For Such A Time As This

I’ve moved on to my last rotation of 3rd year (WOOHOO!!)… Psychiatry, which truly is a wonderful way to end the year. The hours are 8-5 and lunches often last for 2 hrs. I could definitely get used to this. 

justgenesiz:

My heart, My God!

Friday can not come quickly enough. The past 6 wks have been extremely difficult for me.. and for the people around me. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this, but I was assigned the 2 busiest surgery services during my 6 wk rotation. One of which is Surgical Oncology… and let me tell you.. it ain’t no joke. The patients alone are enough to make you just want to go home, have a quiet time, and go to bed. I’ve been a part of so many new cancer diagnoses in the past 3 wks, that I can’t even keep count. Then, add in the attending physicians on Surgical Oncology who see it as their personal mission to make you answer every question that comes to their mind. “MK… what level lymph nodes do we dissect in a modified radical mastectomy? How does that differ from a radical mastectomy? What skin flap heals better.. upper or lower? What is Dr. Tim doing incorrectly here? What song is this playing on the radio?” The questions are never-ending. 

Today I was asked to interpret a breast ultrasound in clinic in front of 4 physicians and several nurses. When I could only give my attending 4 out of 5 criteria for reading a breast ultrasound (which I thought was pretty good), he told me I was unprepared and needed to read more. I’m sorry people.. but reading ultrasounds is not something we’re extensively trained to do as a 3rd yr medical student. After scolding me for my inadequacy, my attending told me to be prepared to interpret a breast ultrasound this Thursday when we meet with about 10 other physicians. Oh yay. 

Over the past year, I’ve seen and learned a lot. I work hard to learn everything I can about my patients and to make sure they are being well taken care of. On this rotation, however, I’ve only been made to feel that I’m inadequate despite the 12-14 hr work days and the very hard and thorough work I’ve contributed. It’s frustrating. 

I say all of this to say… I’m ECSTATIC that the end of this rotation is near. Oh sleep, how I’ve missed you. 

The life of a 3rd year med student on surgery clerkship

I’ve been endlessly pimped on this surgery rotation…it’s truly exhausting. This video sums it up pretty well!

mentalflossr:

On April 14th: Lincoln was shot (1865), the Titanic hit an iceberg (1912), and the Great Plains saw the worst dust storm of the Dust Bowl era (1935).

Good to know. I’ve got 24hr call for the surgery trauma service tonight, so if this is a dark day in history.. things could get interesting! If they do, I just hope it occurs in between the hours of now and 9PM tonight so that I catch some sleep!

1. Sleep

2. Time to cook

3. Time to workout

4. Sleep

5. Time to study for upcoming test

6. Polished fingernails (nail polish is not allowed in surgery)

7. Sleep

8. Leisure reading

9. Feeling human

10 SLEEP!!

I started my surgery rotation! AH! I’ve been dreading this rotation all year long and it’s finally here. Actually, I’m trying to approach it like I do everything else.. this is an opportunity to learn and have a little fun. 

Tomorrow is my first surgery for this rotation and it involves a thoracotomy, or opening the chest cavity. It promises to be a very long and challenging surgery (per my resident), but I’m looking forward to it. 

Tonight, my goal is to read about this surgery then hit the bed early so that I can be bright eyed for my 4:30AM wake-up time. 

Oh yeah, and I thought this illustration was pretty interesting. This shows you how we approach a thoracotomy. The posterolateral approach (shown here) is apparently the most commonly used entry site to the chest cavity. Pretty cool, right?

My brother and sister-in-law are having a baby girl! We had the gender reveal party today.. I can’t wait to meet my niece!!

(via soverypretty)

Kenya continued…

this is Tungiasis, or “Jiggers” as the locals call it. Tungiasis is not an infrequent occurrence in Western Kenya. Are your feet itching yet? 

Tungiasis is caused by a flea that invades the tissue around your toenails. The fleas then lay eggs and larvae develop. Knowing this you can probably deduce the treatment… remove the larvae. Removing the larvae from the feet was a tedious process, which unfortunately I did not witness. Hopefully next year we’ll be able to go back better equipped to treat these patients. As of now, the only treatment of which we are aware is to physically remove the larvae. 

I think it is safe to say that everyone who went on this trip will be carefully watching their feet for the next few months!