Family medicine is:
- Not something I ever want to work in
- Challenging due to the vast amount of knowledge you have to know
- Somewhat tiresome at times when people come in with "phantom" complaints
For my Family Medicine rotation, I spent 8 weeks at a clinic in Plano. I mainly saw patients who came in for complete physical exams and follow-ups to bloodwork. I was bored most of the time. Yet...I did realize something really important. Some of the patients that came in, really wanted to just be listened to. They just wanted someone to take the time and hear what they had to say. It might be about their job, or marriage, or even the stressful day they had. Patients will really open up if they feel that you really care and are willing to listen to them.
Other than that, not much else happened. Today is Christmas, December 25th. There are exactly 351 days to graduation, and I realize more and more everyday, exactly how much I still don't know. The end of rotation tests are difficult as well, but thank goodness there are only 6 left! Coming up on the schedule: Infectious disease, surgery, psych, ob/gyn, peds and ER. After that come my chosen electives, licensing paperwork, studying for the licensing exam, etc.
And yet...in the midst of all this rushing around, I still can't forget Mr X. He was one of my first patients when I got on Parkland wards, and he was also the first one of mine who died. I will never forget him. Over the 6 days he was on our team, I got to know him really well, and we talked about random things. We discharged him when he was stable, but a few weeks later, I learned that he had been re-admitted and died a few days after. His family didn't have him for Christmas this year....they won't have him ever again on this Earth. I'll always be glad that I chose to work in medicine, but it's always disappointing when you lose someone.
Moving on....2011 is almost here. So many things will be happening this year: my parent's 30th anniversary, my graduation, the youngest child's high school graduation, Andrew coming home from deployment...and hopefully I can run away to Europe for a little bit. :)
More to come.....
