After 2 weeks I am still loving peds (whohoo!!). But there is something to be said about the bacteria infested little buggers they are (booo). It is quite known to the med school population that the pre-adults are notorious for getting the med students sick. Some how the residents and attendings have built their immune system up so well, that they are resistant to every bug there is out there (somehow I must market residents and attendings as antibiotics....). As students we are sent in to look at the throats, check the ears, and sometimes, see what color phlegm it really is. And just as your telling your three year old tike to stick out her tongue and say "agghhhhh" she decides its the perfect time to sneeze or cough.....right into your open mouth, because lets be honest, you're saying "aggghh" with her.
Yes, after only 2 weeks, I've come down with a sinus infection.
But I am still really excited for work. :)
Monday, April 21, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
rash
Last week I treated a 2 year old girl with a diaper rash. The kiddo had a rough social life---she was living with her parents when they got charged with drug trafficking. CPS got involved and she was put into a foster home. She is now currently living with grandma & grandpa (they just got custody). The attending and I took a look at the rash, and although it was difficult to get a good look (grandma had coated it with Desitin) we thought it was infected with staph/strep and wrote her a prescription for some meds and told the family to bring her back if the rash got worse or didn't go away.
The rash didn't go away. Today we were able to get a good look because grandma purposefully did not cover it with any meds. Today it did not look bacterial. Today it looked viral. This means one thing---genital herpes. Which means, most likely, this kiddo was sexually abused.
Today I hated adults.
The rash didn't go away. Today we were able to get a good look because grandma purposefully did not cover it with any meds. Today it did not look bacterial. Today it looked viral. This means one thing---genital herpes. Which means, most likely, this kiddo was sexually abused.
Today I hated adults.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Kiddos
This week I started my peds rotation. After the last month of Eternal medicine, I thought I could no longer enjoy being a medical student and going into the hospital. I was wrong.
Pediatrics has lifted my soul. Every day this week I was excited to go into clinic and do anything from well child check ups on 4 day old kiddos to 16 year olds with pink eyes (oh and a burning pain while urinating). I haven't felt this good to be doing something since being in an OR, and I am not getting yelled at by anyone!
Oh and I call kids, kiddos. A fourth year once told me that if you have a "positive kiddo sign" (meaning you use the word kiddos instead of kid or child) then you're most likely going into peds.
Well, I hate to continue to contradict myself, but I am back to thinking emergency peds might be my route of choice.
Pediatrics has lifted my soul. Every day this week I was excited to go into clinic and do anything from well child check ups on 4 day old kiddos to 16 year olds with pink eyes (oh and a burning pain while urinating). I haven't felt this good to be doing something since being in an OR, and I am not getting yelled at by anyone!
Oh and I call kids, kiddos. A fourth year once told me that if you have a "positive kiddo sign" (meaning you use the word kiddos instead of kid or child) then you're most likely going into peds.
Well, I hate to continue to contradict myself, but I am back to thinking emergency peds might be my route of choice.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Wear and tear.....
In medical school we are taught how the body works, how the body can break down after diseases, and how we can treat the body. In a completely different class and mind frame, we are also (supposedly) taught how to deal with the patients soul-- asking open ended questions, bringing up end of life issues, and offer anything that will make them more comfortable while at the hospital (within reason, of course).
Meanwhile we, as physicians, as medical students, are to check our own lives at the door. Any situations that may be going on at home---emotional, financial, even our own sickness---is just not acceptable. In any other job, this would be irrational, but for some reason, in ours, its not even thought over twice. So I guess that it's not surprising that at this point in our short career---as third year medical students---we are all feeling the wear and tear of this process. The process being, weighing the importance of taking care of ourselves vs taking care of our patients.
I think we all started this year eager to learn, ready to go the extra mile. Now we're exhausted and are finally hitting the repercussions of letting everything else besides the hospital go--we're paying bills late, forgetting relatives birthdays, and letting the stress build. Conversations now start with "back before med school" or "a couple of years ago, you know, when I had a life". I look at some doctors now and think it might just get worse. I am not sure what the answer is to fixing this situation.
Meanwhile we, as physicians, as medical students, are to check our own lives at the door. Any situations that may be going on at home---emotional, financial, even our own sickness---is just not acceptable. In any other job, this would be irrational, but for some reason, in ours, its not even thought over twice. So I guess that it's not surprising that at this point in our short career---as third year medical students---we are all feeling the wear and tear of this process. The process being, weighing the importance of taking care of ourselves vs taking care of our patients.
I think we all started this year eager to learn, ready to go the extra mile. Now we're exhausted and are finally hitting the repercussions of letting everything else besides the hospital go--we're paying bills late, forgetting relatives birthdays, and letting the stress build. Conversations now start with "back before med school" or "a couple of years ago, you know, when I had a life". I look at some doctors now and think it might just get worse. I am not sure what the answer is to fixing this situation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
