Gateway Experience

During the last two weeks of my senior year of high school, we are given the time to shadow a professional in our intended future career. I took this opportunity to shadow Dr. Michael Karns, who is an orthopedic surgeon and specializes in sports medicine. During this time, I was able to observe Dr. Karns in his office visits and in the operating room. Dr. Karns would walk me through his thought process when diagnosing and treating patients, the "behind the scenes" of a physician's job, and the surgeries he will be performing.

Through this shadowing experience, I was able to learn more about the profession than anything I could have read online or from talking with a physician. I was able to watch the charting process, the preparation for various surgeries, how surgeons think, and so much more. While I have always been interested in medicine, shadowing Dr. Karns further solidified my future career. I could see myself being able to diagnose and treat patients in 15 years, and it made me even more excited to continue my path to being a physician.

The presentation below was created after my two weeks of shadowing experience as a part of the senior project I participated in. I presented the slideshow to community members, teachers, faculty, and my peers at the senior project expo along with many of peers who had their own unique senior project experiences. This presentation captures the essence of my shadowing experience, the path to becoming an orthopedic surgeon, and more information on Dr. Karns.