"All week long, we're some real nobodies..."

Let me begin by saying that I love what I'm doing. I might be apt to complain about having to spend all my time reading a book or something like that. But in reality, I love it. I spent the vast majority of today reading two chapters of one book about pathology. But in that time, I got to enjoy learning the intricacies of high blood pressure and its relation to kidney function, cholesterol (in all its glory), the development of the heart in the fetus (one of the most confusing, and amazing things ever, all at once), and the finer points of varicose veins. And the thing is, I enjoyed every minute of it.

Earlier in the week, I was back in the hospital, with my very intense preceptor. Always an experience, hopefully a good one. We met him in the emergency department office, and then went up to one of the floors. While we were in the emergency department, we walked by a room. The door was open. There was a patient sitting in the bed (This doesn't violate HIPPA, I promise). After we walked past that room, Dr. Preceptor turns to us as says (exact quote), "Diagnosis?" Naturally, I said, "what?!?" How should I know? I just walked by the room. After that, he stopped us, we turned around and walked by the room again, and he says "Look left" (to look in the open door), and then "Turn around, look right" (to look in the door again), and then "Diagnosis?" Of course, neither I nor my fellow med student counterpart had a diagnosis (I mean, we just walked by a room!). I think he was just trying to make the point that we should be forming an opinion from the moment we see a patient what's going on with them. But I'm not sure--he might have just been messing with our heads. Anyway, I probably didn't tell my story quite as well as I should have. But, as I said, it was an experience, as it always is. And you know what? I love it.

If you're wondering about the title of this post, click here. If you're wondering about the intracacies of high blood pressure, click here. If you want to get high blood pressure really fast, click here. If you're interested in reforming national food policy, click here. If you want to learn about Wenkebach heart block, click here.