A Vacation in Eyes of a Patient

I have officially started my 2 week vacation.  YaY!  2 weeks of freedom, sleeping in,  2 weeks away from the hospital and patients....or not ;)

Life is a constant journey and learning does not stop when vacation starts.  Since the start of my vacation, I have spent some time each day in a hospital.  I am not held down by the weight of my white coat, nor do I know the halls like the back of my hand.  My stethoscope does not  hang across my neck and the patient's in the rooms are not my responsibility, well all but one.  Grandma Ann is mine.  My job is to sit, keep her company, and try to get her to eat.  No orders to write, no heart to listen to - my time is spent nearly on the opposite end of where I spend my working days.  Not quite a patient, but a family member - watching and waiting.

I've learned a lot in the past 3 days.  Observation is an extremely valuable tool.  I notice details that as a physician writing orders and stopping in to see the patient once maybe twice in a day that I otherwise miss. I hope that as a family physician, I do better at looking at the entire patient and addressing all of their needs compared to a specialist.  That is what my training is supposed to do.  I'm learning so much right now.  I watch and see more of what the nurses do - how much time it takes to check on each of their patients, to change IV meds, etc.  I listen as my grandma's roommate calls for someone to help her to the bathroom, not once, but twice in a 20 minute period and does not get help until her visitor finally steps out into the hall to get someone.

It's weird to be in a hospital and have no power.  To anyone passing by, I'm sure I look like my grandmother's 15 year old grand daughter sitting on the bed next to her.  Or maybe college aged.  I ask a lot of questions and maybe seem to know more than an average teenager.  They probably believe I hope to be pre-med or maybe they just see me as one of those annoying family members who asks too much.  I try to sit back and let things happen, but it's hard to see her in pain and not be able to go write an order for more pain medication.

After spending this time with my grandma, I know the next time I walk into my own hospital - white coat and stethoscope on my outlook will be slightly different.  I will be reminded to look at the bigger picture - to try and take the time to care for the entire patient, to better explain the treatment and what is happening.  How long will my new found knowledge last?  a few days? a week?  a month?  Hopefully it will be incorporated into my daily routine and will not be something that falls to the wayside as my work increases and the time I have to do it in decreases.

Here's to a vacation full of learning.  My education continues tomorrow...