Island Med Student

Today was my first day of rotating in a hospital as a medical student. I was assigned to internal medicine, and basically followed the attending physician and intern around the wards with two other med students. This is actually supposed to be a transition semester. I’m finished with the basic sciences, but don’t know enough about the clinical world to begin my official rotations, so I have 12 weeks to learn the ropes.

The hospital where I’m rotating is a pretty far cry from the hospitals that I’m used to working at in the States. The halls have no walls, since there is no air conditioning. Many of the beds and rooms are quite dilapidated. There is no MRI machine or even “nurse call” buttons. However, the hospital actually runs surprisingly well. The hierarchy of nurses and doctors is pretty similar, and many of the protocols are almost identical.

Since today was my first day, I had absolutely no idea what to do. Combine that with the fact that I was in a different country, with different rules, and you have one very confused Kendra. I spent a good 30% of the day just standing around with a confused look on my face, smiling at all the doctors, nurses, and patients as they walked by. A few patients approached me with questions, and of course I had no idea of the answer, so I had to redirect them to someone who would.

Eventually, I learned where to find the charts and started familiarizing myself with the various colors that are used for lab work, doctors’ orders, prescriptions, etc. I read through a few patients’ charts, and looked up the various drug names that I didn’t know.

As we rounded with the attending physician, she began to drill us on diseases, meds and tests. Because I have not picked up a medical book in over a month, I thought that I had most likely lost everything that I had learned. But I soon realized that I was able to answer most of her questions.

Later on, I observed the intern do a urinary catheterization on a patient who was somewhat demented and uncooperative. I could tell that she was having a hard time, so I instinctively grabbed a pair of gloves and helped hold the patient still and tried to calm him down. I could tell that she was pleased to see me jump up and help, without her having to ask, and afterwards I was glad that I hadn’t just stood there with a glazed look on my face.

So, I would say that although I felt pretty silly standing around most of the day, not really knowing what to do, I actually had an amazing day. I still feel pretty incompetent, and know that I have a lot to learn. But the desire to learn is burning inside me, and I think that’s probably the most important thing right now.

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