This past week has been crucial for my ISM experience: I had my first research interview with Dr. Cara Esser from the John Hopkins University School of Medicine on Wednesday, October 25. Thus, this interview is the topic of today's blog post!
The Interview
This interview happened suddenly. I had called Dr. Esser's office the week before, and followed up on Wednesday, October 25. Surprisingly, Dr. Esser called me within the hour, and we scheduled a zoom interview for 1 hour later. I was scrambling to prepare my questions, create the meeting link, and double check my website. Luckily, I was in professional dress because of my Seminar class; if I hadn't had a blazer, I would have probably been more anxious and felt more unprepared for my first interview.
During the interview, Dr. Esser very graciously and patiently answered my questions regarding anesthesiology, practices in the field, medicine in general, and the journey to becoming a doctor.
Most of the talking points had been covered through my previous research, but I did learn new information from Dr. Esser. The main, novel takeaway from the interview was that general anesthesia during pregnancy, not just during labor, may affect the neurodevelopment of the fetus. I had somehow had known that anesthesia transfers through the umbilical cord before starting ISM, but I did not research any sources that expressly conveyed that knowledge. Thus, this interview gave a solid background to some of my contextual knowledge. Furthermore, the interview has made me realize that I should increase research on the effects of anesthesia on fetuses as similar effects occur in pediatric patients.
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