as my previous entries have stated, i'm not that crazy about ob-gyne (hah, the understatement of the year). waking up at 7:00 am everyday is physically tiring. we're constantly running to be somewhere 30 minutes before the expected time of the consultant's arrival. we're ICCs with only one ob-opd session and no gyne-opd for the whole rotation. sgds and preceps pile up, schedule changes are frequent, patients get on your nerves. honestly? NEGA.

today, my two groupmates and i went to the gyne-opd to find gyne cases for our discussion. my patient was referred from IM, and i had no idea what was wrong with her. the poor woman kept asking me to name her disease - to explain the variety of symptoms she was feeling. all i could tell her was that i'd do my best to find out. pap smear was a nightmare. it was my first time, she was screaming in pain, i couldn't find the freaking cervix, and i had no time to perform an internal exam because i was late for my sgd. the three of us ran to the conference room, sans lunch, praying to God the consultant was late. it was seriously one of the worst days of my life.

coincidentally, i met my patient a few hours later because she was scheduled for an ultrasound. small talk, some advising, a few smiles exchanged. when i turned away to hurry after my classmates, she caught my arm and whispered, "doc, salamat po." after hurting her, after failing to identify her disease, after leaving her in the middle of her physical exam, she thanked me.

after crying my eyes out, i realized that i should have thanked her too.


verse for the day:
let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. [proverbs 3:3,4]