These past two weeks I have been
working at my new position as an intern at Melomed Hospital. It has been an
amazing experience thus far, with much more medical exposure than what was
offered at Sarah Fox, though it is not fair to compare the two, as they were
designed for two very different missions. I can already tell that I will not be
able to form the same strong connections with patients as I did at Sarah Fox,
due to the nature of the institution. Where Sarah Fox provides long-term
housing for its patients, Melomed is a primary institution where patients
reside only throughout their first stages of recovery and treatment. In other
words, most Melomed patients stay for one week or less. The two institutions
also vary greatly as they receive their funding from vastly different sources.
So far we have spent all of our time in
the labor and neonatal wards. Tuesdays have proven to be the most exciting day
of each week. Last Tuesday I was able to go on rounds with the doctor, which
was exciting in itself. It was especially exciting, though, because Dr. Ismail
made the process very interactive, by testing my knowledge on each topic that
was covered. It was a great feeling to know that the staff members are as eager
to teach as we are to learn. It was also a great way to understand the dynamic
between patient/sister/doctor in the institution, given that it was only my
second day there. This Tuesday was even more exciting, in both good and bad
ways. All morning, Mariko, Libby and I were waiting for a woman to go into
labor. This may not seem like something so exciting when you spend every day in
the maternity ward, however not too many NVD or “normal” births happen during
the hours that we work. Anyway, I apparently chose the wrong time to head to
the bathroom, because when I returned moments later everyone had disappeared. I
found out after waiting in the hallway that the delivery was completed, and I
had missed everyone move into the room to observe. While I was extremely
frustrated with myself for having such bad timing, I was allowed to stay late
and view twins being born in the theater, which made me feel very lucky and
appreciative at the end of the day.
It is weird to think about how
different working in maternity can be from many of the other medical
experiences that students in our program have. When it comes to maternity, so
much of what is being done concerns bringing new life into the world, and
celebrating its creation. I get to watch and be a part of so many life changing
moments for families, which I am slowly beginning to realize the gravity of.
For many other students (and even myself when I worked at Sarah Fox), you are
given the opportunity to play a role in life changing moments, yet usually on
the opposite side of the spectrum. I have sat through explaining to a parent
that their child may be infertile, breaking the news to a patient that she was
a victim of cancer, and even just today students at Tafelsig clinic had to view
the failed resuscitation of an infant. I do not mean to say that bad news
cannot come in the maternity ward, just that so much of what I have experienced
so far has been happy and opportunistic.
I do not mean this to make for a
crestfallen ending, but the opposite actually. Realizing this dichotomy has
made me appreciate both aspects of the medical field, and furthered my
understanding of the strength needed to work in it.
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