Mile 8052: Teaching an old dog new tricks

Above: Jon, John, and Khoi and myself enjoying a night out at an Ethiopian restaurant after our final day.

ON MY LAST DAY
I BROKE A SWEAT.

7:40 PM Friday. I never really had Ethiopian food before. I'm very glad that one of our colleagues Jonathan had brought up the idea. You basically go in, and all the stuff that's ordered comes out on this huge platter. If you've been to Maggiano's or some other "family style" Italian eatery, you know how family style works. But I learned that Ethiopian family style is much more adventurous... it involves eating with your hands. I never imagined that eating with my hands could be so enjoyable... and so tasty!

Who knew that at the end of a medical rotation, I'd still have the brain capacity to learn something new.

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It's the end of my twelve weeks here for Internal Medicine. Before I keep going, I apologize for not writing more during those twelve: it was that intensive. I admit that its tough for me to study at home even more now, because I guess I've conditioned myself to take home as a place of rest. Even with coffee, I sometimes struggle with trying to make it through the latest literature or even just high yield Step 2 studying.

Am I glad its over? In ways yes, and in other ways, no. Yes, I'm tired. Yes, I need a vacation (even though I had an awesome one a few months ago). But I loved my group (we all had a rhythm and enjoyed each other's contributions to the team), and also what I had learned in the last few weeks. One of the attendings had said to us that learning medicine was the essence of repetition, and I'll admit that seeing dozens of many cases made me get into a rhythm of what to look for while taking a history and the direction to take when managing a patient. I loved running the floors, writing notes, and working with nurses, attendings, and case managers. I really had the feeling of what residency would be like in internal medicine.

What's next for me? Well, same place, but second verse. It's time for a little adventure into the world of Infectious Disease (ID) for four weeks. Think of it as an extension of Internal Medicine. So during the next few weeks, I'll try to replay some of my experiences during IM, and also try to expand on what exactly ID brings for me.