I heard this lady say "I love kids". That's nice. It's kind of weird though. It's like saying " I like people for a little while".
- Demetri Martin, These Are Jokes
As a medical student, you take on very different roles day to day and rotation to rotation. Sometimes you are working semi-autonomously, looking and acting like a doctor. Other times you are "shadowing"- following around a doctor and basically just watching. Depending on your role, and how you are introduced, patients will respond very differently.
You will encounter some patients who won't see you at all. Others agree but are clearly uncomfortable you are there. Most patients won't really care too much. Once in a while, however, you come across people who will not only see you, but will teach you. Despite being in hospital and in pain, they will actively involve you and make a point of showing you things. They let you know what you did that they liked. They give you their perspective and tell you the things they wish their doctors had paid attention to. They let you repeat an uncomfortable exam, even though the doctor has already done it once. When you come across people like this, it is hard to express to them how appreciative you feel. You can't really say- "Thank you so much for that pelvic exam". So you are just polite like always, but wish you could really thank them.
In obstetrics, getting involved in patient care is especially awkward. You are often not treated as part of the team and are regarded as an unwanted "observer". I understand the reasons for this, but it's hard when you are sleep-deprived, and being constantly rejected by doctors, nurses and patients. Sometimes you feel like asking the patient if they would prefer you to do their exam now, while you are being supervised, or later, when you are practicing doctor who has no idea what they are doing because no one let them practice as a student. I don't blame the patients, and I never act annoyed, but it can definitely be frustrating.
On my call shift yesterday, I was lucky enough to be involved in the labour and delivery of bouncing baby girl where the couple was exceptionally open and welcoming to me. I got to see many different aspects of their care and learned so much from the experience. This morning, I went in to see them to say thanks again before I left for home and still felt unable to really let them know how much I appreciated their kindness.
You will encounter some patients who won't see you at all. Others agree but are clearly uncomfortable you are there. Most patients won't really care too much. Once in a while, however, you come across people who will not only see you, but will teach you. Despite being in hospital and in pain, they will actively involve you and make a point of showing you things. They let you know what you did that they liked. They give you their perspective and tell you the things they wish their doctors had paid attention to. They let you repeat an uncomfortable exam, even though the doctor has already done it once. When you come across people like this, it is hard to express to them how appreciative you feel. You can't really say- "Thank you so much for that pelvic exam". So you are just polite like always, but wish you could really thank them.
In obstetrics, getting involved in patient care is especially awkward. You are often not treated as part of the team and are regarded as an unwanted "observer". I understand the reasons for this, but it's hard when you are sleep-deprived, and being constantly rejected by doctors, nurses and patients. Sometimes you feel like asking the patient if they would prefer you to do their exam now, while you are being supervised, or later, when you are practicing doctor who has no idea what they are doing because no one let them practice as a student. I don't blame the patients, and I never act annoyed, but it can definitely be frustrating.
On my call shift yesterday, I was lucky enough to be involved in the labour and delivery of bouncing baby girl where the couple was exceptionally open and welcoming to me. I got to see many different aspects of their care and learned so much from the experience. This morning, I went in to see them to say thanks again before I left for home and still felt unable to really let them know how much I appreciated their kindness.
