Extremely miserable and very depressed resident - Should I continue residency?

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Leukocyte

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I am an extremely sad, miserable and very depressed Primary Care resident who is about to start the last year of my residency (I literaly have 13 more months of residency left to finish).

The problem is that I hate clinical medicine, specially general medicine. I do not like the patient contact, and I definately do not like having "continuity" patients. I do not like the "health care" part of medicine, but rather I am more interested in the "science" of medicine. I made a huge mistake going into clinical medicine and primary care. I finished my PGY-1 & PGY-2 years thinking that I must complete this residency, then do another residency after this residency (like Pathology or Radiology)...but frankly, I am extremely depressed. Even fellow residents and attendings are starting to notice. I do not shower, do not do laundry, do not sleep, do not smile as I ussed to, no longer enjoy the things I used to love, and over-eat. I literaly vomit every day I have clinic, presipitated by the thought of seeing patients. An on the days I am assigned In-patient coverage...I am extremely miserable, with nausea and headaches for the next 24 hours (even after the "ordeal" is over).

The problem is that:

-I am an IMG
-I Have only average USMLE scores
-I Have a 200,000 dollars in student loans
-I Have no family support system to help me socially or financially (I am all alone)

So I really do not know what to do...I cannot afford to quit residency for the reasons I am mentioned above, yet I am extremely sad, miserable, and depressed. I hate my self. I hate my life. I hate medicine, and I curse the day I entered medical school. Yet I cannot quit...because if I do, I will end up being homeless on the street (again, I have no family support what so ever).

Although I have only 13 months left of residency, the PGY-3 year is the hardest of all the years. You see more pt.s in the clinic, and you are covering the in-patient service all year round. It will be hell for me, and frankly I do not know if I will be able to remain sane through the next 13 months. I am very scared and confused. I cannot really talk to anyone in my program about this, or my depression.

Any advise is appreciated. Thanks.
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Leukocyte said:
I am an extremely sad, miserable and very depressed Primary Care resident who is about to start the last year of my residency (I literaly have 13 more months of residency left to finish).

The problem is that I hate clinical medicine, specially general medicine. I do not like the patient contact, and I definately do not like having "continuity" patients. I do not like the "health care" part of medicine, but rather I am more interested in the "science" of medicine. I made a huge mistake going into clinical medicine and primary care. I finished my PGY-1 & PGY-2 years thinking that I must complete this residency, then do another residency after this residency (like Pathology or Radiology)...but frankly, I am extremely depressed. Even fellow residents and attendings are starting to notice. I do not shower, do not do laundry, do not sleep, do not smile as I ussed to, no longer enjoy the things I used to love, and over-eat. I literaly vomit every day I have clinic, presipitated by the thought of seeing patients. An on the days I am assigned In-patient coverage...I am extremely miserable, with nausea and headaches for the next 24 hours (even after the "ordeal" is over).

The problem is that:

-I am an IMG
-I Have only average USMLE scores
-I Have a 200,000 dollars in student loans
-I Have no family support system to help me socially or financially (I am all alone)

So I really do not know what to do...I cannot afford to quit residency for the reasons I am mentioned above, yet I am extremely sad, miserable, and depressed. I hate my self. I hate my life. I hate medicine, and I curse the day I entered medical school. Yet I cannot quit...because if I do, I will end up being homeless on the street (again, I have no family support what so ever).

Although I have only 13 months left of residency, the PGY-3 year is the hardest of all the years. You see more pt.s in the clinic, and you are covering the in-patient service all year round. It will be hell for me, and frankly I do not know if I will be able to remain sane through the next 13 months. I am very scared and confused. I cannot really talk to anyone in my program about this, or my depression.

Any advise is appreciated. Thanks.
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Are there other reasons for your misery? girl/guy or relationship, family etc? There were few other similar threads few weeks ago so you may want to check those.

There are other medical careers like insurance or hospital management which do not require patient contact but having finished residency will help you.
 
leukocyte you need to talk to your PD STAT regarding your current health status, every program should have health professionals you can go see for help in situations like these.

I really encourage you to talk on monday with anyone from your program if you cant with the PD and let them know. As you say, people already have noticed but sometime people are afraid to lend a hand, sometimes they are waiting for you to take the first step.

Also, call some family members you feel good talking to and just let everything out, sometimes talking about a problem is the first step to getting better.

But you need to address this STAT for your own good.
 
