Sunday, September 8, 2013
first one
they say every physician remembers the first time one of their patient's dies. what they don't say is how to prepare for that. while I'm not yet a physician, I had my first patient die today. I wasn't at the hospital to find out. I logged onto the electronic medical record to check-in on her because I knew she wasn't doing well, and there I saw it... time of death: 656pm. so odd how this person serendipitously entered my life 11 days ago, and just as quickly left. funny how impacted I feel by this whole event. i think a lot of that had to do with the fact that she was a fellow physician who still seemed to have so much life ahead of her... anyway, that's enough sadness on the blog front. just wanted to document a not-so-frequently-discussed side of medicine
Thursday, August 15, 2013
MS3
Quick recap:
*So... STEP (my first round of medical boards) is OVER. Scores came out, and I was quite the happy camper. Pretty thankful that those 6 months of misery weren't all for nothing :)
*Cruise to the western Caribbean with my mom, sister, and 2 friends from med school was the best way to unwind after studying for so long and also a good way to end living in Galveston - I have to say, living across the street from the cruise terminal has its advantages!
*I MOVED TO AUSTIN! - I was really doubting this rather rash decision and second guessing myself, but now I'm SO THANKFUL to have taken that leap of faith. I absolutely love this city, love being away from the drama in Galveston, and am really excited to only be an hour away from my sister who is a sophomore at Baylor!
So jump ahead... I'm now a 3rd year medical student, meaning I roam around the hospital and get in the way and serve no real purpose! But it is totally fun, and people call me doctor, and I've stopped correcting them because it's at least fun to pretend ;)
My first rotation (July) was in outpatient internal medicine. I worked in a geriatrics clinic with an amazing doctor and had so much fun with the old people! It was a great experience and clinic hours are pretty glorious. No weekends? Last patient at 430? Yes please.
My second rotation (August) is inpatient internal medicine at the hospital. A typical day involves showing up around 7am, reviewing my patients' overnight labs/vitals/etc then going and examining them and writing progress notes. I then meet up with my team of residents and attending doctor, and we round on all of our patients. The afternoons are spent goofing off with the other med students, pretending to study, going to lectures, and then we also admit patients from the ER. One day a week we have to stay late, but I've gotten pretty lucky so far. I haven't been at work later than 8:15pm, and that was only once, so I think I've had it pretty easy!
My next rotation (September) is going to be GI consult - meaning we see all the patients who are hospitalized and have complicated GI problems...
It's crazy to think that I'm already 1/6th of the way through 3rd year.... that leaves only... 652 days until i'm a doctor. and have real responsibilities. FRIGHTENING.
School aside, Austin is GREAT. Maybe a little over the top hipster, but I rather like all their fun things like food trucks and live music and healthy lifestyle..... it's pretty cool living in a city that has ban plastic bags at the grocery store!
*So... STEP (my first round of medical boards) is OVER. Scores came out, and I was quite the happy camper. Pretty thankful that those 6 months of misery weren't all for nothing :)
*Cruise to the western Caribbean with my mom, sister, and 2 friends from med school was the best way to unwind after studying for so long and also a good way to end living in Galveston - I have to say, living across the street from the cruise terminal has its advantages!
*I MOVED TO AUSTIN! - I was really doubting this rather rash decision and second guessing myself, but now I'm SO THANKFUL to have taken that leap of faith. I absolutely love this city, love being away from the drama in Galveston, and am really excited to only be an hour away from my sister who is a sophomore at Baylor!
So jump ahead... I'm now a 3rd year medical student, meaning I roam around the hospital and get in the way and serve no real purpose! But it is totally fun, and people call me doctor, and I've stopped correcting them because it's at least fun to pretend ;)
My first rotation (July) was in outpatient internal medicine. I worked in a geriatrics clinic with an amazing doctor and had so much fun with the old people! It was a great experience and clinic hours are pretty glorious. No weekends? Last patient at 430? Yes please.
My second rotation (August) is inpatient internal medicine at the hospital. A typical day involves showing up around 7am, reviewing my patients' overnight labs/vitals/etc then going and examining them and writing progress notes. I then meet up with my team of residents and attending doctor, and we round on all of our patients. The afternoons are spent goofing off with the other med students, pretending to study, going to lectures, and then we also admit patients from the ER. One day a week we have to stay late, but I've gotten pretty lucky so far. I haven't been at work later than 8:15pm, and that was only once, so I think I've had it pretty easy!
My next rotation (September) is going to be GI consult - meaning we see all the patients who are hospitalized and have complicated GI problems...
It's crazy to think that I'm already 1/6th of the way through 3rd year.... that leaves only... 652 days until i'm a doctor. and have real responsibilities. FRIGHTENING.
School aside, Austin is GREAT. Maybe a little over the top hipster, but I rather like all their fun things like food trucks and live music and healthy lifestyle..... it's pretty cool living in a city that has ban plastic bags at the grocery store!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Reappearance
Last night I stumbled upon my blog and ended up reading through a bunch of old posts. I know, I know, I haven't posted in OVER A YEAR now. Completely terrible, and I plan on eventually trying to recap second year since apparently I'm almost a third year now and haven't posted since first year... Anywayyyy, I'm in the middle (or should I say end) of studying for my first round of medical boards -- basically THE TEST that determines your residency, so kind of a big deal. Also the reason I decided to go MIA off FB and twitter starting back in January... Which has been kind of amazing, actually. Anyway, I digress. So basically I've been a study machine since January 7th and will hopefully be back after June 10th with a better life update! June is going to be a crazy month! Boards, moving to Austin, cruise, 3rd year orientation in galveston, and then the whirlwind of hospital rotations in Austin begins! Frightening to think that I'll actually have some patient reaponsibilities, but I guess that's why I've been studying my face off for 2 years :)
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