Well I realized that it has been quite awhile since I posted on my blog (4 months!) Wow.. soo much time has gone by and things are so different since my last post! Last time I posted, it was May and I was actively studying for my Step 1 board exam! I am so so pleased and happy to say that part of my life is OVER and I got through it with a good score :) Hopefully the scores shows the residencies I apply to that I would be a good candidate for their program!
Things are different now - I am currently doing clinical rotations (which I don't think I need to say are a million times better than studying for boards, at least most days). We still have exams at the end of every rotation; for example, we took a Family Medicine exam at the end of June, and I will take my Pediatrics exam at the end of September. I started off in June with Family Medicine in my own small town area. I had a great experience with a local doctor. I really enjoyed the variety of patients. Most people say family medicine is only treating adults with high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity. My experience showed me that this is a false point of view. We had adults, children, and even many pregnancies! I loved being able to see a 50-year-old patient and then walk in the next room to say a 2 week old! I really enjoyed the OB visits, especially once I got good at being able to find the baby's heart beat with the sonographer. :) By the end, I was able to help with procedures including mole removals. I had a great time, and it showed me that while I don't know for sure what I want to do after medical school, family medicine would be on my list of options.
In July, I had a vacation month, so I decided to take an elective in Medical Genetics. This means my vacation month gets added to my 4th year of medical school, which can help when you are applying and interviewing for residencies. The Genetics elective was also good, but a little different than I expected. I had a GREAT time getting to see many rare and interesting things - from Smith-Magenis Syndrome and Kabuki make-up Syndrome to Ehler-Danlos and Marfan's to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. I really really liked the consults we were called to see in the Neonatal ICU and newborn unit of the hospital. The only downside to the rotation was that it was not busy. Each patient had anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour for an appointment (because of counseling purposes) but this meant if someone didn't show up, we had alot of downtime. I decided that I wouldn't be interested in doing medical genetics for a specialty, but I loved being able to learn about different syndromes and disorders to help me with my patients in the future. I was even lucky enough to be told by my attending doctor that I had an eye for genetics!
August meant the start of pediatrics. Last month, I was on outpatient peds, which meant that I spent most of my time in a regular well-child clinic as well as in an urgent care center. I LOVED it. The urgent care center was my favorite. I got to see patients on my own, interview them and do an exam, then staff with the attending doctor and give my plan for the patient and what I thought was wrong. It varied from strep throat (in which I got to do a throat swab) to viral stomach bugs to sad situations of possible child abuse. I got compliments from many different attendings that I would make a great pediatrician. When they asked me what I was interested in, I told them peds or possibly med-peds, and they said that peds would be a great choice for me. I am currently spending September on an inpatient rotation at Riley Hospital. I work on the Complex Care unit, seeing alot of failure to thrive, feeding dysfunctions, and a large variety of medical problems. I absolutely love seeing the kids and being able to work with them. It has shown me that I could not have adult medicine as my only patient population in the future. I have to either do Med-Peds (which is a double board certification in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics) or Pediatrics. Once I see how the rest of my year goes, I hope that I am able to narrow it down a little more.
I have had enough free time fortunately to spend some time with family. My June and July months were at home so I was able to stay with my parents and spend alot of time with family and my boyfriend. I am back in Indianapolis now, and while I love being here and able to work in the different hospitals, I do miss being at home already. Every time I go back, it shows me how much I love Small Town U.S.A. I can't wait to finish medical school and residency and be able to move back to my home area to help patients. I just hope that I am able to make the right decision for me in what type of doctor I should become.
I'm halfway done with becoming an M.D. and the last two years will go by quickly! It's been an amazing journey so far. I have met amazing new friends in medical school, have learned more than I could ever imagine, and have been privileged to help patients of all kinds. It only shows me every day how much of a blessing it is to be able to be in this field of work.
