roberts 15 - day 5

The more time I spend on this floor, the more I think about reconsidering going into the field of internal medicine. I used to think that being a general physician would be interesting; each and every patient would be unique. Thus, it could never get boring, but now it seems as if this particular profession might be a little too mundane for me. A part of me wants to go into a specialty, so everyday would seem exciting. (Maybe even surgery?) I guess when it comes down to it; what kind of doctor do I want to be?

When I first started thinking about becoming a doctor, I wanted to be your typical family physician. I wanted to do annual check ups and diagnose patients. I wanted to be there for families, watch them grow, and build that doctor-patient relationship of trust. But now I realized that I want something more hands on. Maybe internal medicine will satisfy my need, but maybe there is another area that is better suited for me. I guess we'll just have to see. This makes me really worried though because if I were to go to a medical school in the Caribbean, then I may not be able to go into a specialty that I might be interested in. *sigh* There's so much to consider when applying for medical school.

Things I learned today:
- what to do with a patient's paperwork when they are discharged
- inserting patient information into the computer is very tedious
- after a visit with the patient, doctors report their diagnose over the phone
- there's all different types of doctors: from shy to really outgoing (YES! I have a chance! ^_^)
- doctors/nurses of the same ethnicity tend to work together in the same area
- everyone calls each other by their first names (I wonder if I'll get used to this)
- all of the nurses are very motherly

Favorite thing of the day:
I've become more confident in answering the phone. One of my biggest fears is answering the phone, making public announcements, and speaking in front of a group of people. I'm slowly mastering it. *crosses fingers*