Here Come the Holidays!

First things first. I know it’s been FOREVER since I’ve posted on here. My apologies.

Second of all, is it really already the end of November? Where has the time gone??? Let me catch you up.

I was on OB nights in September, so basically I was living the nocturnal life. I worked 6pm to 7am Monday night through Friday night and had Saturday and Sunday night off. All I did that month was pretty much eat, sleep, and work. There wasn’t much time for anything else. Needless to say, I was extremely happy when the month was over.

During October, I was on surgery. Our surgery rotation is actually not bad at all compared to surgery during medical school when you’re at the hospital way before dawn. I generally came in at 8am, scrubbed in on some surgeries or saw some people in clinic, then was usually home by 4 or 5. Not too shabby. The only down side to that rotation was the inpatient medicine call every 5th night. It got a little old, and by the end of the month, I was ready to be in my own bed every night.

This month, I have been doing sports medicine. I LOVE it. I had thought about the possibility of a sports medicine fellowship going into residency, but sometime over the course of last year, I kind of got away from that idea, thinking that it would be nice to get a real job after residency. This month has definitely made me reconsider that possibility. If I would do a fellowship, it is a one year primary care sports medicine fellowship. It focuses on the non-operative diagnosis and management of musculoskeletal complaints and injuries. It can range from diagnosing ACL or meniscal tears in athletes to seeing people with arthritis and doing joint injections. I also like the idea of being a team physician, so that you can see the athletes’ sports-related complaints, but also see them for more family medicine complaints, like a sinus infection. It has a whole range of possibilities, and it’s something that I will definitely need to think about in the coming months.

Next Wednesday, I change rotations again and will be starting as the supervising resident on the adult inpatient medicine service (AIMS for short). This is typically one of our more stressful months as a 2nd year because it is a busy month regardless, and as the resident, you’re in charge of the interns and you pretty much run the team. Thankfully, it is a short rotation (only 3 weeks!) because we changeover to a holiday schedule for Christmas and New Year’s. Hopefully, it will go by fast, but still leave me time to do my holiday shopping.


More updates later!

Emily

My Future's So Bright...

…I gotta wear shades.

Actually, I’ll wear my new glasses. Today after I finished my test, I got a call from my eye doctor’s office saying my new glasses were in. It was an unexpected surprise since I wasn’t expecting them till early next week. It’s perfect timing because I start a month of night shifts tomorrow, and it’s nice to be able to wear glasses instead of contacts through the night. I have a couple pairs of glasses already, but they’re both old prescriptions, and I can’t really see right with either of them. I decided to go a little more fun with these since my other ones are more your standard brown and tan. Here’s some pics of them:

A little plainer from the front…

…but a little party on the side  

I love them!

Thank you to all of you for the prayers and good luck wishes these past couple of days. I am finally done with Step 3! Woo hoo!!!

Now, onward to a month of OB nights…here’s to becoming nocturnal once again!

Emily

A, B, C...Easy as 1, 2, 3....

All-day today and again all-day tomorrow, I have the pleasure of answering a total of 480 multiple choice questions and working through 9 clinical cases. Yep, I’m taking USMLE Step 3, also known as the third and final hurdle before being able to become a fully licensed physician in the US. The first “Step” is generally taken after the second year of medical school before starting the clinical rotations. Students typically take Step 2 during the fourth year of medical school, and this step includes both a computer test (“Clinical Knowledge”) and a day seeing 12 standardized patients in various mock scenarios (“Clinical Skills”). Lastly, people usually take Step 3 during residency. A lot of the residents in my program tend to take Step 3 later in 2nd year or at the beginning of 3rd year, but I was all about getting it over with, so I decided to take it towards the beginning of my 2nd year. Everyone kept telling me that it is easier than the other steps and that it isn’t that big of a deal, but I left the testing center this afternoon feeling a little unsure of myself. I’m hoping that it’s just my natural reaction to these stupid tests; I always second-guess myself and think I did worse than I actually did. Really, all I have to do is pass it, and I’m pretty sure I did that. Over 90% of US medical school grads that passed Steps 1 and 2 on the first try pass Step 3 on the first try too, so the odds are definitely in my favor.
 
Here’s to hoping I clicked the right answers….I’m off to bed soon to rest up for tomorrow! Wish me luck!!!

It's State Fair Time in Indiana!

Last Sunday, TJ and I decided to venture to the Indiana State Fair for some quality Hoosier culture, and by that I mean fried food, overweight people, animals, 4-H, and more fried food. We only spent the afternoon there because it was so hot, and after 4-5 hours, we were both exhausted.

We were both hungry when we got there, so of course we had get one of the JUMBO turkey legs. Yum!

Since it was so hot, we each got a milkshake from the dairy bar (another yum!) and walked around the midway for awhile, filled with your typical “carn-ies” that I would never let my child go near. Definitely some good people-watching that day!

