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132 days ago
So, on May 15th, I officially became a physician. It's amazing to think that four years have passed since the creation of this blog, and while I wasn't able to write as often as I would have liked, I'm glad I had a chance to document my adventure, and share it with everyone. I'm also thankful for the awesome friends I made here on Spaces, although most have moved on to Blogger and other networks (not that I blame them.) I'm not sure what I will do with this blog now... Maybe I'll keep it, or maybe I'll move to other blogging pastures. What's known for sure is this - while this adventure has come to an end, my residency training is proving to be the beginning of a new one!
359 days ago
From MSNBC.com, Teen Girls Charged in Nursing Home Abuse ALBERT LEA, Minn. - Two teenage girls who worked at a nursing home have been charged with abuse, accused of taunting, spitting on and groping the breasts and genitals of residents who suffered from Alzheimer's disease and other dementia disorders. According to the criminal complaint, filed Monday, 19-year-old Brianna Broitzman and 18-year-old Ashton Larson laughed earlier this year as they spat in residents' mouths, poked and grabbed them, and at times mocked them until they screamed. Broitzman and Larson worked as part-time aides at the home What. The. F#$%.? Who on earth behaves this way? And who on earth would think this is funny? I find no humor in abuse. What on earth were these kids thinking? I might find this more offensive than most people - I was a Nursing Aide for almost five years before I went back to school. I took care of people in the local nursing home, and when on o work as a home health aide ...
370 days ago
Whoa. I can't believe it's been almost a year since I updated this thing. Let's see, what have I been up to..... Psychiatry: Psych was excellent. Had a great preceptor who loved to teach and had a great sense of humor. Spent the mornings on the inpatient lock-down ward, and the afternoons in a private clinic. Got to go to court and watch a conservatorship hearing (at the same time Britney was having her psych melt-downs, but that wasn't the case I saw.) Interesting, and fantastic experience. Infectious Disease: excellent, had great preceptors who trained in third world countries and had stories that would make just about anyone want to be like "bubble boy." For my end of rotation presentation, I gave a 30 minute talk on Mycobacterium Avium Complex, and quoted the heck out of one of my personal heroes through all the research she's done. (Gwen, if you're reading, I read all your papers! I'll bring my PowerPoint for you to critique next time I am in Denver!) ...732 days ago
Where have I been lately? Here: Now, let me state something - surgery is very interesting... to watch. But. let's face it, I'm a clinician, and a primary care one at that. I like talking to patients, remidning them to watch their blood sugar levels, fussing over their blood pressure. I am not a surgeon. I lack the surgeon personality, and I don't like fixing a patient and never seeing them again. And, frankly, I'm quite miserable with 12 hour days and 30 hour on-calls. Thank heavens there are those who answer the call to the OR, but me? No thanks. I'm counting down the days to the end of this rotation. In other news, we have a new addition it the family. Introducing Miss Ailsa Lilly: I forgot how nice it is to have a Scottie around the house. I also forgot how much of a pain housebreaking is. Oh well. Now I have three happy tails wagging when I come home from the OR everyday. It's worth it. And since we have the new pup, and being the high ...871 days ago
Meet Fred, my new baby. (Not really a picture of Fred. Fred's much better looking, and cooler. This is probably Fred's twin, Scott. Scott's the model, but Fred's the smart one...) After being subjected to some serious peer pressure, I broke down and bought Fred from Amazon.com. Fred is a Palm TX, and while he only has 128 meg of memory, he does have SD card capability. He's loaded with Bluetooth, WiFi, and can play mp3s. But that's not why I got him. I broke down because I just had to have Epocrates . Yes, folks, I wanted the quick and easy guide to drugs at my fingertips. And while the "Essentials Deluxe" version is a bit expensive, a student discount will keep me well informed of the latest pharmaceutical information. And, if that doesn't beat all, ED comes with all sorts of cool stuff, such as intergrated drugs, disease and diagnosis, medical coding, a emdical dictionary, email updates, various calculators, and some fun add-ons such as tumor ...
