The books don't know these things!

Wooooh! It sure has been a long time since I have written a post. I have been really busy in clinical rotations and I have just had trouble finding time to sit down and get it done. I have been having such a great time and learning so much.

I recently finished up my internal medicine rotation. I had a totally awesome attending who was extremely knowledgeable and has a real passion for teaching. He travels to many, many different facilities - nursing homes, rehab facilities, hospitals, and outpatient offices. I will admit, at first I was a little disappointed that all of my time wasn’t going to be spent in the hospital, but I quickly changed my mind. Having the opportunity to see so many patients at so many facilities really provided a great learning experience. I saw some pretty rare cases and definitely developed my physical exam skills a lot. 

I was truly astonished by some of the long term care facilities that we visited. At the nursing homes in Canada that I have worked at, the patients were quite stable. If they required more acute care, they would be transferred to the hospital. Here, it is a totally different set up. Many of these nursing homes handle patients on ventilators, patients receiving IV fluids and medications, and some even had dialysis units right in the building. Needless to say, not a day passed where there was a shortage of learning opportunities. One of my attending’s favorite sayings was “the books don’t know these things!”. He couldn’t be more right. I firmly believe that in order to be a great clinician, you really need to get out there and see as many patients in as many settings as you can. Books can give some great knowledge, but they certainly cannot make you a great clinician! 

The 12 weeks of internal medicine REALLY flew by. I find internal medicine to be so interesting. Each patient is a completely new mystery that needs to be unlocked and I really thrive on the challenge of figuring it all out. There is so much to know and I feel like it is an area that would be hard to ever truly master.

I have just finished my 2nd week of the pediatrics rotation. I must admit, this rotation has been quite refreshing. My entire medical career thus far has been (for the most part) caring for very sick, and mostly elderly people. This peds rotation is solely outpatient and the kids we see are, for the most part, not very sick. There are a lot of school physicals, sports physicals, weight management patients, and minor illnesses and injuries. The kids in the practice are delightful to work with and so well behaved! The population is almost exclusively hispanic. I’ve recently started to try to learn how to speak Spanish and there couldn’t be a better time to do it.

The attending is awesome. He expects a lot from and is quite hard on his students, but for me, that is a huge motivator. I love to be challenged and pushed to do better and this doctor is awesome at doing just that. He is really great at his job, makes a huge difference in his patient’s lives, and is incredibly thorough.

In Canada, at least where I am from, most kids don’t see a Pediatrician on a regular basis. For the most part, kids are cared for by Family Physicians and are only referred to Pediatricians if they have a serious or chronic disease. Here though, the Pediatrician assumes the role as the Primary Physician for many children. It is such a great and interesting role because you are dealing with young minds who are eager to look at you as a role model. I really think that you can make a lifelong difference in a child’s life by getting them starting out right with healthy lifestyle habits. Prevention is the main goal if you are a Pediatrician, and if you get through to kids while they are young they are more likely to hold onto those values as they grow older.

I suppose that is all there is to report for now, thanks so much for reading!
XOXO