As CA-1s, we each get a dedicated “reading week” assigned randomly throughout the calendar year, and mine happens to end today. While I was required to attend all conferences and lectures, this was the first extended break I had as a PGY-2.
Last week, I was the resident in charge of overseeing the post anesthesia care unit (PACU). Every morning, I checked the stat room to make sure it was set up for an emergent case and performed an inventory on our airway boxes for stat intubations around the hospital. Then I proceed to the pre-op…
Medical trainees are taught how to listen to patients’ chief complaints and decide how to pursue a diagnostic work-up. Atypical chest pain, acute appendicitis, kidney stones, and a myriad of other diagnoses all have particular “classic symptoms” patients often reference in their history; however, what happens when patients can’t talk to you?…
Between my first month at the VA and (nearly) two weeks at Ben Taub General Hospital (BTGH), I’m becoming more comfortable with the operating room and performing anesthetics. Having the opportunity to learn two very popular anesthesia machines (Datex-Ohmeda and Drager Apollo) in two very busy clinical environments with a wide…
Yesterday was more or less an orientation day spent in the simulation lab and doing pre-op evaluations on a few patients, but today was my first real day being an anesthesiologist-in-training. The first three weeks of this month are in “mentor mode” – I’m paired with an upper-level resident and shown…
My stint of night shifts was front-loaded this month, and now I’m in the midst of my 5pm-1am critical care shifts. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to regaining my normal sleep-wake cycles in the coming week… especially because I really need to focus on Step 3 preparation. Blah.
Another rotation down. Easily my most laid back rotation of intern year, yet I still learned some vital information regarding blood banking, transfusion, adverse reactions, and basic pathology which should serve me well as an anesthesia provider in the near future. I’m going to miss my tiny home in the…
My medical ICU rotation was profoundly eye-opening beyond words. I saw many patients teetering on the edge of life-and-death – some regrettably passed away while others literally walked out of the ICU. It was a reminder of the very real mortality we face as human beings, but it also served…
The medical intensive care unit (MICU) has been incredibly challenging compared to last month in ENT clinic; however, I’ve found the severity of illness, rapid clinical changes, and having to account for every part of a patient’s care (“closed ICU” model) to be an engaging test of my ability to…
This month has been an absolute blur. Half-way through med school, ENT was my career of choice, so naturally I’ve had a lot of fun getting to reexperience the pathologies and anatomy which I still love. The residents have also been extremely welcoming of this anesthesia outsider, and I’ve learned…