September 16, 2002
Hello all,
Some of you have mentioned that you missed the Reading Report. The staff decided to take a brief sabbatical from writing the report in order to get situated in the new clinical circumstances. With call which was every fourth night on Peds, and the expectation that we will see our patients seven days a week things have much busier than the first two years of school. So, I apologize to those of you who have sent e-mails only to wait weeks for a reply. And, to those of my friends who I will have to miss some of the greatest moments in your lives, I wish I could be there to share in your happiness. Send me a picture and let me know how it was!
I have been having some trouble knowing what to write about my experience lately. This is not for a lack of material. It is rather ironic that I am having difficulty finding words to describe the clinical years of my medical journey. When I started the Reading Report the goal was just to get through the first two dull years of school and then enjoy sharing all the gory details in the clinical years. Now that I am here the perspective is quite different. Rather than just stories to share I have patients with information I could reveal. I could tell you about a four month-old bright-eyed baby girl with seemingly devoted parents and over 10 fractures in different stages of healing consistent with only one thing, abuse. But, I find writing about her, or any of the many individuals I have seen in the past two months very unsatisfying. Either the story is so sparse that you get no sense of the challenges and difficulties facing the individual, or I introduce too much information about the patient and breach their confidentiality. It is a challenge that I never considered in nursing, and naively dismissed when entering medicine. How does a physician relate to friends and family the daily experiences of a life lived in seemingly constant service to those facing indescribable challenges, heart breaking situations, and confidential circumstances. Medicine is a profession that is very difficult to describe, but at times when you meet a defenseless four month-old it is even more difficult to experience it.
We finished Peds at the end of August and for the past two weeks I have been doing Gyn. Next month is OB and I am looking forward to delivering some babies, even though I am under no illusion as to whether or not I want to do OB/Gyn. Don't get me wrong, I love women, I even married a great one, but I will leave others the privilege of dealing with their health issues.
Have a great week and God bless,
Brenton Reading
