OB/GYN was... not for me. Delivering babies is FANTASTIC. It's amazing, it filled me with awe and instantly made me believe in a higher power. However, it's also only a small part of being an OB/GYN. Arguably, it's the most fun part, but small nonetheless. I spent most of my time listening to fetal heartbeats, reading fetal heart rates, answering questions from moms, giving pap smears, and waiting. There is a whole lot of waiting around in OB/GYN. Babies are tricky like that, they don't read time well so they're not great at adhering to a schedule. Thus, I'm a big fan of planned c-sections. Interestingly, the rate of c-sections is going up because babies are getting larger and women's pelvises are getting smaller. Ironically, this trend was caused by women electing for c-sections and now they end up having to have them, just as natural births have returned to popularity. Regardless, no OB/GYN for me.
Pediatrics was very different. I would say it was my most surprising rotation. I went into it thinking I would hate it and left thinking "I could totally do this. I won't... but I could". I think a large part of that was my attending physician. She was an older Spanish woman who said exactly what she thought and took no nonsense. My personal favorite trait of hers was telling parents to pay attention to their child and not their phones. She also gave me a lot of autonomy (and was very quick to tell me exactly when I had screwed something up). That independence allowed me to learn a lot about how to be a doctor. Kids are great to practice your interview skills on because they don't know what to tell you or what's important; you've got to pull it out of them. So you have to think of every question you need to ask and make sure you cover all of your bases. Otherwise, I was definitely going to get a look from the attending. She was hands down one of my favorite attendings of my entire third year. I honestly miss her and her clinic.
And that leaves.. psych. Ah, psychiatry. There is no place quite like the psych ward and no people quite as honest as psych patients. I learned quickly that psychosis isn't always obvious. I also learned that you have to really trust your gut. One fun part of psych is listening to a patient talk, realizing you're having a hard time following them, thinking "why is this so hard! am I not listening well?" and realizing they're actually psychotic so OF COURSE I can't follow. I never really learned to get out of that, I went through that sequence with almost every patient. Psychosis isn't always obvious and it can be very subtle. It was very hard for me to deal with. Psychiatry ended up being one of the hardest rotations for me. It was beyond emotionally taxing. I saw children as young as 7 with suicidal thoughts, I saw adults who had been failed by their family, I saw patients who kept coming back because there was nowhere else for them to go. I saw a lot. I think I would have to be a much stronger person to be a psychiatrist, or at least much more guarded. It's hard to see the same people coming in and out of the psych ward, from the street, to the ward again. They've got nowhere to go and our resources are finite. A lot of patients have comorbid problems - addiction, diabetes, you name it. They can't manage them on their own and there aren't enough places for them to go to get the help they need. So they end up locked up in the psych ward. It's an ugly cycle. On a lighter note... I also did a brief rotation in the psych unit of the Miami corrections department. Now that was interesting. It's remarkable how normal people can seem until they leave and nurse Vaga whispers "he murdered his mother in law and flushed her body down the toilet in pieces". Classic Vaga.
Now for the ever popular - "what's next?!" segment of our broadcast! Well boys and girls, next are electives! Starting with family medicine. I'm pretty excited. Also a tad nervous to start studying for the next round of licensing exams. We all know what a joy I am to be around when those roll in. After that, I will be applying for residency in September of this year. Right now, I am most interested in internal medicine but who knows! And before you know it, I'll be an MD. (As in, in September). So get ready for me to be really obnoxious about it on social media!
I know. You've all been wondering desperately this whole time about the dog. "Forget med school! WHEN WILL WE HEAR ABOUT THE DOG?" Well, dear internet, now! His stats: he's a 7 year old puggle at a slim 27 pounds with a sassy attitude and desperate need to cuddle. He has IBS just like his momma except he can enjoy chicken (Rude). His name is Roscoe from obvious sources and hes really my favorite. Although, last night he was attacked by a Rottweiler (TWIST!) so he's currently on the mend in the cone of shame. (He's alright, minor surgery and a couple weeks recovery until he's good as new). Not to worry, he has a lion cone on the way so he can retain his ferocity.
We both can't wait until the stitches and cone are gone. Until then, sad eyes from Roscoe.
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