Leukocyte said:
I am an extremely sad, miserable and very depressed Primary Care resident who is about to start the last year of my residency (I literaly have 13 more months of residency left to finish).

The problem is that I hate clinical medicine, specially general medicine. I do not like the patient contact, and I definately do not like having "continuity" patients. I do not like the "health care" part of medicine, but rather I am more interested in the "science" of medicine. I made a huge mistake going into clinical medicine and primary care. I finished my PGY-1 & PGY-2 years thinking that I must complete this residency, then do another residency after this residency (like Pathology or Radiology)...but frankly, I am extremely depressed. Even fellow residents and attendings are starting to notice. I do not shower, do not do laundry, do not sleep, do not smile as I ussed to, no longer enjoy the things I used to love, and over-eat. I literaly vomit every day I have clinic, presipitated by the thought of seeing patients. An on the days I am assigned In-patient coverage...I am extremely miserable, with nausea and headaches for the next 24 hours (even after the "ordeal" is over).
The problem is that:

-I am an IMG
-I Have only average USMLE scores
-I Have a 200,000 dollars in student loans
-I Have no family support system to help me socially or financially (I am all alone)

So I really do not know what to do...I cannot afford to quit residency for the reasons I am mentioned above, yet I am extremely sad, miserable, and depressed. I hate my self. I hate my life. I hate medicine, and I curse the day I entered medical school. Yet I cannot quit...because if I do, I will end up being homeless on the street (again, I have no family support what so ever).

Although I have only 13 months left of residency, the PGY-3 year is the hardest of all the years. You see more pt.s in the clinic, and you are covering the in-patient service all year round. It will be hell for me, and frankly I do not know if I will be able to remain sane through the next 13 months. I am very scared and confused. I cannot really talk to anyone in my program about this, or my depression.

Any advise is appreciated. Thanks.
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I would talk to the PD about taking a month off. You may have chronic sleep deprivation, and when your depression improves you will kick yourself for having let a residency slip by, possibly you could be in the situation where you would never get a residency again.

You have lost a lot of perspective, if you got through third year in med school, and internship, then by all means polish off your PGY-3 year.

Frankly, in this economy there are 500 people applying for 12 dollar an hour jobs, and you will be very limited as an M.D. without a residency is a worthless degree, i.e. not worth the paper it is printed on. Many employers will view you as overqualified, and won't get why you didn't become a doctor when you could have and will question your sanity.

If you don't want to be an internist, then you will need to find something else to do,
 
It sounds from your post like you are severely depressed. You NEED to speak with your PD or a trusted faculty mentor NOW and find out how you can get medical attention for your health problems. I strongly recommend that you see a psychiatrist STAT to be evaluated for depression and started on treatment. If you don't, you risk losing your career as a physician totally, or worse, losing yourself and your health entirely. This is no joke.

Leukocyte, I have read your posts over the last couple of years since you started your residency, so I know that there were certain aspects of family medicine residency that you never liked. But 1-2 years ago, you sounded like a disgruntled resident who might be in the wrong field, but would otherwise be okay. Your posts now, especially this last one, are different. Now I'm hearing someone who not only dislikes his/her job (actually HATES his/her job), but is feeling hopeless, trapped, desperate, alone, unsupported, physically ill, not caring for him/herself, and cannot even find anything in life outside of work to enjoy. This is alarming. It sounds like you are in a lot of pain, and quite simply, it is not okay for someone to have to experience this much pain when there is good help available. PLEASE seek out medical care for your depression immediately.

I know from which I speak. I experienced a severe major depressive episode during my intern year, and I didn't even want to go on living. At first I thought it was just the stress of internship. Then I thought that it was because I made a mistake going into medicine. I hated medicine, hated my job, hated my life. I thought I was going to have to quit medicine and even then I would never be happy. Things got worse and worse, until people at work started to notice, and a few said something to me. Finally one of my attendings sat me down and confronted me about his concerns. With a lot of prodding, I saw a psychiatrist, was finally diagnosed with depression, started on SSRIs, and started therapy. Within 6-8 weeks, the darkness started to lift a little, my concentration and energy improved, and I started doing better at work. After several months in treatment, things have turned around 180 degrees. I love my job again. I remember why I became a doctor. I enjoy my patients and my colleagues, and I know that medicine is right for me now--it was just the depression talking before. Don't get me wrong, all is not perfect--there are still parts of my personal life that suck, and parts of my job that suck. There are still patients who get me down sometimes and nurses who make life difficult. I still have bad days when the **** seems to hit the fan from every angle. But the point is, all that hasn't changed. It's me who has changed--all the external stuff is exactly as it was last year, but I am in a better state of health and frame of mind to handle it. And so I'm happier and more effective.

