First of all, E and I just got back from 4 days in Moscow, which was quite the experience. Full report and pics to come.
In January 2012 (actually, the day before I found out I was pregnant the first time, but that's beside the point) I was doing a rotation in the ER, seeing surgical patients. During this rotation, we got our own patients and treated them ourselves, did everything that needed to be done (under the supervision of an attending, of course!). One Monday morning, I walked into the office and saw an envelope with my name on it. Except my name had "Dr." in front of it. Obviously that made me giddy, but also confused. I opened it and inside was a card from a patient I had taken care of the week before. He was a 40-something-year-old male with some vague abdominal symptoms who turned out to have pancreatitis due to gallbladder problems. Nothing extraordinary. I admitted him for a cholecystectomy and went on my way. In the card, he thanked me for helping him with stomach problems that had bothered him for years.
I was so incredibly touched by his card. I also felt a little guilty, since all the decisions were made by my attending. I was the one performing the first exam and coming up with a preliminary assessment and treatment plans, but my attending made the final decisions. But in any case, I was really moved by his gesture.
Today, I got thanked by another patient. Well, a patient's mom. On Monday, a baby came in severely dehydrated, going into shock. He needed a lot of fluids, but ended up being ok. It was scary, he was drifting in and out of consciousness for a while. I ran into the mom outside the entrance to the hospital and she started profusely thanking me, and asking me to please thank the doctor who was in charge. She said that what we did was amazing. Again, I was truly touched. I wasn't the one deciding what to do, but I did help.
It's nice to feel that you really make a difference sometimes.
In January 2012 (actually, the day before I found out I was pregnant the first time, but that's beside the point) I was doing a rotation in the ER, seeing surgical patients. During this rotation, we got our own patients and treated them ourselves, did everything that needed to be done (under the supervision of an attending, of course!). One Monday morning, I walked into the office and saw an envelope with my name on it. Except my name had "Dr." in front of it. Obviously that made me giddy, but also confused. I opened it and inside was a card from a patient I had taken care of the week before. He was a 40-something-year-old male with some vague abdominal symptoms who turned out to have pancreatitis due to gallbladder problems. Nothing extraordinary. I admitted him for a cholecystectomy and went on my way. In the card, he thanked me for helping him with stomach problems that had bothered him for years.
I was so incredibly touched by his card. I also felt a little guilty, since all the decisions were made by my attending. I was the one performing the first exam and coming up with a preliminary assessment and treatment plans, but my attending made the final decisions. But in any case, I was really moved by his gesture.
Today, I got thanked by another patient. Well, a patient's mom. On Monday, a baby came in severely dehydrated, going into shock. He needed a lot of fluids, but ended up being ok. It was scary, he was drifting in and out of consciousness for a while. I ran into the mom outside the entrance to the hospital and she started profusely thanking me, and asking me to please thank the doctor who was in charge. She said that what we did was amazing. Again, I was truly touched. I wasn't the one deciding what to do, but I did help.
It's nice to feel that you really make a difference sometimes.
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