I never wrote about my last simulated patient encounter so I will go ahead and start with that. Thursday (September 10th) I had my 3rd 'clinic' encounter. Its pretty cool to say that considering we have only be in school for 6 or 7 weeks. We again worked on our patient history taking (the S of the SOAP note). S is for Subjective (what the patient tells us as we ask questions) O is for Objective (the physical part of the encounter ie Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, etc) A is for assessment (what we think is wrong) and P is for Plan (what we are going to do for them). Soooo, as you can see we have a hell of a long way to go but its ok, one step at a time. We are given 20min with the patient to fill out a patient history (S part) and then after the encounter we were given 7 minutes to fix it/perfect it before we turned it in for grading. We were allowed to bring in a basic rubric for what questions to ask so it wasnt to difficult but being on the spot makes it a lot damn harder.
The funny part about simulated patient encounters is that the actors are pretty much the same every week for every different college (physician assistants, podiatrists etc). I personally dont get the same person every other week but we see them walking around the school halls during the day so its starting to get harder to 'pretend' that they are real patients. It would be great if I saw one of them out and about in Claremont or Pomona one day. I would def buy him or her a beer so they would like me :)
The following Thursday (the 17th...last week) we began practicing the O (objective) of the SOAP note on each other. The hard part is we have to listen to a lecture and then arent given very much time to practice the technique before we are lectured about the next week. Needless to say I still dont know how to take blood pressure without fumbling the cuff or looking stupid. Also, im pretty sure i will never be able to use an ophthalmoscope properly (the thingy that the doctor looks into your eye with). its impossible...there i said it.
Back to anatomy...my favorite thing to write about because i could write details about it forever. But i think i will spare some considering we have been dissecting reproductive organs and the pelvic 'area' and i know that my family reads this....and thats just weird. yes, i am going to be a doctor and should be more mature about it but no, thats ok. use your imaginations on these dissections people!
Saturday was awesome as i attended a Healthcare conference at USC School of Medicine hosted by the California Medical Association (a division of the American Medical Association). I listened to a couple speakers discuss the methods of healthcare reform and these are some details i wrote down that hopefully will interest you:
- 1/5 of california residents use MediCal
- a doctor is given $18-$24 reimbursement for an office visit by a MediCal patient
- thus, only 50% of doctors in California will see a MediCal patient
- there are only 5 HMOs that control 90-95% of all the insured people in california
- The increase in ER patients is by insured people (with insifficient insurance) NOT by the uninsured
- There are NO physicians in the California legislature but there is a ex-used car salesman and an actor
- if a federal health reform bill does not get passed by this January or February, it is estimated that it will be another 10 to 15 years before any other health reform bill will be sought after
I obviously learned much more but these are some interesting details. If you are interested in the progress of the federal government, please visit www.hsreform.org for a DAILY updated website.
Moving on...
Sunday was a library day.....my new definition for SUNDAY FUNDAY!
Monday was a easier day as we didnt have much scheduled so of course, i used my time to study. i have been spending more and more of my time at school, starbucks, and random libraries. i find that studying at home is the least productive way to study as i usually find myself cleaning, organizing (i refolded all my clothes a couple nights ago) or just watching the cat and dog piss each other off. my thought process at home is usually "ok, back to the books. I have already procrastinated enough for the evening. Back to the books..i swear....well maybe after checking my facebook another 5 times and chatting on gchat." :)
i pretty much only see dad in the morning (while he makes my lunch...thanks dad) or in the evening during a quick dinner. my kitten continues to bite me. i see him lounging with dad more often. its a sign that he is slowly picking favorites and i think i am on his shit list. just the other day i swear i saw him roll his eyes at me as i walked by him without feeding him. hahaha
im beginning to despise my 25 minute commute to school and hate that i never get to hang out with my classmates during the week. i will most likely be moving soon closer to pomona. dont know where and dont know when but i have a couple options that (fingers crossed) work out.
ok, im off to bed. i had a lovely evening once again eating dinner at Alissa's (love you girl!) and now i need to get to sleep so i can wake up early tomorrow. to gym or not to gym in the morning, that is the question....
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