Shadowing at hospital provides medical experience for senior Hanna Ceule

While almost every other student is sitting at school in third block around noon, senior Hanna Ceule spends time shadowing doctors at The University of Kansas Hospital, preparing for her intended collegiate studies.

“I shadow at KU, so I go follow a bunch of different doctors,” Hanna said. “I tend to stay pretty close to the ER because that’s the most interesting thing I’ve found so far, but I try a lot of different things.”

While Hanna has shown an interest in shadowing for a while, having to complete 10 hours of medical-related activity through her Eudora Ed-Tech medical track class, motivated her to begin shadowing on a regular basis. Two to three days each week, Hanna goes to the University of Kansas Hospital to shadow doctors — including her father, emergency room physician Scott Ceule.

“My dad is an ER doctor down at KU, and for the Eudora class that I’m in I have to do 10 hours a week of anything medical related, so I chose shadowing,” Hanna said. “I had kind of been asking to do this for a while, but the class made my dad get me allowed and do all the paperwork to be there.”

Her father serves as her administrator while she is at the hospital, and, even though the process to allow Hanna to shadow took a lot of paperwork and approvals, he claims it was worth it. Scott has enjoyed watching his daughter have a hands-on experience with doctors and patients.

“Having Hanna come up to the hospital after her morning classes and get to watch me and some of my partners has been really fun to be a part of,” Scott said. “Some of the best moments have been watching her interact with other staff working in the [emergency department] and interacting with the patients.”

Hanna is attending Vanderbilt University beginning the fall of 2016, and plans to go into the pre-medical track. For her, shadowing at a hospital has eliminated the possible doubts of going into the medical field and made her even more confident in her future plans.

“I knew I wanted to [pursue medicine],” Hanna said. “I think it’s definitely helped reassure me. There’s always that thought, ‘What if I couldn’t handle it?’ but this has helped that. Obviously you still won’t know what subtype of medicine you’ll want to go into [right away], but it is still interesting to get to see the different types and it’s helping a lot. I definitely enjoy it.”

Hanna’s dad has also seen the benefits of being able to experience the environment of something she wants to pursue in the future.

“Getting the chance to come see what real medicine is like is a huge advantage for anyone wanting to go into medicine,” Scott said. “There is so much more that what is seen on TV and the real world exposure prepares you for what it will really be like and also affirms that this is something that you really like.”

More than just for experience, Hanna enjoys the learning aspect of shadowing as well. When the hospital is slow, doctors will let her be a part of the tests they administer.

“It’s not always that busy in the ultrasound residence, and they like people who are tall and young and skinny,” Hanna said. “So whenever it’s not busy they’re always like, ‘Hey, do you want to sit for another one?’ and I let them as long as they’re teaching me.”

As he has seen how much Hanna has gained from this experience, Scott would recommend any student wanting to go into the medical field to spend time shadowing or getting hands-on experience.

“There is nothing better than seeing it firsthand and getting a better understanding of what it will really be like,” Scott said. “There is so much school, time and effort put into getting into the medical field that anything that allows you to feel like you are making the right decision earlier in that path will help you get through the many tough times you will encounter along the way.”