Our new teacher, Mrs. Jones had a very interesting guest speaker on Tuesday at the CTC.
Dr. Darren J. Tapley, PA is a Cardio-Thoracic/Vascular surgery physician assistant in Tyler, TX and is affiliated with CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital - Tyler. He is experienced in valvular heart disease, adult cardiac surgery, robotic thoracic surgery, diaphragmatic surgery, and pulmonary surgery.
He explained to my class about his years of schooling, intense training and demanding role as a surgeon. He explained his workday begins very early in the morning, performs a few surgeries a day, which lasts 4-5 hours each, and sees his patients in between surgeries. He is on call frequently, which requires him to perform emergency surgeries in the middle of the night and/or holidays. He explained that cardiothoracic surgery is a highly demanding role that requires skills and experiences. He describes that it is a very stressful job and very demanding, but it is very rewarding to save lives.
It was very encouraging to listen to Dr. Darren J. Tapley, PA speak about the cardiovascular system. My students are working on cardiovascular systems and will be taking an Electrocardiography Exam in January. Some concepts that my students are learning apply to surgeon level. He also showed us the video of the coronary bypass surgery and explained about the procedure and heart arrhythmias.