Sunday, October 31, 2010

Oh House Medicine...

I've been a bad blogger. I'm aware. A lot of stuff's happened. And I'm gonna put it in list format in an attempt to keep it organized.

1. September ended. Mom is making a fabulous recovery from her knee replacement.

2. October started - along with Labor and Delivery. I caught tons of babies, didn't drop any, and got to sew up some subQ fat and skin. I had an amazing month. I even made friends with some of the nurses!

3. Also in October - I learned how to make scrub hats. This might be part of the reason the nurses want to be friendsies. Ha ha.

4. The first Friday in October I got sideswiped by an 18-wheeler while heading home from the hospital. It was incredibly scary. I need to take pictures, but pretty much there's a long green stripe down the L side of my car along with parts of it all dented in and missing and whatnot. The scariest part is the chewed up metal on my hubcap (not the cute, decorative rim, but the actual metal part underneath that that holds the tire). Very scary. Best part - the driver just kept on truckin' so to speak so I get to pay $200 for the repair. Awesome.

5. I had my first interview this past Friday at Ochsner in New Orleans. It was quite the experience. I was on nights the last 2 weeks, so I didn't get home until 2:30am the night before I had to leave. We got into town just in time to get checked in and head to the party. The interviewees seem pretty cool. I even met one girl who is doing an away at UMC right now and she's super nice. As for the next morning, it was a cluster! I left the hotel at 6:15, assuming I'd have plenty of time to make it to my interview 6 miles away by 7:30. I made it, but just barely. The New Orleans downtown area is a little difficult to navigate. It doesn't help that there are 2 Ochsner hospitals on the same highway, 3 miles apart. And both have pianos in their atrium. We were told to meet by the piano in the atrium. You can see where this is going. Long story short - here's what I've learned from my first interview:

1. Wear a watch. Some hospitals don't have clocks abundant as ours do.

2. Take a purse with a pen and some paper. I asked all the girls the night before if they were bringing their purses. They said NO. They all showed up with their purses (those b*tches...). By the end of the day my lips were chapped, I had no pen to take notes with, and felt pretty yucky.

3. Do a night before trial run. Drive to the hospital. Find where you're meeting.

4. Find out about discounts. After trying to make reservations at the hotel on campus and getting no response, I made reservations elsewhere. Morning of I got a confirmation email from the original hotel. It was too late to cancel hotel #2 at this point. While eating breakfast at the interview the unhelpful secretary announces - "Be sure not to let the hotel here charge you for your stay! Show them my email. That should be enough." And boom. I'm out $130 and pissed. Did she mention anything about that hotel in any of her million emails? No. Of course not. Did she mention it would be free. Well no. That would be logical. So pimp those secretaries about free hotel rooms if they're not upfront about them.

5. Don't overdress for the party the night before. I wore jeans, a cute tunic top, and cowboy boots and was on par with the residents. If you show up in a little black dress, heels, and pearls, you will feel really awkward.

6. On a similar note - Ann Taylor Loft is having an amazing sale right now. If you need cute shirts for under your suit - go get some. I got one for $14 last night.

That's all of my interview advice. I'm glad the first one is over with. I have my UMC interview this coming Friday and am pumped. However, I start medicine tomorrow morning. Already have 3 patients assigned to me and notes expected for in the morning before rounds at 7. We have orientation at 8. Oh how backwards...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

So cool! Thanks.

Cousin A said...

2N/2S House Medicine??? How exciting for me! Maybe I will actually SEE you instead of stalk you on your blog!?! Who are you with?

Don't forget to order OT for all your patients that you order PT for. Good rule of thumb: if they need one, they need both. :)

Feeling That said...

Good point on the watch for real. I kept itching to pull out my phone and see what time it was, but I knew that would look bad. I did carry my purse (very small and simple) with me to keep up with my wallet, keys, phone, chapstick/lipstick, listerine strips, pen, pad, and germ-x.

forgetmenot said...

Found your comments very amusing. My husband is a doctor--general surgeon. I know how hectic your life is. Good luck in your last year of Med School. You'll find life very rewarding as a doctor when you are actually in practice.