Tuesday, October 7, 2008

The other side

Warning to those who may be "shy" - the following post contains references to male and female body parts.  Gasp!

So, I have been doing internal medicine for the last 6 weeks or so - it's an ob/gyn's way of getting primary care training and being able to manage things such as hypertension, pneumonias, and diabetes.  I actually really like the program that I am at because it does offer this training as I think being a primary care physician is integral to the way that I want to practice in the future.  However, there have been a few times when I wished that I was delivering babies again - and this is mostly when I have to do a male-specific exam or manage a male-specific problem.  For instance, I did my second prostate exam - ever - the other day.  Yeah, how did I manage to get through medical schol without being required to do more of these?  Maybe I was just in the right place at the right time, meaning not in the vicinity of any person in need of a prostate exam.  Granted, it's not that bad, and admittedly, easier than a pelvic exam - but still unpleasant nonetheless (and yes, I will acknowledge that it was definitely less pleasant for the poor soul who needed it).

Reflecting on my service, I have had 4 men with urinary tract infections (UTIs).  I do get a lot of experience managing UTIs, but in men, it's a somewhat different ballgame.  So, I find myself trying to figure out how to ask about their prostate.  And I find myself asking patients about "penile trauma" and then patiently wait for the awkward answer. 

That's not to say I am not getting a lot out of this rotation.  I set a goal for myself to learn more about antibiotic use and that definitely is coming to fruition (out of 4 admissions last night, all 4 were on antibiotics).  And I am definitely getting the hang of managing high blood pressure, diabetes, pneumonias, etc. 

In short, I miss delivering babies.  I miss not having to worry about my patients and their hallucinations (such as the one I had last night).  I miss the generally healthy ob/gyn population.  I miss doing more than mountains of paperwork and orders for my patients.  Ah, only a few more weeks, then I'm back to the OR. 

2 comments:

Arun.N.M. said...

Hi, I prefer Internal Medicine any time than OB/Gyn. Also I prefer Prostate exam any time than Pelvic exam See tastes differ...

YennieT said...

Yes, tastes definitely differ and that's a good thing! We can't have everyone fighting to do the same thing... that'd be no fun and there'd be no doctors for all the patients.