May 2012
3 posts
2 tags
May 22nd
4 notes
May 3rd
241 notes
1 tag
Two more days of surgery...
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...
May 2nd
April 2012
3 posts
1 tag
The life of a 3rd year med student on surgery... →
I’ve been endlessly pimped on this surgery rotation…it’s truly exhausting. This video sums it up pretty well!
Apr 27th
2 tags
Rough Day in History
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...
Apr 14th
205 notes
2 tags
What I miss about life outside of my surgery...
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!!
Apr 11th
2 notes
March 2012
4 posts
2 tags
Mar 28th
3 notes
Mar 25th
1 note
Mar 14th
2,203 notes
2 tags
Mar 5th
February 2012
9 posts
3 tags
Feb 28th
1 note
3 tags
Feb 25th
Weary Traveler
We’ve started the journey back to the US. It’s definitely bittersweet. On one hand I’d love to stay and continue holding clinic, but part of me is ready to return to the world of running water and electricity! This has been an AMAZING experience. Words cant begin to describe just how much the past two weeks have changed my perspective on not only medicine, but life in general. I...
Feb 23rd
3 tags
Ugali and Marriage Proposals
Another great day in Kenya! Today was exciting… after a 2 hr drive to set up clinic in a rural town, we saw ~50 patients. The people were so thankful for our help that they insisted on feeding us, so we had rice, lentils, ugali, and kale… it was really good! The ride home was not without incidence either. One of our vans ran out of gas at a very busy dirt road intersection and our van...
Feb 16th
1 note
3 tags
Kenyan Transportation
You truly put your life in the hands of the driver in this country.  Playing chicken with the oncoming traffic and dodging pedestrians and potholes in the road makes these roads a nightmare for those prone to motion sickness. Thankfully, we have something called “De-Vomit,” which was bought at a local chemist here in Bungoma. It’s actually Ondansetron, which we use frequently in the U.S. It’s over...
Feb 15th
3 tags
MASH
I never watched this show, but I remember my parents watching it when I was younger. Holding clinic in the middle of rural Kenya with no electricity, no running water, and no refrigeration is probably pretty comparable to administering healthcare near a battlefield. Today we saw close to 100 patients in clinic. We saw everything from tungiasis and osteomyelitis to dysmenorrhea (painful menstrual...
Feb 14th
3 tags
Feb 12th
1 note
3 tags
Feb 5th
3 notes
2 tags
Feb 2nd
1 note
January 2012
4 posts
3 tags
EKG Help
Reading EKGs is a daunting task. I’ve learned the basics of EKGs on 20 separate occasions, yet somehow I never seem to recall the basics when needed. If you’re like me and need a refresher or a first time course here are some tools I’ve found useful.  #1. Watch these 3 intro to EKG videos: http://www.ems-ed.net/Video/index.html #2 Take these quizzes....
Jan 31st
4 notes
2 tags
Overall a good numbness...
Sounds like a Pink Floyd lyric, right? This is actually an exact quote from my latest 3rd year evaluation.   When I was on Neurology, our hospital had just switched over to the electronic medical record system and the Neurology department was struggling… more specifically my resident who learned English as a 2nd language and who had no experience typing. I enjoyed working with him and felt...
Jan 26th
1 note
3 tags
Jan 19th
7 notes
1 tag
Internal Medicine Begins...
First day of medicine, check. I’ve been looking forward to this rotation, but IM lost some of its appeal the first second I walked into my Team Room today. Everyone was quiet and serious. And very busy.  Hopefully my team will get closer as the days go by, so we can have a little fun! What’s the sense of doing anything if you can’t have a little fun while doing it? Keeping my...
Jan 4th
December 2011
1 post
Dec 21st
237 notes
November 2011
7 posts
Nov 22nd
3,113 notes
3 tags
Nov 22nd
3 notes
3 tags
My take on Neurology
Neurology is like an episode of House. The hospital patients have unusual presentations of diseases, the attending doctor is a poor communicator, and diagnostic tests are often inconclusive. Sounds fun, right? Well.. it is! So here’s what I like about Neurology: 1. Diagnostics - many of your cases are puzzles and are intellectually challenging. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy a...
Nov 18th
9 notes
valueplus asked: I just read your post about your sexist Attending Dr (I'm a med student from Australia, and found it by looking at stuff with a med student tag). I'm just wondering if you called him out on his sexism? I've had to do this on countless occasions in lectures and on the wards. I made my mark as "the feminist one" within the first week of med school!
