Jack Ellrodt ’20

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Lupus Center, Boston, MA

This past summer I worked in the Brigham and Women’s Rheumatology Department in the Lupus Center. My time at Brigham was certainly an academic experience, but it also allowed me to see the non-academic, personal side of medicine not so frequently talked about in clinical sciences. I arrived on the first day, admittedly a little nervous, and was thrown into a patient visit for one of the ongoing studies in the Lupus Center. I sat with our study subject in the waiting room while the main research assistant made sure all the orders and paperwork were together for the upcoming PET scan. I was unsure as to how I should approach the conversation with this patient. What could I talk about? What could I ask the patient? My questions quickly flew out the window as she set the tone of the conversation. “Let me tell you, always carry around oil based-roll on make-up in your pocket in case you, a family member, or a girlfriend needs a touch up…, also you really can never have too much sunscreen…” I was caught off guard to say the least, but I quickly let my guard down and we chatted about her kids, where I was from, what her job was like and so on. It felt surprisingly comfortable and easy.

This feeling of comfort was a hallmark of my time with the team I was working with as well, but no patient visit plays out the same exact way. As I was a part of a relatively small group under the guidance of Dr. Karen Costenbader ’89, another research assistant, and a clinical coordinator, I often was asked to help out on miscellaneous study visits. I sat with an elderly patient three to four weeks into my internship, chatting before her visit with the rheumatologist. The patient decided to offer some important advice to me as we got up to move to the back of the clinic. “Hatchbacks are the best cars for families because you never know when you’ll need to stop on the highway and set up a portable toilet for your kids…,” I tried to react neutrally but could not help but turn beet red and break out in awkward laughter as the prospect of kids had really not been on my mind at all. Maybe my time at Brigham was not exclusively a comfortable experience.

In my work outside of these clinical visits I quickly realized the importance of asking questions and accepting that I did not know everything about what I was doing. As part of a small team I was thrown into a little bit of everything, and my colleagues were more than willing to advise and help me out when I was given a new project. My main project this summer was developing a cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk model for patients with systemic lupus erythematous (SLE). SLE predominately affects women of color who are of childbearing age, a population typically underserved by the medical community and underrepresented in clinical trials. Women with lupus are predisposed to cardiovascular complications due to their autoimmune disease, but young women in their 20s and 30s are not typically categorized as “at risk” in traditional CVD models. I was given the task of initiating this project, creating a data collection protocol, and overseeing the preliminary stages of establishing a patient cohort.

This experience was both challenging and exciting. I worked with Dr. Costenbader as well as a number of other physicians and data scientists to narrow the 1700 subject SLE cohort into a usable dataset for the longitudinal study. As I concluded my summer internship the project was still in its initial stages, but I hope to continue working with my team during winter study and potentially after I graduate from Williams.

On top of this project, my coordinator graciously organized a number of shadowing opportunities with rheumatologists in the department and arranged my schedule so I could attend various rheumatology seminars. In each of my observational rounds I was struck by the attentiveness and care that the rheumatologists took to address each patient’s questions and needs. Many of these patients have frequented the clinic for twenty years and conversations often materialized more as old friends than that of patient and physician. From prior experience shadowing in primary care and my latest experience in rheumatology, I realize I am drawn to the long term, longitudinal aspects of patient care. There is a sense of true connection and caring that I did not see during my time as a scribe in the emergency department, a medical space specifically designed to move patients in and out as quickly as possible. The idea of developing a relationship with patients that extends past a brief medical history, lab data, and the physical exam is extremely appealing to me.

As I return to Williams this fall, I am very committed to pursuing a career in healthcare. However, the timeline and nature of this path is still up in the air. Talking with Dr. Costenbader and other rheumatologists in the department has showed me that there is no one “correct” path to medical school. The research assistant I worked with posed the question, “do you need an MD to do what you want in healthcare?” Reflecting on this question, I think yes. Though, in the meantime, there are plenty of routes to take and areas to explore before medical school. I would certainly pursue clinical research if given the opportunity, but there are many more jobs available in the healthcare industry. I will continue to ask myself “do I need to go to medical school” as I apply to jobs in the upcoming year and see what path I take after I finish my time at Williams.

I would like to thank the Class of 1972 for allowing me to continue my education in healthcare and inform my career decisions as I leave Williams. I would also like to thank the ’68 Center for Career Exploration for developing and organizing the Alumni Sponsored Internship Program to make such opportunities available to students across the college.