SURGIA Newsletter: General Surgery Edition Volume II Issue 1 | Page 32

HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
United States of America
by Dinesh Palipana

I

I had a few days to spare before starting the
elective. I wanted to make the most of them. The
first thing I did was attend an Advanced Cardiac
Life Support (ACLS) course at the Brigham and
Women’s Hospital. I wanted to become proficient
at ACLS before the looming internship. This was
After a long flight to New York from Brisbane, a well worth the time. The ACLS course teaches
car awaited us at the bustling John F. Kennedy students to manage many different critical
airport. In the car park, porters eagerly loaded cardiac scenarios. You just need to get used to
luggage into the car. I thanked them and saying epinephrine instead of adrenaline.
said goodbye. Yet, I became puzzled as they
continued to stand by with a blank stare. “This I then set about getting in touch with spinal
is awkward”, I thought. Then, someone pointed cord research labs in Boston and New York. This
out the necessity of a tip.
is because I have a deep, personal interest in
completed the Advanced Clerkship in
Radiology at the Harvard Medical School as
an elective. The clerkship was scheduled for
February 2016, during America’s winter.

spinal cord injury research. I got in touch with two
After not-so-aptly dispatching the porters, we researchers linked with Harvard; and one at New
made a four-hour drive in a snowstorm to Boston. York University. All of them were very friendly and
The road gave a brief glimpse of America through accommodating.
the cover of thick snow. It was picturesque. We
arrived in Boston at midnight. Even though we
were exhausted, no one felt sleepy. Boston has a
wide array of food available at any hour. So, we
ate a pizza and finally fell asleep.
29 | SURGIA Newsletter The General Surgery Edition