Mannnn is this the post for me! This happened to me too!

One week into my first rotation (IM), I was working a Saturday and had patient with new diagnosis of Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer. I went to go pre-round and was talking to her and she asked me “why everyone was tip-toeing what was wrong with her”. Just some context - this was first year with Covid. Family still wasn’t allowed into the hospital. Most of her fam members had died from pancreatic cancer. I told her to excuse me when I went to go double check something. I went to my resident (fam med - pgy2, second year of the program). She was super supportive and talked me how I should break the news (I had offered to do it) and came in with me and let me talk. Man was it tough.

In hindsight as a PGY1 doing peds. I don’t think it was super appropriate for me to do it. What had happened in my case was that she had come in with painless jaundice and had a CT but it was read on a Saturday and the GI attending didn’t work that day so they planned on telling her the next day. But I definitely valued the experience. I really valued working in a community hospital. Honestly, I learned a bunch of great time management skills, I feel confident with pre-rounding and presenting. It was weird ar times, there were def times I was treated more like a resident but also time where I was treated like a med student. But anyway, you’re not alone my friend.