Entry #12
May 12, 2014
In the middle of the night Sunday, Greg and I both woke up, sick with diarrhea and terrible nausea. I am sure it is from the fraud German Bakery we ate at on Saturday. Because I am a delicate little flower who withers away at the food here, I barely touched my meal at the restaurant. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Greg is a food tyrant who stuffs his face with everything he can reach; he ate both our meals. Poor Greg! Due to this MO of ours, I felt mostly better by the morning, whereas Greg was still resting at death's door by 8pm on Monday. I attended clinics today alone.
Mayank drove me to the cardiologist and showed me the path I would take with the vickram. I am scared for this as I am not sure where to board one and I don't have any small change with me. I suppose I will figure things out. I still did not feel well and could only eat an orange that morning. At the beginning of clinic with the cardiologist, I was close to fainting for a minute or two. I chugged some water and then felt I was no longer near passing out. It would be a lie to say this does not happen often to me. I truly do not drink enough water.
I followed the doctor to a small room already filled to the brim with patients. They began to step up one by one and get checked out by Dr. Joshi. He saw each patient for only a few minutes, taking their blood pressures and checking their heart/lungs with a stethoscope. Every few patients, he would lean back and tell me a diagnosis or explain a physiological concept. He answers my questions well and I can mostly understand through his accent. He shows me EKGs and brain scans, which are very interesting and almost impossible to decipher. We saw at least 50 patients together and he sees, on average, 150 patients a day.
The second clinic is emergency medicine with Dr. Sanjay Gandhi. If I can survive the terrifying, dangerous walk there every day, I think I will enjoy it very much. Dr. Gandhi is a very professional man who oozes intelligence and confidence with just one glance. He is very kind and modest, making it easy to talk to him once conversation is initiated. I was extremely intimidated at first because I sat quietly on his couch as he saw many, many patients without speaking a word to me. After about an hour, we got up to do rounds in the building that he owns. We entered about 15 rooms, some with multiple patients. Despite being followed closely by six employees hanging on his every word, Dr. Gandhi explained everything in English and asked me to check chests, MRIs and EKGs. I felt prioritized, which was very comforting since I was all alone for the first time in a medical clinic here. It was very nerve-racking to draw conclusions and listen to heart murmurs in front of so many strangers. Basically I am entering uncharted territories under the watchful eyes of a foreign audience. Most importantly, I crave to impress such an accomplished, intelligent man as Dr. Gandhi. I feel that I performed adequately for my first day. I got some diagnoses right, some conclusions wrong, but mostly I am being exposed to material and patients that all hold clinical relevance for my future career.
Unfortunately Dr. Gandhi speaks very softly so it is difficult to hear despite his perfect English. I hope to impress the man even a small amount and get to know him better so I can possibly ask his for a reference for grad schools. I enjoy doing both 3-hour clinics back-to-back but I will bring two water bottles tomorrow. I brought up to Mayank that I felt unprepared for some of the questions they asked me, but he eased my mind by explaining that doctors don't want to give me an inferiority complex and that they understand I am premed. I am happy with how much I am learning.
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