Fall

Here are a few things I have thoroughly enjoyed about living in the Klamath Mountains of northern California: 

• Watching fall paint its vibrant colors along the roadway. Everyday the painting is different and I look forward to my morning drive as the sun is trying to peak through the leaves, lighting them up as if they were under a spotlight. 
• The quiet of living in the mountains. 
• Sitting in the sun reading by the river. 

I was recently speaking with one of the providers about the patient population in the clinic, although I see Native Americans all day, they are no different than any other patient population I have seen. Each day I spend a lot of my day educating patients about caring for themselves, either for an acute condition or for a chronic condition, that if not managed can drastically change their life. Each day I feel I truly get through to only a few patients, but those patients are the fuel most practitioners need to do the jobs we do. I recently spoke with a 17 year old, who was being seen for cold symptoms, he wanted to go to Oregon State but wasn't sure the best way to do it, we spoke for at least 10 minutes about the different resources he has available to him to make that happen. If he does in fact attend college in his future, he will be the first in his family. Although I will most likely never know what will come of his future, I like to think that the support I offered him will bring him a little bit closer to attending college. These types of conversations bring me peace when a patient is yelling at me because I dont think they need a Toradol shot, or antibiotics, or xrays, or whatever it is that they are wanting, or simply because I am a student and they want to see the doctor. The nice part about being a student is when I am being yelled at, I do my best to calm the patient down and if I can't, I can always get the provider who is supervising me for the day. Unfortunately, this luxury will no longer be available when I am working as a PA, I will no longer be able to use the excuse of being a student. In the same way that fall is changing my drive to work everyday, the patients I see paint my workday each day.