The ER

The ER in Charlevoix is definitely different from the one at Detroit Receiving.  For one, there are only 9 beds, compared to the 25 in DRH.  For another, there are not many cases of trauma that pass through this unit.  The majority of rural ER, as Dr. Brown told me, is an extension of family practice.  While I was there, I saw firsthand, how people use the ER as a walk-in clinic, something that is strongly discouraged, since a trip to the ER is much more expensive than a visit to the doctor.  I saw a few kids with sore throats, another girl with cramps and a few patients with stomachaches- in short, nothing life threatening.  There were some cases that required immediate attention, but not many.

While in the ER, I met Bryan, a resident from Munson Hospital in Traverse Ctiy.  He is a DO, and I spent some time asking him about the differences between MD and DO.  According the Brian, an important difference between the two schools is their approach to treating people.  DOs, in addition to prescribing medicine as treatment, use Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment to treat people physically, at the source of pain.  He told me how can sometimes treat pain without medication, either by pulling or pushing a muscle back into place.  That method sounded so interesting to me, and I heard that Wayne med students can even take this as an elective?  I think.  I’m not entirely, sure, but I am going to double check this, because this is definitely a skill I want to have as a physician.

with Lake Michigan in the back

<--Charlevoix Hospital

 

               Pine River Medical building -->

Skin is surprisingly elastic, as I learned when I saw sutures put in and taken out.  I was actually surprised at how squeamish I got when Dr. Joy was stitching a patient up with a head cut.  I am usually completely comfortable during dissections and watching gross stuff on TV, but for some reason I felt so much pain when watching the needle go in and out of the skin.  Luckily the patient’s face was covered so he/she couldn’t see the pain on my face.  Hopefully this squeamish thing goes away after some practice in med school.