So I started working my family practice rotation, which is basically 8 weeks of working in a doctors office.
I got assigned to a super chill place. The preceptor is awesome and anytime there isn't much going on he will take time to teach you some cool tricks of the trade like how to give painless shots, or how to draw blood on anyone easy (hint: a blood pressure cuff is involved).
The actual site is really cool, there is even an "office" for the students. Actually its an exam room with extra chairs thrown in and 7 of us fit in there, but still. Its an office. An office!!!! With places to sit and study!!! And plenty of needles in the cabinet to practice with!!!
One thing I'm learning a lot about is how to make money. Family practice physicians make almost nothing, sometimes nurses are paid more than they are. So this doctor has become a master of balancing insurance crap while making sure every patient gets awesome care. But because there is so much pressure on family practice physicians to cover their expenses, a lot of the practice becomes centered around making money.
Its not really my favorite way of thinking but it is good to know. I'd prefer to think that I'd be doing things for patients because they need it, not because they might need it and the office will get more money from the insurance company that way.
But other than that its been super slow so far. Maybe thats cuz my only other significant experiance was the ER. But it could also be that there are so many students here we really only get to see a couple patients a day if we split them up. On the bright side, we have had a lot of time to bond. Actually planning a poker tournament tomorrow in our office, using alcohol wipes and butterfly needles as chips.
Here's to hopefully an easier time than the last rotation :)
Things I saw today:
-A patient who needed refils on medicine
-A patient who had headaches cuz she is anemic and hasn't been taking her iron pills
