First Diagnosis

Yup, you didn't misread the title, today I was able to give my first 'diagnosis'. Well....sort of. In lab today I was partnered up with (luckily) a super skinny guy. This makes feeling the bones and joints so much less painful on my part. I was supposed to be checking for scoliosis of his spine by running my hand down his vertebral column when I felt something sticking out that was not supposed to be there. I subsequently called the attending doctor over to check to make sure I wasn't losing my mind. And thankfully I wasn't. The doctor helped me figure out what was wrong and it ended up being an extended vertebrae. How cool is that?! I wasn't even looking for it and I found it. It's really the small victories that count :)

Also, today I had a meeting for the OB/GYN club. We get to do some pretty amazing things. There is a surgery lab where we learn the mechanical steps associated with doing an episiotomy, vasectomy, and some another gynaecological procedure that I can't pinpoint the exact name. But it is pretty interesting. Another part of the program is to be matched up with a local woman who is pregnant and go into the office prenatal visits with her and also to give her support during the delivery. How amazing is that? It will most likely be with a single mother in need of some social support. So I get to interact with patients and learn something really interesting in the process. Another neat thing is that every couple of weeks we have a guest speaker come in to talk to us about certain issues in obstetrics and gynaecology. I think it is going to be a very rewarding educational experience outside of the classroom.

Until next time......

:)