A Chance to Play Doctor

As a first or second year medical student, there is an overwhelming number of extracurricular groups and activities in which you can participate. These range from the rather customary, like student government, to the absolutely extraordinary, such as volunteering at actual free clinics. Let me clarify: when I say volunteering, I don't mean delivering food trays, stocking shelves, or greeting patients as they arrive. This is real, hands on experience...

...Essentially, it's a chance to play doctor, and we come fully equipped with our Fisher-Price play sets.

So two weeks ago, I had my first shift volunteering at SW Clinic, a community health center staffed by OHSU volunteers. Each shift runs from 4pm-8pm (or potentially longer, as needed), and includes an OHSU doctor, resident, and four first- or second-year medical students (that's me!). The clinic is open Tuesdays and Thursdays and serves about 20 patients per afternoon/evening.

And here's how things go down: we, the medical students, pick up the patient's chart from the front, call them back, take their weight, and room them. Next we take vitals (BP, RR, pulse), ask them about their chief complaint, and take a focused history. After we run through the whole procedure (completely on our own, I might add), we excuse ourselves from the room to go find the doctor or resident. With so many inexperienced students, the clinic tends to get a bit backed-up, so we often have to wait a few minutes at this point. Once the someone is available, we present our patient and discuss the assessment and plan (all according to our level of confidence and experience). Finally, we return to the room, this time accompanied by the doctor, to finish up the encounter.

And that's an evening at SW Clinic! Phew. It's hectic. It's overwhelming. It's nerve-racking. And it's absolutely thrilling. I cannot wait for my next shift. For the first time since starting medical school, I actually felt a bit like a real doctor; it was almost as if I could truly get a sense of my future career. And. it. felt. great.

The expectations of students at the clinic are a bit...humbling, to say the least. When the nurse was giving me my initial orientation, she continuously referenced tools, instruments and techniques, the likes of which I had never even heard of, let alone been responsible for myself. She even alluded to the fact that I might need to perform a Pap Smear, and thus showed me where to locate the tools to do so. I have to say, the first 30 minutes or so of my shift (up until the point that I finished with my first patient, really), were rather unnerving. Ok, let's be honest. They were terrifying. I felt so alone, so inexperienced, so out of place.

...And then, everything sort of clicked, and it felt completely natural (albeit still utterly foreign and confusing in just about every way possible). I loved it. And the best part? Every shift will be completely unique. Apparently one of my classmates, during his first shift at the clinic (which was during the very first week of medical school), did 2 Pap Smears and 3 prostate exams. Like I said, high expectations, huge responsibilities, exceptional experience.

The night of my shift, one of my peers pointed out that we were close to halfway through our first year of medical school. Based on this, he concluded that--assuming about a four year residency--we were 1/16 of the way to being useful doctors. And you know what? That night, for probably the first time since I started down this path, I actually felt useful. I was taking vitals. I was seeing patients. I was playing doctor. I was well on my way to my future career, with just half a year down, and many, many more to go. But that's ok. Because frankly, I was having the time of my life. With my Fisher-Price stethoscope in hand, I was one-sixteenth of a useful doctor indeed.

...Heck, I may have even been pushing an eighth.