One of the things I love most about being a family doctor is that there is so much variety to my days. I see every kind of patient, with every kind of problem, in every kind of setting. I get to bounce between the hospital, clinic, palliative care, adults, kids, obstetrics, procedures, and so on. In the almost 3 months I’ve been working, I’ve seen almost 700 patients so far, and some of them are becoming regulars. In the clinic, I get to see many patients for follow up visits, and am starting to get to know them and their families, which makes me feel like a real family doctor again. I am learning to oversee residents as they learn to be independent family doctors.
In the hospital, I am learning new skills like how to do my own ultrasounds, how to do my own pharmacology for drug dosing, how to use everything possible on exams to reduce the need for imaging and extra tests. I have learned how to ask basic medical questions in Kiswahili and understand about 50% of the answers. I am learning to be a teacher, since nearly all day every day I have at least one person in training with me.
Learning to be a teacher, team leader, and supervisor is a growing experience. It’s exciting, satisfying, and terrifying. My mantra these days is “God is bigger than this day”, when I feel overwhelmed. Praise God for giving us good work to do, good people to help us do it, and the ultimate Good Teacher as our role model.
Haley
Team Ryley 