Obsterics and Gynecology with Dr. Syndergaard

I have shadowed several physicians from different fields of medicine, but my time with Dr. Scott Syndergaard proved to be the most proactive and beneficial for me so far. I had never before followed a Physician who cared so much about me as an individual, and by individual I mean an undergraduate student who hasn’t earned his dues yet in the medical field. Dr. Syndergaard took every opportunity to teach me the "in and outs" of obstetrics and gynecology, as well as mentor me in choices I’m currently facing as I approach medical school.  The three things that helped me learn a great deal while with Dr. Syndergaard were: the honesty he showed his patients in clinic, the hands on experience he provided me in the operation room, and the time he took to sit down and mentor me in between.  

One aspect of how Dr. Syndergaard practices obsterics and gynecology really impressed me. This was how he was always very honest with his patients. Unlike many physicians that are stuck behind a clipboard of questions or resort to whatever their patient is demanding in order to please them, Dr. Syndergaard for a lack of better words was very “real” with every one of his patients. I think that this honesty is a very important attribute in the field of medicine and especially OBGYN, because the majority of the time his patients weren’t just making decisions concerning their own health, but also the health of their prenatal children. Despite his frequent honesty and sometimes blunt responses to middle aged, pregnant, and even adolescent women, Dr. Syndergaard always showed a great care for his patients and would take whatever time was needed to council with them over what path would be best for their health.  I learned a great deal from how he interacted with his patients in the clinic.



I was also able to learn a great deal from Dr. Syndergaard in the operation room. I was privileged to see several types of surgery over the last few months. The two that I felt had the greatest impact on me where a tubal ligation (tying of a woman’s uterine tubes) and a cesarean section delivery. Dr. Syndergaard, while performing his surgeries, would explain to me every procedure and body part he was working on and would even allow me to participate as much as legally possible. For example he would have me hold the light above the table, tools he would use, and even help in the delivery process. These experiences didn’t just teach me more about the female reproductive system and delivery, but inspired me to continuing working hard until I am someday leading surgery on my own patients.   

What I appreciated most about my experience with Dr. Syndergaard, was the time that he took to talk with and mentor me during times outside the OR and clinic. Every day that I followed him, he offered to take me out to lunch. This not only helped my very low, student budget, but gave me the opportunity to ask him questions about things we had seen throughout the day and for advice in the paths I am currently trying to take.These were times that he could have used to catch up on other things, but instead would sit down with me to explain what was going on or answer my various, often naive questions. He didn’t just answer those questions, but would explain the “why” to their answers. He also didn’t just give me advice, but genuinely took the time to mentor me in the decisions I would soon be making. I was very grateful for these times and know they will make a difference over the next year while I’m making many critical decisions. 

Overall, my time with Dr. Syndergaard, including the visits I observed in the clinic, the hands on experience he gave me in the OR, and especially the time he took to sit down and mentor me, helped teach me, inspire me in medicine, and guide me in several of the decisions I will be making in the near future. I was very grateful for his time and sincerity. If anyone has the time or opportunity to be in Roosevelt, Utah, I would highly recommend contacting him or the office of Life Science in order to follow him and have the same experience that I did. 

 Dr. Synderaard is on the left with the other two OBGYN's at UINTAH Medical Basin

This is the front of Roosevelt's Hospital. Although smaller than most we see here in Utah County, it was a very state of the art facility with great people working in each department.

Utah Valley Pediatrics - Internship

Over the course of the 2014 winter semester I have been allowed the great opportunity to shadow several pediatricians of Utah Valley Pediatrics.  Nearly each Friday I would go to their local office and observe what commonly happens in the day of a pediatrician.  This was an extremely valuable experience to learn different ways pediatricians interact with their patients as well as address the needs of them.  Often the patients would come in for what is called a well-child checkup.  These routine appointments are essential to aid in the continuing development of these children.  Occasionally patients would come in with illnesses or other concerns that really needed the expertise of the pediatrician to care for them.  Because this is a practice with several pediatricians, occasionally these pediatricians would be able to quickly ask a second opinion about a diagnosis and really aid getting the best care for the patient.  The pediatricians showed great interest in their patients and care for them.  It is this aspect that I really enjoyed and want to model in a future career.  To be able to aid and assist others in making their lives better would be great.  I also saw how busy doctors are even when their patients are late.  If doctors are not seeing patients they are often reading lab reports and doing various paperwork all related to assisting their patients. I am grateful for this opportunity to shadow at Utah Valley Pediatrics.

