Clinic

My first night in my "flat" was interesting....there was really loud music which sounded like it was right outside my window in the middle of the night. THEN around 4:30AM it started POURING. It sounded like it was just a huge bucket of water dumping on the building. I've been sleeping in till 8am so waking up at 4:30 made me feel like I wasn't adjusted to the time. However, I haven't been too tired this afternoon. I think it's just the adjustment to being in a different (albeit far less comfortable) bed.

For my first day at clinic I was quite nervous, but found the clinic to be pretty relaxed. The highlight of my day was this particular scenario:
One of the doctors I was shadowing was working with a patient who was concerned that she was pregnant. This was the 4th time she came in over the past 2 years (negative at all times including this one). I was interested to see where the doctor would go with this scenario. She first asked the patient if she was on birth control or using protection. The patient was not on birth control. The doctor told the patient that we could put her on birth control if she'd like, but would encourage the patient to continue to use protection like she was BECAUSE birth control works to prevent ovulation, HOWEVER, if the egg does get out, and gets fertilized then the pill works to prevent the implantation into the uterus wall- and this made her as a doctor uncomfortable. I was very impressed with the way this doctor handled the situation. She THEN went on to explain to the patient that our bodies are spiritual beings and G0d created sex to be between one man and one woman bound by marriage. She then encouraged the patient to consider marriage if her partner was a long-term partner and they hoped to have a future together. She also explained how statistics show that couples who are abstinent before marriage are less likely to get a divorce than couples who have sex before marriage. HOWEVER, studies have shown that couples who decide to get married but choose to stop having sex until their wedding studies have shown that the percentage of divorce goes back down.

We then were able to pray for this patient and her relationship with both her boyfriend and her family! It was amazing! It's soo cool to see this interaction between the doctors and the patients on a spiritual level as well. What a concept- to connect the physical, emotional AND spiritual to truly treat the individual as a whole.

I'm really excited for this rotation and to continue to learn. Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers as I am overseas.

oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH! :-D