My mom is a PM&R physician, primarily treating ALS and sports rehabilitation. This means she often collaborates with surgeons. My first year at UW, I told her my dream of becoming a neurosurgeon, and she introduced me to her colleague, Dr. Zachary Litvack, a skull base and peripheral nerve neurosurgeon. I was offered the opportunity to shadow him in the operating room and in his clinic. I was so nervous on my first day, unsure of what size I was in scrubs and wanting to make a good impression. While in the OR, I remember feeling like a fly on the wall. Dr. Litvack would occasionally holler at me to teach me what structures we were looking at or to ask me questions. I was mesmerized by how satisfying it was to watch a surgery, and genuinely thought Dr. Litvack and his fellows were perhaps the coolest people on the planet. We visited one of his patients post-operatively, who exclaimed his excitement that he could see again after Dr. Litvack decompressed his optic nerve. It was amazing to see the influence Dr. Litvack had on his patients. It inspired me to continue pursuing medicine, and especially neurosurgery. While shadowing during my freshman year, I was able to observe a parietal craniotomy, endoscopic pituitary tumor resection, right parietal lesion biopsy, transposition of the ulnar nerve, and the use of evoked potentials in surgery.

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It was amazing to see the influence Dr. Litvack had on his patients. It inspired me to continue pursuing medicine, and especially neurosurgery.

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I recently shadowed Dr. Litvack again and felt the same amazement. This time, I observed an orbitofrontal craniotomy tumor excision, optic nerve decompression, acoustic neuroma, left leg neuroplasty, recurrent glioblastoma, upper extremity schwanoma, and ventricular fenestration for a cyst. After completing neuroanatomy courses and working in EMS, I had new knowledge to help me understand these procedures. This time around, I got to meet with his new fellow and PA, 2 women who currently assist and study under Dr. Litvack. It felt so inspiring to see women represented in the neurosurgical setting. It empowered me to continue on my path. It was an honor to physically see so many of the concepts I had only read about in course materials, and to meet with physicians who work in my dream specialty. Dr. Litvack is also one of my medical school recommenders, and I feel so lucky to have connected with and learned from him. 

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It felt so inspiring to see women represented in the neurosurgical setting.