Intern Year - check

Very happy to announce I officially survived intern year! And even happier to announce that 2nd year is infinitely better. Okay, so I'm only 3 weeks in, but so far it has been amazing. This month I'm on clinic/research which translates into clinic Monday-Wednesday, 3 hours of call during the week, and 2 weekends off this month. Thursday and Friday I'm supposed to be doing my research. Emphasis on the "supposed to" part. So far I've been brainstorming. But mostly I've been sleeping late and catching up on all the television and neglected household chores I've been doing over the last year. Speaking of which, have you seen New Girl? With Zooey Deschanel? It is hilarious. Finished season 1 of that and have started watching Smash now. I've also had time to cook a few meals this month. That happened approximately twice during intern year. I still get nervous before call but it's only because I feel a little rusty on L&D. Hadn't done a section in 4 or 5 months before my 1st 24 hour L&D call this month but it's just like riding a bike. Came back instantaneously. So far the transition from "baby intern" 12 hour shift call (which honestly always turned into 16 hour shifts for me) to "big girl" 24 hour call has not been bad. I think that's because my schedule has been so light during the week that I go into call pretty well rested. Enough of work stuff... Other exciting things that are happening: Signed up to run "The Color Run" in New Orleans this fall. It's a 5k where you are required to where a white shirt and at each kilometer you are splashed with a different color corn starch. There's about 12 of us from our residency going (including some attendings!) so it should be a good time seeing everyone look ridiculous. Also signed up to run the MS Blues 1/2 Marathon in January. Nervous about this one! Have a lot of training to do before then. I ran probably 4 times my entire intern year. Time to get back on the wagon. Started back this week. Ran 2.0 miles Monday and walked/ran 3.0 miles yesterday. Planning to do some either yoga or pilates tonight. Weight is essentially the same as when intern year started (lost 13 lbs, then gained 10 back), but now I'm just flab all over instead of muscle! The most exciting thing going on right now is that my sister is expecting :) She's just over 34 weeks now and we are all so pumped. 1st grandchild for my Mom. This will make my 3rd niece, but the first one from my sister. Also expecting my first nephew this August as well. (sister-in-law). Very very exciting time for our families. Hope everyone else is doing well. Planning to update this thing a little more this year.

Oh Hello!

I must get more clever wih these titles but just wanted to check in and let everyone know I'm surviving! I just finished my fourth consecutive month of my alarm going off at 3:00 AM and carrying the call pager during the day and I am so excited. On call tonight, get off tomorrow morning and will get to spend time with my family watching the Super Bowl.

Monday starts my second rotation on Labor and Delivery. I am excited and a little scared all at once. It feels like so long ago since I've been there! It was just August but feels like 2 years ago. Here's the rotations conquered so far:

OB Receiving - days
Labor and Delivery - days
OBI - 3:00 AM rounding, scheduled c-sections
HO I - 3:00 AM rounding, carrying call pager
HO I - again
OB I - again

Next up is L and D, then Gyn (the sweetest rotation), then Clinic/Ultrasound, then OB Receiving days again and intern year is finished! It gets better every day. Most of the attendings trust you to do the things they know you're competent at. We did lose an intern at the end of August and it really increased the workload. He quit without much warning and threw our schedules into a tizzy - specifically the call schedule. Most of us get one weekend off a month. And it is a glorious weekend.

But enough about work. Otherwise things are fabulous. Kris and I bought new cars back in November and are in love with them. The animals are as good as ever, and we are still hanging in our little yellow house by the reservoir. Counting the days until intern year is over but happy to be where I am.

Oh Hi

Oh hello... Did you think I'd forgotten about my little blog?

I haven't. Things have just been as crazy as I'd predicted they would be. I just finished my month of OB Receiving (aka pregnant lady ER) and I am so glad it's over. To give you an idea of how busy it was - I ate food 2x last month while at work and subsequently lost 8lbs in 31 days. I don't recommend this diet but at least I can fit into my clothes a little better on the 1 day off a week that I get to wear them!

Speaking of that one day off... Today is that day. You think I would be overjoyed, excited, thrilled but instead I am anxious and a little sad. Because I know it all starts over tomorrow and the clock is ticking. K is at work so I'm all alone. I have a million articles and book chapters I need to read, anatomy I need to review, etc... And of course a dirty house and fridge that need to be cleaned. I'm having a hard time shaking the "day off blues." So far I've found that certain bible verses as well as getting outside in the sunshine help so that's what I plan to do today. Clean a little, cook a little, go out for a walk or to work in the yard, and do a bit of reading. I've never been so inspired to read medical literature in my life. Mostly because the fear from being called out by an attending either in front of 30 people (this happened to me this week) or being kicked out of the OR or compromising patient care. Now journal articles about which antibiotic prophylaxis is best prior to surgery are absolutely thrilling to me. Because it helps me understand why we do what we do and alleviate any fear of not knowing about it when asked.

