Alex Campagne

May 12, 2026: Today was the first day of my internship. When I first arrived at the office, I was introduced to the staff and given a tour of the building. I had a conversation with Dr. Thomas about the internship and expectations that we both set for ourselves for the course of the summer. After this, we discussed some research areas that were of interest to both of us and how public health plays a role in these areas. We discussed proper and improper patient selection for lumbar and cervical spinal surgery and how this impacted the patients’ follow-up, recovery, opioid usage, and overall well-being. We also bounced ideas around the proper and improper usage of opioids within those dealing with chronic pain and pain management. To go deeper, we discussed the current opioid crisis and how this can potentially be impacting patients who may seriously need these medications. We also went over my typical hours and days of work, which will be Monday-Thursday 8-4. I am not here on Friday’s since the office is closed then. We went over what a typical day in the office looks like and what the practice provides to its patients on a day-to-day basis. To get a better glimpse at the care the practice provides, I followed Dr. Thomas into a few patient rooms to get a firsthand look at proper bedside manner and professional healthcare communication between a provider and patient. 

I took my lunch break and jumped back into the internship. I had a brief conversation with the office manager, Charlene, on the odds and ends of the practice and how it functions as a whole. After this, I started to conduct some research on one of the topics Dr. Thomas and I had bounced around, improper patient selection for lumbar and cervical spine surgery. My first few searches were about educating myself on the differences between the types of surgery and the overall guidelines and criteria for one to be eligible for such an elective surgery. Not shockingly, the criteria are usually set by insurance companies on what areas a patient needs to qualify for in order for them to cover the operation. While not the overall guidelines, most patients will usually have to go by what their insurance provider says as an operation like this is not cheap whatsoever. I found a particularly interesting study on PubMed detailing how a preoperative diagnosis of a mood disorder can negatively impact postoperative patient-reported outcomes, complications, and opioid consumption. The direct impact on public health is due to mood disorders expected to increase in the general United States population, and therefore increasing healthcare utilization and costs in a time with a nursing shortage and increasing healthcare costs. Nearing the end of the day, Dr. Thomas and I had a conversation about my research and where I think the next steps were coming from. I am excited to return tomorrow and see where this internship will take me.