Intermountain Healthcare

            My internship at Intermountain Healthcare was one of my strongest learning experiences I have had at BYU.  Through daily experience, the changing world of healthcare was explained effectively.  I saw what hospitals are doing to get ready for Obamacare, by preparing their staffs and programs to efficiently maintain the rules of Obamacare.  Without my internship, my knowledge of HCAPHS would be minimal. Now I know staff performance affects each hospital’s reimbursement rate.

            In my internship, my main responsibility was “rounding on” patients, asking questions about their care in the Emergency Department.  Hospitals will only receive full reimbursements from the government by improving their HCAPHS scores. The best way for hospitals to heighten their HCAPHS scores is by improving nurse communication consistency, responsiveness, and pain management.  Nurse communication is the biggest contributor to a hospital’s HCAPHS scores. So, my job, when I went “rounding on” patients would be to ask all important questions.  How is the medicine to take?  What did they expect from the information from their labs or tests?  What was their pain level?  For the most part in talking about their care, all of the patients had the best things to say about the nurses and staff members.

Truly, the nurses that work in the emergency department are some of the brightest nurses I have ever encountered. Several of the patients echoed that belief back to me.  I once saw a nurse helping a patient carry her belongings, including a baby, to the patient’s car.  A nurse’s ability to make a patient not only understand but care about a patient, I believe, makes them gain their health back more quickly.  I had a fantastic time rubbing elbows, and gaining wisdom from the nurses.

Next, the actual staff helped me to see the process of running a hospital.  Each has their part or specific job.  Those who take blood, those who give breathing treatments, those who take x-rays each have a specific task to accomplish that must be done properly to maintain the scores each hospital receives.   And the fact that those individuals all work independently throughout the day or night shift illustrates that a hospital would be a large undertaking for an administrator.   The doctors, though the directing part of the system by ordering labs, treatments and procedures, are only a small part of a much larger service.

It could seem daunting to manage a group as diverse as the staff at a hospital, or, at least highly problematic without a specific protocol of enforcement.  I was able to see this firsthand with the use of a program that all the interns were asked to work with, called AIDET.  AIDET stands for acknowledge, introduce, duration, explain, and thank you.  AIDET is one of the up and coming “best practices” programs that hospitals are starting to use.  Intermountain was one of the first to implement AIDET.  This program illustrates the quality a hospital can achieve with their patients.  It takes consistency to work through problems of duration with patients. The problem that Intermountain has been having is to get all staff members to commit to use AIDET with every patient under their care.  The nurses that were committed to AIDET performed efficiently with enhanced communication.  However, the nurses that didn’t commit to AIDET struggled with their communication skills and had inconsistent results.

My increase of knowledge of the health care system is something I needed not only for my professional life but my personal life as well.  This opportunity to do an internship at Intermountain Healthcare helped me plan for my professional career quite specifically.  If a person’s understanding of a future job can be enhanced through knowledge of how a system works, then the chances of a consistent, enjoyable job is also more likely.  This internship taught me so much about how hospitals operate and the problems hospitals face.  The depth and breadth of diverse problems a hospital can face took time to believe.  At one point I wondered if it were possible to overcome the budget and human communication problems I saw.  Yet, once I began to learn the various protocols that were used in the emergency department I could see that skills could increase if they were followed, especially by using the HCAPHS scoring system.

Further, the guest speakers we had throughout the internship became a highlight of my time by giving me insight into different fields within healthcare. There was one common theme from the guest speakers, and it was how they got to where they are now.  All of them had very different paths getting into healthcare, an assortment of varying degrees and jobs they worked in before coming to Intermountain.  Since I am now considering becoming a hospital administrator, the path of the speakers was of keen interest to me.  Do I go for an MBA or an MPA?  How many years of experience should I strive to get before I enter graduate school?  Each speaker helped me look at decisions I was about to make. The Intermountain internship was a great experience that I would definitely recommend to anyone thinking about looking to work in the healthcare career field.