I'm nearing the end of my first week on Internal Medicine, and I actually really enjoy it! So far, I'm really having a fun time, and the patients are really interesting. I have a lot to learn, but I'm really enjoying the process. The Q4 schedule (overnight call every 4 days with regular days in between) is a little rough, but it also give you random time off, so that's nice.
Yesterday, I did a MOCA on one of my old patients, and because he is a bit demented, he really struggled on it. I just told him, "Oh, don't worry. Just try your best! These tests are a bit tricky!" After getting through the cognitive assessment with some frustration on his part, (and just to give you an idea of how bad he struggled - he scored a 14/30 after spending an hour doing it), I told him, "Thanks for being so patient with me! That's it for now!" And he replied, "Oh, you know, that was actually pretty fun. It gets kinda boring sitting in the hospital so it was nice to have someone here." Man, I love old people.
Also, as an aside. This is a thought I've had for a little while, but keep forgetting to blog about. One of my big pet peeves is when residents/attendings are in the middle of talking to/listening to patients, and their pager goes off, and they rudely stop everything to read their pager. I completely understand that we have to answer our pages in a timely manner, but it's so much more polite to just take two seconds to say, "Oh, please excuse me. I just have to read this really quick." I've seen people in the middle of a serious heart-to-heart convo with a patient, and all of a sudden BEEP BEEP BEEP! And they completely ignore the patient sobbing in front of them as they read their pager and fidget with it. And then a minute later, they look back up at the patient and say, "Sorry, what did you say?" That is so rude. Just excuse yourself, so the patient knows that you still want to listen to them, and this page isn't more important than what they're saying, necessarily.
Loved your comment about the MOCA and older patients. :) Im an OT at a retirement community/assisted living, I spend a lot of time in a dementia unit :) so I get to interact with older adults ALL DAY LONG and looooove it... I mean dementia is sad and all, but everyone is just so honest!
ReplyDeleteLoved your comment about the MOCA and older patients. :) Im an OT at a retirement community/assisted living, I spend a lot of time in a dementia unit :) so I get to interact with older adults ALL DAY LONG and looooove it... I mean dementia is sad and all, but everyone is just so honest!
ReplyDeleteSeriously when did a small battery-operated thing become more important than the person in front of you?
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