The bottom line is, your story resonates with my own experience, and I believe you need help NOW. Please don't wait another day to reach out to your PD or someone else who can get you the help you need. With proper treatment of your depression, you'll be better equipped to make big life decisions before you screw up your medical career irrevocably.
 
Leuko, you must NOT talk to anybody about this. (Disciplinary Psychiatry). You need to get in touch with a flexible psychiatrist who can see you whenever you have time. Then you need to start maxing the doses of good antidepressants right away. 13 months, hang in there baby. Options will be better when you are done, and you know very well that you ain't gonna go nowhere now, if you get caught in the psych trap. Don't play the game of letting your peers notice in order to get sympathy. You need better support, chances are that you have ****ty support as an IMG already, and if you don't have a GF, it is even worse. Start those meds, start running, get some prostitutes, if it might get you through those ****ed up 13 months. As a family doc, you could i.e set up an internet service to offer cheap med advice, without having to see patients, or even minimize patient contact, by having the anamnesis beforehand. 13 months won't make research more impossible than your chances now, but getting fired might.
 
RegularNihilist said:
Leuko, you must NOT talk to anybody about this. (Disciplinary Psychiatry). You need to get in touch with a flexible psychiatrist who can see you whenever you have time. Then you need to start maxing the doses of good antidepressants right away. 13 months, hang in there baby. Options will be better when you are done, and you know very well that you ain't gonna go nowhere now, if you get caught in the psych trap. Don't play the game of letting your peers notice in order to get sympathy. You need better support, chances are that you have ****ty support as an IMG already, and if you don't have a GF, it is even worse. Start those meds, start running, get some prostitutes, if it might get you through those ****ed up 13 months. As a family doc, you could i.e set up an internet service to offer cheap med advice, without having to see patients, or even minimize patient contact, by having the anamnesis beforehand. 13 months won't make research more impossible than your chances now, but getting fired might.
Click to expand...
This is NOT good advice. Listen to the above posters who advise you to get into the office of a faculty member - ideally the PD or an associate PD - stat. "Disciplinary psychiatry" comes into play when a resident is compelled to see a program-sanctioned psychiatrist in the course of probation or termination, NOT when a resident reaches out for desperately needed help. Don't keep this from your program. Reach out.

Leukocyte, you may feel that you can't talk to anyone, but that's just what the depression is telling you. The truth is that in any program, there are people who are there to help you, and right now you need them.
 
RTrain said:
This is NOT good advice. Listen to the above posters who advise you to get into the office of a faculty member - ideally the PD or an associate PD - stat.
Click to expand...
When did you need to contact your PD to see a psychiatrist? What is so ideal with contacting the PD? What is that gonna bring? Is he gonna like Leuko any more? Is he gonna sponsor his shrink? Write a prescription? Pay for his meds? Hold his hand? WTF is the point? Maybe there is one, maybe I am wrong, so enlighten us.
 
RegularNihilist said:
When did you need to contact your PD to see a psychiatrist? What is so ideal with contacting the PD? What is that gonna bring? Is he gonna like Leuko any more? Is he gonna sponsor his shrink? Write a prescription? Pay for his meds? Hold his hand? WTF is the point? Maybe there is one, maybe I am wrong, so enlighten us.
Click to expand...
Of course the program director is not going to write a prescription for the OP. Your PD can't be your psychiatrist. But the PD has the power to assist the OP in getting help - create time for a resident to see a therapist, arrange for a leave of absence if necessary, put the resident in touch with a faculty mentor or the resident assistance program. A resident shouldn't consider trying to get through a serious illness without involving his/her program in the process - no one would advise a resident to keep it from the program if he/she had to seek treatment for leukemia, and it should be no different for depression.
 
Good to get ideas and input from online forum but I think to illicit sympathy or input from your immediate co-workers, that's usually hard and sometimes backfires...you will have to go within and evalaute your situation...pick up the little book by Pema Chodron: "when things fall apart" and read it.
 
Leukocyte said:
I am an extremely sad, miserable and very depressed Primary Care resident who is about to start the last year of my residency (I literaly have 13 more months of residency left to finish).

