i had my first banana today in like 10+ months. bananas in australia were so ridiculously expensive. if i remember correctly, they were like $12/kilo at one point.
i must've looked like a bit of a fool though. i think i had this huge grin on my face as i ate it.
something else i've noticed about food... i can't eat spicy food anymore. after spending basically all of 2007 eating bland, non-spicy food, i feel like my capacity to handle spicy food has diminished considerably. i first noticed it when i went out to eat some kimchee tofu stew out in k-town early last week. my lips started burning and i couldn't even finish the my whole meal. today i put some hot sauce on my chicken teriyaki for lunch and i couldn't handle it. i've become such a wussy.
in other news...
having a great time with the elective. i feel like i've got a good grasp of what's going on. i don't feel as overwhelmed and lost as i did during the first couple of days.
one thing that i have had some difficulty with is finding patients that are comfortable with a "male med student". i'm kind of divided on this topic. from the "male med student" persepective, i think it's unfair. first of all, that's reverse sexism. secondly, patients know that they are coming to a teaching hospital and they should expect to have med student (male or female) conducting/performing parts of the exam or at the very least just simply observing and learning - which i'm totally fine with.
however, i can totally understand and empathize that if i were a woman coming in for a pelvic exam or a termination, the last thing i need/want is an extra set of eyes looking at my private parts.
so where do you draw the line between being polite & letting patients have their privacy and being slightly selfish & looking after your own education? i mean what if i, as a male med student actually really wanted to study obs & gyne? how am i supposed to learn if patients aren't willing?
what we (the staff and i, the staff by the way, have been incredibly accommodating) find to be the best method is for me to take the patient into the room first by myself and take down their history - of course at this point i let them know that i'm a med student and that a "REAL" doctor will be joining us shortly. this gives the patients a chance to get to know me just a little bit - this is where i need to work my magic. i then report to one of the supervising physicians. we then go back into the room together to complete the physical exam. some docs ask the patient if it's alright if i stick around. others just introduce themselves and then re-introduce me as a medical student and just carry on.
2 comments:
I can only try to comprehend how it is for male health professionals, as there are roughly 15 guys in the nursing program, and this term we're in the maternity ward, its not really fair as new mothers don't have any confidence that the male nurses can explain breastfeeding to them. It's a bit ridiculous and I can only imagine how jipped they must feel not be able to have a full experience. Don't take it to hard about women, it's an experience that they're not sure what to expect and just cause men don't have breasts they won't be able to explain how the baby should latch on. It's so sad, but the men in my program definitely would agree with your post.
thanks sweetie. that was nice to hear.
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