I'M REALLY GOING TO MISS ELECTIVE LIFE 😭😭😭

After my last day on my pediatric nephrology rotation tomorrow, I will be starting my third rotation of third-year in the pediatric ED. I'll be kicking off my experience with a run of six nights in a row, which should be FUN.

I actually don't mind the ED much at all; it has always been an interesting experience in the past, I always learn so much, and the people I work with down there are fantastic. I just know that, personally, being a primary doctor in an acute or intensive setting stresses the hell out of me. I'm a big fan of predictability when it comes to caring for patients at work, which is something both of those settings severely lack in. Of course I know I can get through my ED and ICU rotations, benefit greatly from them, and even thrive in them at times. I just know that I'm not an acute or intensive care doctor at heart, even though I see them as pretty cool specialties. Plus, I just REALLY don't want to get sick, especially with my wedding day rapidly approaching. I would be so, so, sooo sad. I'm just going to have to be super aware of not being exposed to anything while at work. I may even wear PPE gowns during every patient encounter in the ED lol. I'm laughing, but also sort of serious. Depends on how I'm feeling while I'm down there. All in all, I do think it will be another great experience, especially since I'm pretty used to the ED workflow by now (it will be the third time I've rotated through there during residency). I'm also going to challenge myself in various ways while I'm there to keep things interesting and to continue building on my acute care skills because I do think those skills are incredibly important regardless of if you're going into a sub-specialty or not. I'll let you know how things go this third time around! 😁

I've been spending the majority of my time over the past few weeks working in nephrology clinic, in the hospital caring for patients on the nephrology service, and in continuity clinic providing primary care for my panel of patients. It has been wonderful to spend time in the sub-specialty that I'll be forging a career in! I've been provided some clarity as to what my future will entail, and I've been able to appreciate the various disease processes involving the kidneys as well as how to appropriately manage these pathologies. I've also been able to appreciate the strong bonds that the nephrologists have with their patients and their families, bonds that I'm looking forward to creating with my nephrology patients in the future. The rotation has provided me with an added bonus of free time that I've been able to productively use in various ways, which I've very much appreciated. And finally, because I've been on elective rotations these past two months, I've been able to spend more time than usual in my continuity clinic, where I've continued to develop and strengthen relationships with the families I've been serving. It has been great to spend my Fridays in continuity clinic these past couple months. Too bad that streak is over now that I'll be transitioning into the ED and then an inpatient wards rotation after that. I'll still be spending time in continuity clinic, I'll just be there on random days as opposed to being there on the same day every week. I also won't be there anywhere near as often as I have been. *sigh*. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. C'est la vie.

I don't have much else to say today, so I'm going to keep this one short. I will say that I'm looking forward to announcing The 2021 Desire To Inspire Scholarship winners this week! I'm also looking forward to my birthday in a couple weeks and then getting married to my best friend the week after that! 🤩❤️

I hope that you all have an amazing week! Stay cool, safe, sane, and healthy in this wild world!

“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you have power over instead of craving control over what you don't.” – Steve Maraboli

– Black Man, M.D.