This article by Jim Rogalski originally appeared in DukeMed Alumni News:
Durham, NC — Johanna E. Bischof, T’05, MSIII, remembers well her first experience observing brain surgery: The open skull. The pulsing of the exposed brain. The blood.
“I got sick,” the irrepressible Duke medical student says with a laugh. “Well, not sick-sick, and I didn’t pass out, but I was very queasy and spent a lot of time leaning against the wall.”
Forgive her the un-doctorly decorum: She was just a Duke undergrad at the time and not fully confident that she wanted to become a physician. Observing in the operating room is a rarity in undergraduate education in the United States, and that day proved to be a powerful and defining moment for her.
“Seeing the brain moving in front of you is an incredible thing. I was awed by the experience,” she says.
Bischof is a former All American Blue Devil field hockey player and current rising star in the Duke University School of Medicine. She is the consummate example of the type of student—driven, high-achieving, and goal-oriented—that Duke neuro-oncologist Henry Friedman, MD, HS’81-’83, and Chief of Neurosurgery Allan Friedman, MD, HS’74-’80, (no relation) began targeting 10 years ago when they germinated the idea for a unique Duke mentoring program. (more…)
Prior to coming to Duke, I had only heard of lacrosse in passing–being from Florida, I had never seen the sport first hand. Since then, lacrosse (LAX as fans say) has exploded into popularity across the states and the sexes. Thus, I was not surprised to hear of a Women’s Lacrosse World Cup nor was I surprised to hear that members of the Duke’s team would be joining the US team in the event.