The problem is that I hate clinical medicine, specially general medicine. I do not like the patient contact, and I definately do not like having "continuity" patients. I do not like the "health care" part of medicine, but rather I am more interested in the "science" of medicine. I made a huge mistake going into clinical medicine and primary care. I finished my PGY-1 & PGY-2 years thinking that I must complete this residency, then do another residency after this residency (like Pathology or Radiology)...but frankly, I am extremely depressed. Even fellow residents and attendings are starting to notice. I do not shower, do not do laundry, do not sleep, do not smile as I ussed to, no longer enjoy the things I used to love, and over-eat. I literaly vomit every day I have clinic, presipitated by the thought of seeing patients. An on the days I am assigned In-patient coverage...I am extremely miserable, with nausea and headaches for the next 24 hours (even after the "ordeal" is over).

The problem is that:

-I am an IMG
-I Have only average USMLE scores
-I Have a 200,000 dollars in student loans
-I Have no family support system to help me socially or financially (I am all alone)

So I really do not know what to do...I cannot afford to quit residency for the reasons I am mentioned above, yet I am extremely sad, miserable, and depressed. I hate my self. I hate my life. I hate medicine, and I curse the day I entered medical school. Yet I cannot quit...because if I do, I will end up being homeless on the street (again, I have no family support what so ever).

Although I have only 13 months left of residency, the PGY-3 year is the hardest of all the years. You see more pt.s in the clinic, and you are covering the in-patient service all year round. It will be hell for me, and frankly I do not know if I will be able to remain sane through the next 13 months. I am very scared and confused. I cannot really talk to anyone in my program about this, or my depression.

Any advise is appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Leukocyte, you are so, so, so close to the end. You got through intern year and are one year away from done. You can do it!

I don't understand what is going on right now, but I can only assume it is burnout. Clearly you're unhappy with the content of you work, and when you couple that with years of it, it can certainly get you down.

I suggest keeping the fake smile on at work, and NOT talking to anyone at your program. If you feel that "you can't go on" talk to a counselor, psych, family members, very close friends (hopefully not work friends), etc. and tell them how you feel. Just getting your emotions out can help. I would avoid the PD and psychs at your medical center, if at all possible.

Remember, you don't have to start working right after residency. You can do a forbearance for a few months on your loans and then try to secure a job after a period of rest. You can ask for a part time job with greatly reduced hours that will help you pay off your loans, but not give you a lavish lifestyle.

I know you're miserable, but I would look at it like this: you have debt that will have to be paid off, and the only way you can pay it off (no family help, as you mention), is through a job as a physician (lotteries and the stockmarket aside). Family medicine is such a broad field that you can find your niche: urgent care, part time, rural, urban, maybe even some hospitalist jobs at a smaller hospital, locum tenens (with good vacation time between and opportunities for travel), etc. You do not have to immediately jump into practice after residency and work 70 hr weeks.

Later on, when you step back and reflect, you can think of doing a research job (perhaps with some loan forgiveness) or going back into residency and finishing pathology (however, note that many pathologists are struggling to find work right now).
 
RTrain said:
create time for a resident to see a therapist, arrange for a leave of absence if necessary, put the resident in touch with a faculty mentor or the resident assistance program.
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Good point, especially since time can be scarce.

It is a toss-up. Unfortunately, nobody has any doubts whether you are suited for the job with leukemia, but they do depending on your mental issues. Depending on how much grudge your PD might have against you, it could be worth a try to have them clear out some time to let you see a shrink. If you can afford it. Either way, I'd take the meds.

It might be an idea to present your PD with a "light version" of your depression. Be careful in selecting what you'd like to present. No need to stress how much you hate clinical medicine, I'd choose my words wisely, and present it as mood symptoms and low drive in general. No need to say a lot more, say you would appreciate some help in fitting a visit to your shrink into the program.
 
I am sorry to hear you are having such a hard time. I agree with everyone who says to finish your residency. If you have made it this far, you can make it through the final year, and then you will have many more options than you would if you quit now. If anything, maybe talk to the PD about taking a leave of absence (you don't have to go into the details about why)...but don't quit!
Whether you decide to talk to the PD or not, I think talking to a therapist might be good just to get ideas on how to cope with your feelings about the job.
 
Honestly, the issue is the OP is depressed and he has to be proactive about this before it gets him in trouble with his career and program. If he does not notify his program of this issue, any problems that come up while he's figuring out his options, getting treatment, and getting better, which will take at least 2 months, will be on his record and held against him. Any explanations of depression will likely come across as excuses for his behaviors and faults.

