reality.

i think as the start of my rotations draw nearer and nearer, the reality of real life is setting in for me. we have been doing interviewing exercises with my supervisor, nancy, on how to interview adult and pediatric patients. its so very clear that all of us have two problems. (1) we are all fresh out of undergrad and have been conditioned to interview/respond in a systematic way that is NOT how you talk to real life patients and (2) we are all so very naive. Nancy very kindly pointed out that the majority of our patient population we will encounter have not grown up the way we have, therefore have a very different mindset. When someone asks us "how much physical activity do you get in a day?", we understand. however, a large part of the population wouldn't know how to respond to that. so instead we ask "what do you do in a typical day?". a much more conducive question to coax more information out a patient.

as far as the naive-ness of us all...i don't think im quite prepared for the types of people and situations i will be seeing. we had WIC (a program helping women, infant and children) training today and i think that made me realize even more, we will be seeing some pretty difficult stuff. there will only be so much we can do for certain patients. some will be homeless, some moms wont feed their babies the correct amount of formula to stretch out what they have because they can't afford any more, and some patients who need ongoing care, won't be able to get it. im going to really have to focus on not letting my emotions and feelings get the better of me, as they so often do. because the thought of not being able to provide all the care a patient may need to get them better, probably will be difficult for me in the beginning. im in this field to be around people and to help make a difference in their life. it will be hard when i might not be able to do this to the fullest of my ability because of financial constraints or a patient's unwillingness. obviously i have a lot to learn and a long way to go, because im sure i'll hit those road blocks a lot in the next ten months.

lori, my roommate, said her boyfriend (who just did his dietetic internship) got to step in on an open heart surgery!!! how awesome is that?! i would be elated if i got that opportunity! even though im not going to be a surgeon or doctor, a chance to see that, or any surgery would be incredible. im meeting my aunt sue and corey to shop tomorrow, i can't wait! off to read a little more about edward now... :)