Where did the rotation go? It feels like I just had exams last week and all of a sudden it's time for end-of-rotation exams again? I guess I shouldn't be complaining; it probably means this GP rotation has been so good that time just flew by.
In the last seven weeks, I have seen more sore throats, coughs, and tonsillitis than I care to count. But it was presentations like hyperthyroidism, management of diabetes-related complications, evaluation and dressing of wounds, and hands-on procedures like cutting out skin lesions and suturing cuts that made the days full of variety; an eight-hour day would be gone before I knew it. The days were definitely more than just about "tears and smears" (tears - depression; smears - Pap smears) that specialists often say disparagingly regarding general practice.
Another aspect of GP I find enjoyable is that GPs, at least the good ones, really do treat the patient and not just the disease. Specialists are like service stations where patients stop to get their problems fixed, but GPs go on the journey with them. Getting to know the patients as people, not just someone anonymous with gallstones or broken wrist you probably will not see again, is what really appeals to me. This rotation was the first rotation in which I had a lot of one-on-one contact with patients. They seemed to like me well enough. And it was reassuring that most patients found me easy to talk to. Some of them even called me "doctor." By now, when the patient says "doctor" at my general direction, I find it a lot easier to suppress the urge to look around to see where the doctor is.
Well, all good things have to come to an end. Now I have to study for exams, the bane of my existence! Why does a rotation so enjoyable have to end this way?
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