Seriously.....did my Attending just set me up??

I have just completed my second day of Internal Med.....only 2 months and 28 days to go. My day started off very normal, i got pimped on my reading assignment from the night before...for some reason i can know a lot of information, but put me on the spot and my mind turns into a blank wall. So after getting a few questions wrong, and few more right I felt ready to see some patients....

The day started off kinda slow, we had about 6 patients at the office, went to the hospital and saw 2 more patients and i had my first encounter with "the family". The first patient i had to deal with at the hospital had her sister in the room visiting. The patient came into the hospital for one reason, got some meds and took a turn for the worse.....she had an unexpected reaction to the medication...it happens. Anyone can have a negative reaction to a new medication, esp someone who already has a lot of medical problems ( parkinsons, diabetes..) so no need to panic..we stop the medication and change to a different med.

Unfortunately her sister had a few things to say about the Doctor who prescribed the medication...and i was not prepared to deal with this person, she dictated what her sister (THE PATIENT) experienced, needed and wanted....I kept trying to tell her I need to hear this from the patient, please let your sister tell me...and she just kept yelling about her sister nto being able to tolerate medication...i suggest a different medication and get yelled at because they had prescribed it in the pass and caused her to faint and pass out. Seriously, the patient and doctor make medical decisions, not the doctor and the sister of the patient (or the husband/wife/son/ daughter) if the patient is alert, oriented and able to communicate then the patient will make the decisions....all i wanted to tell her, "when you are sick, you can make the decisions and yell at the doctor, but in the meantime I am not your doctor and will not discuss the case with you so please step outside while I examine the patient."


The afternoon we were slammed and saw about 20 patients....at the end of the day I am being debriefed with my attending and had the strangest conversation to date...

he asked me if i had any plans for the high holy days, which may i remind you are not until sept/ oct...i dont even know whats going on next week let alone a few months from now. He then proceeds to tell me that he sits on the board of directors at a synagogue and can get me tickets to services.

again, for those that are not aware, we jews need to get tickets to attends services on high holy days. And sometimes they even check photo ID against the ticket purchased. Its weird I know but that is just how we roll for the holidays when everyone actually shows up.

After offering me tickets to services, i then get asked the question that inevitably comes up..."Are you single?"

It turns out that his wife's best friend has a younger brother, who recently graduated from law school, and he would like to forward my info to him. I am sitting there, like ...i cant say no, but isnt it a little weird that my attending is trying to set me up with a friends brother?? on the other hand i got the feeling/ sense of approval from my attending, that he thinks of me in such a way that he is wants to set me up...i guess that means that he likes me :) so thats kinda nice...

anyways my assignment for the day off is to read about the effects of tobacco and alcohol on health....(i did convince two patients to quit smoking today, set a date and they are going to try and use a new drug to help called Chantix....hopefully that will work!)

enjoy the 4th of july, i will be on the beach in Miami watching some fireworks and enjoying my day off...