On the Wards

I'm actually really grateful that we have this transitional clerkship to learn the ropes and make mistakes. There is so much nitty gritty stuff to figure out. I still feel a little out of place on the wards, working with the nurses and clerks, figuring out the computer system, navigating my way through a chart. The paper charts are ridiculous. Most of it is illegible and I'm not even sure how to make sense of it. The computer interface at SFGH isn't the most intuitive either; the data is poorly organized. This was surprisingly disappointing; I know medicine is slow to adapt to technological innovation, but the charts and the computer program really feel at least a decade old. However, it's been a good exercise to practice writing notes; now that we realize it's an important responsibility, we're really learning hard how to write a good note. While I feel comfortable with oral presentations, the practice and feedback we're getting is good preparation for when we will actually be evaluated. I think, though, it's been good to be in the environment just to get a feel of how an inpatient ward runs, who everyone is, where the resources are, etc.