Internal Medicine, a different beast

I have finally crossed the finish line of my internal medicine rotation. This was definitely the longest and most gruesome rotation I’ve been on. It was 8 weeks long which felt like 8 months. Usually you would do 4 weeks of general medicine (admitting patients from ED or ICU and handling all of their inpatient needs) and 4 weeks of a specialty–like cardiology, infectious disease, nephrology, etc.–that is more of a consult service (see patients for a specific reason and don’t manage any other part of their illness). On a specialty team, things are a little more chill than on a general team. I unfortunately ended up with 2 general medicine blocks. Each 4 week block I was allowed 3 days off–that was all. So I was just exhausted pretty much all the time, and I felt like I couldn’t make time to rest because I has so much to study (very unlike me). It was just terrible. I’m so scared to be a resident now after watching what they do.

I will say that I have a lot more confidence in handling various patient presentations. I can manage a COPD or heart failure exacerbation with my eyes closed. And I’ve gotten more efficient in writing progress notes each day for patients and in writing hospital courses for patients I’m discharging. So my countless hours in the hospital were not in vain. I’m thankful to have had good residents who were patient with me and took the time to teach me as much as possible. Now my hours spent studying on the other hand…those quite possibly were in vain because the way I felt while I was taking that shelf exam………

It was so hard! And I studied and prayed so hard and really pushed myself for 2 months so that I could feel prepared going into it, which I actually did! I was ready. But y’all, the makers of they test had something else in store for me that morning. I left my soul behind in the exam room as I walked out haha. Despite that, I still have faith that my God will reward my steadfastness with an acceptable score and I will rejoice in His goodness and mercy. I did my best and at this point, there’s nothing left for me to do.

This weekend was amazing because I was able to celebrate with both my friends and family. One of my good friends in my medical school class recently turned 25! Happy birthday again Jasmine! So on Friday, a group of us were in Atlanta for dinner and a fun night out at Josephine’s Lounge. Then on Saturday, my big sister graduated from pharmacy school! It was so awesome to bear witness to such an accomplishment. My parents came as well as a very close aunt; I enjoyed the family time. Today (Sunday) was a day for me. I slept in until after 10am, washed my hair, went to church, went grocery shopping and cooked for the week, and I watched some TV while I styled my hair. All and all, this weekend was a great balance and much needed to somewhat recover from internal medicine.

Next up is my Neurology rotation! I don’t have much interest in neurology, but honestly I’m just happy to have my weekends back and hopefully be working more reasonable hours. I’m going in with an open mind, we’ll see what the next 4 weeks will bring!

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Have a wonderful week!