For Colin Larkin, a summer internship in the occupational health clinic at General Dynamics-Electric Boat in New London provided a first-hand look at treating patients and gave him valuable experience as he applies to medical school.
Colin, a senior Health Sciences Pre-Professional major on a pre-med track, learned about the internship through his dad and brother who are both employees at Electric Boat, which builds submarines for the US Navy. During his internship Colin performed duties that a medical assistant and a surgical technician would provide in a clinic or medical setting. These included hearing tests, rapid COVID tests, and biometric screening tests like BMI, cholesterol, glucose, and blood pressure. He also did drug testing and screenings of new hires as well as audits of radiation exposure records, and scheduled appointments through electronic health records.
Colin shadowed Dr. Robert Hurley, the attending physician at the Groton facility, physician assistant Elaine Bolton, and nurse practitioner Allan Dierman. He learned about different aspects of cases such as how to manipulate joints to understand which muscles are impacted by an injury, how to read an X-ray, and giving appropriate accommodations for injuries. Colin also was able to assist in the treatment of patients' injuries.
One memorable experience was a patient who came to the clinic with a piece of metal in their eye from welding. Dr. Hurley drilled a little hole in the eye to create enough space to flick out the metal and drill out the rust ring, a stain on the cornea. Colin irrigated the eye and provided a second pair of hands for the doctor.
When another patient cut their hand on a pocketknife and received stitches, Colin put together the sterile tray and took care of opening instrument packages and suture kits. When Dr. Hurley ran out of hands, Colin was able to cut the sutures to the appropriate length. “The most important part I found was Dr. Hurley’s ability to execute his obligations and tasks as a physician all while providing a comprehensive, informative, and worthwhile medical education that allowed me to expand my knowledge,” Colin said.
Colin appreciated the wisdom Dr. Hurley shared, such as anecdotes from different patients and cases, insight on applying to medical school and how to navigate the process better, and discussions about the current healthcare system and how it can be improved.
Colin is also grateful to his academic advisor, Dr. Claudia Oakes, who recommended that some form of clinical experience is an important part of putting together a complete medical school application.
Colin’s plans after graduation are to go onto medical school to pursue a career in orthopedics with a specialty in sports medicine, to work with athletes to help them overcome their injuries and get back to the activities they enjoy.
“The classroom isn’t the same as what is in the real world,” Colin said. “To take a pearl of wisdom from Dr. Hurley and quote Sir William Osler, ‘Medicine is learned by the bedside and not in the classroom. Let not your conceptions of disease come from the words heard in the lecture room or read from the book. See…and then reason and compare and control. But see first.’
“We live in a world where students and faculty believe every condition, disease, or patient is a textbook example,” Colin added. “Maybe one out of 10 are textbook examples. Experience and seeing prepares you for the 90% that the classroom can’t teach you.”