i miss the robots

as my time on electives winds down (all two weeks), i am looking forward to returning to the general psych ward.  i miss my delusional d/o and schizophrenia patients.  i miss being called names.  i also miss feeling like a i contribute in some way.

 unfortunately, on the gero-psych unit, i am mostly in the way.  my day begins with reading the patient charts to see what happened through the night.  if the doc hasn’t arrived, i may or may not see patients – this part is up to me.  he will in no way use my note, no reading or co-signing.  if i talk to the patients and write a note, it is only for the practice of writing a note and practicing the mse (mental status exam).  unfortunately, this is what most of third year is like.  you have to be extremely proactive, which isn’t always a bad thing, but to some degree, i would like someone to tell me what to do – what my responsibilities are.

anyway, after i have seen several patients, i sit around and wait for the doctor to show up.  if it’s a day like today, he doesn’t.  i wait and wait, study a little, wait some more.  finally, at noon, i get fed up and leave, telling the nurses that i have lecture in the afternoon at another hospital, which is true, but my lecture isn’t until 3 pm.  at first, i felt bad doing this, but when the doctor isn’t there, and i have fulfilled my obligations, i’m not going to hang around when i could go eat lunch, then spend the afternoon studying and being productive in other ways as well.

don’t get me wrong, the doctor is a really nice, and he’s a good doctor, but he’s not a good teacher.  i also admit he’s a very busy man.  he is often there until 8 pm seeing patients and making sure they’re all doing well.  i have seen him sit down for 30-40 minutes with families to discuss care goals regarding their parents.  he is an exception to the rule, and clearly loves his job.