Noah Kim's Senior Project: Medical Research

 This week, most of the focus has been preparing for two surgeries that I am going to observe later today (Friday). This entailed lots of research and some tests that I had to take to confirm I don't have any diseases that would prohibit me from spectating. One such test, the TB test, was particularly interesting. When I arrived for the test, I was expecting a shot, a blood sample, anything that you would usually see in movies, shows, or hear about. However, the nurse immediately pulled out the smallest needle I have ever seen. The diameter was probably smaller than that of a piece of paper, and when she stuck the needle into my arm, I hardly felt anything. That was because she barely pierced my skin, just getting under the first layer.  That all was odd to me, but I was most surprised when she injected the fluid that was in the syringe. Instead of going into my bloodstream, a chemical was inserted into that layer of skin, creating a bubble of sorts on my arm. The bump looked ...

 There has been a very steep learning curve during my senior project. Lots of times I have messed up and needed to get my dad's attention, lots of time where I simply just didn't know what to do or where to find something. The worst mistake I've made though, which led to lots of laughs, was on one of my first few days of data entry. My dad stood right behind me, telling me where to find the information and what to select. He was walking me through everything, one step at a time, and yet, somehow, I messed up so badly that the patient was deemed ineligible for the research (even though they had already opted in and received the surgery). My dad had to go through each section, correct my mistakes and write a short summary of why he had to go through and change the different areas I missed, however omitting the fact that his son had entered the information.  I've learned even more of the same over this second week of senior projects. I've become more fluent with medica...

For my senior project, I decided to work with my father, Dr. Harold Kim. He's an otolaryngologist (ear nose and throat doctor), but specializes on the ear. As a physician, he operates on numerous patients for numerous reasons. One of the more common surgeries he performs is called bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHAs). Essentially, sometimes traditional air-conductive hearing aids either aren't effective enough or cause too much discomfort for patients (they sit on the ear and can easily be muffled and jostled), most patients turn to BAHAs. However, in more recent years, many patients have chosen BAHAs as their first option due to the BAHA's cosmetic and comfort benefits.  Dr. Nancy Lin MD, my mother For the next few weeks, my dad and I will be collecting data from the clinical trials that he had performed earlier in the year. After aggregating this data, we will submit it to a larger corporation that will take the findings of several doctors from around the world and publish ...