Pay day

There is a phenomenon that occurs on pay day, social security day, and welfare day. All the ails of the patients that are seen at K'ima:w seem to disappear for a few days. I have experienced this a few times, but today the contrast was undeniable. For the past two weeks the clinic has been crazy busy. It's cold season, we are approaching flu season and there has been a GI virus making its way through the community. But today in the nine hours I was at work, I saw seven patients in the walk-in clinic, only two between 1:00-5:00 pm. I had time to catch up on Typhon data entry, do reading for public health and socialize with the nursing staff. To say it was slow might be an understatement.


Tomorrow is my last day at K'ima:w Medical Center and I am really quite sad about it. I feel like I became apart of the team here. I am about to make move number seven this year and community is what I am longing for all the time. I have been excited for this rotation since it showed up on my schedule 10 months ago, but I never imagined what an impact this tribe and medical center would have on me. It has inspired me and I really hope that I can find work at an IHS (Indian Health Services) clinic one day.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed working with all the providers here, I bonded with one in particular. Susan Walsh is a Family Nurse Practitioner who has worked at this medical center for 12 years. She never treated me like a student, she treated me as an equal. She had high expectations and challenged me to make assessments and plans for my patients, but was always open to discussing these things if I was unsure. She cares about her patients, wants to do the best for them, and is willing to put in extra hours to achieve that. She is also upfront and straight to the point, knows her limitations and isn't afraid to ask for help. All of these are qualities I admire about her.

And the couple I lived with, Sonja and Dan, I will also miss. They are optimistic, happy people who really enjoy having PA students live with them. They looked after me, invited me to family dinners and made sure I had all I needed out here.

I am a bit emotional about this departure, but also so excited to spend the next week with my friends in Vallejo, which unfortunately involves exams! Then it is off to ER rotation in Truckee, which means I am a week closer to a visit from my parents, and then Michael for Thanksgiving. I haven't been home since early July and haven't seen Michael for six weeks... I am elated for both visits.