May 2012
2 posts
April 2012
6 posts
Once in a while I’ll see something that makes my throat feel all constricted, making it hard to breathe, kind of like anaphylaxis. Considering the physiologic response, does that mean I might be allergic to certain sights?
Happy Easter!
I feel a little pooped out, though I have no good reason to be.
This cute little toddler hobbling around the cafe keeps coming up to me and then wandering off confused because, according to dad, I look a like her mother.
Working at an LGBT clinic has been fascinating. I didn’t know how well adjusted these young people (under 21) can be as a transitioning women to men on testosterone...
March 2012
5 posts
Momofuku
Currently fighting the urge to quit this whole med school routine to spend all my time cooking everything from this book instead.
I think this is my body’s way of telling me that I’m getting really tired of the food at York Hospital. One more week..!
February 2012
6 posts
L&D Day 2
After a dud of a day yesterday, got to help deliver my first baby via c-section just now. So all that really means is that I got to retract/suction, but I also got to sew at the end, which was awesome.
I’d forgotten how much I love the OR. This might be a sign.
Future Directions
The mess of 4th year scheduling has begun and I feel overwhelmed. Just have to remind myself to keep my head above water.
Maternal Fetal Medicine / Genetics Counseling
Day 1 - U/S at 20 weeks, U/S at 32 weeks, cystic hygroma pt for chorionic villi sampling, twin-twin transfusion being transferred to CHOP, first trimester U/S
Memorable: seeing a middle-aged bald/bearded tatted up caucasian man tear up after learning that one of the twins might not make it through the pregnancy intervention, and that both will certainly die if they do nothing.
OB/Gyn Week 1
Performed my first pelvic exam yesterday (on a standardized patient). First time examining/handling foreign female genitalia. Was taught to say “normal and healthy” and “examine” (vs. “inspecting”). Learned a lot of verbal no-nos… best advice appears to be “keep your mouth shut.” Apparently everything can be misconstrued.
Being on OB/gyn is...
top 5 regrets of dying →
minjxkang:
not to be morbid but thought it was interesting
January 2012
8 posts
December 2011
16 posts
Facing Fears
My mother likes to compare me to my brother by saying that when we were kids, he was the uber cautious one afraid to try new things and I’d been the one with the dumb fearlessness. Guess that says something about my brother, because I’d say that I still play it pretty safe. It really is something, though, to face your fears head on, and realize that things change, sometimes for better,...
Lisa's Five Non-negotiables
drive/ambition
similar values
compatibly quirky sense of humor
challenges me
*can dance
*I’d probably trade in #5 for any sort of artsy fartsy/creative leanings. (Dancing is a major plus though.)
Last day of Neuro
Halfway through third year and I don’t feel like I know all that much more now than I did before I started this rotation. But I like to think that I absorbed more than I think.
Dr. R at Einstein was impressed by us. Unfortunately, we only worked with him for one day. Dr. D thought we were idiots and looked at us with a condescending flutter of her eyelashes, though she was oddly perky...
Getting played
Got played by another pt for the umpteenth time. My attending got really upset by him and wrote out a prescription for neurontin begrudgingly.
I can’t see through patients the way other doctors can. I have some sort of super naive defective personality where I believe the good in everyone. I’m far too forgiving and write off potentially serious flaws as personality...
Sometimes I have dreams that feel so real I become upset with people and have to remind myself that none of it ever happened after waking up.
New Directions
I was pretty set on doing the minimal number of years for residency training (3-4), but now with ideas of pediatric emergency medicine percolating through my head, maybe I’m willing to put in a few more years for a happier patient population? Those family med people and their quality of life studies. Sheesh.
TGIF
“Mom, listen, I haven’t been together with Topanga for 22 years, but we have been together for 16. That’s a lot longer than most couples have been together. I mean, when we were born, you told me that we used to take walks in our strollers together around the block. When we were two, we were best friends. I mean, I knew everything about this girl. I knew her favorite color, her favorite food. Then...
Neurology - Week 2
I’m back at Einstein and I’ll admit that I’m enjoying neurology more than expected. Maybe it’s because somehow I care even less than before, that I have less responsibilities, that Dr. N is a great teacher, or that I think Dr. S is such a cutie (in that adorable grandfatherly sort of way). Or maybe that I’m finally able to focus, but I actually kind of like learning...
November 2011
17 posts
Life, Death, and when to let go
Last week we had a pt who showed up as a transfer from another hospital. Long story short, he was essentially brain-dead/comatose, incredibly uremic, sacral decubs, everything pointing to a vegetable slowly wasting away. He had been that way for a long time, but his wife refused to let him go. Not interested in hospice or palliative measures, she demanded that he be dialyzed, but refused to have...
Medicine vs. Surgery
Q: How do you hide something from an internist?
A: Cover it with a dressing.
Q: How do you hide something from a surgeon?
A: Publish it.
