Day 1998: My last day

Today was my last day at the family medicine clinic. It was a bit bittersweet for a lot of reasons. It wasn't with my favorite of the two doctors. The doctor I like a bit better came in (I hope explicitly) to say goodbye to me (and brought the office/me muffins), which was touching. My favorite nurse was off today but she did leave a sweet card for me.

The day was like any other, well-baby checks, UTIs, hurt joints, diabetes. It's comforting in a strange way, to know that life goes on when things feel like they stop for you. This externship ending means that school really is about to start. (The first day of class is Monday August 20th.) Everything moves forward, even me.

Day 1972: A good day.

I had such a wonderful day today!

These past two days, I have been feeling very blah about my externship. The first day was my first blah day and it was a bit concerning for me. The second day, I realized that my blah feelings were due to the fact that I felt like my learning has slowed and as a result I am shadowing more.

Well! Today, I learned how to check reflexes, which is very gratifying every time you make someone kick on the first go. It seems banal but these are things family practitioners have to know!

In addition, I had the absolute pleasure of having a Deaf patient today! Boy would my old ASL teacher be disappointed in me! I couldn’t remember how to sign “husband” or “deaf” for that matter. I signed a weird version of “deaf” and “home” (I had my ‘d’ going in the incorrect direction). It made me laugh in my head when the doctor I was working with today kept shouting at her. She’s deaf. Shouting or not, she won’t be able to hear you because...you know...she’s deaf.

In other news, the other doctor I work with came in for her son’s 9 month well baby check. OH MY WORDS. HE IS SO CUTE. I have to tell you, I was making faces at the boy, and the two doctors I work with commented on how good I am with children and how much they all like me...which is a nice thing to hear.

So, after two blah days, I ended the week on a good note and feeling pumped for my next work day (Tuesday of next week).

Have a good weekend!

Day 1949: My first day

Okay, that's enough pictures for today. I want to tell you all about my summer, what has been and what will be.

Has been:

• Went to Europe (more pictures to come!) -- that's the big one.
• Danny and his brother came to visit me in California so we did a lot of fun sightseeing (pictures to come eventually...you'll see what I mean)

What will be:

• I applied to and was chosen for a family medicine externship! It is 8-weeks of working with family medicine doctors in a clinic. Today was my first day and it was wonderful. I don't think I realized how diverse the patient population is for family doctors, today alone I saw a newborn baby, an 18-month old, a 9-year-old, a cranial 6 nerve palsy, annual checkups for women (breast and pelvic exams) and more! I can't wait to see what this externship will teach me next!
• Visiting best friends, attending wedding things, being social-ish