I have one more day of cardiothoracic anesthesiology at the Veterans Affairs Hospital. Tomorrow’s case will also be my most challenging one to date – a descending thoracic aorta aneurysm repair. I’ll finally get a spinal drain in residency. 🙂
I completed my first week of cardiothoracic anesthesiology at the Veterans Affairs Hospital, and it has been wonderful! Compared to my last month at the Texas Heart Institute, the VA typically handles only 1-2 cardiothoracic cases daily, allowing me ample time to practice echocardiography and study cardiac physiology. I’ve mainly…
As a PGY-4, I have two months on the cardiothoracic anesthesia service at Texas Heart Institute (THI) and just finished my first on a memorable note. I was on call yesterday and had the privilege of working alongside an incredible clinical fellow to do a heart transplant case. This is…
Although this chronic pain management rotation has been very relaxed, the month overall has been very hectic with my fellowship interviews. Many days I’ve had to catch flights immediately after work or, even better, come to work after returning to Houston well after midnight (…delayed flights… 😡 ). I’m just…
I feel like each successive year in my training is more difficult but more rewarding. 2014 was the year I completed my intern training and proceeded to start clinical anesthesia. With six months of anesthesiology under my belt, I’ve transitioned from the timid novice to a more experienced CA-1 capable…
I’ve officially finished my month as the junior resident on the regional anesthesia service. I’ll be revisiting this rotation either as a CA-2 or 3, so this was a great opportunity to lay the foundation for whatever follows.
I’m coming off a ridiculously busy Friday call shift, but I wanted to reflect on my first month of being a second year resident (PGY2, or CA1 in anesthesia land). I’ll be honest – at first, I missed aspects of internal medicine. The concept of “working up” a patient is…
April 30th was my last day of internal medicine wards forever, and I can now see the proverbial light at the end of the intern year tunnel. The last day was topped off by a great team dinner at Pasha and some reflection.
Ten days into this rotation, and the struggle is real! It’s difficult to really spend as much time as I’d like with patients, teach medical students, or even teach myself when I’m balancing the plans for 8-10 patients. I’ve definitely improved my efficiency in the last few days, and our census…
At the end of every month, there’s always some anxiety about starting the next rotation. Having to work out logistical issues, meeting new residents and attendings, and adjusting to a new schedule are all things which drive this anxiety. In April, I’ll be at the VA Hospital completing my very…