Week of July 13, 2005
Hello from the libraire -
Well, my week was starting ok until I read the email from Scott that Navin was bitten by one of the dogs in the apartment complex. Things always acquire a grander significance when one is 12,000 miles away. Navin is fine and my pediatrician sister, Anu, was just a phone call away. Naren appears to be well, thank goodness.
The Tabers went on vacation last week and left the house to me. Colleen had told me that'd be therapeutic, but I had no idea how much so. It was quite fabulous, and I rented a bunch of movies from the lib to keep the evenings occupied after I had completed my evening walk in this lovely area. The Tabers' cat and I also bonded, and I can't say I was ever a cat person, but this cat caused a few of my opinions to change. They are independent, opinionated beasts, w/ quite distinct personalities, and I liked this one.
Work has been fun. I started work at a clinic ("Barton") that Citizens' Health Corporation runs in one of the housing projects. The work is good and often I get the impression that what I am doing makes a difference. "We do what we can with what we have." A 90 yo woman came in for a routine checkup, and she was doing very well, knock on wood. Hearing intact, walking on her own, all grace and courtesy - what a delight. With all patients, we are to run down a standard list of questions - "Gut ok? Any aches and pains? Are you depressed?" - which is called "the review of systems." One day, as I did this, the patient I was then seeing - a 60 yo woman - said, "Well, yes, you could say I am depressed." And then she mentioned that her 35 yo son had Aids, acquired from sharing an IV drug needle. She then wept, and I held her hand silently as she wept and talked, and then wept more. All this from a routine question - the power of the spoken word is enormous. Thankfully, the social worker at Barton had access to support groups and we referred this lady there.
Back at our regular clinic, a young couple came in and the lady had belly pains. She had been diagnosed w/ a gall bladder problem months prior and had missed a follow-up appointment at the county hospital ("Wishard"). On being asked why the miss, she stated that she was new to town, did not know the bus system but was currently more familiar. I don't like it when our patients miss follow-ups as it takes months to get these appointments. I called over to Wishard to evaluate my options w/ this patient and the emergency room doc told me to send her over there. When we told the couple this, they said, "We have no way of getting there." Once Scott got a mug for his best friend which had the most appropriate saying, "Pardon me, you've mistaken me for someone who gives a ----." (The friend liked it.) I felt like that here: we'd made a follow-up, for that day, the patients had assured me they were familiar w/ the bus system and now were telling me they were logistically-challenged. On probing further, we were told that a friend had dropped them at the clinic and would pick them up later. I told the couple the huge importance of keeping the appt, that if they had kept the prior appt the problem would not have now recurred, told them their transportation woes were theirs to solve and left. I was actually irritated and truly could not figure out why they were telling us their transportation woes; any hope of my pulling some bux out of my pocket were long ago given a reality check by Scott ("Don't ever do that b'cos you'll have patients lining up and not just for medical care, either").
I got to walk this week w/ Sonia, a friend, and that was fun; these walks are always plenty rejuvenating. I also got a lovely package of clothes from my med school classmate, Emily McNellis (who is expecting twins). (Emily sat next to her husband, Ryan, in med school and one day very early in 1st year, when the anatomy professor said, "Look around you - you unmarried students may end up marrying the one sitting next to you," Em seriously wondered if she would. And she did.) I don't buy too many pretty things for myself - not out of any deprivation agenda, but b'cos priorities have shifted esp after living w/ tiny closets, and I certainly do buy something if I absolutely must have it - but have to say these clothes were gorgeous. Emily read my mind, including lightweight and light-colored cotton clothes that I will get a lot of use out of in India.
My time here is winding down. The 3 Weiss men sound ready for it to end. It will be nice to be w/ them again. The work experience here has been great - and getting paid for what I do continues to be novel and fabulous.
Until next week -
Well, my week was starting ok until I read the email from Scott that Navin was bitten by one of the dogs in the apartment complex. Things always acquire a grander significance when one is 12,000 miles away. Navin is fine and my pediatrician sister, Anu, was just a phone call away. Naren appears to be well, thank goodness.
The Tabers went on vacation last week and left the house to me. Colleen had told me that'd be therapeutic, but I had no idea how much so. It was quite fabulous, and I rented a bunch of movies from the lib to keep the evenings occupied after I had completed my evening walk in this lovely area. The Tabers' cat and I also bonded, and I can't say I was ever a cat person, but this cat caused a few of my opinions to change. They are independent, opinionated beasts, w/ quite distinct personalities, and I liked this one.
Work has been fun. I started work at a clinic ("Barton") that Citizens' Health Corporation runs in one of the housing projects. The work is good and often I get the impression that what I am doing makes a difference. "We do what we can with what we have." A 90 yo woman came in for a routine checkup, and she was doing very well, knock on wood. Hearing intact, walking on her own, all grace and courtesy - what a delight. With all patients, we are to run down a standard list of questions - "Gut ok? Any aches and pains? Are you depressed?" - which is called "the review of systems." One day, as I did this, the patient I was then seeing - a 60 yo woman - said, "Well, yes, you could say I am depressed." And then she mentioned that her 35 yo son had Aids, acquired from sharing an IV drug needle. She then wept, and I held her hand silently as she wept and talked, and then wept more. All this from a routine question - the power of the spoken word is enormous. Thankfully, the social worker at Barton had access to support groups and we referred this lady there.
Back at our regular clinic, a young couple came in and the lady had belly pains. She had been diagnosed w/ a gall bladder problem months prior and had missed a follow-up appointment at the county hospital ("Wishard"). On being asked why the miss, she stated that she was new to town, did not know the bus system but was currently more familiar. I don't like it when our patients miss follow-ups as it takes months to get these appointments. I called over to Wishard to evaluate my options w/ this patient and the emergency room doc told me to send her over there. When we told the couple this, they said, "We have no way of getting there." Once Scott got a mug for his best friend which had the most appropriate saying, "Pardon me, you've mistaken me for someone who gives a ----." (The friend liked it.) I felt like that here: we'd made a follow-up, for that day, the patients had assured me they were familiar w/ the bus system and now were telling me they were logistically-challenged. On probing further, we were told that a friend had dropped them at the clinic and would pick them up later. I told the couple the huge importance of keeping the appt, that if they had kept the prior appt the problem would not have now recurred, told them their transportation woes were theirs to solve and left. I was actually irritated and truly could not figure out why they were telling us their transportation woes; any hope of my pulling some bux out of my pocket were long ago given a reality check by Scott ("Don't ever do that b'cos you'll have patients lining up and not just for medical care, either").
I got to walk this week w/ Sonia, a friend, and that was fun; these walks are always plenty rejuvenating. I also got a lovely package of clothes from my med school classmate, Emily McNellis (who is expecting twins). (Emily sat next to her husband, Ryan, in med school and one day very early in 1st year, when the anatomy professor said, "Look around you - you unmarried students may end up marrying the one sitting next to you," Em seriously wondered if she would. And she did.) I don't buy too many pretty things for myself - not out of any deprivation agenda, but b'cos priorities have shifted esp after living w/ tiny closets, and I certainly do buy something if I absolutely must have it - but have to say these clothes were gorgeous. Emily read my mind, including lightweight and light-colored cotton clothes that I will get a lot of use out of in India.
My time here is winding down. The 3 Weiss men sound ready for it to end. It will be nice to be w/ them again. The work experience here has been great - and getting paid for what I do continues to be novel and fabulous.
Until next week -
posted by Renu Weiss at
12:46 PM
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