Week 4

Hi all! Hope everyone had a good week and avoided getting sick! Sadly, I did not, and was only on site one day this week. But what’s interesting (the most positive I could make this sound), is even my experience laying in bed the last few days has related to my internship.

On Monday, we saw a lot of patients who were coming in because they were sick. Flu and cold season is hitting later in the year this time, and lots of people I know in and out of the office have been sick. One particular bug we saw two cases of: a viral chest and head cold. This brought on stuffy noses, sneezing, coughing, aches, tiredness, sinus congestion… a combination that obviously makes for a great time. Unfortunately, this was the bug that I then caught!

An accurate depiction of how I felt this week. 

In general, viral illnesses cannot be treated with prescriptions; they just have to run their course. When this is the case, Dr. Barker (and myself at home) focuses on managing and treating the symptoms. This includes antihistamines  and sinus decongestants, such as Benadryl and Sudafed respectively.  Steroids can also be prescribed in low doses to “kick start” the body into healing itself, and also provide an energy boost to make up for the “drag” often seen with viral infections.

One upside to my ample time recovering this week: I made a spreadsheet with data from the surveys that we’ve received so far. It is really interesting reading through what patients value in  a primary care physician, and seeing how these values have been met with different providers.  Unsurprisingly, one of the biggest things patients seem to value thus far is feeling listened to, and not overpowered by their doctor. So far (and I expect this to continue), patients feel this happens with Dr. Barker!

My last exciting update for the week is a conference happening this weekend: the annual Mayo Clinic Women’s Health conference. Dr. Barker is attending all weekend, and I can’t wait to hear the information she brings back! Preventative Women’s care is a huge topic at this conference, so guidelines and regulations for mammograms and pap smears are commonly revised and edited to be the most beneficial they can. Additionally, a good screening test for ovarian cancer has not yet been developed, so I am interested to see if any progress is shared there.

I will share more next week about what comes of the conference, more surveying, and more patients! Thanks for reading!