Exploring Orthopedics

My name is Cole Kreber and I am a junior Biology student. I have spent this summer shadowing two different orthopedic surgeons at Monument Health in Spearfish, South Dakota. I have a serious interest in medicine- particularly sports orthopedics- and plan on going to medical school after Whitman. I was lucky enough to meet Dr. Scott Franssen through a doctor who helped me with an elbow injury and secured an opportunity to learn from him and the other orthopedic surgeon in Spearfish, Dr. Ray Jensen. The experience I have taken away from being in the both the operating room and the clinic has been eye-opening. 

I have been able to observe a multitude of Dr. Jensen’s surgeries, including shoulder replacements, meniscus repair, and knee cartilage replacements. Dr. Jensen specializes in shoulders, which coincides with my main interest of treating injuries in overhead athletes, like baseball or swimming. He will walk-through what he is doing in the surgery and has taught me a lot of valuable information regarding shoulder health. Observing surgeries has allowed me to see how collaborative and sometimes stressful an operating room is, with the nurses, physician’s assistant, anesthesiologist, and medical equipment representative all playing a key role in making a surgeon’s job easier. I have been able to see the gore of surgery as well and honestly, it's not that bad. Classmates who have shadowed in the past warned me about the queasiness that accompanies seeing surgery for the first time, but I did not have the same experience. 

In the clinic, I have been able to observe both of the doctors. Dr. Franssen sees mostly older orthopedic patients for joint pain and Dr. Jensen sees more athletes. I sit in on every patient the doctors see. The clinic is much different than the operating room, as the patient is describing their pain, and the doctors are trying to figure out a solution. The clinic gets very busy, but it is much less stressful than the operating room. I like it much better in the clinic. I started this summer leaning much heavier towards becoming an orthopedic surgeon, but seeing what both jobs actually consist of I have changed my mind. Working as an orthopedic in the clinic is something that I could see myself doing for a career, particularly finding ways to avoid surgery while healing injuries in athletes. Dr. Jensen told me that before I go to medical school I needed to decide if I was going to “cut” or work in the clinic and my summer with him and Dr. Franssen has made my decision way easier. 

I have had such a pleasant experience this summer in Spearfish. It is a small town, so most of the people the doctors are treating normally know them pretty well. It is clear that they trust and respect the doctors. I am very grateful I was able to spend the summer around two people who are very good at their jobs and am appreciative of their willingness to make it a worthwhile experience for me. I have a much better understanding of what I want to get out of going to medical school coming out of this summer than I did going in, which was my goal.