Family Practice Clerkship: Finished

Today, we finished our clerkship in Family Medicine. Looking back over the last six weeks, I have seen hundreds of patients, written many, many patient notes (SOAP and full H&Ps), and I have written lots of prescriptions (which involves looking up the drugs and getting the physician to review and sign the prescription). I do not think that these last six weeks were the most academically enriching of my medical career; however, I feel like my clinical skills are much better and I got to practice being a doctor every day.

The last two weeks, I haven't really liked the clinic that I've been assigned to. I really liked the doctor, but the clinic definitely wasn't my favorite. That being said, I have had a few really interesting patients the last couple weeks and the doctor gave us a lot of autonomy, which puts a lot of responsibility on us and helps us learn.

Yesterday, we had to take the shelf exam for Family Medicine. It was very difficult! Family Medicine doctors treat patients from birth to death, including obstetrics. A family medicine doctors are considered generalists, which means they have got to know about everything. They might not need to know the information in as much detail as a specialists; however, they still have a heck of a lot that they need to know. Studying for this exam was difficult because family medicine doctors are generalists: everything was fair game. I thought that there would be lots of questions on diabetes, colds and hypertension, which there were; however, there were also lots of questions on birth control, endocrinology and cardiology. The moral of this story is that Family Medicine doctors are really unappreciated and respected. Everyone knows that there is a shortage of Family Medicine doctors and that they do not make anywhere near the amount of other doctors. There is also a push to have mid-level practitioners, such as Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners, take over much of the primary care in this country. I do not think this is a good idea. The mid-levels know a lot of information and provide invaluable services in our community, but Family Practice doctors have years more training and one cannot exchange a mid-level for a Family Practice doctor. They are NOT the same and should not be given the same rights and responsibilities.

I have the weekend off before starting my OB/GYN rotation on Monday. I am really excited to deliver a few babies, scrub in and assist in surgeries, and work in women's health. Last week, I had a patient who thought she might be pregnant (and didn't want to be). Farley said that he has never seen me so comfortable with a patient. I have always considered OB/GYN and I am excited because I feel comfortable in this specialty (and I guess I exude confidence and comfort in this specialty). I still think that Hematology and Oncology is my number one specialty (most likely pediatric oncology and hematology), but I am excited to explore OB/GYN more!