Hello all and welcome to Week 6!
I was on site for a full 3 days this week, and saw such a variety of patients and cases. Although we saw so many, I’ll be focusing on 2 visits in this post: one for diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and a well woman exam.
\Osteoporosis is screened for in a bone density test, which is basically a series of detailed x-rays taken of the wrist, femoral head, pelvis, and spine. These tests are compared to bone strength at the epitome of density: age 30 (a different strength is used for each gender). The patient is given T scores, with -1 being one standard deviation less dense than the average density at age 30, -2 being two standard deviations less dense, and so on. Patients with a T score of -1 or less are healthy, a T score of -1.1 to -2.4 are osteopenic (a milder, pre-osteoporotic condition), and a T score of -2.5 or less are osteoporotic.
Once a patient is diagnosed with osteoporosis, there are three main courses of action to be taken: Vitamin D and calcium supplements, prescriptions (such as Prolia or Fosamax that stimulate osteocyte growth), and weight-bearing exercise. Each of these strengthen bones back to a healthy density, so that in case of a fall, bones are not broken so easily! We treat lots of osteoporotic patients, and help move them back to healthy densities, through combinations of these aforementioned treatments.
The other major visit we had this week was well woman exams-- a visit I had not seen yet. This is a comprehensive wellness visit focused around women’s health, much like those at a gynecologist. Not all primary care offices offer visits like these, but it’s just another speciality Dr. Barker has tucked under her belt.
In these visits, we covered preventative home care such as self-breast exams, as well as running in office screenings like pelvic exams and pap smears (which I mentioned in the last post!). I also got to watch an IUD insertion, another experience I honestly never would have had without this internship. Opening my eyes to another field of medicine, these visits were beyond interesting.
So that’s this week’s update! Additionally, I know some of my peers have been taking spring breaks; my week off will be the first week of April! A little while longer. Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
