Introductions

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog!

My name is Vanessa Chu and I am currently a senior at BASIS Scottsdale. As seniors, we are given the very unique opportunity of conducting a research project on a topic of our choice during the last trimester of the school year. Since I have already satisfied my graduation requirements and no longer need to take classes in this final trimester, I will be spending my time, instead, at my project site: Banner Health Pediatric Surgery.

For my project, I will be going to Banner Health Pediatric Surgery weekly (for a minimum of 15 hours) to not only learn more about the surgical profession, but also research a topic of my own. I will have the opportunity to observe in the operating room (I will be submitting materials to obtain my ID soon!), learning how to suture, and interviewing surgeons about their experiences at the hospital. For my project, I will be investigating the effectiveness of V-loc (barbed) sutures and regular sutures in terms of burst pressure and tensile strength, and potentially investigating these same factors over a course of time in which they will be soaked saliva (since both sutures are absorbable, this will simulate their deterioration over time).

As senior year draws to a close, I hope to gain a better idea of what I would like to do after college. I have always been deeply interested in medicine and hope that this experience will allow me to explore and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the surgical world. Prior to this project, I have had little exposure to the surgical world (my ‘surgical knowledge’ caps at my ability to distinguish between a scalpel and a clamp), and I sincerely hope that by the time I walk out of Banner for the last time in May, I will have observed a wide range of procedures and become more well-versed in surgical jargon as well.

I am immensely grateful to my two mentors, Dr. Wayne Truong and Dr. Vegunta, both pediatric surgeons at Banner, for this opportunity and for volunteering their time to help me with this project. With their help, as well as that of my faculty advisor at BASIS Scottsdale, Mr. Carey, I hope to make good use of these last few months before heading off to college.

Over the next few months, I will update this blog regularly to report any interesting happenings or findings I may have while at the hospital. With only two weeks left (the project begins Feb. 8th) of school, I am beyond excited to dive into the world of surgery and can’t wait to get started!

Until next time,

Vanessa