Ain't Nuthing But A "NG" Thang

What an exciting day to be on the wards for Nareg. From the beginning, I knew this was to be a particularly busy day, as Tuesdays we have Grand Rounds, which is essentially a presentation of a particular topic of medicine by an attending in her or his respective field. Add to that our regularly scheduled meetings with the Chief Resident and the Attending and basically, the morning was jam-packed.

I knew one thing... I wasn't leaving the hospital today until I had spoken with and taken a History and Physical (H&P) of a patient on our floor. I figured, this rotation had gone on far too long with me not having any patient contact, and I was set to rectify that. BOOOOOOOOOOY, Did I ever!

In between sign in and Grand Rounds, I stood in our little med-student hang-out with my colleagues. All of a sudden, the PGY 2 (remember? the second year resident?) came in looking for a volunteer to place a nasogastric (NG) tube in a patient. In one of my bolder and more courageous moments, I volunteered to take on the challenge (much to the approval of my intern). Now, an NG tube is more or less a basic procedure, nothing to get all excited about. But you'll notice... I called it a procedure... like real doctor stuff! Excitement fills the air!

For those who are interested in what an NG tube is, read on. For those disgusted by the idea of any medical procedure, disregard the rest of this paragraph. An NG tube is a method of providing nutrition to a patient that is otherwise unable to eat or drink. A tube is passed through the nose, the pharynx (the little space that causes you to have milk come out of your nose when you laugh), down the esophagus, and into the stomach, hence - Naso (nose), Gastric (stomach). This tube can then deliver nutrition directly into a patient's GI tract.

Under the supervision of the PGY 2, I was able to get the NG tube down. It actually proved to be rather easy, easier than I had expected. It was a good feeling to finally be getting some kind of clinical experience. Empowered by my sense of accomplishment, I set off to do my first H&P. The most intimidating thing is to be sitting across from a patient in your stupid little short white coat, realizing that you actually don't know anything, and setting off to interview this person about why they're in the hospital. It also doesn't help that, no matter how many times you introduce yourself as "a medical student", they still call you doctor. Forgive me while I throw up a little in my mouth. That's just too huge to handle.

The interview went rather well, but took WAAAAY too long. Of course, there were about a million things that I forgot to ask and do that only came to me on the way home. Nonetheless, I was happy that I was able to devote that much time to a patient who just wanted someone to talk to. (Expect comments on the current status of health care soon). Look out people, a new Dr. Kalamkarian (in training) is coming up in the world!