12/19/2018 0 Comments Gen Med Rotation ReflectionDuring my two week rotation at Dr. Handy’s office, I was able to grow my understanding of holistic healthcare. Dr. Handy truly cares for each and every patient he comes in contact with, so it was nice to see that the idea of caring for the whole individual doesn’t have to stop with athletic training. The biggest take away that I had from this rotation was that if a patient has one thing, then they have two things. A patient has two things wrong, he or she probably has three things wrong. Comorbidity after comorbidity.
A patient that specifically stuck out to me was an eight year old female with diabetes; however, it didn’t stop there. She also had epilepsy and hypothyroidism, and she came to the office that day because she was having cold symptoms. Her mom made sure to bring her in at the first signs of illness because her other conditions made even the slightest cold exponentially worse. Dr. Handy prescribed her with antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection, and he told them to come in ASAP if those did not help. I was also able to listen to my first mitral valve prolapse. Dr. Handy told me that the patient had this heart condition before entering in to the office, but then asked me to listen to the patient’s heart without telling me what to look for. I reported that I had heard what sounded like three beats, and learned that I was correct in what I heard. This was a huge stepping stone for me because I have always struggled with hearing and understanding the heart sounds in class. I have a particular interest in cardiology, so this was very encouraging. I was able to sit in while Dr. Handy had an appointment with a patient that was HIV+. The man seemed to have a misunderstanding that he still had HIV because he kept noting that his disease was undetectable on the blood test. Dr. Handy took time to educate his patient on what that meant. He was very gentle, but also clear and stern. The patient also had diabetes, erectile dysfunction, and a heart murmur. The check up showed that his diabetes was being handled well, and his murmur was being maintained well also. Many of Dr. Handy’s patients were also struggling with psychological conditions along with their physical ailments. The main diagnosis was either depression or anxiety. Through my shadowing I learned a quick acronym to help assess depression: SIGECAPS. This stands for sleep, interests, guilt, energy, concentration, appetite, psychomotor retardation/agitation, and suicidality. This was something I was able to take with me into many of my classes. Lastly, I was able to walk away from this rotation with a deeper understanding of medications. I learned how many medications work on the body, thus showing me how they accomplish what they are meant to do. I also have lists of medications for common illnesses or conditions that I will be able to refer back to in the future. In combination with my physiology class, I am much more confident in my pharmacology knowledge than I was 6 months ago, but I know that I have much more learning to do.
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