Year 4 Day 1

Okay, so I'm f i n a l l y writing on my blog now. I will try to make a better effort this year. So after a long study month (which included going to Schlitterbahn on 4th of July and doing busy work while moving back to Houston, and doing anything else to avoid studying), I am glad to be done with step 2.

I can't believe 4th year is here already. I remember not too long ago that I was trying to just get in to medical school. Now we're expected to be almost doctors.

I am starting my first 4th year rotation this week. It feels a bit different. Like, they know you've already done a year of clinicals, so they trust your abilities much more quickly. I always feel out of it when I haven't seen patients in over a month. But I got pretty comfortable after seeing the first patient.

I am doing a geriatrics rotation here on Galveston island. It's nice and hot, but you do feel a cool breeze at times. As usual, I never check out the rotation site ahead of time, but I did look online for free parking spots. The map was a bit misleading. The free parking was a 12 minute walk to the building and I wasn't wearing comfortable shoes. I wore flats but they rub into the back of your ankle. I also had to walk to another building 10 minutes away to complete registration and to get my badge & pager. They then told me to pay a fee for the items at another building several minutes further away. So as I walked small steps (saying "ow, ow, ow" in my head), I finally got to sit down at a Whataburger for an early lunch. By the end of this day, I probably walked atleast 2 miles. I also came home to large blisters on the back of both of my feet.

My preceptor is really nice. And the rotation only allows one student per rotation. So I'm the only student working with her. It's nice and after observing her with one patient, I started to see patients on my own. This was good so I can get an idea of how she interviews a geriatric patient. It's different because you definitely spend a lot more time with them.

Overall, she said I did well for my first day. As for me, I would say I had a pretty good first day except for my feet. I will try get a parking pass for closer parking on Tuesday and I will definitely be wearing tennis shoes. They have lockers at the clinic so I can store my shoes there and switch to dress shoes when I see patients.