March 1, 2024
One Word:
As the new year has started, I have been reminding myself of that “one word” that has been shaping my experiences. In January, I wrote a blog about how I chose the word persevere to guide my year. This word allows me to push myself to excel in every aspect of my life, developing my patience before reacting.
In my academic life, I have committed to The Ohio State University majoring in Neuroscience. I have applied for scholarships, but have been anxious to hear back from them. So I decided to take a step back from the college headache and get my mind off the stress. I have been hanging out with my friends and having a good 5-day gym schedule to build a better mindset. These accomplishments have proven to me that if I put my mind to it, it's all worth it at the end.
Mentoring:
Transitioning into my mentoring experience, I feel as if I have been able to understand more about myself. I have noticed how I need a more fast paced environment when it comes to my career. Meaning Oncology and Hematology at the moment feels okay, but I need something that has my adrenaline pumping. So far I have done rounds with a fellow and was able to observe 19 patients. From that mentoring experience I noticed how standing for a long time made my feet hurt. I was able to take away that I need a career where I am constantly up and walking around–seeing patients left and right whenever I’m getting called to help.
Set aside from what I have noticed about myself I have learned a lot from mentoring so far. I was mentoring under this doctor and we had come across this patient with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) with KMT2A mutation. ALL is a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow that affects white blood cells. It is the most common in childhood cancers. It occurs when a bone marrow cell develops error in its DNA.
KMT2A is a mutation in ALL where it is a high-
risk genomic subtype with long-term survival rates of less than 60% across all age groups. Studies have shown it also occurs in adolescents and adults. This happens because continuous chromosomal and molecular abnormalities still evolve. It presents a complex clinical challenge. Over to your left you’ll see a picture of the mutation.
Even if I plan on not going into the Oncology and Hematology field and pick a different medical field I will be glad that I was able to experience these mentoring opportunities in addition to learning all these amazing medical terminology and background information.
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