Day in the Life: Family Medicine

As you might already know from the onslaught of pictures I’ve been posting on Instagram, I’m currently on my first audition rotation. I’ve spoken with representatives from this program several times over the years, from all the Hospital Days to the FM conference.

My main interests “outside” of Family Medicine include sports medicine, preventative care + working with under-served populations…and I also really like Geriatrics and Peds (but I don’t want to do either of those exclusively). The quotes are because FM would allow me to do all of this and more. (Thankfully!)

When I talked to them last, they asked me what I was interested in, and since I already knew they had a free clinic, I told them outpatient FM and sports med, and they split my rotation so that I could do both! <3

But wait! It gets better!

The sports medicine part of my rotation starts this week and I’m super excited! Because I’m a champion secret-keeper, I’ve been super hush-hush about this, but…guess who’s workin’ the Little League World Series!?!?

:D!?!?!? (Yes, that would be me!)

My rotation here officially ends on the 28th, but I get to stay the weekend to work the weekend. :] I’m signed up for 13 games, and super super excited!

Day in the Life: Family Medicine

A Typical Day

7:30 – 8:15 a.m. – Morning Report

I grab breakfast from the cafeteria somewhere around 7:15-7:20-ish, and we convene in the conference room to go over clinical cases/correlates!

8:30 – 12:30 p.m. – Office Hours

After morning report, I work with one of the residents or one of the preceptors to see their patients and work up different cases. I’m probably really biased because outpatient is my favorite, so I’m definitely really happy to get to be in a clinic again, and I love getting to talk with the patients. Rotating with different preceptors/attendings every day also lets me get to know everyone, which is a definite plus when you’re looking into a program that you’re interested in!

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. – Lunch Conference

We grab lunch from the cafeteria and settle back into the conference room for a presentation on something pertinent to either our education/life (e.g. acute low back pain management, things to look out for when looking for a job as a 3rd-year resident, etc.).

1:30 – 5/6-ish p.m. – Office Hours

I pair up with another resident or preceptor and go take histories/examine their patients, then report back to the person I’m working with, and we discuss our differential diagnosis + our plan for each patient. I’ve probably said this before, but one of the things I enjoy most about FM is the variety of cases–from well child checks to follow-ups on fractured toes, Medicare exams, preventative care visits, counseling on depression/anxiety/dependence, strange rashes…we get to see it all!

5/6-ish p.m. – 12 a.m. – Miscellaneous

I befriended the other medical students that are here, and we collectively joined the Y across the street (they counted us as college students, so it’s $25 for the month)! It’s brand spankin’ new, and has everything I need, including free group exercise classes to jump in on! We’ve also gone out to frolic through Wegmans, to get froyo, BBQ, and I also went hiking through Ricketts Glen!

There are several evening clinics, so we evenly dispersed ourselves throughout those! I went to the prison clinic on my first day, and the STD clinic last week, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to check out the free clinic next Monday. There’s also an option to take evening call!

I also discovered a Steinway in the main lobby on my first day, and may or may not have coerced the front staff to let me play it during my free evenings. :D!

Passersby have been getting a random mix of video game music (mostly Final Fantasy + Chrono Trigger), classical music, random instrumentals that I love (by David Lanz, Ludovico Einaudi, Richard Clayderman, Yiruma, + George Winston), and also a whole lot of I’m-completely-making-this-up-right-now-because-I’m-out-of-ideas-and-sheet-music tunes. I find it rather flattering when people stop and sit down on the couches nearby to listen, and apparently, no one can tell that I’m making stuff up. <3

Meals

With my ID, I get free meals in the cafeteria, and when the cafeteria’s closed, I can get free Subway…and if I get sick of that, the residents told me to go talk to them, and they’d take me out for food. (What world have I stepped into?!)

There’s also a monthly potluck meal, as well as a board that illustrates all the good eats in town (situated next to a map of all the pretty trails to explore nearby <3).

Parking

This hospital is ginormous, and covers a wholeeee ton of ground, so there’s plenty of parking everywhere, and it is (thankfully) also free!

Housing

I have my own room and bathroom in the hospital! (Not even a roommate to share it with!) It has a ginormous desk, 2 dressers, 2 beds, a night table, 2 chairs, a full-length mirror, a TV that plays DVDs, and is located in the resident area, which is outfitted with…

• 2 showers
• 3 call rooms (for PGY1, PGY2, PGY3–decked out with beds, TVs, desks, treadmills and dip machines)
• Laundry room
• Kitchenette with a refrigerator, microwave, and toaster oven
• Tub of happiness (filled with candy!)
• Huge bookshelf in the hallway with a bunch of review books covering all sorts of different specialties
• Ginormous lounge with super-comfy couches, a TV, and a bunch of DVDs

I’ll admit, sometimes it’s a little weird living in the hospital because we’ll go days in here and realize that we haven’t stepped outside in quite a while. (“Wait, I went to the prison on Monday! Does that count?”) Good thing we joined the gym too?!

Check out my past “Day in the Life” posts!

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