As I end the second week of my externship, I'm learning more about healthcare. It can be filled with stress at times, and it is complex; but these facts also make it a cooperative field, at least in the context of a small doctor's office. I'm being encouraged more and more to take vital signs and interact with patients, and I'm getting more comfortable in that area. Toward the beginning of the week, a lady started to become upset with me because I was nervous as I took her blood pressure, but this was the low moment of the week. I grew increasingly comfortable and competent as I practiced taking vital signs, and I feel like I'm starting to give almost as much to the office staff in terms of office help and medical assisting than I am taking from them in terms of asking for help or clarification. I'm not there yet, but I hope to be. At the same time, I'm getting to know the other students (there are four in the office at the moment) and the staff. This is turning out to be a meaningful summer.
*Note: In the following post, I am heavily influenced by a pastor named Bob Shirock. Specifically, Shirock writes about Solomon's response to the pleasures he experienced in life in Ecclesiastes, and observes that we can enjoy pleasures in life if we accept them as God's gifts, and if we express our gratitude in their enjoyment. He cites Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 and 1 Timothy 4:1-5. I’ve noticed something about pleasure: the highs can be followed by lows. This sounds obvious, but what I mean is that times of joy and fun in life's pleasures are wonderful, and can lift your spirits for a time, but they can be followed by a disappointment that comes from the realization that they are short-lived and will not satisfy us in the long-term. I’m calling this a pleasure hangover. We gain happiness for a time, but see that this happiness is temporary. We therefore feel a subsequent low that leaves us still longing. It reminds me of a theme in the life of C.S. Lewis: sehnsucht , or a wist...
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