I’ve not written anything for a long… long time. It’s probably the longest I’ve gone without reflecting about my encounters on the wards, but for those who’ve rotated through general surgery, you already know why this is the case – the long hours. I would routinely get home, find any excuse not to study, and […]

Computers are incredibly useful in recalling vast databases of information reliably and quickly. Knowing this, should we be “teaching” computers medicine? If so, how should we utilize them in the process of working up a patient’s symptoms?

Since there were no procedures scheduled for the operating room yesterday morning, I was dismissed after morning rounds – my last day of pediatric surgery.

Last Thursday, a good classmate and I had the privilege of visiting a patient with metastatic cancer for our mandatory “palliative care experience.” Under the guidance of an attending physician, we explored how the patient coped with her diagnosis and subsequent therapies and probed her plans for the future.

Nothing eventful at all this birthday – another long but rewarding day at Texas Children’s Hospital. Scrubbed into a five hour total colectomy followed up by an open gastrostomy. Straightforward cases… but I’ve never felt so tired from just standing in one place.