8th Quarter

We are officially into our 8th term at University of Western States.  The transition from student to intern is brutal.  It seems as if no matter how good of student you are, at times, the transition makes you wish you chose a different path in life.

The fact is, we are being forced on many levels to be doctors.  Despite public perception of what a doctor is supposed to be, our school, our profession for that matter, makes us become doctors in every facet.  We live the lives of uncertainty and hope our past schooling has prepared us to give answers that are competent and trustworthy.  Some knowledge has been mastered but gaps form when patients ask us questions and the answers are lost in brain matter tucked away at the top shelf of some random closet.  When we go digging for the answer, the information becomes present and accessible if needed.  It's as if we have to be forced to make connections with the material we've learned in real life situations before we can be truly competent and confident with the information.  Weird.

The quarter was very exciting at first.  Lots of time being spent in the clinic, new patients to get to know and a new system to master.  Now that we've had a few months to adjust, there is a new attempt being made to take the next step to outpatient care.  The first tier gets your feet wet and the second increases your responsibility.  Not only do you need to be confident in your diagnostic skills and treatment skills, but you have to be able to portray this to the public in a professional manner.  Sure, the students we treat are the public but they are students who have more of a grasp on what we other students are going through.  There is a silent compassion that exists amongst each and everyone of us.  That is deep!

In time, we will proceed to more and more responsibility and with that new found responsibility comes lots of work!  Reports due quickly after patient visits, outcome markers tracked diligently, new patient referrals from current patients - on and on it goes.

The web is growing for each and every one of us.

All for now