Pediatrics in Humboldt

Much to my dismay, I am close to the end of my pediatrics rotation in beautiful Humboldt County. My preceptor is Dr. Ted Humphry from the Open Door Clinic, and I would often shadow Dr. Wirthlin and Dr. Heise when Dr. Humphry was out of the clinic. Having all three of them to myself was amazing- no other students or residents with whom I needed to compete for their attention. It was nice to see their individual methods of blending intuition with medical knowledge. I would go to the clinic every day for outpatient experience, and in the mornings I would make inpatient rounds. I was also called in at all times of the day to watch and eventually participate in C-sections and make rounds on inpatients.

My favorite part of this rotation was when I got to see patients on my own. I would take a brief H&P, report with my assessment to the attending, and then we would go in together to close up the visit. I also wrote SOAP notes after some of them- totaling about 2-3 per day. The only downfall of this rotation was not having Internet access. I had to wait until I got home to work on quizzes. I am going to miss the people of Open Door Pediatrics in McKinleyville and the physicians with whom I rotated. Not only were people courteous and welcoming, but they helped advocate for my ability to learn and participate in patient care.

I will also miss Humboldt County- such a beautiful place with fresh air, a slower feel, and might I say, tons of great food. I will be back, especially since I have much more north coast left to explore!!!

Next stop, SOMA Fall Convention, then OB/Gyn at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. So far I have been away from the Bay area for 9 weeks and it won't be another 7 until I can finally call it home base again. I have missed Walter terribly, but thank goodness for g-chat with cameras and the fact that this place is only 5 hours away. We saw each other every weekend of my NMM rotation, and every other weekend during my pediatrics rotation. I thank him for being endlessly patient with me. Thanks for reading- don't hesitate to message me if you have any questions on how to rotate in Humboldt, leave a comment below if you don't have my contact info.