Rotation #2 - Family Medicine -Suburban area and Pictures from College Gameday Ohio State vs. USC

College Gameday crew during a commercial break across the street from the stadium
The entrance to the "Horseshoe" Ohio Stadium. Doesn't it remind you of a cathedral?
Ultimate fan tailgate-mobile! These guys are crazy about their "Bucks"
I thought this was a clever sign. ;)
Another game day picture.


Yes you read the title right, I did another four weeks of family medicine...except this time it was a suburban area with a more affluent patient base compared to the urban clinic I was at last month. I rotated with Dr. Passias for the first two weeks and Dr. Martin the second two weeks. My first impression of Dr. Passias reminded me of my parents next door neighbor, K.O. Murdock. This guy was in excellent shape, loved biking and snow skiing and annually heli-skiied in the back country of Utah and Colorado. He had a sense of humor identical to KO's. We got along great. His daughter even dated a mormon boy who is now at BYU, and we had some good religious conversations intermixed with the medicine. My only complaint was he did not let me do very much on my own. But I learned a great deal by observing his bedside manners, his skill in asking questions and his ability to understand what information was important and what was not. The next two weeks were with Dr. Martin. He was the most laid back and easy going Dr. i've ever met. I don't think anything could stress him out. He let me do more on my own than Dr. Passias and seemed to be more open and interested in my questions and what I thought was going on in the patient. Dr. Martin is someone that I hope to keep in touch with in the future. He is also a team doctor for a local high school football team in Pickerington, OH. I spent last friday on the sidelines with him during a big game that was held at the Columbus Crew soccer stadium between rival schools. I had a blast being on the sideline again and being a team doc for high school football is definately something i'll do someday if I get the chance. Here are some of my overall impressions:

1. People in more affluent areas seem to have better outcomes. It really seemed like these people as a whole took better care of their bodies and followed the Dr's advice, which led to better outcomes. I saw many more "good" diabetics...meaning those who cared enough to change their dietary and exercise habits and controlled their blood sugar.

2. We need to get rid of the stigma of Family Medicine docs being the "least smart." In my opinion, these guys are the ones who need to be the sharpest. Who knows what the FP will come across in his day? And if good care can be managed at the FP level, the patient and country will save lots of money.

3. Suburban FP is more my cup of tea. Although I liked seeing all the diversity of the urban clinic, I felt much more at home on this rotation. I never gagged on this rotation. :) I will likely work in this kind of neighborhood some day. And the patients might actually listen to what I recommend.

4. I really need to see if I like procedures. I've only had the opportunity to put in two stitches in eight weeks. It may sound bad, but I really want the opportunity to put in some stitches, entubate someone, or put in an I.V.. I'm sure i'll get my fill on my ER rotation coming up in January.

I'm sure going to miss family medicine. I'll be going from 8am to 4:30 pm days to 6 am til 6pm days in my next rotation plus being on call one day a week and working from 6am to 6am the next day. Not sure how I'm going to stay awake. Anyone got any suggestions for how to stay awake without coffee or caffiene? The next rotation is OB-GYN. I'm not excited. Oh well. At least there is another kid from my singles ward that will be on service with me, so that will be fun.

I learned that Jared Peterson from high school is doing his internship year at the Riverside Hospital here in Columbus. He also lives in the same apartment building that Makenna and I intend to move into in December. It seems like wherever I go, there are Layton High grads!
It should be fun to get to know him again.

And lastly, things are still going great with Makenna. I finally got her ring ordered and will post pictures of it once it comes. She will get it sometime during the weekend of Oct. 16th -Oct. 19th when she comes to visit. I won't tell her or you what day she will get it...she has to be somewhat surprised, right!? :)