Wednesday, August 18, 2010

First full day!

My Day:

Morning report and lecture - 0730 - 0900
Interesting case of a 5-year-old with unilateral facial droop. Stroke? Bell's Palsy? She had a crazy rare inoperable brainstem tumor. Rare and very poor prognosis.

Joined the NICU team rounds - 0900 - 1130
Quadruplets were among the little ones we rounded on this morning. All have feeding issues and are fed with a tube that goes into their stomachs. They are going to let them try to feed on their own soon. The little tiny ones are so fragile. It seems like a different world in the NICU.

Lunch
In keeping with local customs I decided to try these cup fruits that were all the rage. A nurse came and asked us for orders. The attending was almost jumping up and down he was so excited. An assortment of fruit with lime juice and chili "spices". Interesting. When my fruit cup arrived it looked strange enough to be good. I nearly threw up a few times with the first bite. Not what I was expecting. It somehow robbed the fruit of it's sweetness and left a nasty, spicy aftertaste in my mouth. But I kept eating... Nothing better than a bowl full of fruit. I just pretended the spices weren't there.

Afternoon peds clinic 1245 - 1600
I had my own office with a computer and a patient bed. It was awesome. I would go out to the waiting room and call the patient back. The nurses had already triaged and got vital signs. I have 30 minutes with the patient before I present to the attending. Then the attending comes in and we see the patient together. I love working with kids. I love teaching parents about their children's illness or development. I'm so excited to be a pediatrician. Now I just need to learn how to be a good one!

Exploring, workout and studying 1600 - 2100
I got off base tonight and explored a little more. This is a such a different place. It's unlike anywhere I have ever been. I'm excited to get into down town and explore some more. San Antonio is huge. I love having free membership to a gym. Such a stress reliever at the end of the day! Time to hit the books.

4 comments:

  1. I can't believe you finished that fruit cup. Ew Ew Ew Ew Ew. I nearly threw up reading your experience. haha!

    I'm SO excited for you to be an "official" pediatrician. You are already so amazing. The kids and parents that get you are so lucky. A good pediatrician makes all the difference in the world for parents' sanity.

    Sure love ya!

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  2. Sorry about the fruit cup. I think I would have thrown mine out. Or I know I would of. SICK!!

    Kent you are going to be an amazing pediatrician. You are so good with kids- it's AMAZING!!

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  3. Way to go Kent! I'm so proud of you and what you are doing. You will be a great Doc. Love you Dad

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  4. Now that is one FULL day with lots of varied experiences. There is no question about good - you'll be a FANTASTIC pediatrician. Wonder if they do that intentionally to the new guys with the fruit cups maybe yours was the only one with all the spices. Who knows, maybe you'll crave them in a couple of weeks.

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