Sunday, July 26, 2009

To Be a Teaching Moment

This week I had my 14-week check-up with the doctor. Now, with K, I was good and did the whole rotation of possible Ob-gyns that could have potentially delivered him. This time, I decided that really, it didn't matter. The whole experience is a blur and as long as the doctor delivering my child does a good job, I don't need to know them personally beforehand. Instead, I'd like to stick with one doctor throughout the pregnancy, so that I feel like they are familiar with my situation.

At this appointment, I was asked if it was okay if a resident observed as she was shadowing my doctor. Of course, I obliged. This was a fairly straight-forward appointment, nothing too exciting. So, of course, it was the resident who was going to find the heartbeat. This poor student - she put just a little gel on and barely applied any pressure. I questioned if I should speak up, because I could tell that she wasn't doing it the way that they've been performed on me in the past. But I didn't -- I'm not a doctor, and I didn't want to be a know-it-all without a medical degree. So, then the doctor took over (of course, this meant more gel, since she didn't put enough on the first time) and the doctor found the heartbeat immediately.

Now, I didn't show any panic or anything of that nature, when the resident couldn't find it. But I think the doctor wanted to reassure the resident not to freak out. She explained that it was still that time in the pregnancy when heartbeats can be harder to find. (Even though she found it at 10 weeks which is even harder.) Then I asked if I would be testing for gestational diabetes earlier this time since I did have it during my previous pregnancy. Well, I got a very thorough detailed answer. Seriously, the resident probably learned more during my appointment than most others that day.

I'm glad I could help out a future medical professional. I just hope she applies more pressure on her next patient.

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