Earlier this week at board sign outs (where the night team tells you whats going on with each laboring patient on the board) there was an HIV+ patient. The attending then turns to me and asks when we usually induce these patients, what maneuvers we avoid, what dosage of medicine and for how long they need it prior to delivery, the vertical transmission rates, etc... I did not know. It was painful for everyone. I was encouraged to read the article. Which of course I went home and did as I was falling asleep. The next day I got asked what the transmission rates are without treatment and BAM! I spit it right back out at her. 25% thankyouverymuch :) So that was a good day.

But the thing is there's always another complicated patient, another article to read, another muscle to know the exact innervation and blood supply to, and that is why I have the day off jitters. Instead of enjoying today I'm worried about what I will be asked tomorrow.

Now that that pitiful rant is over, here's highlights from last month:
1. Seeing several women come in between 30-35 weeks desperately hoping to be in labor. I gave them each a serious talk on how their baby could be impaired if it was born this early. I don't think most of them cared.

2. Checking a cervix on an above-mentioned patient (around 34 weeks pregnant) and noticing something pink and rubbery and prophylactic in my hand when I withdrew it. Of note, the attending was in the room with me which made it even more hilarious and awkward.

3. Getting to show several women in their first trimesters who were worried they were miscarrying their cute little healthy babies with heartbeats right where they should be.

4. Getting frustrated with patients who keep going back to abusive households.

5. Having a baby born in OB Receiving my 2nd week. (I had checked her an hour before and told the nurses to get her up to Labor and Delivery, just so you know...)

6. Having a G11P10 (gravida 11 para 10 - she's on her 11th pregnancy with 10 living children) labor silently and almost have a baby in OB Receiving

7. Doing several circumcisions on cute little baby boys. I really enjoy these!

Highlights from this Week:

1. Delivering several babies!!! (4 or 5?)

2. Scrubbing c-sections and getting to sew fascia and skin :)

3. Scrubbing into 1 placental abruption section and 1 uterine rupture section. The rates of uterine rupture are less than 1% and I got to see it in my first week on Labor and Delivery

I suppose I'm off to clean, read, get outside, and try to cheer up. Hope the rest of you are having a marvelous Saturday!

This Time Next Week...

I will be a doctor and I will be in Mexico. And hopefully I will be very relaxed and happy! That's all :)

Oh Dear

It's starting to hit me that I will in fact be a real life doctor person very, very soon. Technically I will be a doctor May 27th once I am handed my diploma but I will not see any patients until July. So in my mind it doesn't really "count" until then.

I am on plastic surgery this month and just happened to be in the Women's and Infants' hospital yesterday for some oncoplastic breast reconstruction cases. Of course I ran into several of my soon to be fellow Ob/Gyn residents and attendings. PS - this is much more fun now that I know they like me - they really, really like me! *spoken in the voice of Sally Field winning the Oscar.* As I've said before - when you're working with these people and trying to make a good impression it's difficult to enjoy your time with them. At least that's the case for me anyway. I was always trying to appear eager but not annoying, helpful but not overbearing, funny but not inappropriate, etc... It's a tight-rope act and you never quite know what small move can make you lose your balance - and influence people's opinions about you.

Anyway, it was all happy times and "hey, what are you doing here?" type conversation and then one of the residents asked if I had my schedule yet. They were in the lounge.

THE SCHEDULE FOR THE NEXT YEAR OF MY LIFE WAS IN THE LOUNGE!!!!!!!!! 10 FEET AWAY!!!!

So of course I run in and pick one up. Here is what our intern year will consist of:

2 months of Gynecology (clinic, hysterectomies, post-menopausal bleeding, fibroids, etc...)

2 months of Labor and Delivery (12ish hour shifts of delivering babies :))

2 months of Clinic (clinic M-F, different every day)

2 months of "Dober" (this means Days OB Receiving aka the "pregnant lady ER", also is shiftwork)

1 month of OB I (scheduled c-sections, high risk clinic, rounding on PPROMers and postpartums)

1 month of HO I (house officer I - you carry a pager that beeps ALL THE TIME. You also do circumcisions, round on postpartums, etc...)

1 month of ADU (this means antenatal diagnostic unit. It's where they do the high tech fancy ultrasounds and amniocentesis)

1 month of ER (this is the regular adult ER. All OB residents love this rotation because you get 2 weeks off this month.)

Now that you know what those months are like, I will tell you that I was most terrified of starting out on Days OB Receiving. It's a busy, busy place. Essentially any pregnant lady that comes into the hospital starts out there. Also, not pregnant ladies, but ladies that think they might be pregnant. And gyn patients. Pretty much any Ob/Gyn patient starts there. Then I have to see them and decide if they go up to the Labor and Delivery Suite to deliver, go back home, get set up in clinic, get worked up for an operation, etc... It gets very busy and it gets backed up. And people can see how many patients you have even in the lounge 2 floors up. It's on a computer monitor. And they say things like - "Wow, OB receiving is really filling up." Oh dear. So without further ado, here's my own personal schedule:

July - Days OB Receiving (cue the screaming lambs)
August - Labor and Delivery Days
September - OB I
October - Gyn A
November - Clinic
December - HO I
January - ER
February - Labor and Delivery Nights
March - Gyn A
April - ADU
May - Days OB Receiving
June - Clinic

So I thought that was bad. Then I looked down at my dear fellow intern who I'm closest to in our class and she starts out on Labor and Delivery!!! In the past they didn't let interns run the L&D unit until we'd been doctors for a full 6 months. They're throwing us into the fire this year though.

