Reflecting on My Clerkship Experience: Family Medicine

Before I get too far into Peds, I want to make sure I record everything I thought about Family Medicine (and all other rotations in the future): 

From the AAMC Careers in Medicine Clinical Evaluation 

1. Name and Location of Clinical Rotation:
Family Medicine, Saint Francis Hospital, Greenwood, Indiana

2. What did I like most about this specialty? 

• The diversity of the patient population: infants, children, middle age, geriatrics, male, female...etc. 
• The hours: mainly 9AM-5PM - my preceptor is a wife and mother of 3 and she made balancing it all look easy!
• The OB component - got to observe two deliveries and lots of exciting pre-natal visits
• The variety of diagnoses - with each unique patient population comes different common complaints
• The amount of procedures performed and hands on requirement - biopsies, cryotherapy, varicose vein removal, etc. 
• The long-term patient relationship and familial dynamic of the patient-doctor interaction
• Being the coordinator of care for a patient with multiple specialist and being concerned with preventative care/total wellness

3. What did I like least about this specialty?
.........

4. Did this clinical rotation give me a good sense of what practice in this specialty would be like? 

Yes, I think that I got a great sense of the variety within Family Medicine.

5. Did my interests, values, skills and/or personality "fit" with this specialty? If yes, in what way did they "fit"? If no, why might they not be compatible? 
YES, not only is family medicine a way to allow me to pursue a variety of my MANY interests, but it would give me the time with my family that I definitely want, a lot of avenues to pursue interests like my desire to serve local youth outreach, medical/wellness writing, and public health. 

6. What are the possible practice settings for specialists in this field? Which of these settings interest me(*) and do I know enough about them? 

• Clinic*
• Community Hospital - Inpatient, OB*, ER shifts
• Academic* 

To gain more exposure to more clinical settings, I can do a Family Medicine externship or an away rotation during fourth year. 

7. What information do I still need to find out about this specialty? 

• How one's practice may vary between a more urban or rural setting. 
• Loan forgiveness programs available for family medicine residents.

8. Has my perception of this specialty changed based on my clinical rotation experience? 
Definitely, I was very intimidated by the idea of having to be well trained in handling so many different conditions, but family medicine is very big on the patient-doctor partnership and finding the best treatment for the patient's lifestyle. I also, respect the fact that when my preceptor felt that a condition may be out of her scope of expertise, she had no problem referring out to a particular specialist. 

9. Did my clinical rotation experience influence the likelihood of choosing a career in this specialty? If yes, how did it influence me? YES!!! I really had not considered Family Medicine at all prior to my rotation and now it is definitely a BIG possibility. 

10. Right now, on a scale of 1-10, how interested am I in this specialty as a career option? 9!!!

11. Other comments or reflections about this rotation or specialty: 
I enjoyed every day of this rotation :-)