Clinical Experience

Cardiology Shadowing

Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Heart Center · Since fall 2024, during school breaks and summers · Supervisor: Prof. Tamer Sayın, MD

The Heart Center is the Faculty of Medicine's building dedicated to cardiology. I rotated through the ECG, echocardiography, angiography and intensive care units, and observed dozens of consultations and diagnostic procedures.

• ECG: Observed how the electrical rhythms of the heart can reveal lifestyle impacts, highlighting the crucial window where early intervention can prevent chronic disease.

• Echocardiography: Watched structural heart anomalies being visualized in real-time, which later led me to my computational study comparing normal and variant structures of cardiac troponin T.

• Angiography: Watched coronary arteries being imaged during diagnostic and interventional procedures, which showed me how much damage can build up silently before symptoms appear.

• Intensive care: Observed how critical care relies on quiet precision inside a stark white unit, where resident physicians followed strict hourly logs to adjust fluids and medications—showing me how disciplined, minute-by-minute monitoring stabilizes patients in their most vulnerable moments. 

What stayed with me most was how Prof. Sayın communicated with his patients. When he explained test results, he didn’t just read the charts; he asked patients about their daily commutes, their neighborhoods, and their stress levels. He treated the person’s life, not just their heart.

That approach led to two lines of my research. One asks how where we live shapes heart health: my commentary The City as Prescription (Cities & Health, Lead Article) and a cardiology case report on reverse remodelling through daily urban mobility. The other asks how patients and doctors can keep talking after the visit: my commentary on digital patient feedback in Turkey’s health system. (See Research.)

Volunteering

Patient-Support Volunteer

Omurilik Felçlileri Derneği (association for people with spinal cord injuries) · February 2026 Supporting people with spinal cord injuries during rehabilitation.