i just finished the most magical of all the magical vacations. it was awesome. i had a whole week, so i put to use the front end of it sleeping and catching up w/ stuff around the house, and then the latter part in chicago partying with friends from all over the country. this group of friends is 3 other couples we met when all living in the same town years ago. we have all since scattered like roaches across the country...but we get together once a year. and this was our weekend. they are such good people and we all mesh well. we laughed and drank, mostly. also saw museums and aquariums and zany performance art....but mostly laughed and drank. it was so great to see everyone and to experience the pleasures of the city. we ate SUCH good food (fancy food at a place called "spring." very pricey, but delicious options. i had a smoked shrimp and hearts of palm salad to start and then an unagi eel with avocado reduction and kimchi noodle dish and a scallops and potato with white truffle oil ravioli dish. insanely good. i also recommend a place called earwax for lunch, the artists' cafe for breakfast, and puck's, the cafeteria at the contemporary art museum for the world's best cupcake- oh, and a pretty intellectual museum experience, too...you don't have to tell them you're there for the cupcakes). food is very important to me. is that apparent?
i love visiting the city, but i think i've gotten too old to live in one and enjoy it. you can't drive anywhere unmolested by millions of other vehicles and you have to be stylish and trendy and full of money or it doesn't seem as fun. and God save you if you need an ambulance- with traffic the way it is, you'll sooner have superman at your window than the EMS driver at your front door. (bah humbug).
and speaking of getting old and curmudgeon-y (i just tried to spell that "kermugin." for real. i'm practically a doctor, practically).....every single person i know is either talking about having a baby, actively trying to have a baby, having just had a baby, or impatiently waiting for a baby to show up. among the couples this weekend- especially the halves of the couples with uteri- there was MUCH talk of babies. i tried to warn 'em. i told them that from what i saw behind my mask when helping with deliveries, it's a pretty painful and slimy process. but i don't think they listened. i think everyone else on the planet has a ticking biological clock but me. sigh. i'd better just start knitting or something so i can really play the part. sigh again.
oh! no, never mind. woe is not me. wikipedia just told me that people who are abstaining from having kids are calling themselves childfree instead of childless so as not to sound as pitiful. i can dig that.
anyway.....so now i'm back to the grind. but it's a new grind. again. i started psych this week at a VA hospital. i think i'm going to like it. i see patients both in and out patient, doing assessments and follow up visits. this is through the VA system, which means we see a lot of post traumatic stress disorder and a large number of veterans dealing with homelessness, substance abuse, etc along with the standard mental illnesses. but since the VA is run by los federales, it comes as no surprise that my first day was all red tape, paperwork, run from one office to another, take a number, sign this form and go give it to this person, but stand on one foot while you do it while saying the pledge in alphabetical order and then start the whole thing over since we lost all your paperwork already anyway. (it's kind of a CF, if you know what i mean- nudge, nudge, wink, wink).
it's really interesting trying to diagnose mental illness, as there's such a specific and wide spectrum of illnesses. and like one of the docs says, there's no MRI to diagnose a psych illness. you can't run a blood test and say- "ah hah! you're having a depressive episode with melancholy features!" it all comes from talking with the patient. so interviews take forever, but are pretty interesting so far.
i'll keep you posted. remind me to tell you about the PANIC BUTTON under the tables in every patient room in case you as a student/staff are in danger from a patient and need some help. evidently they work about 60% of the time. so that's good.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Vaca. Tion.
so, in addition to a few weeks off around the holiday season, we all get 1 week off at some other point in the year. and this is my week off. i have to say, i could do this everyday. seriously. i want to be a stay-at-home dog owner. is that alright with everyone? i've been productive, but very relaxed. getting tons of sleep.
and learned to scuba dive last weekend, which was pretty awesome...and kind of terrifying. but mostly awesome. it's a little like flying. breathing underwater is something humans don't naturally do well, so really foreign feeling but liberating. i found that i'm pretty partial to breathing, rather fond of air. so i'll have to override that impulse to panic, but i think ultimately it will be very worthwhile to learn to dive.
