During call shifts, one of my responsibilities is responding to any “airway emergencies” across the hospital. I’ve performed countless emergent endotracheal intubations in scenarios ranging from cardiopulmonary arrests to impending respiratory failure and self-extubations. In many of these situations, securing the airway is a priority above everything else. There’s very little time…
I’m watching the NBA All-Star Game and reflecting on my last week… and the even busier week to come.
With half this rotation under my belt, I wanted to reflect on how my initial trepidation has transformed into enthusiasm doing cardiovascular anesthesiology. At the end of December, I had been out of the “general anesthesia” mode for months. Naturally, I was somewhat concerned that even tracheal intubation would be difficult.
I wanted to share what the accreditation council for graduate medical education (ACGME) deems to be “minimums” for anesthesiology residents to perform over the course of their residency training.
In high school, I distinctly remember viewing the field of anesthesiology as one for the weaklings. Something that’s easy. Something which requires knowing a few drugs, some simple procedures, and having the luxury of doing nothing 95% of the time while surgeons diligently work to save someone’s life as the real…
The stethoscope is undoubtedly one of medicine’s most recognizable symbols. I’ve had the same Littmann Cardiology III stethoscope since the beginning of medical school, but only today did I really reflect on how far we’ve come as a pair in this journey of medical training.
I’m done with just over a week of this rotation, and my goodness, things are finally starting to come together. Having never rotated through these operating rooms as a resident, everything was different! Using a Miller 2 laryngoscope by default, central lines for practically every case, new infusion pumps, new portable…
I’ll be spending the next two months at Texas Heart Institute, a nationally-recognized institution pioneering and delivering unparalleled care in cardiothoracic medicine and surgery. So far I’ve done a home call, in-house call, and a “regular day” before having another in-house call shift tomorrow. The cases here are incredible, and…
Almost seven months after taking the first part of my anesthesiology board exams, I received word from my program director that I scored in the top 10% in the country. This was very humbling, reassured me that hard work really does pay off, and will serve as a much-needed motivational…
Happy New Year to everyone! Hope everyone has had a chance to reflect on their achievements (and setbacks) in 2015 and on how to improve as an individual for the year to come. For me, today was a realization that I’ve reached the half-way mark of my clinical anesthesiology residency.