I had to say goodbye to my first patient who I was working with from admission. One of the bronchi-boys. He still had a little squeak in his right lung, but nothing that was super concerning. If I decide to do hospital work this is probably going to be one of the hardest things for me; coming to terms with the fact that I’m probably never going to see most of my patients again once they leave the hospital. Having those long-term physician-patient relationships is a big reason I went into medicine. When I was little, I remember when patients would come up to my dad in the grocery store or in Costco and just be so happy to see him. Those memories are part of why I decided to consider going into medicine after actively avoiding it through most of my college career.
In-patient is rewarding because you play an active role in helping patients get better and you have real-time evidence that what you are doing is (hopefully) effective. In primary care, there’s a lot of trust, a lot of making plans, a lot of follow-up. That’s part of the difficulty and challenge of it, and also what I kinda like about it. I can see how it can be frustrating, but helping patients figure out lifestyles and plans that work for them and give them more control and autonomy over their lives is something I feel like I would find rewarding, and I think I could be kinda good at it.
nANIMOv 