today is the first day...

Ever heard that before? Well, sure enough - its true. I had my first day of my two-week rotation today and it was awesome. I seem to remember the wisdom imparted by that time-honored show, Grey's Anatomy. That's right - I went there and the view from the other side is truly spectacular.

I got to the ER at 8am today. This was the pre-arranged time - I wasn't late. The day shift had only been on for an hour and it was looking to be a miserable day. Four patients in beds, three in triage and another two rolling up in ambulances. Seriously. One doctor, four nurses, one medic, one tech, and non-patient care staff were supposed to tackle this. Holy crap. I need to find another specialty.

However, I soon learned that from a student's perspective, busy = fun. Ok. Maybe fun isn't exactly the best term, but I did more than I thought I would for Day 1. Granted, by more I mean a bizillion rectal exams and a bizillion + 1 male hernia checks, but I guess that's why they make us say "penis," "scrotum," "anus" and "rectum" until it isn't funny in school. Other than that, it was great. The attendings had me doing physical exams, writing patient histories and presenting cases. It was like being a doctor. Isn't it fun to pretend? So now I can look forward to finishing school.