The days have just been a blur to me. Learning a brand new system is always tough, and the learning curve is always steeper in the beginning.

I had a busy day today (and you realize how much time you have with each patient as a fellow, compared to practice), at times I was getting irritable with myself for not working fast. It was one of those days I could have used a pick-me-up (and Kristin is still out of town).

I see a note on the chart of the next patient I was to see. Something about her not wanting to see the previous endocrinologist who saw her 4 years ago, but wanting to see me instead.

Uh-oh.

Bad sign. Perhaps a hard-to-please patient?

And then I flip open her outside records and was pleasantly surprised to find some clinical notes from my alma mater (WFMC). I'm biased, and I've been brainwashed to death having trained there for 6 years, but I do think they have a great, clean medical record system. However, as I go through her complicated notes, I see a familiar author.

"... Signed by: Dr. Vagus...."

Turns out I had seen her last year for her diabetes up in MN. She had remembered my saying that I would be moving down here, and since this was a bit closer to home for her, hunted me down to this clinic and insisted to see me.

She is the first of several patients of mine from WFMC who wanted to follow my move to Iowa. I never really took anyone of them seriously, thinking they were only being nice.

Though her diabetes is not in great shape, I was delighted to see someone I had previously seen, and even more delighted that she had taken the trouble to track me down here. It's a trust I hope I don't let down.

Though, she did say she'll have to rethink whether she wants to come back to see me next time, because I was unmarried when I saw her last year, while I'm now a married man.

This, coming from a 61 year old woman, with a wink as she went out the door today.