Yesterday, I had my first hands-on experience in History Taking and Physical Examination of a real patient. It was, hm.. how should I describe it? Well it was OK, better than what I expected. For one, our patient was a young boy and his case wasn't complicated at all. And, second reason, we had a nice (and kakkoi? LOL) facilitator so the "grilling" was easier and very informative. ^o^
I was actually a little late for Clinics yesterday. ^^;; And when I arrived in the surgical ward, my groupmates were already in the middle of the history taking. Ehek. Well, our patient was a young boy with a ruptured abscess on his left mandibular area. I was surprised that he was already 14 years old, since he looked very thin and short for his age, and this made me feel a bit sad. But even though he was shy, he was also quite cheerful and kept laughing and making a toothy kind of grin. And even though I have a hard time communicating with people I just met for the first time, but I tried to chat with him anyway. After all, our first lesson in this class was about establishing rapport with our patients. We were the first group to finish HT & PE (since it was an uncomplicated case) and so when one of the facilitators arrived, he decided to choose our group so that we could finish early. And I was pleased, because I really wanted him to be our facilitator for our first clinics session. ^o^
After the "grilling" part, we met as a group to summarize our data, and we realized that we forgot to clarify some things. And so my groupmate and I went back to the ward to ask the questions. When we were done already, I smiled at the boy and his mom and thanked them. Then I don't know why, instinctively, I just reached out for him. And he held my hand. And for a moment there, I just felt time stop and I felt a sense of joy. I don't know. Was it because he was happily grinning at me, even though I know that his cheeks were inflamed and probably hurt like crazy? Was it because he held my hand, and I realized that somehow, in some way, he trusted me? Was it because I realized that someday I can become someone who can help people like them who are hurting and are less unfortunate? I don't know de-su. I just know that his simple act of holding my hand has moved me. The human touch after all speaks in volumes and does not hide true emotions. //smiles// Ahhh...!! Why is it that I soften so easily!? ^^;; Then I smiled at him and said, "Yan, magpahulay ka ug maayo ha, aron dali ka maayo." (Yan, rest very well so that you'll recover faster.) He gave me the same toothy grin.
This is the start of the many many more clinics to come and (hopefully) a life dedicated to even more of these sick and less fortunate individuals. May God give me the knowledge and strength to make a difference for them.
"So many people walk around with a meaningless life.
They seem half-asleep,
even though they're busy doing things they think are important.
This is because they are chasing the wrong things.
The way to get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others,
devote yourself to your community around you,
and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."
(Tuesdays with Morrie)
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