Becky and the kids returned from a week in Seattle yesterday. It was nice to have some company, besides the dogs, in the house again. Most importantly, Colton got to have a birthday party with most of his cousins and two of his grandmothers, a tradition he loves.
Today is actual birthday, but the focus seemed like it was my Intern picnic. In the morning I participated in a suturing and splinting workshop at Hart Hospital that one of our Chief Residents put on. I made it back home just in time to make a few sushi rolls and pack the sushi making gear along with some extra clothes. Then we all hopped in the van and drove the 45 minutes to our Program Directors home.
UConn has a tradition where every year the new Interns show off a "talent" at a picnic during orientation. The picnic had to be postponed until today due to weather. And today was a beautiful day for it. Nonetheless, we Interns have spent a lot time trying to come up with something simple, entertaining and not too cheesy. Needless to say, in general medical students talents are primarily reading and test taking. So my idea was a quick presentation on sushi making, something I really knew nothing about a month ago!
I purchased a kit online that looked braindead simple and practiced once before today. I also purchased a decent rice steamer, fresh seafood and supplies (nori, wasabi, soy sauce, vinegar).
As we were forewarned the picnic started off with some good food and lots of people getting tossed into the pool. I finally tossed one of the chiefs in with myself, hoping that my self-sacrifice will the damage the Chief does to shift schedule in the next year for retribution. We played some volleyball, frisbee and bean bag toss, socialized with spouses and families and, surprisingly, kept the shop talk to a minimum.
The talent show went over pretty well. Everyone put in some effort and we all enjoyed some laughs. Then many of headed for work, or in my case, family priorities. Colton was desperate for his present and some play time. Moreover, Becky needed time to review paperwork and prepare for her first day on the job as Chief Admin Officer at a local non-profit.
Otherwise it has been a pretty quiet day. I've got two more shifts at the UConn hospital, then it's two weeks of Hartford Hospital Emergency Dept shifts, a week of denistry and a week of vacation. We're hoping to use the last week in August for a trip to see the Cape and Maine before the kids start school. So time to get some sleep, five days of shifts in a row is going to be pretty tiring, especially since the third through fifth shifts are all in EDs I'm not familair with; Hartford Blue Pod, Gold Pod then the Peds ED across the street.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Loving EM
Well it's been about two weeks of shifts now. I'm starting to get the hang of the computer system, the hospital specific idiosyncrasies and how to survive eight hours of 100% focus. I've also learned a ton of medicine, procedures and interesting patient presentations.
All in all, my community hospital month is a great way to start residency. The attendings have been great. I'm getting lots of accolades from patients about my bedside manor and patient care. The attendings seem to believe I'm doing a good job as well. Best of all, I feel like I'm in the right place. If I end up practicing in a community hospital, I would be quite happy.
There's not as much trauma or opportunities to practice procedures, but the lifestyle is great and well suited to me.
Becky also got a job offer today, so that a financial relief for the family. It's just about the salary we were hoping for, but with much more time off than we expected. Again, I think the offer is very well suited to Becky and our family.
Now, I just have to solidify some good habits; working out 5-6 days a week and study most nights. With a sunburn from bodysurfing with the family at Naragansett, RI last weekend the former has taken a hit. And now, I'm boning up for a PALs course next week, so the latter has slowed down as well.
These are short term things so no big deal. The progress we've made here is great so far. I just hope that the kids get settled in with more local friends, Becky's job turns out as good as it looked during interviews and my last couple of weeks at John Dempsey Hospital go well.
All in all, my community hospital month is a great way to start residency. The attendings have been great. I'm getting lots of accolades from patients about my bedside manor and patient care. The attendings seem to believe I'm doing a good job as well. Best of all, I feel like I'm in the right place. If I end up practicing in a community hospital, I would be quite happy.
There's not as much trauma or opportunities to practice procedures, but the lifestyle is great and well suited to me.
Becky also got a job offer today, so that a financial relief for the family. It's just about the salary we were hoping for, but with much more time off than we expected. Again, I think the offer is very well suited to Becky and our family.
Now, I just have to solidify some good habits; working out 5-6 days a week and study most nights. With a sunburn from bodysurfing with the family at Naragansett, RI last weekend the former has taken a hit. And now, I'm boning up for a PALs course next week, so the latter has slowed down as well.
