Rotation 1: weeks 3 & 4

I’m having the time of my life here in Alaska!  The weather could not be better, the activities are endless, and now that the detective is here I have someone to share this all with. 

The clinic is keeping me quite busy.  I’m giving lots of  vaccinations, I’m getting really good at female pelvic exams (they’re actually quite fun to do now), and today, I did cryotherapy all by myself!  Amazing.  We see a variety of illnesses and conditions.   I truly feel like these are my patients, and I am honored to be taking care of them. 

Demographically, this part of Alaska is not very diverse at all.  The most diversity you will see is in the people who come off of the cruise ships and hang out downtown.  Alaska has the third highest population of Tuberculosis in the nation.  There is also a huge alcohol problem here.  Needless to say, I saw my first positive PPD last week, and I’ve seen a few alcoholic pancreatitis patients, too.  The majority of my time here has been spent seeing common things: viral illnesses, medication follow-ups, psychiatric disorders, minor injuries, annual well person exams, etc.  Last week a young child stepped on a rusty nail and got a Td shot.  I probably performed two to three Pap/pelvic exams each day.  And I gave lots and lots of shots…for kids who step on nails, for young adults who are heading off to college, and for older adults who are traveling out of the country.  While at the hospital last week, the radiologist and I came across a rare condition.  Pulmonary intralobar sequestration.  I had never heard of it.  The radiologist had only seen one other case in his career.  Fascinating stuff, and really interesting to see on CT.

Today marks the beginning of the end.  I leave Friday evening.  I hate thinking about it.  I have grown to love this place.  Has my time here been enough to convince me to pack up and relocate here?  Maybe!  I’m a pretty spontaneous person.  I love the idea of living here, but I don’t know about working here full time.  Perhaps once I become a hot shot PA I can do some locum work here.  For now that is the goal.  This time next week I will be on my way to Ohio to begin my Women’s Health rotation at one of the nation’s most respected hospitals.  It will be a lot of early mornings and late nights, and a lot of OR time, or so I hear.  I’m looking forward to a change of gears, and I’m really excited about spending the majority of my time in a hospital setting.