Don't wanna!
Floppy arms and irritability are a deadly combination. Meh.
Clinic was actually the highlight of the day. Dr. B lectured us this morning about surgeries done to correct congenital heart disease and also about pre-excitation arrhythmias. That was interesting and useful.
After lunch, I hoofed it to clinic. I'm now convinced I have cold induced asthma. After a five-minute walk, I had chest tightness and was wheezing like a smoker. After a few minutes inside, I was back to normal. That sucks.
The med student continues to be dumber than most hitchin' posts. I can't think of any gems in particular but she's not terribly observant.
I saw this one girl today who is stable medically but socially is a different story. The long and the short of it is that she's living with her grandmother, her mom's back in jail and they're trying to get her into rehab for her coke addiction (jailed after pulling a knife on grandma last week while higher than a kite), and she was in court yesterday because her dad is trying to emancipate her so he doesn't have to pay child support (didn't know that was possible but apparently it is). Her grandmother's sick (emphysema), her mom's cracked out, her dad and stepmom are cracked. She's also suffered every type of abuse imaginable. I spent a great deal of time with her today going over social stuff. We have all our new patients fill out a confidential questionnaire that asks questions about drugs, school, abuse, home safety, etc. She suffers from anxiety and depression, all stemming from SEOTS syndrome: Short End Of The Stick syndrome. I hope I was able to make her feel comfortable. I feel like I succeeded because she was open and forthcoming with explanations to her responses on the questionnaire. She wanted to have some STD testing done so I did her pre-HIV test counseling and explained everything to her. I let the medical student start the history (weak but she got through it) and the physical (mediocre). I had to show the student how to properly perform an abdominal exam and had to remind her to check the next for lymph nodes and thyroid gland. It's inexperience and I'm down with that. What I'm not down with is wanting to show this girl how to do breast self exams. They have value in preventive medicine - I'm not denying that. But this girl's mom is in jail, her grandmother is worried sick (literally), her dad's nuts and she starts working on her GED tomorrow. Today is not the time to throw this at her. She will forget. She doesn't need to be worrying that she needs to check for lumps and bumps. A breast exam was performed at her last visit (she has some breast asymmetry but her exam was normal). Ggh.
Anyway, she's coming back in two weeks for results and follow up. I hope things get better for her.
I actually have to go back to clinic tomorrow for an hour or so to see a new patient. Ben (who was scheduled to cover) has an ill grandfather so I'm pinch-hitting so we don't have to reschedule.
Tomorrow is another morning of lectures: pediatric grand rounds followed by ER grand rounds (Dr. B is talking on chest pain and syncope so it's worth a look).
Not knowing when I'm giving this presentation is cutting into my procrastination schedule. Oh, and the "Don't Wannas" aren't helping, either.
Moment of Burrito: "I despise the pleasure of pleasing people that I despise." - Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Clinic was actually the highlight of the day. Dr. B lectured us this morning about surgeries done to correct congenital heart disease and also about pre-excitation arrhythmias. That was interesting and useful.
After lunch, I hoofed it to clinic. I'm now convinced I have cold induced asthma. After a five-minute walk, I had chest tightness and was wheezing like a smoker. After a few minutes inside, I was back to normal. That sucks.
The med student continues to be dumber than most hitchin' posts. I can't think of any gems in particular but she's not terribly observant.
I saw this one girl today who is stable medically but socially is a different story. The long and the short of it is that she's living with her grandmother, her mom's back in jail and they're trying to get her into rehab for her coke addiction (jailed after pulling a knife on grandma last week while higher than a kite), and she was in court yesterday because her dad is trying to emancipate her so he doesn't have to pay child support (didn't know that was possible but apparently it is). Her grandmother's sick (emphysema), her mom's cracked out, her dad and stepmom are cracked. She's also suffered every type of abuse imaginable. I spent a great deal of time with her today going over social stuff. We have all our new patients fill out a confidential questionnaire that asks questions about drugs, school, abuse, home safety, etc. She suffers from anxiety and depression, all stemming from SEOTS syndrome: Short End Of The Stick syndrome. I hope I was able to make her feel comfortable. I feel like I succeeded because she was open and forthcoming with explanations to her responses on the questionnaire. She wanted to have some STD testing done so I did her pre-HIV test counseling and explained everything to her. I let the medical student start the history (weak but she got through it) and the physical (mediocre). I had to show the student how to properly perform an abdominal exam and had to remind her to check the next for lymph nodes and thyroid gland. It's inexperience and I'm down with that. What I'm not down with is wanting to show this girl how to do breast self exams. They have value in preventive medicine - I'm not denying that. But this girl's mom is in jail, her grandmother is worried sick (literally), her dad's nuts and she starts working on her GED tomorrow. Today is not the time to throw this at her. She will forget. She doesn't need to be worrying that she needs to check for lumps and bumps. A breast exam was performed at her last visit (she has some breast asymmetry but her exam was normal). Ggh.
Anyway, she's coming back in two weeks for results and follow up. I hope things get better for her.
I actually have to go back to clinic tomorrow for an hour or so to see a new patient. Ben (who was scheduled to cover) has an ill grandfather so I'm pinch-hitting so we don't have to reschedule.
Tomorrow is another morning of lectures: pediatric grand rounds followed by ER grand rounds (Dr. B is talking on chest pain and syncope so it's worth a look).
Not knowing when I'm giving this presentation is cutting into my procrastination schedule. Oh, and the "Don't Wannas" aren't helping, either.
Moment of Burrito: "I despise the pleasure of pleasing people that I despise." - Lady Mary Wortley Montagu