I can't express in words how much I hate moving.
Like, I HATE MOVING.
The whole process of taking everything down in your apartment, packing it all up, transporting all your items to the UHaul, driving the UHaul to your new place, UNLOADING everything from the truck, carrying those items unto your new spot and rearranging everything once you've finished bringing everything in the apartment is a struggle from the depths of hell. That may be a bit dramatic, but I don't care. I spent ALL DAY yesterday moving from my apartment of two years to a new one up the street, mainly because of rising rent prices. Plus, the new one had a better deal overall and was cheaper than what I was paying this past year. And furthermore, my roommate had decided that he was going to move out of our apartment to a house closer to the hospital. Soooo I made the executive decision to endure the struggle of the moving process, even though it's one of my least favorite things to do. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on your perspective) I don't own many things, so I was able to start and finish the whole process in one day! So I'm currently all moved in and enjoying my new apartment, which also happens to have a skylight in it! I'm also even closer to downtown Winston-Salem now, so many of the restaurants are within walking distance from me. Only thing missing is a grocery store, which I still gotta hop in a car and drive to when necessary. Closest thing I got to a grocery store is CVS about a block away. Yeah, I wouldn't wanna grocery shop there either.
But you didn't click on this link to read about my moving struggles. You clicked to read about how my latest experience in my Internal Medicine clerkship went and what you could possibly take from my experience so far. Or you may have clicked for another reason unbeknownst to me. I don't care. I'm just glad you've taken some time out of your precious day to read what I end up typing on this post. For that, you are much appreciated. I'm grateful for your attention. Thank you!
As a sidenote, take a listen to that new DJ Khaled album, Grateful, if you haven't already. It's 🔥🔥🔥! The album also got me through the hassle of the moving process. Did I already tell you how much I hate moving? My disdain for it is up there on the list next to being ignored. And having insomnia. Insomnia is the absolute worst.
Lol okay, I'm done.
I spent this past week working at an outpatient clinic for the underserved in downtown Winston, where I interacted with an interesting array of patients. During the week, I worked on my history-taking and physical exam skills as well as my patient presentation skills. I also wrote up a few patient notes and was able to get some good feedback on those from my attendings. One interesting aspect of my time in the downtown clinic was participating in this program called CarePlus, where healthcare providers travel to the homes of certain patients to make sure that these patients are getting the care that they need. I was able to ride along with a nurse on one of these trips and was afforded a unique perspective of distributing healthcare as a result. We traveled to three different patient homes, all in places that I wouldn't have ever ventured to otherwise. By going to these places and experiencing them with my own eyes, I could fully appreciate how much of an effect the environments of these patients had on their overall health and on their respective perspectives of the world. I was already well aware of the types of environments that a vast majority of the underserved population routinely inhabit and of the power that an individual's environment has on their life. This experience only heightened my awareness of that absolute truth. Overall, my experience in the clinic was a great one! The atmosphere was inclusive, the people that I worked with were very friendly, and I didn't have to wake up at 4:45 AM each morning. How can you beat that? Plus, I've been doing quite well so far in staying disciplined in my studies. I'm seeing a steady increase in my knowledge base and I'm getting better at reasoning through these practice questions. Yes, they're still hard as hell…but I'm learning a ton from them!
With that said, I gotta get back to them. I took an unexpected (and extended) break from studying this afternoon, but I got free food and good vibes from friends in return! So now that I've used up a good portion of my afternoon, it's time for me to get back to the grind and prepare for my week in hospice care coming up. I have a strong feeling that this is going to be quite an emotional week…
Y'all be sure to have a lovely week! It's hard to believe that I'm already halfway done with my first rotation of third-year!
“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” – Jim Rohn
– Black Man, M.D.
P.S. – R.I.P. to the King of Pop!