Clatter clatter clatter… “Oh I cut my hand loading up the dishwasher.” Clatter clatter clatter… “It’s a UTI, I’m 1,000% sure.” Clatter clatter clatter… “I 'm not sure I 'm in the right place - are you the dermatologist?”
Before the doctor opens the door, his presence is heralded by the cacophonous sound of my compact standing computer desk. Like the shopping cart you inevitably grab at the grocery store, it has a wonky, rattling wheel whose strident chorus fills the small urgent care facility where I work. As the doctor reaches behind me for the foaming hand sanitizer, I’m pulling up the patient’s chart, closing the door, and trying to maneuver into a corner. In the small rooms, it’s a complicated dance that we’ve slowly perfected after hundreds …show more content…
In addition to learning the details of legal medical documentation, I am constantly observing and analyzing medical decision-making in its varied forms. To properly chart a visit, I need to understand the key indicators for specific diagnoses. What are the five clinical markers of strep throat? What does incontinence have to do with back pain? I 've learned to predict the questions the doctor will ask, the tests he will order, and the medication he will prescribe, all while being immersed in a new language full of foreign medical terminology and an alphabet soup of …show more content…
I could tell you that it runs in the family, that it’s the perfect intersection between science and humanity, that it’s something I’ve had my heart set on since I was young…and all of those things are true, but hardly groundbreaking. No, what makes me sure medicine is the right path is that at the end of a 12-14 hour day full of weeping abscesses, frustrated parents, and bloody lacerations, I come home physically exhausted, but mentally invigorated. I am lucky enough to not only observe patient care, but to play an active role in it. Though I 'm not diagnosing patients, stitching up lacerations, or taking x-rays, I am allowing the doctors to see more patients and spend more time with them. And though I aspire to one day be the doctor on duty, for now, my rickety laptop desk and I are happy to
Before the doctor opens the door, his presence is heralded by the cacophonous sound of my compact standing computer desk. Like the shopping cart you inevitably grab at the grocery store, it has a wonky, rattling wheel whose strident chorus fills the small urgent care facility where I work. As the doctor reaches behind me for the foaming hand sanitizer, I’m pulling up the patient’s chart, closing the door, and trying to maneuver into a corner. In the small rooms, it’s a complicated dance that we’ve slowly perfected after hundreds …show more content…
In addition to learning the details of legal medical documentation, I am constantly observing and analyzing medical decision-making in its varied forms. To properly chart a visit, I need to understand the key indicators for specific diagnoses. What are the five clinical markers of strep throat? What does incontinence have to do with back pain? I 've learned to predict the questions the doctor will ask, the tests he will order, and the medication he will prescribe, all while being immersed in a new language full of foreign medical terminology and an alphabet soup of …show more content…
I could tell you that it runs in the family, that it’s the perfect intersection between science and humanity, that it’s something I’ve had my heart set on since I was young…and all of those things are true, but hardly groundbreaking. No, what makes me sure medicine is the right path is that at the end of a 12-14 hour day full of weeping abscesses, frustrated parents, and bloody lacerations, I come home physically exhausted, but mentally invigorated. I am lucky enough to not only observe patient care, but to play an active role in it. Though I 'm not diagnosing patients, stitching up lacerations, or taking x-rays, I am allowing the doctors to see more patients and spend more time with them. And though I aspire to one day be the doctor on duty, for now, my rickety laptop desk and I are happy to