3 weeks late...oops.

A little late, but I'm finally posting something!

So, I started my first clinical almost 3 weeks ago. I'm currently in Coshocton, Ohio for my family medicine rotation. If I could describe my experience in three words, they would be diabetes, hypertension, anxiety. Pretty much EVERYONE I see has at least one of these if not all. Oh and COPD. Everyone smokes! 

I'm currently at two clinics and following three preceptors. They are all very young and currently working their first real jobs. Two are medical doctors. One is particularly interested in internal medicine, and the other did a fellowship in sports medicine. Then I'm also following a nurse practitioner. It is interesting for me to see the differences in the way all three of these preceptors practice, even when they are all so young. Some are a lot more conservative in their management, while others are not.

Since this is my first rotation, I'm still mostly observing and trying to soak everything up. A lot of the appointments I see are to manage chronic conditions, so they consist of medication changes/refills, lab work follow-ups, and stuff like that. A lot of zoloft, a lot of percocet, a lot of insulin being prescribed on a daily basis. Many patients may walk out of the office with 3-4 new prescriptions in hand. It's insane. Every once and awhile I will get to go into a room myself and ask the patient questions and perform a quick exam. I've correctly diagnosed a few patients, so I'm pleased with that! But more often than not, I don't quite know what exactly is going on with the patient. Hence, the reason why the clinical year is a learning experience! I've also been able to assist in a few things, like knee injections, skin lesion removals, and I've even done a few pap smears on my own. Call me nerdy, but I love it all!

Most of what I have learned so far during this rotation is not necessarily medical knowledge, but rather practical knowledge that will help me be a better provider to the patients. Putting the patient first can be difficult at times because a lot of times you're just thinking about trying to fix the problem when you should be dealing with the patient as a whole. Every patient is different, so the listening part is really important. But it can be so hard though, because a lot of patients will literally talk your ears off! But I think forming that relationship is very important, especially in family medicine because you're managing chronic conditions, and essentially, a person's life.

When I'm not at the clinic, I'm studying, or trying really hard (or not so hard) to finish assignments and study. There was a point in time where I thought, "Oh, I'll have a ton of free time during clinicals to read books and what not!" NOT TRUE. Although I have spent a lot of time watching Grey's Anatomy. Oops.

Overall, this has been a good rotation. It started off slow, but has been getting better as time goes by. I'm just trying to make the most of the experience and get what I can out of it. I'm sure all of my rotations will have something different to offer that will be beneficial to my career :) Well, that's it for now! Props to you if you made it all the way to this point! I will try to write more often so they are not as long!