Friday, July 30, 2004
One Month Down
I've turned in my scrubs and pager.
I've handed over my name badge and parking tag.
My month of Internal/Infernal medicine at JPSH hospital is over. I must say, it was nothing like I expected. Medicine is actually an intellectual pursuit. As a nurse working on a med/surg floor, I thought I knew a lot about the care of patients in the hospital. I'd see orders written by a physician (who never spent more than 15 minutes on the floor seeing his 7 patients) and would often wonder why he would order x, y, or z for this patient when they OBVIOUSLY needed w.
I've learned the error of my ways this past month. Medicine physicians really care for their patients (for the most part - there are always exceptions). The few minutes they spend with the patient in the morning on rounds is nothing compared to the amount of time spent discussing the case with consultants, other colleagues and reading about the newest treatments available for such-and-such disease. I was blown away!
Overall, I can say I've really enjoyed medicine thus far. JPSH hospital, while the largest hospital in Tarrant County (and the only county hospital), is still home to some very intelligent and caring physicians. The patient load is tremendous, but still the physicians spend the necessary time with each patient to understand his complaint and to discuss the best treatment. They are also willing to spend as much time as needed with a patient to completely understand his/her social/family issues. I don't know how many wonderful social workers I've worked with in the past month whose sole goal is to help patients find funding for their healthcare. What a system.
Would I go to JPS again? Absolutely! My team was great. Drs. H (my resident), S, McC, and G (my interns) were an absolute blast to hang out with. We'd spend hours post-call at Snookies talking and bull-sh!tting until we were too tired to do so any longer. Dr. C (my supposed main attending) is a great teacher and physician. Dr. K (another attending) is very intelligent. Dr. C2 is probably the smartest person I've ever met (even though we had some personality conflicts), and Dr. R is an eminent Infectious disease specialist (and he knows it).
My only complaints about his rotation are that we changed attendings every 3-5 days, so no plan of care was ever safe from the ravages of another attending's whims. We were also left open to the new attending's wrath when we hadn't been managing said patient "his" way. The only other complaint I had is that this rotation was in July, when the interns are green and still wanting to do every procedure themselves. I was not allowed to do anything except H&Ps, admission orders, and daily rounds. No procedures at all. Sad, but I understand why.
That's it.. everything else was perfect. Now, we'll just have to wait and see how my evaluation comes out of this. Tell the truth, I don't even know who will write my evaluation - one of my 4 attendings? Or Dr. Hein? Time will tell.....
Next month is medicine at O with Dr. C. I've heard good things - if you work hard.
Ok, that's all for now. I need to go read some medicine - I have to learn about vertigo.
more to come... ¶ 9:59 PM
I've handed over my name badge and parking tag.
My month of Internal/Infernal medicine at JPSH hospital is over. I must say, it was nothing like I expected. Medicine is actually an intellectual pursuit. As a nurse working on a med/surg floor, I thought I knew a lot about the care of patients in the hospital. I'd see orders written by a physician (who never spent more than 15 minutes on the floor seeing his 7 patients) and would often wonder why he would order x, y, or z for this patient when they OBVIOUSLY needed w.
I've learned the error of my ways this past month. Medicine physicians really care for their patients (for the most part - there are always exceptions). The few minutes they spend with the patient in the morning on rounds is nothing compared to the amount of time spent discussing the case with consultants, other colleagues and reading about the newest treatments available for such-and-such disease. I was blown away!
Overall, I can say I've really enjoyed medicine thus far. JPSH hospital, while the largest hospital in Tarrant County (and the only county hospital), is still home to some very intelligent and caring physicians. The patient load is tremendous, but still the physicians spend the necessary time with each patient to understand his complaint and to discuss the best treatment. They are also willing to spend as much time as needed with a patient to completely understand his/her social/family issues. I don't know how many wonderful social workers I've worked with in the past month whose sole goal is to help patients find funding for their healthcare. What a system.
Would I go to JPS again? Absolutely! My team was great. Drs. H (my resident), S, McC, and G (my interns) were an absolute blast to hang out with. We'd spend hours post-call at Snookies talking and bull-sh!tting until we were too tired to do so any longer. Dr. C (my supposed main attending) is a great teacher and physician. Dr. K (another attending) is very intelligent. Dr. C2 is probably the smartest person I've ever met (even though we had some personality conflicts), and Dr. R is an eminent Infectious disease specialist (and he knows it).
My only complaints about his rotation are that we changed attendings every 3-5 days, so no plan of care was ever safe from the ravages of another attending's whims. We were also left open to the new attending's wrath when we hadn't been managing said patient "his" way. The only other complaint I had is that this rotation was in July, when the interns are green and still wanting to do every procedure themselves. I was not allowed to do anything except H&Ps, admission orders, and daily rounds. No procedures at all. Sad, but I understand why.
That's it.. everything else was perfect. Now, we'll just have to wait and see how my evaluation comes out of this. Tell the truth, I don't even know who will write my evaluation - one of my 4 attendings? Or Dr. Hein? Time will tell.....
Next month is medicine at O with Dr. C. I've heard good things - if you work hard.
Ok, that's all for now. I need to go read some medicine - I have to learn about vertigo.
more to come... ¶ 9:59 PM