i spoke at school today to the current didactic students who are gearing up to start their rotations. it was really fun. maybe more for me than them. i talked about all kinds of things like getting familiar with meds, what to wear and carry, and how to tell the different ranks of doctors apart. i think i made them nervous. they're still in the middle of all the exam pressure and stuff and maybe aren't quite ready to think about the pressures of interacting with real live patients. ah, well. i described to them my fears at this time last year...will i kill people? will i feel dumb and get laughed at? will i remember anything i learned? will i ever see my classmates again?. in reflecting on the last year, i've come so far, learned so much and really had a ball overall.
it was a good day for me to extol the virtues of PA school. i also spoke to a good friend this afternoon about the possibility of him going to PA school and i couldn't say enough what a good thing this has been for me. how blessed i am to have this opportunity. how much i've gained and grown. so, uh. yay, me. :) and hopefully soon, yay him.
so since i'm off this week, i won't be writing for a few days. i've been getting my resume together and doing some house/yard work. tomorrow we're going for a long weekend to visit some friends who are gathering from all across the country. having a few days away will be fabulously refreshing and just what the PA ordered. :)
i start psych next week and expect to have lots of stories for you then.
toodles for now, my lovies!
and learned to scuba dive last weekend, which was pretty awesome...and kind of terrifying. but mostly awesome. it's a little like flying. breathing underwater is something humans don't naturally do well, so really foreign feeling but liberating. i found that i'm pretty partial to breathing, rather fond of air. so i'll have to override that impulse to panic, but i think ultimately it will be very worthwhile to learn to dive.
i spoke at school today to the current didactic students who are gearing up to start their rotations. it was really fun. maybe more for me than them. i talked about all kinds of things like getting familiar with meds, what to wear and carry, and how to tell the different ranks of doctors apart. i think i made them nervous. they're still in the middle of all the exam pressure and stuff and maybe aren't quite ready to think about the pressures of interacting with real live patients. ah, well. i described to them my fears at this time last year...will i kill people? will i feel dumb and get laughed at? will i remember anything i learned? will i ever see my classmates again?. in reflecting on the last year, i've come so far, learned so much and really had a ball overall.
it was a good day for me to extol the virtues of PA school. i also spoke to a good friend this afternoon about the possibility of him going to PA school and i couldn't say enough what a good thing this has been for me. how blessed i am to have this opportunity. how much i've gained and grown. so, uh. yay, me. :) and hopefully soon, yay him.
so since i'm off this week, i won't be writing for a few days. i've been getting my resume together and doing some house/yard work. tomorrow we're going for a long weekend to visit some friends who are gathering from all across the country. having a few days away will be fabulously refreshing and just what the PA ordered. :)
i start psych next week and expect to have lots of stories for you then.
toodles for now, my lovies!
•
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Many Colors of the Snot Rainbow/George Clooney Does Not Work Here
people have been asking what working in the ER is actually like. is it actually as crazy, fast-paced as it is on TV? is there as much terror and drama? are doctors and nurses frantically making out in corners on top of gurneys?