These are short term things so no big deal. The progress we've made here is great so far. I just hope that the kids get settled in with more local friends, Becky's job turns out as good as it looked during interviews and my last couple of weeks at John Dempsey Hospital go well.
Friday, July 04, 2008
First three shifts - and Happy 4th of July
Finished what I expect to be the hardest shifts of my career. Sure, the first few shifts as an attending will be stressful and chaotic, but at least I'll know how to help patients.
These first three shifts were crazy because you know no one, the computer systems and hospital processes are foreign, and you really don't know that much medicine (especially since each institution does things a little different).
However, the three shifts couldn't have gone any better. The Attendings were great; helpful, respectful and proactive teachers. The staff is very nice, while I feel like I hardly had a chance to get to know them. And it's all electronic, so there's very little written charting.
The best part is that I'm gaining a reputation already as the procedure guy. The first night I did a nice I & D, then an external jugular central line, then a three layer closure on a lip laceration. The second night I intubated a patient, then did a foreign body removal from a cornea (metal shavings). The third night I did a lumbar puncture. The procedures all went smoothly and were very confidence building for me.
The only thing I haven't done, and that I need practice on putting in plain old IVs. I plan on getting some practice this week, along with getting better charting on the IBEX computer system. The last night I was managing up to five patients at once, or trying to. It's hard to make sure everything is progressing on each patient while keeping up on charting and everything else. I missed that one patient's CT was delayed and one patient's blood draw kept getting messed up. Each situation resulted in two hour delays.
My feedback from the Attendings after each shift was very positive. And I think I learned a lot. It also gave me incentive to read up on patients cases and study more. One case may end up being my case report for the year. An elderly lady came in with a supposed drug reaction, but ended up having encephalitis! Some permanent synaptic connections were definitely made working up that patient.
I have today, the 4th of July off. The family and I went for a long walk with the dogs at a nearby park. We're trying decie if we should go see any firework shows since the clouds are low and threatening to rain. The walk was good exercise, and let me recover a bit from the last week of running, weight lifting and swimming. I'm a bit sore but happy to feel the body getting back into shape.
I guess I still don't know what to expect for the first week. But I do feel my first week has gone very well. I'm getting a little confidence and feeling confident telling patients or consulting specialists I'm one of the Residents. I couldn't have asked for a better start to residency.
These first three shifts were crazy because you know no one, the computer systems and hospital processes are foreign, and you really don't know that much medicine (especially since each institution does things a little different).
However, the three shifts couldn't have gone any better. The Attendings were great; helpful, respectful and proactive teachers. The staff is very nice, while I feel like I hardly had a chance to get to know them. And it's all electronic, so there's very little written charting.
The best part is that I'm gaining a reputation already as the procedure guy. The first night I did a nice I & D, then an external jugular central line, then a three layer closure on a lip laceration. The second night I intubated a patient, then did a foreign body removal from a cornea (metal shavings). The third night I did a lumbar puncture. The procedures all went smoothly and were very confidence building for me.
The only thing I haven't done, and that I need practice on putting in plain old IVs. I plan on getting some practice this week, along with getting better charting on the IBEX computer system. The last night I was managing up to five patients at once, or trying to. It's hard to make sure everything is progressing on each patient while keeping up on charting and everything else. I missed that one patient's CT was delayed and one patient's blood draw kept getting messed up. Each situation resulted in two hour delays.
My feedback from the Attendings after each shift was very positive. And I think I learned a lot. It also gave me incentive to read up on patients cases and study more. One case may end up being my case report for the year. An elderly lady came in with a supposed drug reaction, but ended up having encephalitis! Some permanent synaptic connections were definitely made working up that patient.
I have today, the 4th of July off. The family and I went for a long walk with the dogs at a nearby park. We're trying decie if we should go see any firework shows since the clouds are low and threatening to rain. The walk was good exercise, and let me recover a bit from the last week of running, weight lifting and swimming. I'm a bit sore but happy to feel the body getting back into shape.
I guess I still don't know what to expect for the first week. But I do feel my first week has gone very well. I'm getting a little confidence and feeling confident telling patients or consulting specialists I'm one of the Residents. I couldn't have asked for a better start to residency.
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