My Summer in the ICU: A Discover Learning Blog Post

“Have you gotten my present yet?”

“No, what is that?”

“A gunshot wound.”

Overhearing this dialogue quickly became the norm for me in the intensive care unit at Carle. I had the opportunity to spend several weeks of my summer in the ICU, something that medical students typically have to wait for until their third or fourth year. This is where we take care of the sickest patients in the hospital, seeing the most fascinating pathologies and providing critical interventions. I learned a ton along the way and was able to be a part of a multi-faceted ICU team consisting of physicians, residents, nurses, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, and many more key members.

Each day started with ‘rounds,' a time dedicated to seeing each patient and deciding on the best course of action. I was excited and a bit stunned when the resident asked me to check in on their first patient, a young teenager that had just gotten out of brain surgery. I listened to the numerous sounds as I wandered my way through the halls - heart monitors beeping, IV pumps clicking, ventilators rhythmically going whish-whoosh — eventually finding the right room to see how the patient was doing. Later on, it was time to regroup with the entire team and discuss the treatment plans for each patient.

As I trailed into each subsequent patient’s room, my mind was flooded by an endless stream of medical jargon and acronyms rattled off by the care team. I found myself leaving rooms with more questions than answers, quickly realizing that my one year of medical training was not yet sufficient. But when they weren’t busy saving lives, the doctors were more than willing to help me understand why each decision was being. Although their clinical decision making was complex and often high-stakes, it naturally tied into the most critical organ systems that I had learned in my first year. And it gave me real world examples of what I had only seen in textbooks: shock, respiratory failure, kidney injury, hemispatial neglect, Friedreich ataxia, seizure disorders, and oh so much more.

Spending time in the ICU afforded me to experience a wide range of what medicine has to offer; from simply keeping the heart and lungs functioning, to managing complex neurological disorders, to counseling entire families during the most difficult moments, there was no shortage of moments to learn from. And it left me a ton of crazy medical experiences. 

My name is Matt Dusza, and I am part of the Class of 2025. I’m from Chicago and studied chemical engineering here at UIUC. Prior to medical school, I spent several years working as a design engineer as well as researching cancer immunotherapy.