Jojo Stein ’27 and Siena Yeh ’27: Boston Medical Center Orthopedic Surgery

BMC is considered a “safety net hospital,” meaning that all patients are treated, no matter their background or insurance status. This allowed us to see a wide variety of patients and conditions while learning about the social factors that shape patients’ health and experiences. Across these six weeks, we both explored our interests in biological sciences and their applications to medicine, while also gaining insight into the day-to-day realities of a hospital and witnessing the meaningful impact healthcare has on patients’ lives. 

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Dr. Stein was in the operating room (OR), while Mondays and Wednesdays consisted of meeting with patients in his clinic. In the OR, we got to observe numerous surgeries relating to the upper extremity, ranging from small surgeries like carpal tunnel releases, to bigger surgeries like joint replacements and amputations. Additionally, we were given the opportunity to observe and learn about other specialties including sports medicine (knees and shoulders), trauma, and anesthesiology. 

Through the guidance of residents and medical students, we learned basic surgical techniques such as suturing and knot tying. We even assisted with applying plaster casts, as well as learning how to become sterile and scrub into surgeries. On clinic days, we had the opportunity to observe Dr. Stein’s interactions with patients, sitting in on pre/postoperative visits and consultations with new patients seeking diagnoses. 

We learned a lot about how physicians communicate with patients, collaborate with colleagues, and make thoughtful, strategic decisions about the best path forward for treatments. One of the biggest things that Dr. Stein emphasized was “treating the patient rather than the X-ray”; he described how oftentimes, orthopedic surgeons fixate on making the X-ray look perfect rather than prioritizing the wellbeing of the patient themselves. 

One of the most memorable experiences for me (Siena) was getting to observe a tendon transfer surgery. This specific patient needed this surgery to restore lost muscle function and wrist movement caused by damage to the radial nerve. When Dr. Stein opened the incision on the forearm of the patient, I was struck by how closely the muscles, tendons, veins, and connective tissue matched the diagrams in the textbook that Jojo and I had seen beforehand! It was amazing to learn about the anatomy of the hand and to see how different tendons could be connected in order to reinstate the patient’s original range of motion in the wrist. 

For me (Jojo), one of the most memorable experiences was observing both the amputation of a patient’s arm and the pre-op consultation with the patient where Dr. Stein discussed the issue and decision in detail with the patient. In this case, we were able to observe the mechanics of a human arm firsthand. We also witnessed how important human interaction is in medicine, observing the hard decisions doctors make and how they communicate challenging news to patients. Throughout the whole process and discussions with the patient, Dr. Stein always put the patient and their thoughts first and made sure that the patient understood what was happening and why, modeling for us the compassion and connection side of medicine.