Exceptional Capstone Experience for Biology Major

Senior Akeweh Fondong is planning for medical school and a career as a surgeon. For his capstone experience, he worked with Dr. John Russell in the Johns Hopkins Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery – Endoscopic & Robotic Thyroid Parathyroid Surgery. Akeweh is already a skilled Certified Surgical Technologist, and so was able to participate in surgical procedures, as well as shadowing Dr. Russell on clinical rounds. During rounds, Akeweh learned about patient communication, informed consent, and conducting and reading ultrasounds.

In the operating room, he was able to assist Dr. Russel on head and neck surgeries. He was also given the opportunity to work with surgeons in a variety of other specialties including gynecology, plastics, gastrointestinal, urology, and trauma. “Since most of the surgeons knew about my career path, I was more involved in the cases as compared to before starting my capstone. I was taught more about the procedures and learned from the discussions the surgeons had with residents, fellows and medical students.”