second post of the day

i wrote that i would share thoughts on my clinical, and since i have some time now, here they are...

1. i'm enjoying the relationship i have with my ci. we work well together and she has given me a lot of freedom to try things out.
2. i've been able to evaluate and treat patients on my own now and i feel much more comfortable with this.
3. i just had my midterm review and did really well!
4. i've had some really interesting conversations with people...neat life stories, thoughts on current events...i've enjoyed this, though i did have a bit of a debate with someone who claimed that all poor people are poor because they choose to be, and that if they really wanted an education/job/good financial status/etc. they could have it...i say a bit of a debate because it would have probably been unprofessional of me to heatedly discuss the subject in an open clinic while i was supposed to be working...
5. i have been able to observe many couples and it has been both encouraging and disheartening to see how illness or injury or disability can affect the marriage relationship...i've seen people with visible regret and even resentment toward a spouse because of how the particular incident has affected the course of his/her life, and another person so completely overwhelmed by home life and a strained relationship with a spouse of half a century that it is affecting treatment...yet despite all of this, there is one couple who continually offers hope - one spouse compassionately and gingerly cares for and guides the other through the clinic each week, and the love and trust the two have for each other after many years of marriage is apparent. i say hello each time and ask how they are doing...i usually get the same response, "we're hanging in there", and while i know this time is tough, i feel certain that they will make it through. and that makes my heart full.