Today was adult clinic day and if you have been reading my blog then you know it is not my favorite day of the week. Now please, don’t get me wrong-I love to treat people and I love to practice medicine, however I really have never been a big fan of adults as patients. They always have a million concerns, they are not as cute as kids (joking…kind of), they tend to be less impressed with my games of peek a boo and they don’t crack a smile at a Dora the Explorer sticker. I mean, come on…who doesn’t love Dora!?!
Lucky for me the SCNM students are still here and they were the primary caregivers for these adults. Each clinic day we try to give the students a little more freedom to see patients on their own while still being available for consults and obviously all treatments are run by us first. The students have been working hard all week perfecting their chart notes, differential diagnoses and treatment protocols. This is their last day in the clinic before they head home Monday so it was time for them to show us what they have learned being here. It was really great to see them with “their patients”, taking the treatments seriously and understanding that they will forever touch the lives of the patients they have taken care of.
The day started out with two of my favorite patients so far. First was a 70-ish year old woman with excruciating Osteoarthritis in her knees causing her to rely on a cane for walking. She came last week for treatment and her only desire was to, “be able to attend church on Sunday’s” as her pain has prevented her from going. We did some acupuncture for her as well as loaded her up with some great vitamins and minerals
including a product with curcumin and boswellia for decreasing inflammation. She came back this week and when she saw me she began speaking a mile a minute. The translator relayed that she was thanking me profusely for helping her last week as she made it to church for the first time in months. She told me she prayed for me in church and continued to thank me as I told her that it was my pleasure to be able to treat her and that her ability to go to church after treatment is one reason I practice medicine. I was humbled and thankful that the treatment allowed this woman to be able to do what was so important to her.
Awesome patient number two is a 72 year old man who came to us last week with symptoms of BPH including difficulty with urination and back pain. He wanted us to do whatever we could to, “make him younger”. Previously we treated his urinary symptoms and did acupuncture for his low back pain. At the end of the treatment he jumped off the table and said, “I am young again” gyrating his hips around (please try and picture this sweet grey haired man, all 5’3” 115lbs of him). I fell in love right there and he almost singlehandedly caused me to add geriatrics into my desired patient base. Today the student’s continued to work on his chronic low back pain with some cupping (Chinese medicine technique), acupuncture and massage. I think we have a patient for life as I heard him thanking all the students on his way out.
Score two for us. I guess today was not such a bad day after all…it’s all about perspective right? J
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