11/2/2011
Today there was no clinic because it was a national holiday celebrating Dia de los Muertos.
11/3/2011
For my first day in this new clinic I was placed with Doctora Adriana. She was very kind and really pushed me to get the most out of my experience. She introduced me as Dr. Jason from the US to every patient and then asked the patients to tell me what was bothering them. After they told me their issues, she would have me ask the patients questions and answer any of their questions. It put a lot of pressure on me because I am limited in my Spanish medical vocabulary and general medical knowledge, but it forced me to learn fast. After my attempt at a consultation, the doctor would jump in and finish, while explaining to the patient and me the proper protocol for each patient’s situation.
The most interesting case of the day was a couple that was expecting their first baby in 2 months. The husband was HIV positive and there was concern for the baby. Some tests were run on the mother and the developing baby, and we were happy to hear that the baby was HIV negative and normal. Although, the doctor still suggested the woman have a C-section to decrease the stress on the baby, just in case there were any other issues we were missing.
Another case involved a woman who has been having digestive issues and blood in her stool for the past couple of months. Again, Dra. Adriana had me lead the consultation, except this time I didn’t feel like I was thrown into the deep end because of my previous experience with a similar case in my first clinic. I listened and touched the woman’s stomach, pinpointing where her pain was. Next, I performed percussions on the stomach, which clarified my suspicions that the woman had an intestinal infection. It turns out I was right, so we prescribed the woman with some antibiotics and scheduled to see her again in two weeks.
The most interesting case of the day was a couple that was expecting their first baby in 2 months. The husband was HIV positive and there was concern for the baby. Some tests were run on the mother and the developing baby, and we were happy to hear that the baby was HIV negative and normal. Although, the doctor still suggested the woman have a C-section to decrease the stress on the baby, just in case there were any other issues we were missing.
Another case involved a woman who has been having digestive issues and blood in her stool for the past couple of months. Again, Dra. Adriana had me lead the consultation, except this time I didn’t feel like I was thrown into the deep end because of my previous experience with a similar case in my first clinic. I listened and touched the woman’s stomach, pinpointing where her pain was. Next, I performed percussions on the stomach, which clarified my suspicions that the woman had an intestinal infection. It turns out I was right, so we prescribed the woman with some antibiotics and scheduled to see her again in two weeks.
11/4/2011
I think I impressed the doctor when I made the proper diagnosis on the patient with an intestinal infection the day before because today she had me lead all the consultations. Unfortunately, the day was full of pregnant women consultations and I had little experience in this type of situation. I struggled with the first consultation and wasn’t very thorough so the doctor jumped in and assisted me.
After the first patient left, the doctor then showed me the proper procedure for a pregnancy consultation: the proper way to measure the uterus, how to listen to the babies heart, and how to feel for the position of the baby in the woman’s stomach. She also explained to me that one of the biggest causes of fetus/baby death is from infection of the vagina, intestines, or urinary tract. It is, therefore, important to ask every pregnant woman 7 questions: 1) Have you had an intestinal/vaginal/urinary infection before? 2) Have you had the flue or fever recently? 3) Are you having any vaginal bleeding? 4) Does it bother you when you urinate? 5) Have you had any vaginal discharge? 6) Does your abdomen feel uncomfortably hard? 7) Have your feet been swollen? From that moment on I was able to run the consultations with no troubles and the experience was really self-motivating because I was truly a doctor for a day.
After the first patient left, the doctor then showed me the proper procedure for a pregnancy consultation: the proper way to measure the uterus, how to listen to the babies heart, and how to feel for the position of the baby in the woman’s stomach. She also explained to me that one of the biggest causes of fetus/baby death is from infection of the vagina, intestines, or urinary tract. It is, therefore, important to ask every pregnant woman 7 questions: 1) Have you had an intestinal/vaginal/urinary infection before? 2) Have you had the flue or fever recently? 3) Are you having any vaginal bleeding? 4) Does it bother you when you urinate? 5) Have you had any vaginal discharge? 6) Does your abdomen feel uncomfortably hard? 7) Have your feet been swollen? From that moment on I was able to run the consultations with no troubles and the experience was really self-motivating because I was truly a doctor for a day.
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