Hematology/Oncology Clinic

Didn't finish all the reading that I wanted to for this day. I had planned to get through the Hematology and Oncology chapters of the pediatrics review book I'm using (Blueprints). However, I only got through the Hematology chapter this morning. It was still a very good refresher. Plus Diamond Blackfan Anemia was mentioned in this book (first time I have seen it in any of my study materials). I was quite pleased at its mention, because I have had the opportunity to follow a close friend's (from childhood) child's diagnosis and treatment course. As I read through I learned a lot about the rare disorder that I had not learned before. This sparked an interest, and I was able to talk to her about her son's specific features, diagnosis, and treatment as well as general statistics about the disease. I feel like she probably knows more than the average physician about it.

Today I was assigned to the Hematology/Oncology clinic at the local pediatric hospital. I was hoping for a certain preceptor that I have worked with before, but he was not in clinic today. So I worked with 3 of his colleagues - all on the oncology side of the clinic - (one of whom everyone decided was my doppelganger). They were all excellent physicians. Since the only chapter I managed to read last night was Hematology, I was not as well prepared as I feel I should have been for working with the oncologists. I was able to see 2 spinal taps, 1 bone marrow biopsy, and Auer rods on an actual peripheral blood smear in the in house lab. The cases were interesting and both things that I will definitely see in my future career and things I will definitely not see. The lab had an excellent refresher on blood cell maturation and abnormalities to start the day off. However, the most interesting overall theme of the day was the amount of teamwork that goes into taking care of these special patients. There are a nutritionist, therapist, many physicians, laboratory technicians, amazing nursing staff and oftentimes learning and development specialists involved in every case. I thought this awesome art on the wall was an excellent representation of that principle.

Yesterday I picked up a friend's mini-Dachshund for a short stay at our place. She needed someone to watch her while she was in Philadelphia (really the suburbs of) for the big exam we all have to take (COMLEX-PE). Her pup is adorable and generally pretty well behaved. Although she always has one episode of bowel incontinence at our house (different routine? people?). Tonight she provided ample cuddles and quite a few giggles. Her tongue hangs out of the side of her mouth due to having half her jaw removed.