Last Day of Outpatient Pediatrics

Today was the end of my 3 short weeks on outpatient pediatrics. I am very grateful to have been assigned to my site.

I initially requested 2 Davis sites and acted very resentfully when I didn't get them. But now I realize I was quite fortunate.

I worked 1-on-1 with a UC Davis solely outpatient pediatrician. I gained a lot from the repetition of working with him. I got to really learn how he provides primary care. He does it compassionately, efficiently, and skillfully. I would love to have him as my future children's pediatrician. It was also great to be with a university pediatrician with a larger proportion of medically complex kids than a community pediatrician.

He was also an excellent and proactive teacher. He asked me what my goals were regularly and provided me with feedback often. He encouraged my practicing physical exam skills. Now that I'm starting to feel comfortable with kids' physical exams, I bet my adult physical exams have improved as well.

I am proud and humbled by my performance on this rotation.

The things I am proud of are: detecting decreased breath sounds on a child's left lung and he was subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia, splinting a broken pinky all by myself, writing "superb" notes, starting to finally know what ear drums look like, and just being great with kids.

I am humbled by my presentation skills. I was not very fluent and confident in my oral presentations. I know I paused a lot because that was my natural response to someone typing what I was saying. But he specifically told me not to pause, and I continued to do it. Don't know why that was so hard for me to get over. Presentations were never my weakness, I feel I'm at least average. Nevertheless, I'm humbled that I didn't do something with ease.

During pediatric nephrology, I was also humbled when I sucked at my first oral presentation of a NICU baby. I agreed and I am proud that I didn't let it get to me. I take constructive criticism better than I give myself credit for. Probably because so far it's been helpful and true. What's funny though is when she actually used the word "sucked" 5 days later, but in the context of my significant improvement. I laughed with her in agreement.