Nick has successfully completed his first full week of Internal Medicine rotations, and so far, so good! His first day he dove right in offering to take the less ideal jobs that the higher up residents did not want to do. This doesn't surprise me at all. Unlike some medical students, Nick worked in the hospital for 2 years before attending SGU. He is used to getting his hands dirty and being the low guy on the totem poll. There are very few tasks that phase him- and actually, he is eager and willing to do all and any that get thrown his way!
An added perk so far has been that Nick has a "noon conference" every day which includes a catered lunch! Some days it is better than others but either way, this wifey (and our bank account) enjoy not having to make to lunches every day!
The first week involved a little bit of everything- from having his own patients to check in with/report on during rounds, attending lectures, shadowing on exciting cases, and overall just getting oriented to St. John's Hospital. Some days he comes home feeling like he is on top of his game and other days he comes home and quickly sticks his head in a medical book- eager to learn more to have a better understanding the next day.
His schedule for Internal Med has been pretty good with his hospital day starting roughly around 7:00AM and ending anywhere between 3:00- 6:00PM and he works some weekends, but not all. His day rarely is over when he walks in the door however, because there is usually something he wants to learn up on before bed... but all in all not a terrible schedule for his first rotation!
He is learning so much and comes home with interesting/exciting stories every day and it's crazy how much he has learned already in such a short period of time! They sure do work these med students hard! :)
FIRST: I miss seeing you and Nick around the island! Maybe around Christmas, or after, we could meet for dinner? I'm sure Moe would love to hear about Nick's experience!
ReplyDeleteSECOND: Are you going to post photos of your HOUSE?! Especially the dishwasher? haha. Just kidding.
THIRD: You'll have such an easier time to make any recipe at home. You'll be able to find every ingredient and you'll be able to do it for less. haha.
FOURTH: Have you had any luck with the job search?
Counting is getting annoying to me. It's really crazy that even the students get the beeper. Gosh. I thought their schedule was more set in stone than others. But, I guess the real deal isn't so bad, right? :-/ I guess it sets them up for being prepared for residency!
Tammy!!! We MISS the island!!! Fall is pretty much here as the weather is becoming crisp- and I know we both share a love for fall- so I am SO happy to be here for fall, but nevertheless, would love a Grenada visit!
DeleteUnfortunately, we've hit roadblock after roadblock with our house so we haven't moved yet!! :( We SHOULD be in within the month though, then you can bet there will be UPDATES!
Job hunting is an annoying process, but Ive had several interviews and have a few leads, but nothing has panned out yet.. so still a waiting game. Since we arent settled yet, it's almost been a blessing in disguise, but financially a job would be SO NICE. C'mon Michigan job economy help a sista out!
Clinicals are MUCH better than the classroom portion. Hours definitely seem to vary not only by rotation, but also by the hospital at which one is placed. Some require the students to do long hours on call regularly, whereas others (Detroit) rarely has the students remain on call or at the hospital over night. The hours can definitely be long on certain days and some rotations are much intense than others. Internal Med hasn't been too bad so far. He has to be at the hospital around 7am on most days and is home between 3-7 usually and some days has more studying to do than others, but at least he's home! And even if the days get long, he feels so much more "Doctor-ish" that he rarely has complaints because he loves it! So far he has only worked 1 Saturday (and he has to work next Saturday) but for the most part has the weekends off which is SO NICE and a big perk!! You guys will be back in the states before you know it! Life post Step- even when clinicals get crazy, is SO MUCH BETTER! Any thoughts on where you guys want to do clinicals? How's Moe's term going?? We'd def love to meet up when you are home for Christmas! :)
So, term 4 is pretty overwhelming. It's stressful for him, and he keeps saying things like, "I don't know about this term," and that scares me. I feel like I have this lump in my stomach most of the time. but.. I'm trying to be positive and less nervous, because being nervous isn't really a good feeling. I think Moe likes the material, but it is a lot of time that they're in class, and he didn't do amazing on the unified, so.. he's a little nervous. In 2 weeks the midterms start. He has one on the 23rd, and then the 30th, so I think the space is better, but, we'll see. Cross your fingers, haha. :)
ReplyDeleteThe hours sound pretty awesome, I mean it's doing "doctor-ish" things as you said, so it's one step closer to doing what Nick (Moe, and WE) hope for, so definitely it makes sense! :) Other terms haven't been so overwhelming with the times, i mean, this one is just crazy. I mean, he's basically in class from 8:00-5:00 almost every day! It's really crazy. I'm really hopeful it will be fine though. I'm definitely ready for the next part. :)
I think we're probably thinking Michigan, still. I mean, I don't know. I think it's comforting that you guys got it, and Nicci and Dave did too, which, we're also from Michigan, so hopefully SGU doesn't pull some BS or something. So, we talked about it, I think MI, then NJ, and then CT, or something. I don't really want to go to CA, (and some people have said not amazing things about the CA rotations, too) it's so far! More than a few hours in the car to get home, you know? So.. Anyway, that's where it's at for us at this point. When the time comes, maybe Moe will change his mind.
That's a bummer about the house. and for Nick, what a commute. :-/ At least it's early enough that maybe he's missing the traffic.. Maybe.
I'm completely missing fall, but, I've heard it's super HOT today. so, maybe it's not really fall yet? :) haha. BUT when it cools off then you can enjoy all things fall. Cider mills, pumpkin patches, pumpkin spice lattes (I'm SO missing these).. You know, here it's raining all the time. Haha. I feel like there is way more rain this season than last season. It's not raining for 5 minutes and stopping, it's raining for 10-20 minutes and then stopping. It's so strange. Hopefully it will help once the dry season hits, but, who knows.
Job searching is a huge pain in the butt! :( But, I do understand not worrying about finding a job and having to worry about figuring out the house situation and work for yourself. You'll find something! I truthfully don't envy your search, though. :-/ Hopefully once you're settled into your house things will be able to focus more on finding a job.
We don't get home until RIGHT before Christmas. The 23rd, so maybe after that we can meet up for some dinner!