Clinic

Today I volunteered at one of the student-run clinics at UCD. I know it's still really early in the year and we've learned very minimal skills in relation to patient care (blood draws and flu vaccine administration!), but since it's a non-quiz weekend, I figured I might as well get started. The clinic I chose was the same one I had toured after my interview back in September (can't believe it's been almost one year!).

And it was GREAT! At first, one of my fellow MS1s and I tagged along with an MS2 so that we could observe the interview and physical exam. And then, my classmate and I teamed up to see our patient, present our notes to the preceptor, and present the assessment and plan to the patient. I'm really glad we teamed up for our first patient, because we each jumped in to ask questions the other may have forgotten. It felt like a comfortable transition. And then we wrote up a SOAP note after discharging our patient. A SOAP note stands for Subjective (what the patient tells you) Objective (exam and test results) Assessment (diagnosis and rationale) Plan (course of action, e.g. prescriptions, diet/exercise modifications, follow up appointment, etc.). Basically, a write up of the entire encounter so that the next time the patient comes in and another medical student is assigned to the case, they have an idea of what transpired.

Writing that SOAP note was more challenging than I thought! I've written countless reports for the research studies I worked on since undergrad. Each time I interviewed a study subject, I wrote up an assessment note, but I think it's just getting acquainted with the divisions of the SOAP note, which is a little different from what I'm used to. Common theme of medical school: everything is an adjustment! :)

But I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Yes, it's a lot of work. More work than I anticipated. But the human body is such a beautiful thing. And being in clinic reminds you of why you want to be a physician. Six hours of class leaves me exhausted. But six hours of clinic just flew on by. It was a really great experience and I'm glad I did it. I've scheduled a couple more days in September in different clinics, to see how it goes and which clinic fits me the best.

I still haven't experimented too much with cooking yet. I have a lot of food in my freezer (thanks, mom!) that I've been heating up everyday since I've been spending so much time studying. But I think going into week 3, I've learned to make some modifications in my study habits so hopefully I will have more time to cook. I miss reading books, too. Gone are the days when I would spend an hour reading at night. Hopefully, I can pick that up again soon.