We recently had our last preceptorship for this year. Despite the clinic being in Oakland, I really enjoyed my preceptorship. I learned a whole lot about working with patients, especially older patients. I've gotten better not only at gathering information in an interview and doing exams, but also at how to act like a doctor: how to observe things, to pursue important details, to control the flow of the conversation. I'm a bit sad to leave the patients, many of whom I've seen multiple times. My preceptor was also pretty good at teaching me about outpatient medicine and giving me lots of independence to learn.
Today, we had a psychiatry apprenticeship. In small groups under guidance of a psychologist, we interview patients with a wide range of disorders from bipolar disease to depression to suicide ideation. I've learned to gather a lot of data from just talking to patients and watching them as part of the mental status exam. I have a lot of sympathy for these patients, but sometimes I wonder how important it is to "be nice." In some cases such as low self-esteem or severe depression, encouragement and sympathy is important for the patient's well-being. But do we lose objectivity if we become emotional? I'm not sure. I know that building rapport, trust, and understanding is key to any patient-provider encounter, but I don't want to lose objectivity by getting too affected.
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