A Day in the Life of Dr. Anderson

         Before I did this internship I had a rough idea of the daily life of a doctor, but I never guessed they did so much. Of course the main thing Dr. Anderson did was hold clinic so that he could see patients, but as simple as this sounds, there is a lot to it. Everyone who comes in has a different history, and a different situation. In order to keep a good relationship with all of his patients he would review their history (if they had one) and get as much information on them before he went into the room. I had a good idea what would happen during the visit, since I have been to the doctor, so that segment wasn’t as new to me. After the patient leaves, Dr. Anderson would go to his “office” to dictate the notes he took and things he discussed with the patient so that everyone who sees this person in the future (including himself) so no information is lost in between visits. On days that were really busy he would end up having to pile all of the patient info on his desk, and spend a while at the end of the day dictating the visits.

        One day a week Anderson is on call for mercy. This could be anything from answering questions a hospitalist has, to going over and giving injections to in-patients who are having joint pain, to going into emergency surgery. On these days the doc still has regular clinic knowing that they may have to leave, but when they do their PA just has to pick up the slack. Eating lunch is also something that has to be squeezed in on these days, and usually it’s a quick bowl of soup or a plate of salad in the lounge during a small amount of downtime.

        There are also days during that week that are surgery days, and Dr. Anderson’s is on Friday. This is a day that is completely filled with surgeries, ranging from 30 minute operations, to more extended operations. Dr. Anderson does almost all of his operations in the ASC (Animas Surgical Center), a wing of mercy that has smaller, less “intense” surgical rooms, and is usually the location of the “easier” operations.

       This is just a simple synopsis of the day in the life of an Orthopedic doctor, but of course this would very depending on the type of doctor and the location of their practice.