Catching Up

The past few days have been a flurry of activity as I've tried to make the most of the few precious days of Spring Break I had and make the trek from Johnson City to Smyrna, TN. It's been nice catching up with old friends whether that be a hike up House Mountain in Ktown, hanging out until the wee hours of the morning, or sharing photos at a small corner table in Starbucks. You don't realize how much you miss someone or how long overdue a visit was until it actually happens and you wonder where the time since the last visit went.
I started my preceptorship this week. Though somewhat of a break in the fact that I don't have to study, it has been far from the definition of "break" in the fact that I've put in two 10 hr days with hardly a break for lunch and an average of 40+ patients per day. Despite the long hours and sore feet from standing so much, I'd do this any day over classwork. The only problem with having a creative mind is satiating its creativity when your entire life consists of memorizing seemingly random facts about rare diseases and biochemical pathways. However, this week has been a much-needed experience that puts all those random facts in perspective. I'm beginning to see the necessity in knowing the characteristics of DiGeorge's Syndrome or neurofibromatosis or the differences in nasal epithelia.
The actual practice of medicine reminds me of the practice of music. Both have their sets of rules: the notes, rhythms, scales and the anatomy, physiology, and pathology. However, the real practice comes in learning the rules so well that you know when to break them. Music is never made by simply playing the notes on the page; rather, it is through the observances of the subtle nuances of the composer's intentions and the performer's interpretations that a piece is brought to life and evokes a response from the audience. Likewise, I'm learning it is the same with medicine. Though it is important to learn all the seemingly trivial facts, it is the ability to apply those same facts and to integrate them with other facts and predisposing conditions and to treat the patient with genuine compassion that makes a good physician and is truly practicing "good medicine."
It is for these reasons I chose Dr.T as my preceptor (they always say to learn from the best). He is one of the few doctors who I've seen genuinely show compassion for his patient from the poor in Honduras to the TennCare patient to the high ranking businessman. So many people try to fake compassion. It's easy to be a good person and to treat people well, but if you don't have that genuine desire to actually serve your patient, the patient knows. I'm afraid many of my comrades sell out to power and money and put themselves above their patients, so it's really nice to work with a doctor who is an exception to this.
Just in two days I've seen a broad spectrum of cases from flu to emphysema to ingrown toenails to psychological issues to skin lesions to physicals. I've seen people from 5 months to 85 years and people from all walks of life, all just wanting to be treated by their family practicioner. I won't bore you with the details of what I did other than the fact that a Hispanic man came in who didn't speak any English so Dr.T let me do the full work-up on him (in Spanish) from vitals to physical exam, and then Dr.T just checked everything out to see if it was ok. This med school nerd thought that was pretty cool. Anyways, I'm tired and I don't have to go to the hospital tomorrow until 1pm so I'm going to take advantage of that and sleep in for the first time in a month. G'night!!