Wednesday May 5, 2010

I had another case study to do today.  This one was all about chronic sinusitis.  very interesting to talk about a condition in which Western medicine really doesn't have an answer.  Most cases are typically treated with nasal corticosteroids for years to the rest of the patients life.  This poses a bit of problem as the use of long term corticosteroids can cause some problems, such as increased risk of infection, and typically s thinning of the skin to the area where it is applied, this can lead to bloody noses, which just makes the whole situation that much worse.  Overall I think talking with the patients is such an awesome thing to do, it really makes me feel as if I'm helping out, even if it only helps a little.  Any advice I can give to people to make their lives easier just makes it very fun and rewarding, not just here at the clinic but in my profession as a pharmacist as well.  This is the last week for me, and also the last blog for the week, so I guess I'll say so long and I hope this blog helps you get some idea about what gets done here at the Center for Integrated Medicine.

Tuesday May 4, 2010

Today I presented my first case study.  It was a very interesting and exciting experience to be able to talk to the patient about their condition.  Dr. Kwong would also be in attendance to answer their questions if I was unable to answer, this mostly occurred when they started asking question about Chinese medicine as my knowledge base for that subject is still very limited.  It was very nice to talk to a patient who is eager to learn, listen, give feed back, and ask questions.  I felt like when we were done with the case study the patient was able to better understand what their plan was here at the clinic and what they could look forward to in the future.

Monday May 3, 2010

This week is my last week here at the Center for Integrated medicine, it has been quite a learning experience seeing as we are never really taught about Chinese medicine while in pharmacy school.  This week is also the week I have all of my patient case studies to present to the patients.  The goal of these case studies is to educate the patient a little bit about their condition and show them the different treatment options as they are currently recommended in both Western and Eastern medicine.  As I said last week my case studies include a case on infertility, a case of benign prostatic hyperplasis vs prostate cancer, and a case of chronic sinusitis.

Wednesday April 28, 2010

Today I finished my case report for my second patient on Friday.  That report is going to be on benign prostatic hyperplasia, and how it is treated with both Western and Eastern medicine.  It's going to be very interesting to talk about BPH from my Western medical experience and try and help the patient understand both sides of the treatment for this condition.  I'm really looking forward to educating the patient on his problems and how we can help him.  This is probably the best part about being a pharmacist, educating a teaching patients so they can have a better understanding about the conditions that affect them.  It truly is a rewarding experience!

Tuesday April 27, 2010

Just finished my case study for my first patient on Friday.  I'm going to be talking about chronic sinusitis and what the Western and Chinese treatments are, I believe Dr. Frank Robbins will be accompanying me in the room as well..  I'll also be talking about how the condition is diagnosed and what the etiologies and pathophysiologies are for both kinds of medicine.  The goal of the case study is for me to learn how the two types of medicine can treat the same condition and how each is managed.  It's actually been a very good learning experience to try and understand the Chinese way of medicine.  I think it's going to be a very education experience for both myself and the patient.  They get a chance to ask me questions about their problem and I can answer them with my knowledge of Western medicine and Dr. Robbins can answer their questions about Eastern medicine.

Monday April 26, 2010

Today was a very bust morning and the beginning of my second to last week before I graduate!  I got to see a lot of follow-up patients today and it was good to hear that a lot of them are starting to feel better.  I'm also in the process of finishing my case studies for the three patients I selected.  It's very interesting to look at the medicine from both the Western and Eastern philosophies.  For the case studies I plan on going over their condition and it's treatments in both Western and Eastern medicine and also look at their progress here at the clinic by looking at their previous appointments and where they are now versus when the first started arriving here at the Center for Integrated medicine.

Wednesday April 21, 2010

Today started off as a very busy morning, and I got a chance to see some of the new patients who are here on their second visit to the clinic.  Some of them are feeling relief of their symptoms already while others are feeling just slightly better.  Dr. Kwong tells them that chronic conditions typically take a lot longer to reverse than acute conditions.  Sometimes it's difficult for the patients to understand that not everything can be fixed right away, and that medicine whether Western or Eastern still takes time to work.  This afternoon was a little slower than the morning so I got a chance to work on my patient case presentations a little more. I've been reading up on infertility and the use of Chinese herbs to combat that problem.