The joys of a small town ER

Welcome to clerkship! It has officially begun. For almost two weeks now I have been unleashed on the hospitals of the world (currently Norfolk General Hospital in Simcoe) to magically cure the sick and wounded. And of course, by magically cure I actually mean - wander around feeling really dumb and hope that the nurses take pity on me.

My usual day goes a little something like this:
8:00am - arrive at the hospital

8:05 - explain to the nurses in the OR for the 5 millionth time that I am a med student and I just need some scrubs for working in the ER, and then listen to them grumble about how the ER should have their own stockpile of scrubs

8:10 - see my first patient

8:15 - talk to the nurses about how my patient has had a cold for 2 weeks and somehow miraculously decided that today was the day they felt sick enough to bypass their family doctor and head straight to the ER

8:30 - present the case to my attending doctor, and get the diagnosis completely wrong

9:00-11:00 - random cases with varying degrees of success (lots of people with chest pain and difficulty breathing....very few hot guys who like to hit on med students. Television has lied to me all these years!)

lunch timeish - get handed a chart amongst muffled laughter and giggles...only to realize that I am being forced to perform yet another rectal exam because hey - the med student would definitely want to stick their finger up as many butts as possible!

2:00 - realize I never ate lunch and run away to the nurses lounge for a solid 15 minutes of peace and quiet

midafternoonish - watch a surgeon put back together someone's finger or toe that they have somehow managed to lop off in some stupid random accident

5:00 - start list of things I should really review and learn tonight

7:00 - head home

7 to 8 - make dinner with sara while discussing what we have learned today, why the OR nurses are so mean, why the internal med doctor likes to yell so much, and how funny small towns are

10pm - so tired I can't keep my eyes open, so I decide the homework will have to wait until tomorrow

Now don't get me wrong - I love it here. I am learning a ton and having a blast. On my first night shift the doctor decided to have an impromptu suturing session at 3am which involved rounding up a lot of fruit, pulling out every different suture and tool we could find, and performing some very detailed surgery in the minor procedures room! I have started IVs, attempted to draw blood (please not that says 'attempted' - and a special thanks goes out to the 86 year old man who claimed that I didn't hurt him at all), injected dyes, watched C-sections, analyzed EKGs, ordered labs and xrays, consulted with other doctors on the phone (while putting on my very best - I am quite intelligent and not one bit afraid of you - type voice that I could!) and even attended some luncheons and talks for hospital staff. I get to chat with Police officers and Paramedics on a daily basis, and on super fun days there are Psych workers wandering around too!

I had almost forgotten how wonderful it is to be in a small town. We went to the movies...totally old school seating, barely any heat, but the best popcorn I've ever had. I have been for beer and wings with the nurses at the local pub which still allows smoking. Toured the local christmas lights. Had free breakfast at the Rotary Club (those people are WAY too cheery early in the morning...I think its a cult). Scouted out the Canadian Tire and spent some time wandering aimlessly through it. I have even found the best shoe store in town!

And the best part of all is that my supervisor has decided that since I have put in so much time at the hospital, he is going to let me off early for christmas! I am afraid that my well laid plans of boycotting christmas have gone right out the window and I am totally filled with happy holiday spirit :)

Lots of love
Pamela

p.s. Look forward to pictures eventually....that darn cord to connect camera to computer has gone missing again!