Saying Goodbye to Dermatology and Hello to General Surgery!

Last Day of Dermatology Selfie :-)

Happy Sunday! My dermatology rotation is officially over and I’m kinda sad to be finished with it. The past month has been nothing short of amazing and I couldn’t have asked for a better first rotation. I got the opportunity to see a number of pathologies such as basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas, seborrheic keratoses, melanomas, cherry hemangiomas, and the list goes on! 

The future surgeon in me loved observing Mohs surgeries on Wednesdays where cancers were cut out, observed under a scope, and skin grafts were performed. I also had the opportunity to go to the cosmetic side of the practice last week and see cool things like laser hair removal and the laser lipo sculpting procedures. Dermatology has a variety of things to offer and I can definitely see why it’s such a competitive specialty. Plus, you really can’t beat the hours, the free samples, and the free food from the drug reps, LOL. 

My favorite part of the rotation was last week when a patient who I had previously seen on my very first day came back for a follow up appointment and immediately greeted me by name and remembered all the little details about me that we had previously talked about during the patient’s previous appointment. The patient was super sweet and told me I would be a great physician. It’s the little things like this that really make me happy to be on this path through medicine. I was also very fortunate to be under an amazing physician who took time out of his very busy schedule to answer my questions and thoroughly explain what was going on with every patient to me. The nurses and other staff were also the absolute best and were pretty much my lifeline throughout the entire month. I also had the chance to rotate with medical students from other schools, a PA student, and even a podiatry resident, so it was great getting different perspectives and meeting new people. 

Tomorrow I start my general surgery rotation and I am super excited for the month that is in store! I’m also a little bit anxious since surgery is a field I would like to go into, so I definitely want to make a good impression. I’ve already checked out a ton of surgery textbooks from the library and I’ll be making my question bank purchases this week to make sure I can rock the shelf exam at the end of the month. I’ll also be back in mommy-mode as my daughter is gearing up for school and our normal schedule again after being away from me the entire summer, so this month will definitely be an interesting one. I’m not sure how hectic my schedule will be this coming month, but I look forward to updating you all on this wonderful journey. Wishing everyone a fantastic week!