Scott’s first internal medicine rotation was scheduled through the holidays, but we were lucky to still be able to celebrate together. He started at the Samaritan Albany General Hospital the Sunday night before Christmas and then had three days off, through Christmas Day! We celebrated a quiet Christmas together at our apartment in Lebanon – the first we’ve ever had with just us, no other family. Unfortunately, Scott had to work New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Night. So my New Year’s Eve equated to a series of BBC chick flicks and falling asleep before 10:30 Pm. Since I had time off on New Year’s Day, I did get a little time to bring in the new year with my husband after he woke up and before he needed to leave again for the hospital. Oh the life of a student doctor!
The preceptor physician that had charge over Scott was very organized with this rotation. Scott was asked to submit patient history and encounter notes for preceptor feedback. This is a good practice to go through, for the student to ensure that their notes are complete and accurate. His preceptor also asked Scott to write a draft letter to the family of a patient who passed away under their care. Wow! This was something that Scott had never done in practice before and welcomed advice from his attending physician.
During this four-week rotation, Scott worked one full week of 10-12 hour nights (plus his first night) and the rest of his working hours were 10-12 hour day shifts. While in Internal Medicine he had to do CPR twice and was able to sit in on an endoscopy. Most common complaints were pneumonia, upper GI bleeds, and of course, the flu.
Next Up: Psych
