This is fun. A day on Family Medicine is like a day spent taking practice exams - each patient is so very different, and you have no idea what to expect when you walk into a patient's room. It's like a big quiz - and, since it's the end of third year, I am having a lot of fun remembering all the things I've learned in the past 3 years. I'll admit I'm astonished by the amount of stuff I have remembered; when you continuously work with specialists, you feel like you know nothing because they know so much about their particular field.
I had a young girl with abdominal pain today, and I figured out she was suffering from acute cholecystitis (not a difficult diagnosis, but I was definitely expecting her to have viral gastroenteritis before I walked in the room). So I put together the appropriate work up and treatment. When the family doctor went into the room, she didn't even have to ask the patient any questions, she went straight into explaining diagnosis and the tests we were ordering. It felt pretty great to know that I did this one on my own, from start to finish. I know I've done this before, and I've helped in the care for my patients in the past year, but today I actually felt confident enough to have done it on my own - which is a big deal. I actually feel like I am directly responsible for the patients I see, so I'm really integrating everything I know so I can treat them in the best way that I can. I feel like I'm one step closer to becoming a doctor...
I have also been caring for a man with Stage IV Lung Cancer who is in the hospital with low white cell counts and an infection. I sat in his room talking with him about his story for over an hour yesterday; I learned so much and we had some laughs. I can't help but love the oncology patients...
On a side note:
Lucky me - I have a FOUR DAY WEEKEND!!!!!!!! :) :) :)
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