Endings and Beginnings

On Friday, I finished my summer internship. I can't believe the 10 weeks are over! I swear it feels like just yesterday that I was posting about being excited to finish up the semester, go home, relax, and start my summer job! Where has the time gone?!

I am very grateful for all of the time I spent at my internship this summer. I learned a lot and got to really work on my clinical skills. Because it was a general practice hospital, I didn't really get to see any exciting medicine cases, but I did get the chance to learn a lot about vaccines and general health care. I got to play with a lot of puppies and kittens, and to see what it is like to work in a hospital that practices practically, rather than like we learn in academia (i.e. the very top of the line, most expensive medicine available). The staff I worked with was excellent - they all enjoyed their jobs very much, were good friends outside of work, and just worked well together in general. Very different from what I'm used to. It's not that the other staffs weren't friends, didn't work well together, or didn't enjoy their jobs, it was just a different feeling. Perhaps it was because shifts were shorter, breaks always happened, and praise was top priority of management's. What ever it was, it was fun to work with this summer.

Next up on my list? A one week externship at a smaller specialty hospital (where I worked overnight last summer). I expect nothing less than 4-5 long days of tons of learning and fun! As much as I enjoyed the very slow and laid back pace of general practice (it's hard to argue with the awesome hours of 9-4, 8-3, or 12-7!), I miss medicine! I miss emergency work, I miss puzzles, and I miss working on very sick patients. Should be a great week!

After that, it's off to visit family for a week. I'll be home for a couple of days in between trips, but mostly I will be hanging out and catching up with grandparents. Maybe get a little bit of shopping and beach time in too! Not that US beaches have ANYTHING on Grenadian beaches!

Finally, packing and making the long journey back to the island for another 4 months is in order. I can't believe the time has almost come to return. Summer sure did go quickly!