End of Quarter Recap

Spring break is here. I never thought it would come. It was a really intense quarter of respiratory, cardiovascular, renal, and gastrointestinal physiology as well as all of the associated pharmacology. It was rough. I enjoyed cardiovascular physiology the most, and renal physiology the least. I have officially scratched off nephrology (kidney doctor) and pulmonology (lung doctor) from my list of possible specialties. If I was to pursue a career in internal medicine, I think cardiology would be pretty interesting, and although I find gastroenterology (digestive system doctor) fascinating, I'm not sure if diarrhea is what I want to spend 80% of my life treating (I have a categorical dislike for feces). The best part of my quarter was a preceptorship in vascular surgery at the VA hospital. I spent most of my time seeing patients with vascular disease of some type (clogged arteries and aneurysms) who were either being followed in preparation for surgery or post-surgery. I learned a lot about seeing patients. Most of the time I was with a surgery resident or attending, but by the end of the quarter the big boss surgeon man for some reason trusted me to see a few patients on my own. It's admittedly a little bit strange when you're alone in a small room with a 70-year old man and ask him to drop his pants so you can check for palpable pulses in his groin. I guess you get used to it. We'll see.
Next quarter is mostly neurology and endocrinology (and of course all of the associated pharmacology). Looking forward to it.