Interpersonal challenges and how you addressed them:

On my internal medicine rotation at QHC I worked with other medical students, interns, residents, and attendings. However, there were no PAs on the floors and I only had 1 other PA student with me who was on a different team. One of the first days of the rotation I had to explain to an intern what a PA is, how schooling differs from medical school, and how PAs are capable of prescribing medicine. At first I was taken aback because I thought that others in the medical field would have surely heard of PAs and our capabilities as providers. However, this gave me the opportunity to leave a lasting impression and create this positive association with PAs by showing them just how capable we are at providing top care for our patients. 

What was a memorable patient or experience that I’ll carry with me:

There was a patient on the floor who was around 50 years old diagnosed with late stage pancreatic cancer. Each day the patient was progressively becoming weaker, and it was difficult to watch him endure such pain. His family came to visit but they, along with the patient himself, were in denial of the inevitable fact that he was going to die. Although the medical team tried their best to convey to both the patient and the family that we should be focusing on palliative care and making the patient as comfortable as possible, the disconnect remained. Unfortunately the patient soon after passed away, and it was difficult for me to process because it was my first encounter with a patient death on rotations. Luckily I was able to discuss and process my feelings with one of the residents on my team whom I connected with.

How could the knowledge I’ve gained here be applicable in other rotations/disciplines:

Thankfully I was able to learn a lot on this rotation. Internal medicine covers so many different aspects of healthcare, and with every patient that gets admitted there are numerous conditions to consider. As part of the rotation, the students had 2 weekly lectures that covered high yield topics such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, COPD/asthma, etc. It was great to be able to hear about these conditions then see them in actuality with the patients on the floor. Also, being able to see firsthand management of acute coronary syndrome, sickle cell crisis, asthma exacerbation, DKA among other things will certainly help in future rotations when I interact with patients presenting with this conditions.

What did you learn about yourself during this rotation:

Prior to starting my internal medicine rotation, I was unsure how much I would be able to see a variety of patients. I was under the false impression that admitted patients were mostly older individuals with pneumonia. But in reality, I was able to see a wide range of patients varying in their age, gender, race, religion, and conditions. I was able to use the translator phone to get an initial interview of my patient admitted for hyponatremia, and was able to establish rapport with a patient that unfortunately was admitted on day 1 of my rotation and was still there on my last day. It was certainly an educating experience and I plan to take the skills I learned on this rotation and apply them to future ones and ultimately to practice as well.