its dry heat

so once again, another post begins with "I'm still alive." after nearly one month since the last post, I am one rotation closer to graduating. surgery was amazing. I remember dreading rotating with a general surgeon that specialized in bariatrics, but in retrospect, I wouldn't change it for anything. I learned so much - not only about surgery, but also about internal medicine, gastroenterology, and radiology. it was like four rotations all in one! the hours were long, but went by so quickly. I really shouldn't say long because I often got to go home before my preceptor did. for perspective, I generally got to the hospital around 6am and was pretty much working until about 6 or 7pm on a regular basis. plus, there was only one weekend of call. granted, that weekend led to twelve straight days of work, but it went by quickly.

most notably during the first month playing doctor, I got a lot of flashbacks to working in Illinois and DC. I guess that's what made it so enjoyable. it was like reliving the experiences I had as an undergrad without the constant stress of 7am tests and a full day of classes after I got off work. it was so great to get back into the clinical setting - both interacting with patients and working with people that reminded me so much of those that reared me as a healthcare provider. its strange to imagine that even though my surgery rotation was only four weeks long, when it came time to do my evaluation and change to psychiatry, I felt as though I had worked there forever.

so now, I'm on psychiatry - a completely different world from surgery. monday was especially awkward. the world that I work in now is much more relaxed in a way. with a couple of exceptions, there isn't the same sense of urgency as with surgery. time never really seems to be a point of concern. truthfully, it may be because the patients themselves often lack a firm grasp of time. however, there hasn't been a constant concern that organs will rupture or a source of internal bleeding needs to be identified. it has been a careful, almost meticulous investigation into what has casued a patient to become so mentally disturbed. so, after getting over the internal need to cut open every patient, psychiatry has become more and more interesting. I have become more interested in it as I spend my days trying to sort out everyone's pathology and that is what I will be doing for the next three weeks.