A day in the life of a family medicine ATTENDING DOCTOR! (DETAILED)

Follow me for a day in the life! Not a resident anymore! haha. I cover all aspects of the work day including schedule, flow, keeping up with results/messages, complaints I see in a typical day, etc. Note: In my practice, the FM docs don't see many kids because there's a pediatrics clinic very close by. And we also don't do OB (thankfully lol). Leave thoughts or questions in the comments!

[@biancaboyce1495]

I am an aspiring family medicine resident, applying this year. Your videos are so much motivation for me!

[@thebalancingactmd]

Aw that’s amazing! All the best to you! There is light at the end of the tunnel I guess

[@lexiisreading9486]

Thank you for this video! I am starting medical school this fall, and I’m very interested in family medicine. I question that decision a lot because a lot of people say that family medicine is high stress and low pay, but watching your videos just makes me even more excited for it. Thanks for showing us what a day in your life is like, these types of videos are invaluable to people like me.

[@thebalancingactmd]

Aw thanks for these kind words. Thank you for being here and supporting my channel!

[@Ray-zc9ln]

High stress? I’ve heard the opposite.

[@lexiisreading9486]

@@Ray-zc9ln I think both are true. I've heard high stress in terms of number of patients to get through, insurance limiting what you can do for your patients, not enough time to do what you need to, too many demands on PCPs, too much paperwork, etc. It's not the same "traditional" high stress like PCC or trauma would be, of course.

[@ShesJustLivin]

"She fell down" Oh ok. I don't know why but that made me laugh. Like they just sent a message for the pt falling down and nothing else that's more pertinent. I love how chill you are but you are detail-oriented. I aspire to be like that when I become a doctor.

[@thebalancingactmd]

Haha that comes from residency. After going through that, I feel like I’ve seen it all and can handle whatever. Thank you for watching!

[@beverlynoelle6941]

Yay so glad I found your channel! Med student wanting to go into FM! Look forward to watching the rest of your videos !

[@thebalancingactmd]

Welcomeeee!! Enjoy! Catch up quick life has changed A LOT since this video haha

[@rotondabooden7475]

Hello I'm so glad that I came across your channel

[@thebalancingactmd]

I’m glad you’re here!

[@andullahahmed4710]

Please keep on making day-in-the-life videos they are so entertaining.

[@thebalancingactmd]

Thanks for that feedback, I will!

[@Prettyemmyboy]

Hi Dr. Ijeoma, I'm a medical student in Russia and I look forward to family medicine in Canada. Is it possible?

[@meliseannagibbons1334]

Wow I enjoyed watching this and related to it so much! I also use Epic and do outpatient internal medicine. That's crazy how your done by 3 pm......I see on average 16-17 patients and I'm there till 7 pm finishing my notes and going through my in basket. It was really inspiring to watch your work flow. Thank you and keep the videos coming! ...by the way how do you sign your notes so fast, do you prechart?

[@thebalancingactmd]

Thanks for watching! I see about the same although the goal for us is 19 a day. My schedule fluctuates so much with the no shows and still being relatively new. I am typing my notes while the patient is talking and I just don't over-do it. Usually I'm signing as we wrap up the visit or if I need a couple more mins, I send the patient out to be discharged by my RN and I finish up before seeing the next patient. Even if I'm behind, I still finish the notes because I know that's what works best for my flow.

[@ancestorbackforthelasttime]

I appreciated this so much thank you. You doing your brows and edges when you get a chance to run home is so me, I love my sleep too and it’s harddd in the a.m. sometimes 😩😂

[@thebalancingactmd]

Haha I’m glad you can relate!!

[@silentangels156]

So glad I found your channel IJ ( I hope you don’t mind me calling you that 😊). I am a family doctor (GP) in the UK, so fascinating to see how it works across the pond. Do you have to do home visits?

[@thebalancingactmd]

Glad you are here! No I do not have to do home visits. most primary care doctors here do not HAVE to but may have job flexibility to allow them to if they want.

[@thlp6872]

Blessed to have found your channel. Congrats on your success!! How do you keep track of all medications? Do you have to use mnemonics to remember the endless amount of medication when deciding on what to prescribe.

[@thebalancingactmd]

Happy you found my channel! After your years of clinical training you just get familiar with them and you know a few from each category. I do look up meds when I’m looking for maybe a third line option, or a patient has an unfamiliar allergy and I need to use something else, and of course for drug interactions because I definitely can’t keep those straight. Great question.

[@user-ns3fy6jz3m]

Great Motivational video

[@thebalancingactmd]

Glad you liked it!

[@lkadams1]

❤love the video

[@thebalancingactmd]

Thank you! I appreciate the kind words 🤗

[@ovaldes2015]

Do you feel residency prepared you well enough to handle pediatric patients and do you feel that you can manage them just as well as a pediatrician? Genuinely interested in your response as I’m currently considering family medicine over internal medicine for the ability to also treat children.

[@thebalancingactmd]

Great question. We had a high % peds patients in my clinic so yes I was very well trained for kids for well and sick visits. I don’t see kids though currently. I can’t honestly say I would manage a child as well as a pediatrician because they just have way more reps under their belt and have seen way more normal/abnormal kids. But definitely have the confidence out of residency to see kids.

[@TinoM24]

Do you use a lot of smart phrases to help you close the note?

[@thebalancingactmd]

Yes I do and I also just don't type that much. EPIC is out EMR and it pull a lot into the notes also and that helps especially for the assessment and plan!

[@kenziemayrae3568]

Can you explain a bit more about double bookings, like when you say 2 at 10, does that mean you have 2 patients at 10am? How do you do these visits? Thanks!

[@thebalancingactmd]

Exactly right, they schedule 2 patients in the same appointment time. so of course, if they both come it’s impossible to stay on time but you just try to catch up at some other point in the day

[@kenziemayrae3568]

@@thebalancingactmd Okay! Thanks so much for your answer and this video! really enjoyed watching!

[@minervasanchez-tenorio3531]

What happens if you can’t figure out the diagnosis of a patient?

[@thebalancingactmd]

I can reach out to other docs in the practice for their opinion. Or I look things up and see what I can at least offer as a next step--labs, imaging, trial meds if not going to be harmful, etc. We also have ability to e-consult just about any specialty, so I use that to my advantage alot--they get back to me usually w/n 24-48h. I am transparent with patients if I don't know what's going on. And if at the end I still feel uneasy, I do close follow up like 1-2 weeks so I can see them again.

[@minervasanchez-tenorio3531]

@@thebalancingactmd So, after e-consult gets back to you, do you call the patient or have them schedule another appointment to let them know their diagnosis?

[@thebalancingactmd]

@@minervasanchez-tenorio3531 I usually prescribe/order whatever they recommend, or sometimes they say just place a real referral so I"ll do that, then have nursing staff notify the patient. sorry for the late reply I just saw this.

[@minervasanchez-tenorio3531]

@@thebalancingactmd one last question, did you take a day off out of the week when you were in medical school or did you have to study every day?

[@thebalancingactmd]

@@minervasanchez-tenorio3531 I studies every day for the most part. maybe sunday off or kept it light

[@alondracorral1963]

do you get to wear a doctor's coat?

[@thebalancingactmd]

Yep I have a white coat but I just don’t wear it often. I get cold and just prefer the comfort of my jacket more.