Blinded by the Light

I am more than happy to say that I'm finally in the LAST WEEK of my clinical rotations!  There is light at the end of the tunnel and it's glorious =)! I will finish my last rotation in family medicine this week and begin to really study for the ever dreaded board exam!

I have spent the last 17 weeks training in family practice (with a 'mini' rotation in Pain Management).  Overall, it's been a wonderful experience! I had the privilege of working with five really great physicians who are not only excellent clinicians, but also very kind and compassionate people.

Many people think that primary care providers deal mostly with colds, ear infections, physicals, etc. I was also under that impression, until I spent some time in their shoes! Especially in rural primary care, you can see anything from a simple cold and diabetes to new onset chest pain and chain saw lacerations! Literally, I saw a patient last week that cut his foot when the chain saw slipped off the wood, cutting right through his shoe. The best part was when he came back to have his stitches out and he was still wearing the shoe because the cut-out made it more comfortable =)! Hehehe... And just this week, we've gotten reports on patients with Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome (a not-so-common condition involving a gastrin secreting tumor) and mesenteric ischemia (a blockage in the vessels that supply the gut)! Whoa! Whoever said that primary care was boring was so wrong! 

I have loved getting to know the patients, seeing many of them two and three times. Hearing their stories of love, happiness, struggle and sorrow has been a humbling experience for me. It's amazing to hear what some people have been through who live right in my backyard. One of the patients was crushed by a tractor-trailer and had to have his hip reconstructed [as you could imagine] and replaced 4 different times, ultimately leaving him with one leg about 9 inches shorter than the other and a 9 inch platform on every shoe. After all he's been through, he told me that "he's just thankful to have both legs and to be able to walk." Just this past week, I met the cutest elderly British woman who was a World War II bride. We were doing a procedure on her with lidocaine and the doctor said, "you will feel a little pinch and then the burn of the lidocaine" and the patient says [with an adorable angry accent], "you better not lie to me!" hahaha... You gotta love the geriatric population! While it has been challenging to learn the wide variety of problems that present in family medicine, getting to know the patients has been more than rewarding. I will not be practicing in primary care to start my career, but I have a feeling that I will end up there someday =)!


In other great news, I'm excited to share that I have accepted an offer for my first job! In the fall, I will be finally getting paid working as a Physician Assistant in the Emergency Department! And... Congratulations to three of my best PA friends who have also recently secured their first jobs! We finally made it =)!

The Harrisburg Crew - When we really didn't know what we were doing in our white coats! My how far we've all come! =)

Officially my last post as Physician Assistant Student!
     ~ Lacie