Frohoff shadows doctors in New Mexico hospital

By Kelli Saunders

Staff Writer

Mira  Costa senior Rio Frohoff foreshadowed her ideal future career when she traveled to New Mexico over winter break to shadow doctors and nurses at the Plains Regional Medical Center for a day on Jan. 6.

Frohoff had the opportunity to shadow various professionals for a day because  her grandmother works for the Human Resources Department at the hospital in Clovis, New Mexico.

“When my grandma told me that I would be able to shadow doctors at the hospital, I was super excited to finally be able to go behind the scenes of the hospital with the doctors and nurses,” Frohoff said.

Photos: Frohoff shadows doctors in New Mexico hospital

At the hospital, Frohoff spent her time viewing various operations and practices within the emergency rooms. Frohoff was at the hospital from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Frohoff witnessed a patient bleed out and die from liver cirrhosis. After the patient’s death, she watched as the nurses undressed and changed the sheets of the woman, Frohoff said. She was able to hold a patient’s broken leg while a nurse wrapped a splint around it.“

Link: Learn more about the Plains Regional Medical Center 

I wanted to shadow so I could just see how doctors work in their day-to-day environment and to see if I would enjoy it or not,” Frohoff said. “I loved it, and it made me eager to potentially do what I observed the doctors doing in the emergency room.”

Frohoff is committed to Tulane University to play beach volleyball and hopes to major in biochemistry on its pre-medical track. She also hopes to attend a graduate program for medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon or an anesthesiologist.

Link: Learn more about shadowing doctors

“This experience has solidified my desire to be a doc-tor,” Frohoff said. “Working at a small hospital has made me realize that I want to work at a larger hospital that is even more active than the one I was able to observe.”