After Eight Hours of Shadowing...

I can say that it was a wonderful experience that only solidified my resolve to become a physician. I learned a lot from the NP that I shadowed and took plenty of notes on each patient. I will not disclose any of this information here, but I can say that I witness a multitude of different patients. Their ages ranged from 15 to 87 years old!

Family practice is interesting because there is such a difference between each patient and what they are coming in for. I couldn't help getting excited over what I was going to see next. Unfortunately, the MD in the office had a medical student shadowing and working with her so I didn't get an opportunity to shadow her, but the NP that I did shadow was amazing! She was so professional and knowledgeable about everything. She explained a lot of things to me and always made sure that my questions were answered. She even gave me a few things to look into before I came in that had to do with the patients I was expected to see.

I learned that there are several ways that you can quit smoking from a medical standpoint; I learned about Chantix, Nicitrol, and Wellbutrin to name a few. I also learned that the thyroid stimulating hormone on blood work for a young girl can fluctuate because it is part of the endocrine system and can be due to changes in hormone levels. I learned what a hemoglobin alc is and the normal range of lipids. I learned how to present a patient and how to ask anticipatory questions depending on age and gender. That is just the tip of the iceberg of what I learned at this family practice!

Overall it was a great experience and I was told that I am more than welcome to come back and shadow some more before the summer is over! I just might, but I am now looking into shadowing a local psychiatrist. At first, I thought that it was against HIPPA for me to sit in with a doctor and patient as I did at the family practice. It just didn't seem likely, but I used a great resource that I have been using for years called StudentDoctor.Net to see what others thought on the subject. Many said that it was fine as long as the patient was okay with it.

I spent a good majority of my night looking up local psychiatrists and assessing their educational background and overall ratings by their patients. I ended up making a list of about 5 psychiatrists to call on Monday! My grandmother also mentioned that I should contact the family practice that I shadowed to ask if there are any that they would recommend. I have some work to do! I'm glad that I enjoy all of this!!! ^-^