It’s been awhile since I’ve written. Mostly because I’m too
busy spending time with my family every second I can, trying to study, or
sleeping.
I’ll begin with my internal medicine rotation. So what is
internal medicine anyways? Basically an ‘internist’ is a physician who does
extra training to become an expert at one particular body system. A
cardiologist is an internist, along with an infectious disease doctor, or a
gastroenterologist. This month I’m at an office that does metabolic (mainly
diabetes and lipids (aka: cholesterol)) management and all things endocrine
(thyroid, sex hormones (estrogen and testosterone), adrenal glands (these
produce adrenaline and another hormone called aldosterone that helps us retain
salt), etc). That was a lot of parentheses, so I hope it makes sense. But as
you can imagine, it’s pretty intense and covers A LOT of stuff. My preceptor is
SO smart and has had many years of schooling to become a diabetes expert/lipidologist/endocrinologist.
And he has a biochemistry background to boot.
So what does this mean for me? This means I feel like a
total moron all day, pretty much every day. I spent the first few days just
frantically writing things down and reading, reading, and more reading (on week
3 and mostly still doing this). The office is very fast paced, there isn’t a
lot of time for questions and discussing each patient, so it’s either sink or swim.
I feel like I’ve known the answer to 1% of the questions my preceptor has asked
me, and even half of those I blank on because I’m so nervous and just trying to
process everything I’m learning. I get anxiety about this every morning,
because I am really learning sooo much but just not demonstrating that very
well! Every morning when I head into the office, I just try to put on my game
face and put on my big-girl-PA-student pants.
So anyways, I think my preceptor thinks I’m not very smart
(maybe not, but probably). BUT! Every day I just try to show up with a good
attitude, be proactive and helpful, and demonstrate that I want to learn and be
there. I’m not the smartest student they’ll ever have, but gosh dang it I will
be the most enthusiastic and hardest working one! Like I said, I am learning so
much, and that’s what’s really important so I just need to get over it. This is
just the first rotation I’ve had where I really feel like I knew nothing going
in. It has been an amazing, albeit difficult, month of growth intellectually
and mentally. I feel SO lucky to have the opportunity to rotate there, and I
feel like everything I’ve learned will be so valuable anywhere I end up
working. Also, I’ve found Type 1 diabetes so fascinating. I think I’ll write
another blog post just on that sometime. Another side note: there’s a PA in the
office that graduated from Marietta College!!! My beloved alma mater in Alaska!
Pio nation for life! WOO WOO!
Lastly, on living in Anchorage. I’ve spent the month living
with my big sis, Racheal. We aren’t from here, so this was a
first for me although she’s lived up here a long time. Anchorage’s surroundings
are so beautiful. The city is right up against the huge, amazing Chugach Mountains
but also on the ocean. Something else about Anchorage too is that it has an
AMAZING trail system. You can get from one end of town to the other without
ever crossing a road. HOWEVER! After looking around for a few weeks, I will say
all the buildings in Anchorage are hideous, and the town itself is not very
attractive. The 1970s/1980s were not known for their great architecture. Yuck!
Otherwise, this seems like a great place to live. Lots of good food and outdoor
activities, and that’s about all I need.
This has been such a special month for many reasons. I’ll
never get another opportunity to spend this kind of time with Rach (Seth has
been in Roanoke and Nic, my brother-in-law, is currently deployed). It’s always
wonderful to see my family and my heart is full getting to spend precious time
with them. However, home really is where the heart is, and my heart is in
Roanoke right now. This time up here has flown by so fast, and I’m thankful for
every second of it, but I miss Seth and belong wherever he is. It’s amazing how
you can feel so out of place somewhere you love so much and spent most of your
life when you’re without the one you love.
So I have another week left here, and then back to Roanoke
for 5 days until I leave for North Carolina for another month of being away.
Seth and I are doing just fine, but by this weekend it will have worn on me so
I don’t know how next month will feel. This is month 2/3 of away rotations, and
the last one is the coveted surgery rotation that I’ve been looking forward to.
Hopefully it’ll keep me busy. Until then, onward with one more week of
diabetes, cholesterol, and endocrine management!