Nov 13th
2 tags
Sexism in Medicine
I had a very unique and memorable experience this week on my Neurology rotation. Very memorable. My attending began the conversation with us by discussing the news of the week - Penn State and Joe Paterno, the Herman Cain Sex Scandals, and the failing U.S. economy. Then he transitioned into discussing the US Healthcare System and how broken it is. He went on to say that women and their...
Nov 12th
1 note
2 tags
Nov 4th
1 note
“Cordless hair dryer…is there such a thing? If so, I want one. I’d...”
Nov 2nd
October 2011
6 posts
3 tags
Pediatrics vs. Ob/Gyn
The two big rotations I’ve completed so far are Ob/Gyn and Pediatrics (well, I finish Peds this week). I like both of them for very different reasons. Here’s my list.  OB/Gyn Pros Surgery! Love the straightforwardness of clinic - focused physical exam Delivering new babies into the world Working with healthy and happy patients (sometimes) OB/Gyn Cons Increased risk of maiming...
Oct 29th
3 notes
1 tag
Oct 22nd
2,026 notes
3 tags
Cardiology is the best!
I spent the morning in the Pediatric Cardiology clinic and LOVED it. As a 2nd year, I loved our Cardiology course…maybe this is a recurring theme. Perhaps I’m destined to be a Cardiologist.  I’m going to request the Cardio service while I’m on my Internal Medicine rotation. And maybe even request CardioThoracic Surgery while I’m on my Surgery rotation. I’m so...
Oct 14th
12 notes
4 tags
Oct 14th
1 note
12 tags
Oct 10th
3,596 notes
2 tags
Oct 5th
1 note
September 2011
6 posts
3 tags
Sep 29th
25,883 notes
1 tag
The Unintentional Zing
I received my first critical evaluation by Ob-Gyn Intern. Overall, she gave me a satisfactory eval with nice comments, but with some constructive criticism. She said that I was an excellent student, but timid and did not demonstrate enough confidence in my plan of care for patients. Then she gave me a B- for Interpersonal Communication. I truly did appreciate her honesty and her kahones to...
Sep 22nd
2 notes
2 tags
Ob/Gyn Exam in T-5 days!
I’ve really enjoyed this rotation. Obstetrics and Gynecology just may be my calling. I’m not willing to commit just yet though! I’ve still got lots to see this year.  Although I’ve enjoyed Ob/Gyn, I’ve managed to procrastinate studying for the exam… mostly because the hours are long and by the time I get home all I want to do is SLEEP.  Lots of studying to do...
Sep 19th
1 note
Sep 19th
466 notes
2 tags
Little feet, little hands... little baby!
Ob/Gyn has proven to be a very busy rotation. Long and weird hours coupled with bodily fluids from every orifice = gross. But then out comes this beautiful and perfect baby! Every time I see a delivery, I can’t help but think that I’ve just witnessed a miracle. Their sweet little hands and feet are just precious! I LOVE Ob/Gyn. One of the 4th year medical students advised me to not...
Sep 10th
2 notes
Sep 10th
6,207 notes
August 2011
6 posts
Aug 23rd
688 notes
1 tag
Don't Cry
Week 2 of Ob/Gyn Rotation. Day 1 of Gyn Tumor Surgery Service. And 1st day I teared up at patient’s bedside.  It’s probably bad form to cry at a patient’s bedside. Thankfully, tears didn’t stream down my face! Being careful not to mention specifics (ala HIPAA)… our sweet patient is dying from gynecologic cancer. Unfortunately, the kind of cancer she has is very...
Aug 23rd
2 tags
Just Play Nice
I was officially and royally gunned yesterday. I haven’t had the time or energy to blog about my new rotation (4:30 wake up calls come WAAYY too early)..but I’m on OB/Gyn. Currently I’m in my 1-wk rotation in benign GYN surgery, which is mostly hysterectomies and tubal ligations. Next week I’ll be on GYN oncology surgery. To properly explain how I was gunned by a fellow...
Aug 18th
6 notes
Aug 16th
98 notes
1 tag
Aug 4th
1 tag
Family Medicine, part 1
I’m back from vacation! On Monday I started my 2-wk rotation in Family Medicine. Although there’s no Call and the hours are great, I’m exhausted! Maybe it’s because I just got back from a two week vacation that involved sitting on my butt 24/7.  This week is the first time I’ve felt like a doctor… with responsibility, but without the competence. Although...
Aug 4th
July 2011
5 posts
Jul 17th
130 notes