Week Three Day Two: Collecting Data

So far, this internship has given me a lot of light into scoliosis. Both the kind that is treated by surgery and the kind that isn't. It's been a very personal experience because of how I've been through the surgery, and I've even seen into the life of a doctor who does not only these surgeries, but other things like pins for fractures, and even hip dysplasia. It's been such an enlightening experience and I cannot wait to continue this internship.

Now onto the focus of my own project: complications.

I talked last post about types of complications, and I'm even considering analyzing my own complications and how the doctor did everything he could to prevent other issues.

The way I plan to take data is through my patient observations but also data mining through studies done before me, to collect an overall comprehensive set of data. Below is the table that I've been using so far.

Currently, my main issue is the amount of data I'm trying to collect, and also HIPAA regulations. But as you can see, since my question analyzes if postoperative complications have a correlation to preoperative conditions, my table answers the questions I need to try and understand.

Things that the doctor can do to limit complications is working with other doctors who have a better understanding of the patient's preoperative conditions to try and set up a basis for the surgery and an understanding between doctors so they know who needs to be in the OR and if there's any specific techniques that need to be used. For example, if the patient knows they have an allergy to nickel, the doctor could make a decision to use a type of rod and screw that doesn't contain this, before they even enter the operating room.

Not very many people have an understanding of how important and possibly dangerous this surgery can be. As well as how much of an impact it can have on the family. This is why studying complications and ways to limit them is very important to make this process easier for families. Especially as someone who knows how much this can affect children emotionally, limiting complications can prove to be a very important study.