My PCP rotation has settled into a nice little routine. Most of the patients we see come for HTN, weight loss (Dr. P is certified in bariatric medicine so he really promotes weight loss and gastric bypass when necessary), diabetes, or other checkups. Occasionally we'll get colds and coughs, or even mole removals. I'm looking forward to minor emergencies where I get to practice suturing.
Today was a half day, but we still stayed until nearly 1:00 because of last minute walk-ins. Dr. P drove his '69 Jag to work today so at one point the two of us (along with another car-savvy patient) went to the parking lot to admire it. The Jag was really low with leather seats and really did look like a slick bullet. Old cars are good and all, but being a car of the 60's, there was no air bag protection. Dr. P says that his Jag goes very fast, but I hope he doesn't take it out on the highway because it wouldn't take much to crush it.
Our very last patient was an HIV-positive patient with a nasty case of strep throat (it took way less than the usual 3-5 min for the strep test to turn positive). The patient's partner went into the room with him. Dr. P told me ahead of time that the patient had gotten HIV through homosexual contact and has had HIV since '94, but his CD4 counts were going up so that was good news. I have to admit, despite my knowledge about HIV only being transmissible through bodily fluids, a part of me was still nervous about being in the same room as him. I don't know if I was more afraid of catching HIV (illogical thinking) or strep (logical). At any rate, his partner is HIV-free so there should be nothing to worry about. They were both very nice people and I'm glad the patient has someone to take care of him despite his HIV status. Afterwards I told Dr. P that I was going to get a flu shot at the PCC (if they were available), but he went ahead and asked his medical assistant to give me one at the clinic. Good stuff =)
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