Busy Days at the BCC

Wow, I can't believe that it's already been nearly two months since I began working at the UCSF Breast Care Center (BCC)! Orienting myself within a new city, finding and furnishing an apartment, and, of course, gaining an understanding of my job responsibilities have each kept me very busy since my arrival in San Francisco. The cold, gray, windy weather in July also added to the sense of uncertainty early on. Bizarre as it may seem, the weather in July is supposed to be the worst of the entire year here in SF. I cannot tell you how many people quoted Mark Twain's famous statement "The coldest winter of my life was the summer that I spent in San Francisco." I was warned, but now I really understand. And it would be one thing if the entire region was subjected to the same meteorological fate, but, instead, the fog just tends to sit over the city.

But now that September has arrived, the sun is shining, and I have fallen in love with the city all over again. I share an apartment with two other interns at the BCC, and we live directly across from the Presidio, down the street from the Romanesque structure that is the Palace of Fine Arts, a short distance from tons of fun bars and delicious restaurants, and within view of the Golden Gate bridge. And there's always something going on in the city-- I've been to lots of farmers' markets, saw Wicked at the Orpheum theater, went to a Cal Academy of Sciences nightlife event, visited Angel Island, hiked in Marin, ran along the rugged coastal trail, fought the crowds at Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardelli Square, went shopping in the Mission, and relaxed on the beach. Each day, I also take in spectacular views of the city simply while riding the bus up and down SF's famous hills.

While all of this makes it difficult to return to the office after the weekend, I always look forward to Tumor Board and New Patient meetings on Monday mornings. As a pre-medical intern/ clinical trial coordinator at the BCC, I have been granted tremendous opportunities to work directly with BCC doctors and to become involved in patient care. I am the clinical trial coordinator for three studies at the BCC: two are data collection studies intended to assess the efficacy and tolerability of technologies intended to prevent hair loss among breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, and the third study is a tissue banking study intended to aid researchers in better understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying metastatic breast cancer. As a clinical trial coordinator, my primary responsibilities are to obtain patient consent to participate in the studies, to collect data (either in the form of surveys for the hair loss studies or tissue samples for the metastatic study), and to monitor each study for reported adverse events.

Beyond my role as a clinical trial coordinator, I also spend time each week working for the Decision Services department. In this capacity, I contact patients about their upcoming appointments and offer to help them in developing question-lists; in addition, I also offer to accompany them to their appointments in order to take notes and make audio recordings. These services may seem relatively straightforward, but they have been proven to significantly enhance patients' understandings of their medical treatment options. By providing patients with more information, we hope to improve the decision-making process. Indeed, at UCSF, it is well-understood that doctors should make therapeutic recommendations but that it is ultimately patients who must make final decisions, for it is the patient who can best calibrate the various personal and institutional factors that influence the decision-making process.

While I understood these principles at an intellectual level before arriving at UCSF, it has been incredibly enlightening to witness them in practice. Now that I have a better grasp of my particular responsibilities, I look forward to making more meaningful contributions at work in the future. I also intend to fully embrace the beautiful fall weather in the city! Not to be missed next weekend is the Ghirardelli chocolate festival, and then my roommates and I are planning a weekend road trip down scenic highway 101!