If he alerts his program, he does risk them looking down on him, but apart from that, any problems incurred while seeking treatment will be seen in a different light, and depression will become a valid excuse that is understood, unlike the above sitaution. He also has the possible benefit of obtaining shifts in duty and schedule that will allow a faster more efficient recovery.

RegularNihilist said:
Good point, especially since time can be scarce.

It is a toss-up. Unfortunately, nobody has any doubts whether you are suited for the job with leukemia, but they do depending on your mental issues. Depending on how much grudge your PD might have against you, it could be worth a try to have them clear out some time to let you see a shrink. If you can afford it. Either way, I'd take the meds.

It might be an idea to present your PD with a "light version" of your depression. Be careful in selecting what you'd like to present. No need to stress how much you hate clinical medicine, I'd choose my words wisely, and present it as mood symptoms and low drive in general. No need to say a lot more, say you would appreciate some help in fitting a visit to your shrink into the program.
Click to expand...
 
sorry i think im the wrong forum. my apologies
 
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Gosh, I really hope you just had a particularly lousy day. I feel for you and know exactly how you feel and so do others. I get emails all the time from stressed out frustrated residents. I have gone through many of these same symptoms myself (maybe not to the extreme you are describing) but found that the times I was away from medicine for an extended period of time (vacations and a gap year) these feelings quickly dissipated. You can read more about it here- http://medicinesux.wordpress.com/2008/11/10/88/ . It is amazing how a job can take over your life like this. Some people think that medicine is the greatest thing since sliced bread and will convince you that YOU are the source of the problem. Before you run off to see a shrink and go on SSRI's and permanently alter your brain receptors and get a diagnosis of clinical depression (which you will have to declare on future state medical license applications- total crap by the way), you should ask yourself what is the true source of what you are going through? If this is true clinical depression where you see no joy in life (even if you could leave medicine) or if you have thoughts of self harm then like others have said you MUST seek medical attention. Your health means more than any silly job, medicine included. There is no shame in this. Please get help.
However if you believe you feel this way because of your work, I would strongly encourage you to hang in there since you are so close to being done. If you were to drop out now, by the time you found anything else in this economy those 13 months will be up anyway. And if you were to leave medicine even after finishing residency, you keep the option of returning open. Plus, you will always have the satisfaction of knowing that you finished residency. I'll never forget stepping into the hot summer sun after passing through those revolving doors on June 30th and sprinting like Usain Bolt to the already packed SUV to haul my ass out of town for good! Just take it one day at a time. Live for your evenings, golden weekends, and vacations. Speaking of which, hopefully you have a vacation coming up in the near future. If so, I would recommend going to some far flung place you always wanted to go but never had the opportunity to. Someplace like this-

[YOUTUBE]ESldStIKh6Q[/YOUTUBE]

Being far away from the hospital, you will be able to really sit down and think without any pressures or distractions what you want out of this life. Good luck to you. Hang in there! Feel free to PM me if you want.
 
Rendar5 said:
Honestly, the issue is the OP is depressed and he has to be proactive about this before it gets him in trouble with his career and program. If he does not notify his program of this issue, any problems that come up while he's figuring out his options, getting treatment, and getting better, which will take at least 2 months, will be on his record and held against him. Any explanations of depression will likely come across as excuses for his behaviors and faults.

If he alerts his program, he does risk them looking down on him, but apart from that, any problems incurred while seeking treatment will be seen in a different light, and depression will become a valid excuse that is understood, unlike the above sitaution. He also has the possible benefit of obtaining shifts in duty and schedule that will allow a faster more efficient recovery.
Click to expand...

Overall, I agree with this but can see why others would be cautious about notifying people in the program. Depression is an illness, and people suffering from it have protections the same as people suffering from any other illness. I would guess once he notifying his program, they'll start thinking about their legal liability if they let him go and be more willing to work with him. They also might actually be decent people and not purely motivated by legal fears. I hope that's true, but even if it's not, finding out an employee is suffering from a documented mental illness makes it harder for you to fire them.
 
Doctor Bagel said:
Overall, I agree with this but can see why others would be cautious about notifying people in the program. Depression is an illness, and people suffering from it have protections the same as people suffering from any other illness. I would guess once he notifying his program, they'll start thinking about their legal liability if they let him go and be more willing to work with him. They also might actually be decent people and not purely motivated by legal fears. I hope that's true, but even if it's not, finding out an employee is suffering from a documented mental illness makes it harder for you to fire them.
Click to expand...

