my workout

there's something to be said about a good day in clinic. unfortunately, those usually come later in the year; later, when I know where stuff is, how charting is performed, and what things to expect from the patients. the good thing is that I didn't screw up, not much at least.

the first day of medical residency is the start of many firsts. it's the first day after a tiring orientation, first day of the medical profession and practice, first day of doing something closer to what you ultimately like, first day of being paid, first day of calling yourself "doctor" and having it literally carry some weight, etc. although we still report to a higher power, being the attending, we do make judgements and decisions. this brings a new definition to the words "scary fun". unless you know the inner workings of the medical hierarchy, or follow one of the medical dramas out there on the tube, you may not be aware of the environment a intern faces. the worst of it can be comparable to being tossed in the deep end with a number of fresh cuts and bruises from before (medical school), while the opposite side is just a mild workout. fortunately, the institutes we work at have mostly gone the way of the latter, largely due to demands of a more humane working environment. I can take a mild workout, maybe some unblocked kidney punches and a handful of good uppercuts. after all, bruising is just bilirubin. bad pun indeed.

I started out in gen peds clinic, which is an awesome way to start, no sarcasm intended. I got another orientation of the clinic, a light load in the morning and a medium one in the afternoon. Best of all, a small flock of medical students were there to lighten the load. and did I mention pediatrics, which is somewhere on the opposite end of satan, er, surgery. along the middle of the day, some twins came in, identical in all aspects including chief complaint, history and exam. names differed in only a letter, and rhymed as well. oh, and other difference was slightly more severe otitis media, requiring a new antibiotic since the first line course had failed. Outcome? I wrote the script for the wrong twin. In the end, I tried to call the mom, but succeeded in talking to voicemail several times. she had a great metallic voice and I left her a message. To quote a great attending, a little bug juice never hurt and if the other kid was worse, they would come back anyway. Hell, there's still a chance it could be viral.

I don't think my jaw is too sore, besides, I have another 8 hours tomorrow and 40 opponents.