well, no. and yes. some days as soon as you resuscitate one patient, there's another coming in from a motor vehicle accident (MVA) with his arm hanging by a thread or head cut wide open and spurting blood, while 3 more are in arrhythmias and another is vomiting and still another is begging for pain meds and a psych patient in the hallway is bellowing "YES, YES, YES" at the top of her lungs. other days, there are only a few patients and they all have manageable, quiet ailments like pneumonia or headaches and there's nothing too heroic going on. there is a lot of death. at least once a day someone arrives DOA or resuscitation fails. so there are lots of disoriented family members wandering around in a grief haze. all the staff-docs, nurses, techs, respiratory therapists are collected and relaxed pretty much always. they are proficient at getting what they need, and are casually quick to respond, if that makes sense. few things alarm them, but they are always on their toes and ready with the right thing to do/say. it's very methodical. even the crisis encounters are routine to them. but almost daily there's something unusual enough for the staff to discuss it amongst themselves. if bizarre enough, it might be a teaching moment for everyone to check out, or if wacky enough, might be a (respectful, mostly) moment of awe or eye-rolling. sometimes laughter. i think they laugh their way sane throughout the day. when you see such gore and pain and work 12 hour days often without meals or bathroom breaks, it helps to keep a sense of humor. and i like this laid-back, slightly irreverant environment. which is why, the other day, i actually used the phrase "many colors of the snot rainbow" to a patient when she was describing her green/yellow/brown sputum she's coughing up. and why today when we were stitching up a nasty cut on a patient's leg, i asked, "so while we're down here, do you want us to tack on a tail or do you want a tatoo or anything?" in both cases, the patients and family members laughed. (perhaps while planning their lawsuit).
i think most of the time the patients appreciate the relaxed atmosphere. but i'm guessing it can appear a little insensitive and detached at times, too. like today, when we were working on that guy w/ the leg wound, the doc i was with actually said OUT LOUD, "man, look at all that blood just ooze out." i looked sideways at the patient and kind of rolled my eyes- and he smiled. but i'm not so sure i'd want to be on the other end of the needle hearing that. :)
as far as catching people making out on the hospital gurneys (called "carts" if you're in the know)- the demented lady yelling "YES, YES, YES" was the closest thing to action i've seen/heard since i've been there. these doctors are all pretty young and fit-ish, but George Clooney they are not. which, really, if you think about it, is better in the end. i don't want to go to my local ER in my moment of genital warts crisis or explosive diarrhea episode and be greeted by a super hot doctor at the end of my bed, thank you very much. .
i just had a little moment of clarity about the health care system. it's a lot like dealing with an auto shop. most of us know as little about our bodies as we do about our vehicles and don't really know how to anticipate the needs or understand what it takes to maintain them. we just want them fixed and fixed now and fixed cheap. just now i received the diagnosis on my aging, ill station wagon and noticed how bitter and untrusting toward my friendly neighborhood mechanic i became when he gave me the super high estimate. and i hear that from patients in the hospitals all the time. "do they REALLY need to run that test? is that the CHEAPEST drug they can prescribe? what are THEY taking off the top for this?" and you hear in the news all the time that hospitals are going out of business because they can't get out of the red, and i see how many insane hours health practitioners work and how hard they work for the money they make, so i understand it from the health care side of things. but i also understand it from the patient side- it's something like $15 for a box of kleenex in the hospital if you ever see an itemized bill. good lawd. so....i know my poor mechanic was thinking "this is what her car needs to keep her safe. it's not my fault we have to pay our employees and keep the lights on and still try to get ahead enough to avoid bankruptcy." but i still kind of want to burn his house down. well, mansion, i'm sure. probably has a swimming pool. and a flat screen TV.
bloody wanker.
well, no. and yes. some days as soon as you resuscitate one patient, there's another coming in from a motor vehicle accident (MVA) with his arm hanging by a thread or head cut wide open and spurting blood, while 3 more are in arrhythmias and another is vomiting and still another is begging for pain meds and a psych patient in the hallway is bellowing "YES, YES, YES" at the top of her lungs. other days, there are only a few patients and they all have manageable, quiet ailments like pneumonia or headaches and there's nothing too heroic going on. there is a lot of death. at least once a day someone arrives DOA or resuscitation fails. so there are lots of disoriented family members wandering around in a grief haze. all the staff-docs, nurses, techs, respiratory therapists are collected and relaxed pretty much always. they are proficient at getting what they need, and are casually quick to respond, if that makes sense. few things alarm them, but they are always on their toes and ready with the right thing to do/say. it's very methodical. even the crisis encounters are routine to them. but almost daily there's something unusual enough for the staff to discuss it amongst themselves. if bizarre enough, it might be a teaching moment for everyone to check out, or if wacky enough, might be a (respectful, mostly) moment of awe or eye-rolling. sometimes laughter. i think they laugh their way sane throughout the day. when you see such gore and pain and work 12 hour days often without meals or bathroom breaks, it helps to keep a sense of humor. and i like this laid-back, slightly irreverant environment. which is why, the other day, i actually used the phrase "many colors of the snot rainbow" to a patient when she was describing her green/yellow/brown sputum she's coughing up. and why today when we were stitching up a nasty cut on a patient's leg, i asked, "so while we're down here, do you want us to tack on a tail or do you want a tatoo or anything?" in both cases, the patients and family members laughed. (perhaps while planning their lawsuit).
