It is hard to keep up blogging on a daily basis. The time it takes to write something coherent is one thing, then to find links, pictures, etc. does add stuff into the mix. Today has been a pretty good day for me – I saw lots of patients in clinic and it actually went smoothly for once, and I managed to solve a few quandaries on my own. It is sad to see all of the difficulties that can arise from not having insurance or good continuity of medical care. At the health department we get countless people referred from their primary doctors for routine immunizations because their doctors cannot fit them into their schedule within the next few days of their phone call. At the health centers we are a quick one-stop shop and the families can get immunizations done easily on a walk-in basis. It gets frustrating to have our services over-utilized. I am happy to give people the services they need, but it is not right that a patient who is insured properly and has capitation funds going to their primary doctor should come to a health center for immunizations. To me that signifies medical practitioners who are also taking advantage of the system.
But enough with the soapbox.
Today I received results from my glucose tolerance test. The call came as a voicemail at about 4pm – just over 24 hours from my getting the test. Given the quick nature of the call I was prepared for the worst, and was pleasantly surprised to get the message that I passed the test “with flying colors.” Thank goodness for some good news. As my little baby decides to inhabit the right side of my belly giving me constant rib discomfort, it’s nice to know that I don’t have to give up ice cream too. I considered rewarding myself with some today and instead had some nice mango sorbet. Good Doc2Mom.
But it feels very good to have the result. It is a huge weight off my shoulders. Again it reminds me of what my patients go through every day. When I heard a slow heart beat in a teenage patient and sent them to cardiology to get it checked, I didn’t feel like it was a big deal, and found out later in the day that the patient went to his father in tears, worried that he wouldn’t be able to play sports or – worse, that something serious could be wrong with him. A “basic” medical issue is very different when it is your own! I constantly have to keep my radar up to remember to be empathetic and not to assume that patients aren’t seriously worried about their health. After all, why would they come to the doctor in the first place if they weren’t concerned?