one week down

...and 11 more to go! I have a feeling that this is going to be a long rotation. Internal Medicine is a whole lot of talking and writing, and not a lot of actual do-ing. For your info, I'll give you a little run down of how our day goes:

Get there around 6:30 and update the sign-out (a database with all of the patients assigned to our team). Once that's done, I usually walk around or check the computer to see how my team's patients did overnight. At 7:25, there is a short meeting, just to see how many patients everyone has, and redistribute as necessary. From then until noon, it's mostly just rounding and seeing patients. At noon, is noon conference (appropriately named). Some are more interesting than others, but all of them are a full hour lecture, so not terribly exciting. They do serve lunch there sometimes though, which is nice. I really love drug reps!

After noon conference, you see patients some more. Again, there is usually plenty of time to study, research, or do whatever you have to do. This may change though once I get on another team, since there are no teaching rounds on my current team. I did get lucky though, and I think I'm on the one team of two students that will get both Christmas and New Years off! We also change teams every two weeks, so I'll get the chance to work with many different doctors and patients. The day typically ends around 4-5, although sometimes a little earlier or later. We do not ever have overnight call, and we don't work many weekend days, so it's a pretty nice schedule!

I also like the hospital so far. Despite rumors I've heard, all of the residents have been very nice to me and very easy to get along with. Some are better teachers than others, but no one has ever been nasty when I've asked a question. There is a huge variety of patients and I think that by the time this is over, I will have seen pretty much anything the step wants to test me on. They also have a pretty nice computerized medical record system, which makes everyone's life easier. So, my current conclusion is that it's a good program with good residents, if not the most interesting rotation. But, that's just because I'm not personally particularly interested in IM.