i think most of the time the patients appreciate the relaxed atmosphere. but i'm guessing it can appear a little insensitive and detached at times, too. like today, when we were working on that guy w/ the leg wound, the doc i was with actually said OUT LOUD, "man, look at all that blood just ooze out." i looked sideways at the patient and kind of rolled my eyes- and he smiled. but i'm not so sure i'd want to be on the other end of the needle hearing that. :)
as far as catching people making out on the hospital gurneys (called "carts" if you're in the know)- the demented lady yelling "YES, YES, YES" was the closest thing to action i've seen/heard since i've been there. these doctors are all pretty young and fit-ish, but George Clooney they are not. which, really, if you think about it, is better in the end. i don't want to go to my local ER in my moment of genital warts crisis or explosive diarrhea episode and be greeted by a super hot doctor at the end of my bed, thank you very much. .
i just had a little moment of clarity about the health care system. it's a lot like dealing with an auto shop. most of us know as little about our bodies as we do about our vehicles and don't really know how to anticipate the needs or understand what it takes to maintain them. we just want them fixed and fixed now and fixed cheap. just now i received the diagnosis on my aging, ill station wagon and noticed how bitter and untrusting toward my friendly neighborhood mechanic i became when he gave me the super high estimate. and i hear that from patients in the hospitals all the time. "do they REALLY need to run that test? is that the CHEAPEST drug they can prescribe? what are THEY taking off the top for this?" and you hear in the news all the time that hospitals are going out of business because they can't get out of the red, and i see how many insane hours health practitioners work and how hard they work for the money they make, so i understand it from the health care side of things. but i also understand it from the patient side- it's something like $15 for a box of kleenex in the hospital if you ever see an itemized bill. good lawd. so....i know my poor mechanic was thinking "this is what her car needs to keep her safe. it's not my fault we have to pay our employees and keep the lights on and still try to get ahead enough to avoid bankruptcy." but i still kind of want to burn his house down. well, mansion, i'm sure. probably has a swimming pool. and a flat screen TV.
bloody wanker.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Must See Comedy
it's april, national humor month and my land, i do love to laugh. here's a list of my top favorite comedies that always make me chortle and guffaw. most of these i own, others i will ALWAYS watch when they're on TV. no funny lover should miss seeing each one of these at least once. by the way- feel free to just copy and paste these to your Netflix list. you're very welcome. i know it's missing a few priceless pieces that i have yet to see/fully absorb, so let me know if i'm woefully without any gems that you love. it was hard enough to narrow it down to these.
-Airplane!