Emily

Livin' On a Prayer, Baby

Last Friday night, TJ and I went up to Chicago to go see Bon Jovi in concert. Yes, we are pretty big Bon Jovi fans. This concert was my 5th time seeing him, and TJ’s 7th time seeing him. He has some great music, and he puts on an awesome show. Here’s a picture of TJ and I before the concert started…

We stayed at TJ’s mom’s house Friday night, then drove back home later on Saturday night because I was on call last Sunday. We had a great time and it was another incredible show!

Opener: Kid Rock

“We Weren’t Born to Follow”

 

Kid Rock came out for a song with Jon

Happy Friday Everyone! Have a great weekend!!!

Emily

Happy Birthday to my Daddy!

Today is my dad’s 57th birthday! It’s been a big year for my dad with some scares but certainly many triumphs. Here’s to many more birthdays to come!

I love you, Dad!

 

My dad and I on the morning of my wedding

Monday, Monday

I survived my first day back to work!

I had my own continuity clinic all day, so I jumped right back into the swing of things. As of July 1, I am now a second year resident (a.k.a. NOT AN INTERN). This means that I am no longer the low man on the totem pole, and now I am expected to take on more of a teaching role (i.e. teaching the interns and students). We change rotations monthly, and this month I have been on the psychiatry rotation. I spend my mornings in the pediatric inpatient unit at the Stress Center (for those of you in the Indy area), then spend the rest of the day in clinic with either the staff psychiatrist or psychologist. We see a wide variety of things, ranging from depression, anxiety, and bipolar to ADHD and conduct disorder in kids. It’s definitely been an interesting month, and I hope that it has helped me in diagnosing and treating some of these common conditions I’ll see in practice.

In addition to our monthly rotations, I also have one and a half days of my own continuity clinic each week. This is up from only one half day during intern year, and next year, I will have two full days of clinic each week. In my clinic, I see my own patients, i.e. I am these people’s PCP or primary care doctor. These clinic times are sometimes stressful, but it is often the most rewarding part of the job because I get to form a relationship with my patients which was one of the many things that drew me towards family medicine.

In August, I will be on the outpatient pediatrics rotation, where I will spend time in the pediatrics residency clinic. I will do LOTS of well child visits as well as sick visits (think ear infections, sinus infections, fevers, diarrhea, etc.). It’s generally a lighter rotation with “normal people” hours (8:30 to 5:00), but I will be doing “home call” where I cover the after-hours pager for the pediatrics clinic. I’ll get lots of calls about fevers in addition to a bunch of other stuff and I have to triage the calls and either reassure them, tell them to call the clinic in the morning, or send them to the ER. It’s not too bad, but can be very annoying when someone calls in the middle of the night for something non-emergent like, “my kid’s constipated.” I don’t care, I want to sleep right now. Thanks.

Well, I am going to get a little more reading done before the Bachelorette starts in the 30 minutes. Yes, reality TV is one of my guilty pleasures, but after all my hard work during the day, darn it, I deserve it!
Emily

A Case of the Sunday Evening Blues

Or should I say, post-vacation blues. There’s always that small sense of dread on Sunday night, knowing that you have to return to work or school the next morning, but that sense of apprehension is multiplied by ten (or more!) when it’s a Sunday night following a week of vacation. That’s exactly what I’m feeling right now; well, the part of me that isn’t in denial that tomorrow is Monday.

I just got back from a week long vacay in Orlando, Florida with my family. My parents and I were there from Friday the 16th to the 23rd, and both my brother and TJ were there from Friday until Wednesday. It was a week filled with lots of sun, pool time, reading, and relaxing with my family. It was crazy hot, and only about 20 minutes of rain the entire week. Amazing for us, really, considering the last time I was in Florida in May of 2009, it downpoured everyday my mom and I were there. We also had many yummy meals out during the week, and had a chance to visit with my Grandpa and his wife, Jackie, and my aunt, Debby, and cousin, Hannah. I didn’t take too many pictures throughout the week since most of it was spent in the pool, but you can check out some of my pictures below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Good to Have a Reminder Every Now & Then

This afternoon at work, I had an encounter with a patient that reminded me why I have chosen to be a physician, and in particular, a family medicine doctor. I am on the Adult Inpatient Medicine Service (AIMS) this month, so basically the medicine wards. We take care of patients with a wide range of problems, from cellulitis to heart failure to asthma exacerbations…really, the sky’s the limit. I just started on this rotation yesterday, so I took over a handful of patients from the intern that was on service in May. Anyways, one of my patients (let’s call her Betty) is a 93 year old woman with bladder cancer (not being treated aggressively due to her age and other medical problems). She was in the hospital earlier in May, went home, then was re-admitted one day later because of worsening abdominal pain. During this admission, we have primarily been managing her pain (most likely from her cancer), which was fairly well controlled with Tylenol and Morphine, then we decided to send her out with scheduled Vicodin. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to the patient’s daughter until today when I spoke with her at length over the phone about her mother’s condition, what our goals were, and mentioned that we were thinking hospice might be a good option for her mother. That was the first time anyone had mentioned the word hospice to her, which can be a shock to many patients’ families, as you can imagine. I could tell that she was a little surprised, but then quickly said that it had been something that was in the back of her mind but she was trying not to think about it. I answered some of her questions, then told her that I would see her when she came to pick up her mother from the hospital. Around 4:30 this afternoon, she came in to take her mother home, so I went into Betty’s room to go over things with her and her daughter before they left. I repeated many of the same things we talked about on the phone and answered more of her questions. After we finished talking, I got up to say goodbye and shake her hand, and the daughter stood up as well and asked if she could give me a hug. Of course I said that was okay, and that hug said a lot to me. It let me know that I had put this woman’s heart and mind at ease, and that I had done my job well. I can only hope and pray that I have this same impact on many patients in years to come.

