I love how refreshingly straightforward and fun it can be to take care of adolescent patients, as evidenced by one patient in Ob clinic several weeks ago, an adolescent at 29 weeks.

Snippets from our conversation:

When I asked how she was doing, she responded: "I dunno, I'm feeling these 'thumps' at the bottom of my belly." She immediately took my hand and placed it on her abdomen, earnestly asking if I could feel them. Those would be fetal movements, my friend!

Adolescent: "Do you guys (referring to my resident and me) like being doctors?"
Senior resident: "Sometimes...it depends on who the patient is."
Adolescent: So you like me, right?
Senior resident: (slightly taken aback) "Of course!"

The conversation was more lively than I can convey in writing, but suffice it to say that this teenager made my day with her candor and spunk.

The fun begins!

OK, so I've finally bitten the bullet and started a blog. I'm only about 12 million years late joining the bandwagon. Put simply, this blog is for me, as I'm realizing that there are so many new experiences this year that I need to write, to reflect, and to document. Why public? Haven't quite figured out that yet.

I'm currently a medical student a couple months into my third year clinical rotations. Thus far, it's been a blast, although certainly stimulatory overload, yet another reason to write, write, write.

Currently tickled by: the "1500 pager," the pager carried by the Ob resident on call. I didn't get it until someone explained that the minimum beta-HcG level at which an intrauterine pregnancy can reliably be detected is 1500. Clever! OK, so who said I'm not a nerd? :)