-Aladdin
-Anchorman, Ron Burgundy
-Animal House
-Austin Powers (only the first one- come on, now)
-Beetlejuice
-Best in Show
-Big
-The Big Chill
-Blazing Saddles
-Blues Brothers
-Caddyshack
-City Slickers (one, of course)
-Coming to America
-Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
-Dodgeball
-Drop Dead Fred
-Drop Dead Gorgeous
-40 Year Old Virgin
-50 First Dates (i'm such a sucker)
-Funny Farm
-Ghostbusters (one>two, but both good)
-Groundhog Day
-Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle
-High Fidelity
-Home Alone
-Juno (kind of a new one, but guaranteed to be a classic)
-A League of Their Own
-Monty Python and the Holy Grail
-Mystery Alaska
-National Lampoon's Christmas AND European Vacation
-Office Space
-Out Cold
-Outside Providence
-Parenthood
-The Princess Bride
-The Ref
-Revenge of the Nerds
-The Royal Tenenbaums
-Sixteen Candles
-Spaceballs
-This is Spinal Tap
-Splash
-Stuck on You
-Three Amigos
-Top Secret
-Uncle Buck
-What About Bob
-When Harry Met Sally
-Young Frankenstein
there's always controversy with you people.....i know "My Cousin Vinny," "Rushmore," "A Fish Called Wanda," "The Big Lebowski," and "Raising Aizona" are on most people's lists, but i just can't dig it. so sue me. make your own damned blog.
:)
-Airplane!
-Aladdin
-Anchorman, Ron Burgundy
-Animal House
-Austin Powers (only the first one- come on, now)
-Beetlejuice
-Best in Show
-Big
-The Big Chill
-Blazing Saddles
-Blues Brothers
-Caddyshack
-City Slickers (one, of course)
-Coming to America
-Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
-Dodgeball
-Drop Dead Fred
-Drop Dead Gorgeous
-40 Year Old Virgin
-50 First Dates (i'm such a sucker)
-Funny Farm
-Ghostbusters (one>two, but both good)
-Groundhog Day
-Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle
-High Fidelity
-Home Alone
-Juno (kind of a new one, but guaranteed to be a classic)
-A League of Their Own
-Monty Python and the Holy Grail
-Mystery Alaska
-National Lampoon's Christmas AND European Vacation
-Office Space
-Out Cold
-Outside Providence
-Parenthood
-The Princess Bride
-The Ref
-Revenge of the Nerds
-The Royal Tenenbaums
-Sixteen Candles
-Spaceballs
-This is Spinal Tap
-Splash
-Stuck on You
-Three Amigos
-Top Secret
-Uncle Buck
-What About Bob
-When Harry Met Sally
-Young Frankenstein
there's always controversy with you people.....i know "My Cousin Vinny," "Rushmore," "A Fish Called Wanda," "The Big Lebowski," and "Raising Aizona" are on most people's lists, but i just can't dig it. so sue me. make your own damned blog.
:)
Monday, April 7, 2008
Best. Weekend. Ever.
went to washington DC this weekend for my cousin's wedding. she was a beautiful, laid back bride and the fella she picked to marry is fantastic. it was a lot like this (but you know, the groom wasn't all pissy and the bride didn't seem to be waiting for another dude to show up). fun was had by all of my huge, loud mafia family as we frightened hotel clerks and the grooms' family alike. all in good fun. also got to see another cousin who just became the youngest most master of all master chefs and is taking the DC restaurant scene by storm. and got to visit with a friend who we don't see nearly often enough.
DC is already all spring-like and flowers are blooming and everything is green. sadly, where i'm living/writing this blog it's still pretty wintry (where that is? that's one secret i'll never tell. xoxo)... so it was nice to have a splash of color this weekend.
i'm exhausted, though. only very few hrs of sleep the last few nights and flew in at 11pm last night and then had to wake up this morning for a 6am shift. and flying is not as much fun as it used to be. you still get the joys of small, cramped spaces and breathing strangers' air, the threat of blood clots in your legs from lack of movement, and sitting by the crazy chatty guy.....but now you don't get the tiny packets of peanuts/pretzels AND you get your expensive cosmetics stolen in security if they're over 2 teaspoons in volume. but i'm not bitter. and i totally feel protected and secure. (grrrrr).
anyway...
the ER is going well. recently i've seen some interesting skin infections and a few misscarriages and ectopic pregnancies...which is always really sad. also a dog bite and a motor vehicle accident that should have been deadly but (gracias a dios) left the victim unscathed. and, of course, plenty of chest pain, psychosis, drug detox, pneumonias and all kinds of tasty abscesses and diarrhea cases. it's interesting to see such a variety of ailments and injuries.
