This week in Biomed was only a four day week for me. On Monday we completed a a discussion post on Genetic Therapy. Genetics is the study of heredity and genes. Genetic information is passed through generations through heredity which can be eye color, skin color, and even increased chance of getting a genetic disease that is passed down). Heredity is passed from parents to offspring. Genetic therapy was created as a technique that can cure a disease or treat it by modifying genes of an individual. Gene therapies can work by changing the gene that causes the disease by replacing it with a healthy one. It can also inactivate a gene that causes the disease to eliminate the gene from functioning improperly. Cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, sickle cell disease, and more can be prevented, treated, or cured potentially in the future. Because of the extremely new technology, scientists do not fully understand the scope of what genetic therapy holds in response to treatments and risks. Some concerns include potential reactions, cancers, damages, or harmed tissues. The therapy can be expensive, which eliminates a larger population that is able to receive the therapy. I believe that genetic testing is going to serve an important role for many in the future, so I look forward to scientists continuing to explore genetics. While I think there are problems with accessibility for many, it is something that is necessary if a patient or family of a patient believe it is necessary for treatment, provention, or cures for many genetic diseases.
On Tuesday, I missed most of the class due to my outreach presentation with the 4th graders. I started off will arriving early to set up everyone's places. Each seat had a suturing packet, alcohol packet, germx, a banana with an incision, surgical isolation gowns, and a handout I created about my field of interest. I presented a slideshow to them in the beginning about general surgery and the different types of sutures they use. I showed them pictures and a youtube video of what we would be doing next. I found that it would be easiest to show them continuous sutures so they did not have to learn to tie any knots. I taught them about the importance of a sterile field by telling them about handwashing and proper scrubbing in for surgery. Once they cleaned their banana, they started to begin suturing. Many 4th graders did a great job off the bat with their sutures, and other needed a little more assistance. I walked around and helped anyone that needed it. After they were finished, I taught them the importance of properly disposing the sharps by putting them all in a sharps container. Since I missed the class, I had to read Yellow Wallpaper at home and answer the questions Mrs. McCleery gave to us.
The last two days of class that I was there, we watched a movie called the King's Speech. It is about stammers and speech impediments and how they affect the King and his job. Many doctors of the time did not know how to properly treat a stammer until he meets a certain doctor that has many non-traditional techniques that end up working for him!
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