The Student Becomes The Teacher

Another first day of rotation...another day of feeling totally out of place and really stupid.  My pride is becoming more flexible though with each subsequent rotation ;P.  Today I was given 4 kids, 3 of the four were pretty simple cases (thus far - don't want to jinx it).  The fourth name sounded really familiar...and then I realized I had first heard her name in the NICU...not as a patient but just spoken in passing by the attendings to each other in the kind of camaraderie from dealing with her...ie.  "Wow that patient was a mess, still nothing like Jamie Thompson" (not real name).  It's a testament to her complexity that she was spoken enough in passing that I would remember her name...and I would have to say after 1 day with her that she earned every bit of her notoriety.  She's not half way to a year old and she already has a problem list that would rival a geriatrics patient in a nursing home (that doesn't even cover her medications)....somehow though we survived the day together though and I'm a bit wiser for it. 

I think the real adjustment was dealing with a medical student for the first time.  A student assigned to ME! As if I should be leading anyone...still I was determined to be a good teacher and leader.  I expected her to know as much as I did and for her to be teaching me...I must have low medical esteeme...it's amazing how little you think of yourself clinically (constantly feeling like you don't know enough day in and day out) it was nice for a change for someone newbie-er than me to highlight how much I do know...not that it increased my ego and pride (I know how little I am on the clinical knowledge food chain)...but it gave me a fair bit of relief to know that I'm not that resident who has the same medical knowledge as a 3rd year.  No offense meant to 3rd years, but if I have the same knowledge I did as a third year...then I should be a third year and not a resident...I am very happy to know that (at least with this med student ;P) this is not the case.  I even had a little time to teach her some good physical exam "tricks" and assign her some reading that I think will benefit her exam scores and her patients (differential diagnosis of different kinds of breath sounds...whooohoo...exciting huh?)...as an aside only in medicine can you teach a girl "good physical exam tricks" and have totally good intentions...alright I'm hitting the sack...I am obviously sleep deprived.  Goodnight!

Newbie Doc