Tomorrow I will wrap up the outpatient portion of my pediatrics rotation. I have two more weeks of the pediatrics rotation. I'll be in pediatric E.R. next week, partly at the children's hospital and partly at a general university hospital, where pediatric cases still end up. I'm not especially apprehensive because, unless there's some sort of catastrophic event such as a major earthquake or collapse of a bridge or both, in which case sometimes even such employees as custodians and receptionists function as medical personnel by necessity, I won't be expected to manage anything especially grave by myself. I may have the opportunity to stitch, staple, or glue boo boos, and now that I've done it before, I may be asked to remove foreign objects from noses or ears. If inserting IVs is necessary, that, too, is something I can do with ease. We're only rarely expected to draw blood -- usually in cases in which a child's veins are so tiny that a phlebotomist cannot find a vein -- but it's usually a registered nurse who takes over in such instances. Because I'm relatively skilled, I could be called into service should it be necessary. It's easier to draw blood than it is to insert an IV, anyway, and it's less painful to the patient.
I will then finish up my pediatric rotation with a week of pediatric oncology and hematology. I cannot say that it is something to which I'm looking forward. I won't complain if my dad decides to be here next week. I won't mind having him with me the first time I have to work on the pediatric oncology floor. (It's interesting that I don't mind having my dad around the hospital, but Matthew doesn't want him anywhere near when he's working and would prefer not to acknowledge that he's even related to my dad except that the physical resemblance is so strong that a denial would be an obvious lie.)We supposedly spend as more time interacting with and entertaining the pediatric oncology patients as we do performing procedures on them. We do assess them, and we observe a fair number of procedures. The idea is that these babies have been through so much already in their short lives without inflicting upon them the added burden of being turned into medical students' crash-test dummies. It's the only humane way of handling the situation. Still, the prospect makes me very nervous.
The outpatient portion of pediatrics has been my favorite sub=rotation of my thus far short clerkship. That doesn't mean I'm seriously looking at pursuing pediatrics as a specialty. i'm not. It just means I've worked with people who are nice and fun. Because my Step 1 score on the USMLE was almost insanely high, I could probably choose almost anything as my subinternship yet not be adversely affected in terms of obtaining a desired match for my internship and residency. Applying for a pediatrics sub-internship is not out of the question. Then again, perhaps i'll like the next specialty even more.
Good luck with the wrap up. It sounds like you have some exciting challenges ahead of you!
ReplyDeleteI think I am facing exciting challenges. Some are probably more exciting, while others will probably be more challenging. I just try to remember that people less capable and resourceful than I have made it through. I, too, can do this. Then again, merely making it through isn't enough. I want to excel and to enjoy even the challenges in the process.
DeleteObviously not every single aspect or task can be enjoyable. Being barfed on, for instance, is not pleasant no matter what shades one puts on one's palette in an attempt to paint the picture.
With regard to pediatric oncology, my ideas are A) they, the patients, want to be there even less than I do; and B) What can I bring to the job that not everyone else can? The obvious answer is musical instruments. I can briefly divert children's attention from the misery of their situations by playing songs they want to hear. I can also help -- particularly the older patients -- with school work. I'm probably more qualified to explain high school-level math concepts than are the teachers the hospital employs for that purpose. (Most or all of their teachers would possess multiple subject k-12 credentials, which essentially qualify teachers to teach any self-contained class, but with what is expected of students in terms of mathematics, most of such teachers are doing well to handle math up to the sixth-grade level; there may be a resource specialist among the teachers as well, as many of the children may be on IEPs for "other health impairments" or other qualifying conditions. My experience with that, mostly through my mother having been a school psychologist and a director of special services for a couple of school districts, is that the only expertise most resource specialists have beyond what any other teachers have is in staying within the legalities of complex special ed. legislation while writing and updating paperwork. Every year or two someone discovers another miracle cure for dyslexia or some other educational disability, only for it to be exposed as either a hoax or just one more tool that may work for one kid out of a hundred but is certainly no magic pill. Depending upon the nature of the disability [and for these kids it's often just that they've missed a whole lot of school]the children mostly just need more repetition, and perhaps presentation in a few different ways, in order to grasp a given concept.) Those are just my ideas, though. In the end, I need to do as I'm told by my superiors, but there's nothing wrong with making them aware of my strengths and allowing them to take advantage of the things I do well.
Keep enjoying it. Paeds was my favourite specialty as a student-and my best academically- as everyone really pulled together and it was a happy and harmonious hospital to work at. I did a short paediatrics residency as a presurgical rotation which I loved, but I never wanted to specialize in that discipline.
ReplyDeleteIt' s hard when you are just enjoying and engrossed in each new specialty but better than being bored,overwhelmed or disliking one. (There were a couple I couldn't stand!!!!!) You will come to realize which areas bring the most satisfaction and challenges and which is the next step on the pathway. Don't sweat it.
I expect to like most, but I'm a bit afraid of psych, and I'm not sure Internal Medicine is going to be my ting, though I'm not afraid of it. Oncology is my greatest fear. Having a week of pediatric oncology will either reduce my fears a bit or reinforce them. Time alone will tell.
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