The doctor injects cortisone shots into joints, puts casts on broken legs and arms, removes staples and anything else that his patients need.

Oceans2003: Do you ever see the patients he has operated on at the office?

Kyle Thomas Glasser: Yes, we do. They come in to have the staples removed and for follow up visits.

Oceans2003: So you get to see the entire course of a treatment plan?

Kyle Thomas Glasser: Yes, that part is what has helped me to put a face onto the surgery patients. When we get to see them in the O.R. they have already been sedated.

Oceans2003: What do you, Kyle Thomas Glasser, get to do at the office?

Kyle Thomas Glasser: I bring the patient charts to the X-ray technician, help clean the rooms and bring back patients.

Oceans2003: It takes a great deal of dedication to be a doctor; why have you chosen medicine?

Kyle Thomas Glasser: I want to serve my fellow human beings; it is what I have always wanted to do.

Oceans2003: Your parents must be very proud! Well, we really appreciate your insights today.

Kyle Thomas Glasser: Thank you for allowing me to share.

About Kyle Thomas Glasser

Twenty-one year old Kyle Thomas Glasser’s mission in life is simple: to serve others.  A student of medicine, a devout Catholic and an active member of the leadership organization Sigma Alpha Lambda, Kyle Thomas Glasser spends much of his spare time seeking to make a positive impact at home and abroad.  When he isn’t busy with studies as a senior at UGA, Kyle Thomas Glasser can be found mentoring incoming students and shadowing Dr. Jeff Traub in Atlanta.