And say a prayer for Betty too.

Yes, I'm Still Here...

Hey everyone. I’ve definitely slacked off in the past month and a half or so. Is it really the middle of May already??? Where does the time go?? Here are some updates in my life:

I’m very proud to say that my dad is doing AMAZING. He has been working very hard over the last two months and definitely not letting anything get in his way. He has been walking every day, usually 2-3 miles a day, and going to cardiac rehab three times a week for the past month. He’s also back to one of his favorite pastimes… working on his cars. He’s already changed the oil in the Jetta and Golf, my brother’s Corrado, and my Tiguan. And he’s very glad to be driving his Boxster again. He’s also cut the grass and been working out in the yard. He says he feels better than ever. It’s such a blessing that he is doing so well.

Since I’ve last posted, my brother, Joe, has also conquered a huge milestone. On April 28th, he had his thesis defense and earned his Ph.D. We now have two doctors in the family! Congratulations to him and all his hard work over the past 6 years!

TJ and I are doing great (when we see each other, that is!). He started a new job at United Healthcare back in March. It’s a good and welcome change from the banking business he’s been in the last few years. He’s still undergoing training, but he’s enjoying it so far. I, of course, am still working long, hard hours at the hospital. I finished up ICU in March, then had inpatient pediatrics in April, and now I’m doing OB. I only have 6.5 weeks left of intern year (not that I’m counting) before I become a second year resident. I will finish off the year on AIMS (Adult Inpatient Medicine Service) which unfortunately is another busy month. By the time intern year is over, I will have had 5 hard months in a row with only 4-5 days off each of those months. It has been very difficult at times, but by taking it day by day, I’m able to get through it. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m definitely looking forward to time off in July and spending a week in Florida with the family. Sunshine and a pool? Yes please!

Well, those are the major updates for now…I’m off to enjoy the rest of this Sunday evening with my hubby. Have a good week!

Oh, How the Time Flies...

It’s hard to believe that just one year ago I was finishing up medical school and making the final preparations for our wedding. It was also one year ago today that I found out where I would be doing my residency training.



For those of you who are not familiar with the whole “Match” process, it is quite a process. At the beginning of the 4th year of med school, students apply online to their selected programs in their chosen specialty. For me, I initially applied to 9 family medicine programs. After the programs receive your application, they may or may not offer you an interview which could take place anywhere from October to January. Once the interview season is over, each applicant makes their rank list and submits it online, and each program ranks all of the applicants in the order they would want them in the incoming class. After that, it is all up to a computer to “match” everyone into a program based on an algorithm.  The ranking lists are all completed by the end of February, and then it’s a long wait till Match Day in March. It causes a lot of anxiety, as you can imagine. Match Day is always the 3rd Thursday of March, and schools generally make a pretty big deal out of it. At IU Medical School, the whole graduating class gets together with their families, and the envelopes start getting passed out at noon. One by one, you go up to the front, get your envelope, then have the option of opening it right there and announcing your match or taking it back to your seat. Last year, my parents and TJ came downtown for the ceremony, and I was so happy to get my first choice at St. Vincent.

Today our program found out who will be the next intern class, i.e. the people that will be replacing me and my fellow interns in July. I can’t believe that I am already nearing the end of my first year of residency training. I feel like I have learned so much in the past  8.5 months, but it is very intimidating to think of all that I don’t know. I think this is a pretty typical feeling, and I am actually quite used to it, but it also begs the question: when will I ever feel like I know enough? Anyways, I am very happy with the people that matched to our program and am really forward to working with them over the next couple years.

In other news, my dad had his first “outing” today since coming home from the hospital. (Sounds like when a baby comes home from the hospital, doesn’t it?) My mom said that she was thinking about going to Costco, but apparently my dad had other ideas. My dad was hoping that his first time out of the house would be to go to the Apple Store. He has been talking about getting an iPhone for quite some time now. Actually, I think he really started wanting one when I bought one a year ago, but since their current phone contract ended a couple months ago, my dad has really been pushing for it. Well, my dad won, my parents went to the Apple Store, and they are now both proud owners of a 16g Apple iPhone 3Gs. I’m sure he’s happy to have a new toy to play with as he continues to recover.
Hope everyone has a good Friday and an even better weekend!