Days 31 and 32:
6/19 & 6/20

Today and yesterday were both spent on the outpatient unit. It’s interesting because the doctor sees mostly elderly patients and even though she’s providing treatment and advice, most of the appointments end up being counseling sessions. Patients are stubborn and won’t exercise to lessen the effects of their diabetes. Or they live alone and spend all day thinking about what would happen if their cancer from five years ago returned, instead of finding activities to occupy their mind. And so the doctor spend the majority of the appointment hearing about their lives, their complaints, and trying to counsel them to listen or fix things in their life. Definitely interesting, although I think I would prefer something with a little more variety.

We didn’t have to be at work until noon today, so I decided to see whether I could visit the disability school associated with the hospital (they’re both funded by Rotary). I could, and spent several hours with the Autism unit observing their outdoor exercise/play time and then classroom time. The school has about 150 kids, all with a variety of physical and mental disabilities and varied ages.

Also, a short note about doing internships: do not bring your little sister to work just because she’s 15, kindasortofmaybe wants to be a doctor but really thinks she wants to be a vet. It’s just awkward for everyone involved. I may or may not have had experience with this awkwardness today (and no, it was not my sister because she’s in the states and wants to be an actress!!).