What I Really Learned in Med School

My last rotation was Emergency Medicine in Balitmore, Maryland. It wasn't too bad of a rotation, but I was so burnt out that I wasn't overly eager when I was in it. It was interesting to approach patient care through the perspective of ruling out anything that is acute and that can kill you, and then treating anything else symptomatically until they can follow up with their primary care doctor. Unfortunately, many people didn't have a family doctor so their only outlet was the emergency department where they don't get adequate long term management of their various illnesses. Last time wearing this name tag! Our little backyard of our apartment Inner Harbour of Baltimore On the campus of the neighbouring community college Scalloped potatoes, roasted mushroom, chicken+asparagus, and greek salad Day trip to Washington, DC! Washington Monument Lincoln Memorial Still fall in DC The White House

I did a second family medicine rotation - but this time it was at my home hospital in Sydney, Nova Scotia. This means experiencing medicine north of the border and spending some quality time at home. Canadian medicine was everything I wanted it to be and more. My preceptor was focused on the overall wellness of her patients and their entire families. She went above and beyond for her patients.  We did house calls which I didn't realize people still did in 2016. I loved doing them and I found it to be a very personal approach to medicine. They also  have the benefit of decreased emergency department visits and admissions to the hospital. The rotation definitely reinforced my interest in seeing the same patients again in follow up visits. I looked forward to appointments with patients I had seen before and I loved to hear how they were doing and working with them to figure out the best management for their conditions. Coming home!! Ryan and Hailie visit the e