Nicole's Adventure!: Let the games begin...

Nicole, MD

I'm no longer an expatriate. I started my 3rd year of medical school in Miami and have finished my first set of medical boards, which I passed! I've been to the little island of Dominica and Miami. I completed my Family Medicine, OB/GYN and Internal Medicine clerkships while living in the beautiful city of Miami Beach, FL. I moved to New York City in the beginning of August 2011, passed my second set of boards and finished rotations in Astoria, Queens in December 2011. I have not been posting as much as I have been extremely busy. It is hard to believe that I finished medical school, landed a pediatrics residency and that I'm finally Nicole, M.D.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Let the games begin...

We have 21 days left on this little island and we are now beginning the exams. Tomorrow I will be taking my Introduction to Clinical Medicine Examination of the Physical Exam. There are four rooms and we have six minutes per room:

"Harvey", which is a heart sound simulator that I must exam and diagnose
Situation room, not the one with Wolff Blitzer, but a room with a patient who has one of 16 problems ( such as headache, blurry vision, numb feet). I have to do a general exam, one specific exam (in detail) and try to finish another specific exam for the problem.
The other two rooms are task rooms where we are given a specific task, such as examine the Cerebellum or perform a pelvic exam.

After this fun exam, I have a week before I get to take another exam. Then we have three in three days--nothing like fun in the Caribbean! I probably should review for another hour or two before bed for the exam tomorrow. I think I've done probably 60 or 70 six minute exams on Farley in the last two days! We started reviewing for this exam months ago, so I'm sure it will go well. Unlike last semester, we are in the room with two professors (we also had 10 peers in the room last time). I'm not sure if that will be better or worse for my nerves, but I think the worst part of this exam is the nervousness of performing for people.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Disclaimer

Just enjoy my medical tidbits as just that, fun interesting facts that I'm learning during the early stages of my medical adventure and sharing with you. Moreover, the views on this blog on mine and mine only. They are not endorsed by the hospitals or university that I work for nor are they the opinion of any professional organization that I am involved in. They are just my opinions.

HIPAA: To ensure that I comply with privacy regulations, I change the name, age, sex and maybe even the disease of patients that I interact with. I see my stories as historical fiction. The funny or enduring interaction is what I want to share, not personal details of someone else's life. Thus, the interactions are based in reality and sometimes even a combination of several real interactions, but the details have been changed.

White Coat Ceremony: First Do No Harm

"No greater opportunity, responsibility, or obligation can fall to the lot of a human being than to become a physician. In the care of suffering, [the physician] needs technical skill, scientific knowledge, and human understanding....Tact, sympathy, and understanding are expected of the physician, for the patient is no mere collection of symptoms, signs, disordered functions, damaged organs, and disturbed emotions. [The patient] is human, fearful, and hopeful, seeking relief, help and reassurance." ---Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 1950