time's a flyin

i can't believe that it's already 1/2 way through my first week on my new rotation. it's been the antithesis to the last one and i could not be more happy about it :) my preceptor is one of the most amazing doc's i've ever met. in addition to being a mom with 3 kids, she's been running a nonprofit clinic for the past 12 years and is loved by her patients as well as respected by her peers. i've only known her for 3 days but am already hoping to make the kind of impact she's already made.

the first few days of any rotation seem to be following a similar pattern of orientation the first day, following docs and getting comfortable with the set up and nuances of the different practice/clinic/hospital etc as well as figuring out which hoops i need to jump through for which attending/doc/nurse/pa and trying to keep them all straight in my head. it's become evident that each person i work with has their own particular style of doing things and they generally do this because they think it's the best way. i'm learning that as i go along through 'trying on' each one of these particular styles to sort of create my own from observing as well as trial and error ( sometimes lotsss of error). it's funny to think that each day i'm actively molding myself through these experiences to become the best doc i can and it makes me wonder how much of this is just the naivety of being a 3rd year med student who's just getting her feet wet and how much will actually stick...

whoops, didn't mean to get all philosophical just got side tracked in my attempt to tell a story-big shocker i know :)

regardless, the one amazing thing about this clinic is on top of the fact that it is generally free or low cost for all of the pts is that there are over 150 volunteer docs who work there as well as nurses, nurse practictioners and PAs and interpreters. in my limited experience many of these docs are older retired gentlemen who were in the top of their field, well revered, and are specialists that run the gamut. I'm being taught about the heart and circulatory system by cardiologists, hormones and diabetes by an endocrinologist, everything under the sun i would need to know about the skin by a dermatologist etc. and this is all over the course of a regular day. the amazing thing is that all of these older docs are such a wealth of valuable information and most of them love to talk and are willing to take the time to teach me-me and only me because this month i'm the only med student. it's so refreshing and i am so fortunate to have this incredible opportunity.

the first pt i saw by myself today wasn't able to feel her legs below the knee with complete loss of any sort of sensation in her feet and toes. one of her complaints was that she was losing flip flops when she was out shopping because she wasn't able to tell it fell off her foot...more on that and other fun things later. gotta get ready for the am, another long day is ahead of me tomorrow.

in honor of picking out my bridesmaids dress for kelly's wedding! and further proof that bangs truly are a poor decision.

30 days 12 hours and 31 minutes until kickoff...