Name: Bridget Collins 
Class Year: 2019
Major: Undeclared
Shadowing Visit Site: Milford GI Associates
Describe your visit and what did you gain from the experience?
I shadowed Dr. Daniel Donahue, a gastroenterologist at Milford Regional Medical Center, both in his office and at the hospital. In his office he briefed me on his schedule and how he went about interviewing his patients. He briefed me on each patient whom he was to meet with and I was allowed to observe the patient interviews. After meeting with about twelve patients we went over to the hospital where I was allowed to view some procedures. I watched as Dr. Donahue performed two colonoscopies and an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or ERCP. This procedure was done in the operating room and I had to put on scrubs to observe.
I really enjoyed this experience and I was happy to be able to observe both in the clinical and the hospital settings.
How did this experience influence or connect to your future career plans/goals?
This experience reaffirmed my plan to become a physician as I could really see myself in the role. I also really enjoyed the dual nature of Dr. Donahue’s specialty because I enjoyed splitting the time between clinical and procedure based practice.
What is some helpful advice your alumni host shared with you?
Dr. Donahue shared some advice that he learned in medical training. He said that sometimes as a practitioner you have to stand in awe of your patient’s pain. Because if you view patients as problems to be solved and you do all you can it is easy to get frustrated when the patient isn’t responding as you want them to, but sometimes the best way to comfort someone in that position is to accept their pain and empathize with them.
Why would you recommend the Alumni Job Shadowing Program to other students?
I would recommend the program to others because you get the opportunity to see what a real day is like and you come out with a better understanding of the job and a better idea if you can see yourself doing that every day.
