Celebrating Students ’13: Taryn Murray

I spent my as an intern at the Pancreas Center at Columbia University Medical Center.  Part of my time was spent on the more administrative aspects of a hospital.  For example, I Collaborated with the Administrative Director of the Pancreas Center to develop new tools to enhance the patient experience, created a personalized patient brochure for the Pancreas Center’s new marketing initiative, and conducted an internal audit for multiple research trials at the Pancreas Center to maintain compliance with the IRB regulations.  However, I was able to spend some of my time there shadowing Dr. John Chabot (the Vice President of Columbia Doctors, Chief of the Division of GI/Endocrine Surgery, and the Executive Director of the Pancreas Center).  I had the opportunity to scrub in for multiple surgeries, including a distal pancreatectomy and a Whipple (the Whipple involves removal of the head of the pancreas, the duodenum, a portion of the stomach, as well as the gallbladder and a portion of the bile duct).  The Whipple that I watched him perform lasted fourteen hours, though I only viewed the first eight.  Watching Dr. Chabot perform surgery was truly inspiring.  His passion was contagious and it further confirmed my desire to pursue a career in medicine.