PCP: Day Three

Today was Delip and Amy's last day at Corpus; we saw them briefly at morning report but by the time lunch was over they were en route back to Temple. I didn't get to say goodbye to them, but I'll miss seeing them around the hospital and at mealtimes. I know they're both eager to get back to Scott & White, and I wish them luck on their shelf exams, OSCE, and upcoming OB rotation =)

There were few patients in the clinic today. Most of the kids who come to Dr. E's clinic come as a group (one mom brings 3-4 children), so Kyle and I had our hands full interviewing and examining the kids. Dr. C from ER spoke at noon conference about how to take care of traumas, and we all made sure to pay close attention to his talk. The afternoon at Dr. E's clinic was all right; we were joined by Sam (senior resident, ex TCOM grad) for continuity care. One notable case involved a 4-year-old recently adopted boy whose mother wants to get him circumcised due to "adhesions." Kyle and Sam thought that was the worst thing that could happen to a little boy (probably is, too), so Dr. E and I went to see what was going on. Turns out the kid had a small hypospadias, which needs evaluation by a urologist before they can even think of circumcision. Another family was pretty interesting: they had a 3 year old of normal size, a 2 year old who weighs more than her older sister, and a 7 month old who looks like he's 1 year old. The mom even thought her oldest child was underweight b/c the other two were so pudgy. Dr. E was quick to reassure the mother that her older child was very normal.

One notable thing I got to do was interview and do a physical on a 15 year old. Since she was 15, I had to ask a lot of personal questions about drug use, sex life, etc. Fortunately she was one of the better teenagers; doesn't do drugs, hasn't had sex, fairly sheltered (she's not allowed to drive or talk to boys on the phone until she's 16), and isn't depressed. When Dr. E had to discuss giving her the HPV vaccine, her mother didn't see the point. She said her daughter was going to be pure until marriage and marry a pure man, so there was no chance of HPV transmission. It's definitely a nice thought to have, but in this day and age, more and more people have sex before marriage so Dr. E pushed for the HPV vaccine, and the mother eventually agreed.

Elizabeth and I were both tired after our rotations and crashed until dinnertime, and we got to the cafeteria just before the grill closed. Whew.