During one of the last weekends here, I had the opportunity to travel to Oxford for a day trip. Getting to see its famous historical spires rising up against the sky felt like stepping right onto a classic movie set. One funny thing I’ve noticed, both here and pretty much all throughout England with its recent heatwaves, is just how dry the vegetation and grass are getting. Seeing images of Oxford online pictured with lush, green, trimmed lawns definitely elevated that prestigious image of the university and gave me some high expectations to see it in person. However, upon arriving, it was pretty funny to see the beige historical architecture paired with matching beige, dried-up yellow grass and lawns. It sort of made the whole city look like it was all blended into one uniform color palette. Towards the end of the day though, I’ll admit the endless gothic churches, neoclassical buildings, and baroque architecture got a little bit repetitive for me.

I also had the chance to visit the Barbican Centre/Estate, which is a massive residential and cultural complex built with a heavy Brutalist architectural style. The architect designers envisioned it as a “city within a city,” built right on a 40-acre site that was completely flattened by World War II air raids. Personally, this area really reminded me of some of the Brutalist architecture back at Pitt’s campus, specifically Posvar Hall, just on a significantly larger scale. The interior of the Barbican Centre itself has a layout and aesthetic that felt super similar to the inside of Posvar, especially with the concrete coffered grid ceilings.

On top of exploring, I’ve been diving deeper into my work for my internship program. One of the coolest experiences so far was getting to be in the operating room to witness craniotomy neurosurgeries. Being right there in the OR gave me a basic understanding of the different types of anesthesia used during these procedures, as well as how monitoring equipment like arterial lines work. I also learned about some differences in anesthesia management when comparing awake versus asleep craniotomies. Outside of this experience, my work has also involved making retrospective follow-up phone calls—both to post-op craniotomy patients for satisfaction surveys and to Strength and Balance Group (SABG) attendees for service evaluations and feedback. Conducting those calls definitely came with its own set of challenges, like dealing with patients who didn’t respond, had limited availability, or faced language barriers due to poor English, but it was still a great exercise in patient outreach and communication

During these final weeks of the program, I’ve also been getting a much fuller sense and understanding of the UK healthcare system under the NHS, especially when comparing US versus UK healthcare. Throughout the program, I’ve heard various complaints and challenges regarding the NHS from the clinicians and health professionals I shadowed. For one, departmental initiatives and quality improvement projects can move quite slowly. A lack of basic technological infrastructure was another common grievance, such as having unreliable internet connections in certain departmental office areas. I also focused heavily on looking into the structural troubles the NHS faces, particularly when it comes to funding. On top of that, I heard how the NHS’s heavy emphasis on patient experience could sometimes undermine staff recognition and support. What I wish I could have done more is ask and inquire further about what the staff actually think about the system and delve deeper into those conversations. While I discussed this prior with various anesthesiologists and staff I met, those discussions remained a bit shallow. I would have loved to gain a more detailed perspective on how working within the NHS impacts their daily practice compared to other healthcare systems, but it was still really interesting to hear their overall perspectives.

I’ll be back soon with one final reflection on my experience with the program. See you then!