During the summer, several Institute fellows and staff members continued to pursue their healthcare education and professional development through research programs, career training, and other opportunities. This month, the blog highlights Institute staff member Shayne Ryan, who participated in the Shriners Summer Immersion Program at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia. Through this program, Shayne was able to learn from professionals of several specialties in pediatric healthcare, explore a wide range of clinical topics in pediatrics, observe surgery in the OR, and present to fellow future clinicians about the ICB’s Wound Care initiative. Below, Shayne shares more about his experience and the lessons he learned from them:
Shayne Ryan (Health Sciences, ‘25)
This summer I had the chance to take part in the Shriners Summer Immersion Program at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia.
Over the course of the week, orthopedic surgeons, physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians, a plastic surgeon, a sports medicine physician, and a psychologist walked us through a wide range of pediatric care, including spine anatomy and conditions like ALS and neuromuscular scoliosis, vertebral body tethering, ultrasound and upper extremity anatomy, cleft lip and palate, brachial plexus birth injuries, the nerve grafting and nerve transfer techniques used to treat them, pollicization, cerebral palsy in the hand, leg length discrepancy, and the BEAR implant used in ACL repair. We got hands on with a spine model, working with the actual screws and rods used in spinal fusion surgery. What stood out to me was how many different specialties have to coordinate to treat one kid.
One day was set aside for us to present on a topic of our choice: “Do You Know What I Know.” I presented on wound care. The program draws people from all over the country, and since it was happening in the same city as the ICB, it felt like a good chance to share about what we do there: how we classify and treat wounds in the field and what our services actually look like. Explaining it to a room of future clinicians was a different exercise than doing the work itself; it forced me to think about how to teach it, not just how to do it.
The best part of the week was getting into the OR to watch a spinal fusion case, close enough to have the surgeon explain each step as he worked. Then, on the last day, I gave a presentation on hemifacial microsomia; a condition I knew nothing about going in, but one Shriners treats regularly. It was a good reminder of how much range is packed into pediatric care, and how far outside your assumptions a single week can take you.