Stacey Dowd
Unfortunately, the flu is making its way through my household, so I have not had any clinical experience this week. However, I was having a conversation about my preceptor with my husband, and realized how fortunate I am to have found her. My preceptor is constantly looking for feedback from me. Multiple times throughout the day, she asks me if I have any questions, if I need clarification on anything, etc. She also asks me if there is anything she can do differently to help me. She is honestly great. She said that throughout her career, she has had people who have had various learning styles, and she wants to ensure that she is meeting their needs so they are getting what they need to out of clinical in order to ultimately be good providers, and providers that she will one day be happy to say “I had a role in them getting to where they are!†One thing that she does that I have personally found incredibly helpful, is she walks me through what she is thinking, and explains her reasoning for doing everything that she does. She doesn’t just do something. Everything she does has a “why†behind it, which she explains. It is incredibly helpful when she’s choosing one medication over the other, etc. Her and I will often role play before I see a difficult patient, or in between patients to practice various scenarios. It is so incredibly helpful! The way she explains things to the patients is excellent as well. We get many patients who are hesitant about beginning treatment, are in denial about their diagnosis, etc. After she explains things to them, patients are often more accepting and understanding of their plans of care, their diagnosis, etc.
Sandra Monica Delgado
Good morning:
This week in clinical has been good. I am so happy I am learning more and more about this specialty. I feel as though this week I was able to grow in my ability to communicate effectively with my patients. I felt both an increase in my confidence and knowledge with patients. I am becoming noticeably more and more prepared to carry out patient education, medication management and how to approach patients better. The Psychiatric experience from my preceptor has greatly contributed to my growth in this field of practice and knowing how to treat mental ill patients. However, one specific clinical experience that stands out for me, in regard to communication, was a discussion/education session that I had with a Depressed patient. In using therapeutic conversation, I was able to motivate my patient to see life in a positive perspective and to see the importance of medication compliance. It was very rewarding and gave me a sense of hope and confidence for the future patients. My preceptor has always been by my side since the beginning, and this has been a great experience so far. I hope it will continue like that until I am done with clinicals. I keep using my Epocrates application and so far I feel more confident every day in clinical.