Yeah? It also gives you (meaning the PD, not the resident) "documented" ammunition. See the JHU thread where the PD of surgery called the resident she fired "mentally ill."

The reality is that mental illness has a stigma that physical illness does not. Practically speaking, it is not protected by any disability act and is an additional weapon in the arsenal of a PD interested in terminating someone.
 
mercaptovizadeh said:
Yeah? It also gives you (meaning the PD, not the resident) "documented" ammunition. See the JHU thread where the PD of surgery called the resident she fired "mentally ill."

The reality is that mental illness has a stigma that physical illness does not. Practically speaking, it is not protected by any disability act and is an additional weapon in the arsenal of a PD interested in terminating someone.
Click to expand...

As discussed above, the Hopkins thing sounds different. Also, I would be really surprised if attendings wouldn't worry at all about their liability in firing someone suffering from a documented illness, even if there is no specific statute protecting such people.

Also, what would the programs motivation be in firing the op? He's in his last year, so they probably wouldn't be able to replace him, leaving them short one person. It also sounds like he's been doing well up until now and has not had an adversarial relationship with his superiors, so I don't think they're out to get him just for no good reason.

Either way, there's a risk. I just think it could be argued that the risk is greater in not notifying anybody and then getting suspended/fired for not doing a good job. And regardless, the op needs to focus on getting better.
 
I'll chime in:

1. Your PD can do something for you that no one else can. They can get you put on medical disability, assuming your institution covers that (which they should). This would put you on leave with full pay (or something similar) should you need to go out. This can be a lifesaver.

2. I agree you need treatment. Finishing your final 13 months without treatment is likely not an option. You will burn out.

3. As others have mentioned, it's impossible for you to now tell if your dislike of patient care is 1) due to depression, 2) due to residency, or 3) your "real" feelings. Something can be done about all three.

Involving your PD really depends on whether they are trustworthy. By now, you should know.
 
Just a suggestion that might help-- why don't you take a vacation leave? If your program is so structured then find the co-resident who is about to take vacation and ask if you can switch? Sometimes you just really need some time off to recharge. Good luck!
 
.
 
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See a psychiatrist to get some antidepressants... until you are able to develop coping capability. Good luck.
 
leukocyte,
You can make it. I agree that you sound clinically depressed and should seek help.

Do not quit residency. I know residency kind of sucks, but you can do it. As a 3rd year you'll have interns to help you do the work. I know that primary care residency is not so hot in a lot of ways, but actually fp's have pretty good job prospects when they are done. You could work as a part time or 3/4 time hospitalist and still make good money. You could also look for nonclinical work, like working for FDA, some other gov't branch, or an insurance company, but being done with residency would REALLY help with that.

I guess I tend to fall on the side of those who say to not tell your program and PD at this point. If your schedule is so bad that you wouldn't be able to arrange visits with a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, and your PD is not in general malignant, then you might need to involve your PD. However, there are some psychologists, and maybe some psychiatrists, who could probably see you after 5pm or on weekends. I also vote for an SSRI, at least temporarily. I also vote for liberal use of vacation time to go somewhere nice...I personally am always afraid to spend the money but you've got to stay sane, and it helps to have something to look forward to.

If you feel you don't have a lot of friends at your current program, try getting in contact w/old friends, like those from med school or college. That way you have someone to vent to who is not from your program.

p.s. Most people don't like their primary care residency clinics. A lot of them HATE them. It doesn't make you a bad person, or even necessarily unfit for clinical medicine. If you did ever do clinic later in practice, it likely would be much different, in the sense that you'd have more help from other clinic staff in following up stuff, calling patients, calling in prescriptions for you, etc. Also the patients in resident clinics in general tend to be harder to take care of (more social problems, psych dz., lower education levels and sometimes more unpleasant as they may have come to you after having been booted from other clinics or because they have no or lousy insurance and no job, etc.). I hope I don't get flamed for this, b/c I did say "in general". It's not so for every patient, but in general they are.
 
Has anyone heard from leukocyte? Hope that he/she is acting on the good advice here!
 
He has been hating his life since 2004 (from his previous posts). Nothing is going to get him to change unless he wants to change.
 
ozzidoc said:
Has anyone heard from leukocyte? Hope that he/she is acting on the good advice here!
Click to expand...

I pm'd about a week ago b/c he/she hadn't responded to the thread at all since the original post. I didn't get any reply.

Leukocyte, if you're reading, we're concerned and we care what happens to you! We just hope you're ok.
 
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