I've started a new life as a rotating medical student. I can honestly say that it's way better than sitting in lectures and studying for never-ending tests. I've gotten a taste of radiology and internal medicine so far. Here is a sample of my experience with a radiologist.
Imagine an office big enough for two people, but not much bigger. The lights are never on and the only light you see is from the black-and-white computer screens and a little crack under the door. You may be wondering, why black and white? The answer is simple: to help get better contrast in the black and white images. The whole set up of darkness is designed to get better contrast on the images. If this isn't helping you, see my handy, dandy visual aid of an emergency dispatcher's room.
Now imagine more black and white and you got it.
What did I do all day? I watched the doctor read X-ray after X-ray, CT after CT, and MRI after MRI. I was constantly amazed at how incompetent I was (something that has become a recurring theme throughout rotations). For example, he had me read a book about chest imaging. After reading, I thought I could read any chest X-ray with the best of them. I would go in the next day only to be humbled by what I would think was a normal image, only to find out that that person likely had walking pneumonia. The other thing that I was constantly amazed by was how he would catch the tiniest, most subtle finding on an imaging study. I'm talking a minuscule fleck here, a microscopic scratch there, things that I would never have seen in a million years. And he managed to notice them right away.
Mixed in with all the sitting and watching were fluoroscopic studies where the doctor would have a patient drink some oral contrast solution and then image their esophagus, stomach, and small intestine. I got to put on a lead shield gown complete with neck protector to watch these. They were fairly interesting studies, but not my favorite thing in the world. In fact, the only time that I've been puked on by a patient was during one of these. You see, the contrast solution doesn't taste terribly great. It's not the worst thing in the world, but it tastes like you're drinking liquefied chalk (I asked to try some after the incident). Anyway, a lady was drinking some and started feeling nauseated. I was quick on my feet and grabbed a nearby trashcan for her to hurl in. In my haste to prevent chalky vomit from being spewed forth everywhere, I didn't foresee that the swivel lid would be a problem. The lady did her thing and some of it splattered off the lid and all over my hands. It was a lovely experience. The doctor later told me that I had finally been christened a health care worker by getting someone else's bodily fluids on me. Given all the gray scale I saw all day, it was only fitting that her vomit was white and some of it got on my black watch.
Next time, I'll write about internal medicine. There will be much more color and much less vomit.