DC is already all spring-like and flowers are blooming and everything is green. sadly, where i'm living/writing this blog it's still pretty wintry (where that is? that's one secret i'll never tell. xoxo)... so it was nice to have a splash of color this weekend.
i'm exhausted, though. only very few hrs of sleep the last few nights and flew in at 11pm last night and then had to wake up this morning for a 6am shift. and flying is not as much fun as it used to be. you still get the joys of small, cramped spaces and breathing strangers' air, the threat of blood clots in your legs from lack of movement, and sitting by the crazy chatty guy.....but now you don't get the tiny packets of peanuts/pretzels AND you get your expensive cosmetics stolen in security if they're over 2 teaspoons in volume. but i'm not bitter. and i totally feel protected and secure. (grrrrr).
anyway...
the ER is going well. recently i've seen some interesting skin infections and a few misscarriages and ectopic pregnancies...which is always really sad. also a dog bite and a motor vehicle accident that should have been deadly but (gracias a dios) left the victim unscathed. and, of course, plenty of chest pain, psychosis, drug detox, pneumonias and all kinds of tasty abscesses and diarrhea cases. it's interesting to see such a variety of ailments and injuries.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Guest Blogger: Words from a Fellow PA Student
one of my heelarious zany classmates (and also one of my all time favorite people) is submitting the following guest blog for your consideration. he is on his outpatient family medicine rotation right now and has developed a few pet peeves he'd like to share. well, one pet peeve really. it's just extremely important to him. read below. i promised to maintain his anonymity, so we'll just call him " pollyanna."
..................................................................................................................................................................
A few tips to make your trip to the doctor's office more enjoyable
1. don't tell me you are in a hurry. We are all in a hurry. The more you complain about waiting (especially if you have only been in the room 5 minutes) the more likely the medical assistant is to go and take her smoking break while your blood sample waits in the lab.
2. don't tell me you are in a hurry. We are all in a hurry. The more you complain the more likely the PA student will "forget" to tell the medical assistant to draw your blood.
3. don't be rude. No one likes a jerk. You know that sample of nasal steroids that costs $150? You aren't getting it if you are rude. We might have just given the last one away earlier today.
4. bathe before you come to the office. The rooms are really small and B.O. has a way of lingering.
5. be appreciative of the services and time the medical community has devoted to you and the rest of the patients. Many have lost friends/spouses/social lifes because they have happily devoted their lives to helping others.
6. remember that we do not make any money by prescribing you medications. The good old days of drug companies providing docs with cruises, houses, boats etc are over.
7. don't tell me you are in a hurry
-pollyanna
.................................................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................................................
A few tips to make your trip to the doctor's office more enjoyable
1. don't tell me you are in a hurry. We are all in a hurry. The more you complain about waiting (especially if you have only been in the room 5 minutes) the more likely the medical assistant is to go and take her smoking break while your blood sample waits in the lab.
2. don't tell me you are in a hurry. We are all in a hurry. The more you complain the more likely the PA student will "forget" to tell the medical assistant to draw your blood.
3. don't be rude. No one likes a jerk. You know that sample of nasal steroids that costs $150? You aren't getting it if you are rude. We might have just given the last one away earlier today.
4. bathe before you come to the office. The rooms are really small and B.O. has a way of lingering.
5. be appreciative of the services and time the medical community has devoted to you and the rest of the patients. Many have lost friends/spouses/social lifes because they have happily devoted their lives to helping others.
6. remember that we do not make any money by prescribing you medications. The good old days of drug companies providing docs with cruises, houses, boats etc are over.
7. don't tell me you are in a hurry
-pollyanna
.................................................................................................................................................................
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
