Well after five and a half rotations I finally had my site visit. This consisted of one of my clinical coordinators visiting at my current rotation and evaluating my clinical skills. Julia, who is also my advisor arrived in Arcata Wednesday night where I met her for dinner. It was really nice to spend some time with faculty outside of the school setting. Thursday morning she met me at the clinic. She watched me do a history, physical exam and present to my preceptor. I was pretty anxious and it took me a bit longer to get into my rhythm with each patient. She gave me some great feedback and taught me a lot during our few hours together. I also saw herpes zoster, also known as shingles, for the first time clinically. It was textbook. The patient was in a lot of pain, the rash was in one dermatome, and did not cross midline on the patients chest or back.
Friday I sutured a person (not a fake skin, banana, chicken breast or pigs foot) for the first time! I was a bit nervous, but the patient was calm and happy to let a student suture him up, and I have practiced a lot on the materials mention above. I put two simple interrupted stitches in the tip of one of his fingers. He will follow up in about 10 days to have them taken out, at which time I'll get a better look at my handy work!
Today I drove into Arcata for the farmers market and a massage. When I drive west to Arcata I try to make a day out of it because the trip takes about one hour each way. At the farmers market they had a sidewalk decorating contest. There were some really great artists out there today. I visited the square again later in the day when the crowds were diminished and all the art was completed, here are some of my favorites.
No comments:
Post a Comment