Day 2000: Next week

Realizing school starts next week

In college:


In grad school:

Day 1998: My last day

Today was my last day at the family medicine clinic. It was a bit bittersweet for a lot of reasons. It wasn't with my favorite of the two doctors. The doctor I like a bit better came in (I hope explicitly) to say goodbye to me (and brought the office/me muffins), which was touching. My favorite nurse was off today but she did leave a sweet card for me.

The day was like any other, well-baby checks, UTIs, hurt joints, diabetes. It's comforting in a strange way, to know that life goes on when things feel like they stop for you. This externship ending means that school really is about to start. (The first day of class is Monday August 20th.) Everything moves forward, even me.

Day 1991: Children

I decided something today. After seeing children upon children in my almost-seven weeks here, I have to say, I am not impressed. Babies cry…a lot. When they become toddlers, they talk…a lot. They have a lot of energy and need to be played with…a lot. I like playing with the patient’s children, or the patients themselves if they are children, but I like that they are not my own. I like giving them back to their mommies or daddies because I sure as heck don’t want them. So, let it be known, family medicine has shown me that despite how adorable some children are, others are a huge pain in the butt. I don’t like those odds. Childbearing is definitely not in my near future (or ever? We’ll see how that goes.) My parents lucked out with how marvelous my sister and I were. Marvelous, I tell you. Don’t let them tell you otherwise! ;)

My Mom and my cousin's son

Day 1990: On the media

I feel like there is a very tumultuous relationship between the media and crazy people.

After seeing this image (above, highlighted in blue) on IMDB.com, I feel like all these crazies come out of the woodwork when their fellow crazies get all this media attention for, well, being crazy. It feels like a cyclical process of crappy people doing crappy things and then the media swarms in and then other crappy people do similar crappy things and then more media swarm and so on and so forth.

I wonder if there is a way to bring justice to those who lost their lives without bringing all this attention to the one(s) who took their lives. I honestly think it makes other people want to "live on" and make people "hear their message" and other really messed up sh!t.

Day 1989: Wisconsin Shooting

While running errands yesterday, my local public radio was interrupted with news that a man had taken hostages at a Sikh temple nearby.

Images from CNN, Washington Post and NY Times.

I think I must be desensitized to all of this shooting and death because it didn't even register to me as I was listening to the radio that this would soon become national news. I have driven by this temple on numerous occasions and it seems crazy to me that something like this could happen so close to where I live. This is Milwaukee people. All that happens is people get drunk every minute of every day, not shot at.

Anyway, we received an email from the president of the school telling us not to talk to reporters about the people being treated at our hospital. I'm a medical student. The fact that I can identify a gunshot wound is probably the full extent of my knowledge. But, it's good to be discreet.

Here's to medicine healing the sick, the wounded, and, unfortunately, the terrible people who do bad things.

Day 1987: The ER

I have worked in the ER twice in the past two weeks and I have say, I am not impressed. Some people in my class love emergency medicine but I am not one of them. The pace is very...irregular.

I arrived for the 7am to 3pm shift and the first two hours were big snoozes. Nothing happens. And when something does, a patient comes in, the nurses deal with all the preliminary stabilizing and history-taking and then we (the doctor and I) go in and talk to them for five minutes to get more information about why they came in and then we leave. Next, tests are run. Then, when the results come back, they either confirm a diagnosis and the patient is admitted to the hospital (which basically means the patient is handed off from the ER to another specialty (pulmonology if it's a lung problem, cardiology if it's a heart problem, etc)). Or, the patient is fine and we send them home.

What I realized after shadowing the first time was that I dislike the lack of relationships in the ER. Sure, it's similar to family medicine in the sense that you have to know a lot and you have to know what tests to run to confirm your knowledge, but then the patient goes bye-bye (to another doctor, not to heaven, ha) and you never see them again. One of the things I have managed to figure out this summer is, I like relationships. I like actually knowing things about patients. I like maintaining said relationships. Who would have thunk, Miss Anti-Social would actually like talking to patients? Ha. The world sure is funny sometimes.

Day 1984: Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

When you first hear the specialty "physical medicine and rehabilitation," you probably hear what I hear..."rehabilitation." Then, you think this MD is a physical therapist and then you think, "how sad that this person went through four plus years of medical school to do rehab." Snore.

Let me tell you, I met an amazing doctor today who loves her job and has, what appears to be, one sweet job. She sets her own hours. She does procedures (which translates to $$$). She does things that seem eastern medicine like (such as feeling out muscles and bones and testing nerves). She does not work nights. She is not on call. She gets to do sports medicine (and I love sports). She sees people of all ages.

This woman was so passionate and knowledgeable about her work that I was extremely excited by the prospect that I may actually have found something I want to do for the rest of my life...maybe. But this maybe is better than nothing!

What the doctor told me was PM&R (as it's called) is a three-year residency followed by (at least) one year in a specialty of your choice (post-stroke rehab, sports medicine, post-spinal cord injury rehab, etc). Lots of cool stuff! I will keep you all posted on how PM&R works out.

Courtesy of this website