Journey back to Portland

As always, packing took a wee bit longer than anticipated. ;) I finally hit the road around 5PM. It was hard to drive away from my apartment. It's been such a special 4 weeks in Baker.

I drove toward I-84, but I had one more important stop to make: Truck Corral. Wow. Talk about amazing. They have a cafe and country store, and the latter is filled with tons of souvenirs and cultural relics. :) I bought some cowboy boot earrings, a magnet, and several postcards. I wish I had had more time to linger, but I needed to get back. After making my purchases, I began my long journey home.

Doodad-lovers' dream come true :)

I drove without stopping (how my bladder managed this still surprises me) and got home around 9:30PM. It was strange driving up the hill to the co-op. I really hadn't been there for about 11 weeks, since I spent 6 weeks at home in the Bay Area before beginning my rural rotation. When I flew back to school from Oakland, I only spent two nights in Portland before heading to Baker.

The drive went relatively smoothly; I encountered some rain that poured down relentlessly for about an hour, but other than that it was smooth sailing. I employed the "Cruise-control-at -72" technique I learned from Paul. :) Sarah McLachlan and Alison Krauss kept me company on the way home. These two artists remind me of my time in Baker since Dr. Schott often listened to them in his office.

I arrived at the co-op exhausted. My car remained full of my belongings. Unpacking would have to wait. I don't think I had the strength to bring much more than my backpack and toiletries in.

The following day (yesterday), my classmates and I presented our community projects to one another. It was fun to learn about each other's clinics and experiences. This rural program is so awesome; we students are so lucky to have this opportunity to experience life in rural communities and practices! It's been quite formative for me as I'm sure it has also been for several others. After the presentations, we had a great discussion lead by Dr. Dodson about different learning issues we explored while on our rotations. Again, it was fun to share with one another and swap stories. We all laughed about how no matter what city we where in, it seemed that the grocery store was the spot to run into people that one knew--especially patients! There wasn't a single time that I went to Safeway where I didn't see at least three people I knew. At least I knew where to go if I was feeling lonely. :)

I wore my EOMA shirt that Cindy and Erin had kindly ordered for me. I also wore my new cowboy boot earrings. It felt good being robed in EOMA garb. :) I so miss the place and feel so lucky to have been there! Dr. Dodson and others said "They really have a great clinic out in Baker. Those are some cool doctors!" Amen, sister. Several others also commented on how EOMA is so "progressive, innovative, and cutting edge." I look forward to keeping in touch with my new Baker friends and I can't wait to return in January and hopefully sooner! Thank you so much EOMA, and especially Dr. Schott, for such an awesome experience. I'll treasure my time with you all. Thank you also, Dr. Dodson and the AHEC office for making this possible! This has been such a memorable rotation.

Thank you for joining me on my journey!
Till next time,
Stephanie

My last morning in Baker

Today I head back to Portland. It's been an incredible four weeks here, and I'll miss EOMA and Baker tremendously. I'm glad it's only about 5 hours away; I look forward to visiting during the summer and coming back next January for another rotation, which will include the medical mission to Honduras with Dr. Schott and company. :)

This morning I updated the whiteboard in my apartment. It's full of great recommendations already, but I added D&B Supply (love this place!), Inland Cafe, Paizano's, El Erradero, Chameleon Cafe, and Truck Corral (Dr. Schott tells me this is a cultural experience in itself. Cindy said the best time to go there is 1AM lol). I'll be heading to Truck Corral on my way out of town.


It was a wonderful last day at EOMA and St. Elizabeth. Dr. Schott and I rounded on our patients in the morning and then headed back to EOMA. Cindy took me out to lunch; we went to El Erradero. So good!! I can't believe I almost didn't go there this trip. Some of the tastiest Mexican food. Thank you, Cindy!!


Back in clinic, I joined Dr. Schott and saw three patients, one of which I have seen three times now. It felt apropros seeing him and his daughter on my last day.

A very special patient with whom I met a few times. :)
(Photo taken with patient's permission)

Dr. Schott and I worked on notes and then headed to the hospital to check on our patients. I said goodbye to the two I have been following as well as the nurses that worked on the Med-Surg unit.

James (RT), Jaimie (RN), Riley (RN) at Med-Surg

Shortly therafter, Dr. Schott and I joined Dawn and the boys at the Geiser Grand for their famous pasta night! It was a lovely dinner with the Schotts. I am so grateful for their hospitality and friendship! It's been awesome spending these past four weeks with them, and I look forward to seeing them in January if not sooner. :)

Dawn, Steven, Dr. Schott, and Alexander

After dinner, I went back to EOMA and gathered up my belongings and headed home. I was sad to leave EOMA; it's been such a home away from home. I think I spent more time there than at my apartment! Everyone at EOMA is so tight-knit; they truly are a family and I will miss them dearly!!

Well, I must get to packing. I've got a 5-hour long drive ahead of me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good road conditions!

Quick post: on call, last day tomorrow.

Today was my last official full day here at EOMA and St. Elizabeth Hospital. Dr. Schott and I have been on call since last Friday. It's been a busy few days but SO educational! This rotation has truly been a blend of family medicine, internal medicine, emergency medicine, OB, and more. What's cool is that rural family medicine encompasses all of these areas. These last couple of days have been "internal medicine" heavy since we've spent the majority of our time admitting and following patients at the medical-surgical unit. Goodbye comfort zone, hello steep learning curve. :) While intimidating at first, this "internal-esque" business is gradually getting more comfortable, rather I'm feeling more comfortable with it. Dr. Schott has been giving me tons of realtime feedback, which has been incredibly helpful. He also gives me the opportunity to do TONS, so I feel like I learn so much just from the variety and spectrum of experiences. I hadn't yet really written orders or felt confident in doing so. Especially in this last week, he's helped me arrive at a place when I am essentially the patient's doctor, and Dr. Schott is my supervisor and co-signer, but he lets me take charge of my patients. It's exciting, exhileration, empowering, intimidating, fun, challenging...all of the above. I'm getting more comfortable with writing orders and being confident about my clinical decisions. He and the other doctors have been super helpful and have encouraged me to trust what I know and just take a stab at diagnoses, treatments, and other decisions related to patient care. Thank you all for being such awesome teachers! Tomorrow, I will round on my patients in the morning and then see some of my patients in the afternoon at EOMA clinic. I'll also watch my first thoracentesis. I have to dictate a discharge summary, and gosh knows that being speedy at dictations is not one of my strengths...so gotta go! :)