From the start of the second trimester, NUHS clinic plays a
large role in facilitating our education. Clinic offers us the
ability to understand and apply what we are learning in the
classrooms. It also teaches us patient care. Most of all, it allows
us first-hand interaction with our patients, our biggest teachers.
I have referred to clinic in many blogs, as it is personally my
favorite part of the program. Of course we could not be in clinic
without the classes teaching us AOM, but the clinical interaction
is so meaningful to me. It's a chance to bring everything we learn
and use it while having our patients teach us how it affects
them.
While in clinic, students are very focused on the care of their
patients. This offers the opportunity to do extra research on a
case-by-case situation. This is a very valid method for us to
expand our understanding of specific conventional medicine and AOM
diagnosis and treatment plans. We have rooms where we are able to
work on our research and charts, allowing a thorough understanding
of our patient and their care.
We have a clinician room that we use for every patient. Hui Yan
Cai, PhD, MD (China) is pictured in it in this blog.
Dr. Cai
When a patient arrives, the intern enters the room and performs
an intake. From that information and previous research for ongoing
patients, the intern meets with the clinician in the clinician's
office. Then, the clinician also performs a short intake on the
patient. Through this interaction, the intern and clinician
formulate a treatment plan.
Once the clinician has seen the patient, the intern is able to
begin the treatment. Just as the intake portion builds on the
intern's knowledge base, much learning occurs during the treatment
aspect of the appointment. This portion allows the intern
first-hand experience to comprehend the impact and reaction of the
intern's application of AOM.
In this week's pictures, several observers and interns are shown
working on clinical work. In clinic there are observers who observe
every aspect of clinic. They also play a crucial role in keeping
the area clean during the clinic shift. Once a student moves from
observer to intern, they begin treating patients.
I feel NUHS' clinical setting is one of our greatest learning
opportunities. I think most of the students feel this way, as
well.