Treat Your Trich

I experienced my first consult through texting today and I don't really recommend it. I happen to know this girl personally. This girl's name is Tinkerbell (don't want to go violating HIPPA). Her first text asked if I knew how to treat trichomoniasis aka "trich". It just so happens that I do know how to treat it. It's treated with a 2 gram dose of metronidazole (Rx only). So I replied with the treatment and she was less than thrilled with my answer. She then asked if she could take something OTC instead. "Trich" is caused by a protozoan parasite so obviously this isn't going to go away with your dose of everyday run-of-the-mill Monistat. She of course was bummed with this answer and then asked if it was just an infection, no big deal right? It was then apparent to me that this girl had no idea she was dealing with one of the nastiest looking and smelling STDs out there (the term frothy is actually used in the medical description!) I took the liberty of educating her that it was an STD and if she didn't treat the infection and her partner's infection she could become infertile. That reply shut her up for a good 45 minutes. I then received a phone call from Tinkerbell telling me that she was asking about a "friend" of hers.

This "friend" apparently went to the drug store and bought an OTC Trich test. This is news to me. Since when is Rite Aide selling STD kits? THEY DON'T!!! While this would be a fantastic way to make a fortune nobody has figured out a way to manufacture these yet. All I can picture in my mind is a little stick you pee on then match the color change up with the approriately colored STD listed on the reference card. It's genius, but not possible. The girl deserves credit for originality at the very least. I had to set her straight. So I did and I gave her a a "safe sex" talk on top of it. We don't need an outbreak of Trich occuring now, especially when I'm three days away from starting my Women's Health clinical!!

You never know what's going to walk through that door.

Last week I was doing office visits which tend to get a little rountine and monotonous. It was the next to last appointment of the day and was just a follow-up so I assumed we'd be in and out in no time. HA...famous last words!

I could hear her coming down the hall. She was yelling because she was here to see the doctor no one else. After 5 minutes of convincing her that we were all qualified to do this and that she could talk to the doc before she left, she finally caved. The first red flag came when she told me that the 30 day heart monitor she had been wearing was causing her to have heart attacks everyday. That's impossible because a heart monitor can only MONITOR you. I let that one slide chalking it up to her lack of education. I proceeded with her H&P and found that she was convinced all the doctors in the world had a conspiracy against her and weren't telling her that they screwed up somewhere. Now I'm thinking that she is looking to sue someone. Which is just great because now I have to walk on egg shells and think twice before I say anything. I finished her phyisical exam and asked if there was anything else. She then told me that "there's a lot going on inside my body." I didnt comment but she just kept going. She then told me that people snuck into her house at night and "cut her hymen off" while she was sleeping. CRRAAZZYY! First of all, we all know that you can not cut that thing off! Second of all, who talks about their vagina in a cardiologist office! Lucky me...

I just sat and stared, probably with my mouth hanging open. She didn't stop there. Next she said that little people have figured out a way to get inside of her body and are controlling her from the inside out. It was at this time that I decided that she did indeed need to see the doctor! W-O-W. And this isn't even a psych rotation. I'm afraid to see what's coming through that door next.

History in the Making

When I got up this morning I thought it was just going to be another routine day in the OR. Boy was I wrong. I quickly learned that there is no such thing as an ordinary day in medicine. The human body is sometimes unpredicatable since no two people are created the same. To make a long story short, we were putting a device into a patient's chest called a biventricular pacemaker. It's a little more involved than the typical pacemaker implant. I won't bore you all with the details but basically the doctor ran into a vessel that he could not get through. Instead of stopping and giving up he decided to try a technique he saw once when he was in France a year ago. It worked!! This procedure is not being done in the US so it was a big deal. Being a part of a ground breaking procedure is not something I thought I would be doing in my very first clinical in Scranton Pennsylvania! I feel very blessed to have a mentor that is this talented yet so willing to teach me as much as he can in the short amount of time we are given. I wonder what tomorrow will bring...

Welcome all!

I had a few requests from people to start a blog about what I was experiencing in school. So here it is folks. Enjoy...or not.

The last year of my life has revolved around 12 hours of class every day followed by 6-7 hours of studying afterwards and at least 3 exams per week. Needless to say it doesnt sound like much of a life. It was the hardest and most trying year of my life but I can't say that it was the worst year. I made some great friends and learned more about medicine than I thought was possible. I also learned a great deal about myself and what I am capable of accomplishing. Some people well tell you to join the military to find out what you are truely made of, I would argue and say go to PA school!

Now that the first year is over we are faced with yet another challenge that seems impossible to overcome: clinicals. Real patients are placed in our inexperienced hands and we are expected to find the correct way to make them better. "You want me to do what?!?" is a question that runs through my mind at least four times a day. Some days the information thrown at us seems impossible to learn and you ask yourself what in the world am I doing this for. Then there's other days, the days when it all seems to click and you help that patient get one more step closer to recovery, and you know exactly why you chose this profession. Those are the moments each and every one of us live for.