And because I got so scared once I saw this schedule I did something I thought I wouldn't do. I started studying last night. For intern year. Just the things I knew I would use - like the first line of treatment for UTIs in pregnancy, and exactly what tests to order when you suspect Gonorrhea or Chlamydia. And steps to ruling out preterm labor.

Overall I'm pretty thrilled with my schedule. The "easier" (ha ha) months are interspersed pretty well with the more challenging ones. Now I am just anxious to see the call schedule. And wondering if the hours will change for any of these blocks...

Easter and Whatnot

Hey peoples - just got back from a 4 mile run with my fabulous Cousin A (we walked and talked more than we ran though). We also went straight from the trail to a Mexican restaurant where margaritas were imbibed so you know - keep that in mind while you read this post.

I am about to get started on a little cooking for the Easter weekend. Am planning on making some cheddar biscuits that I've made a few times before and some chocolate chip cookie dough truffles that I've never made before but are sweet and therefore can't be screwed up too badly - by me anyway - sugar loves me. The biscuits have chunks of cheddar cheese in them and use heavy cream instead of butter or Crisco aka lard, so what's not to love? So much easier to stir and they come out all light and fluffy once they're baked. Here's the recipe for truffles and a link to the blog:

our little beehive: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles: "When I worked in my company's main office I used to bring baked goods to work all the time. When I announced that I was moving and (very tha..."

And here's a link to the recipe for the biscuits:
http://www.cooklikeachampionblog.com/2011/01/cheddar-cheese-biscuits.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cooklikeachampion+%28Cook+Like+a+Champion%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
(copy and paste that one - not sure why it's not working)

And here's a few pictures from Easters past:

That's from Easter 2006 and is me, my sister, mom and grandmother. We inadvertently color-coordinated pretty well.


And those are the Easter eggs we made and subsequently hid.


One of my favorite pictures of me and my sister and mama. We are such "in the moment" type people that we usually forget to take pictures so I am glad for the few we have together.



One of the whole family.


And me and my sister aka "Seeser!" with our Peter's pottery bunnies. Also - holy shiny T-zone. I swear I own powder and will not let this happen again.

That's all. Happy Easter everybody!

Lazy Days

You think with all this time I've had off I would be posting every single day, but I've found much more fun ways to fill my time.

For those who read and don't know already, Match Day was great! I got my first choice (although I wasn't tacky enough to say that while up at the microphone). It was such a great day. I couldn't be happier with our intern class. There will be 6 of us - 5 girls and 1 guy. 4 of us trained here during med school and are staying for residency. 1 girl is from Arkansas and another from Florida. Arkansas girl and her husband are really nice. They stayed at our house one weekend while they apartment-hunted. I haven't met Florida girl yet, but I hear she's expecting a big surprise. Due the first week of July. Oy. Wondering how much that's going to suck not only for her, but those of us who will have to be there to pick up the slack.

I was on a high for about a week after Match Day. Later that week was the annual Hal & Mal's St. Patrick's Day Parade and I had nothing else in particular to do so I went to the parade for the first time ever. Here's a picture for proof: (Yes, I'm wearing a red shirt - but my shorts were GREEN! And this is the only sleeveless shirt I own since I'm now in the 25-34 age group and I didn't want tan lines. Phew. Is that enough explanation of a very straight forward picture for you? Now enjoy the picture:)



The parade was pretty much what I thought it would be, but I'm not sure if I'll be going back any time soon. Crowds aren't really my thing... It was nice to hang out and enjoy some nice weather with friends though. Felt like I was on the "med school street" seeing as how I kept seeing residents and med students all along our sidewalk. Too funny.

Speaking of school, I'm in the process of applying for my medical license. I've already sent in all the paperwork once, along with a check for $50 (natch), but have received a request for even more documents. Yay. At least this marriage license is getting to see the light of day for once. Ha ha. I went to UMC a few weeks ago and signed my contract, got drug tested, poked, prodded, and had an incredibly unfortunate i.d. picture taken. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll redo it during Orientation. One can only hope.

Our Ob/Gyn Interest Group has a lunch meeting tomorrow for the M1s and M2s about how to do well on the rotation and I'm going and might have to speak. I'll also get a chance to see my program director for the first time since matching. Wonder if I'll still be nervous around her? Before Match Day I was always careful to mind my Ps and Qs around all the staff, but now they're stuck with me :)

Anyway, this is probably the most boring blog post ever, but just felt like I needed to update. I start my Plastic Surgery rotation in 2 weeks so I should have some good stories for y'all then :)