A Recipe for Disaster

I have to be honest. I wasn't looking forward to my Pediatrics rotation. The thought of dealing with cranky kids all day....everyday...for 5 weeks didn't appeal to my senses. In fact, the crying and screaming I encountered during routine school physicals during the Primary Care rotation was downright frightening! I remember thinking to myself, "Who in their right minds would want to treat children all day long?"

There's been a lot of negative feedback from my fellow students about Peds. A lot of my classmates found it to be a boring rotation. They observed more than they performed. Many of them felt bored and unchallenged.

Now, I can't stand the sound of crying, whining kids! My classmate has had to remind me on numerous occassions that kids are SUPPOSED to cry. He's reminded me that they're SUPPOSED to be brats! They forget to tell you that during the didactic year!

Now, I don't enjoy making babies cry. But, it's my job to inject them with vaccines and they scream bloody murder. I also don't enjoy making kids gag. But, it's my job to make sure I get an adequate throat culture (and it's adequate when they gag!).

It's also part of my job to remain patient and calm when a toddler sneezes in my face, refuses to cooperate, or vomits on the toilet seat when I have to use it!

It seriously is a recipe for disaster!

Well, as it turns out...I am in love with Pediatrics at the moment! And it's mostly because I'm working with a Pediatrician that LOVES being a doctor. He loves being a Pediatrician. He has been practicing for 25 years and he treats each child as if they were his own. Kids adore him and parents respect him. I think he is incredible.

If I had to compare him to a celebrity...he's a mixture of Larry David and Woody Allen. He's brilliant, witty, and has mastered the art of communication. Within seconds of meeting him I felt this was going to be a good experience. It's been almost three weeks and I'm extremely grateful for having been placed in his office.

It also makes up for the fact that I moved out of Brooklyn!

C'est la vie

I've got six more days left in Brooklyn and then I'll be moving back home to Long Island.

SIGH

I'm really going to miss the life that I've created here in the last 10 weeks. I have a great roommate and live in a beautiful apartment. Did I ever mention that I have a door to the backyard in my room and that I wake up to birds singing every morning! Yes, in Brooklyn!

I know what you're thinking. T-rex, if you're so happy living in Brooklyn, why are you going to move home?

Well, here's my answer. My roommate's fiance is moving from the Dominican Republic to Brooklyn a few days after I move out. So, that's one of the reasons. I've thought about finding another apartment, but my next couple of rotations are back on Long Island and finding an apartment is not something that I want to rush. My last 10 weeks here have been a total blessing. Everything went smoothly. There was a lot of room for error, disappointment, and chaos...but it was smooth sailing all the way through. And for that, I am grateful.

My Primary Care rotation ends on Wednesday. On Thursday I have drive back to campus to give a case presentation on a patient I treated during this rotation. I also have an oral quiz on 10 different drugs. During every rotation I have to choose 10 different drugs (3 of them must be psych drugs) and write down their mechanism of action, class, indication, dosage, entry route, precautions, contraindications, interactions, and adverse reactions! After I present my case to a preceptor and 5 of my classmates, I am qujzzed on all of the cards. I have to spit out all of the information that I have written on my card. It ain't easy!

Then on Friday morning I have my end of rotation exam.

Then I have to pack up my belongings and move out of Brooklyn Sunday. I start my Pediatric rotation Monday morning.

C'est la vie.