Reasons why I'm not a general surgeon

Someone kindly notified me that I was neglecting my blogging duties (Ahem...thank you mother). Call me crazy for wanting sleep over typing. This past weekend was rough...I was on 1:2 call which means I was on call both Friday and Sunday (ie no weekend). Neither night was bad in terms of new cases coming into the emergency ward, but the calls from the wards for patients whom we had operated on kept me up all night. I got maybe an hour sleep Friday and about 3 on Sunday. I'm just tired and I'm beginning to wonder of my call karma has worn off. I'm on call again tonight, so I guess we'll see.

Here's some reasons why I'm not a general surgeon:
1) Coming in to operate at 3am is not appealing.
2) Rounding (seeing patients that are in the hospital) at 7am is not appealing.
3) I have a personality.
4) I am not a bitch.
5) I take time to listen to people.
6) I want a life.
7) Poo does not excite me.
8) Talking about poo, bowel movements, and passing gas is not appealing.
9) I don't want to get sued every year for the rest of my life.
10) I don't want to have 5 more years of this BS!

Watching surgery is fun and I like the anatomy and suturing and the rest of it, but surgery is definately not a career for me!

Now I have to look forward to a conference this weekend, being on 1:2 call again next week, an oral exam, and a written exam...all before I have a well-deserved weekend off. I'm going houseboating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ta ta for now!

A doozy of a night

My rotation in Pediatric General Surgeryis now officially over. I did my last call shift yesterday and overnight and man, was it a doozy! We were in the operating room until about 2am, and then I was so wound up, I couldn't get to sleep! In the past 24 hours I:
1) did rounds with my resident on our 20 some-odd patients already in hospital
2)was consulted for a girl with an infect lymph node in her neck (surgery not required yet)
3) was consulted for 2 kids with new diagnoses of leukemia that needed central lines put in for their chemo treatment
4) was consulted for a baby that had a partial intestinal obstruction (surgery not required yet)
5) was consulted for a teen with a rectal abscess (surgery scheduled today)
6) participated on a multiple trauma: 3 young teen 'gangsters' who were jumped by McStabby and his merry group of buddies with 4 inch knives. It was all very "ER"! One guy had a big gash on his arm and went into shock because of blood loss (he went to the OR STAT). One guy had blood in his chest cavity and needed a chest tube, and the third had wounds to his spleen and kidneys (they are watching him like a hawk right now to see if he needs surgery). There was a fourth involved, but apparently he was taken to another hospital but died after having surgery to repair wounds to his heart.
7) and the saddest of all: a premie baby who was doing well in another hospital in the province up until yesterday when suddenly it got really sick. They flew the baby here to be seen by us. We rushed the baby into the OR only to find that the baby's entire GI tract was either dead or dying with something called necrotizing enterocolitis. The intestine burst open so the baby had a massive infection. During the operation, the baby's heart stopped and the surgeons had to do chest compressions and the anesthesiologists scrambled to get a rhythm back, which thankfully they did. The surgeons took out a portion of the small intestine that was dead and closed the baby up. I woke up this morning to the news that the baby didn't make it through the night. Poor thing. Didn't really even have a chance. I feel so sorry for the parents.

So today, I am trying not to drown in this horrible weather we have here. I will maybe see a movie tonight and sleep in tomorrow (sigh...heaven). At some point I should do some studying...but I'll do that later...I promise!

This is a long one!

I've been neglecting my blogging duties, and for this I apologize. I have found a new hobby/waste-of-precious-time that I have become hooked on. It's called Facebook and it is perhaps the single most ingenious online social scenes. It's perfect! You can get in touch with people you haven't seen or talked to in umpteen years, find out what they're up to, chat a bit and trade photos if you want all from the comfort of your computer! You don't even have to make awkward small talk! I currently have over 90 'friends' on facebook and hasve been contwcted by people who I went to elementary school with, was on sports teams with, and old high school classmates I haven't seen since then. It's actually pretty neat for me because I am nosy and like to get the scoop on people that I know!

Medicine wise, I am ready to be done this year. I am tired. I am bored. I am doing the bare minimum to get a pass for my rotations. Not the best attitude for someone who is normally pretty high achieving! It's just that, now that I am in the "Big 3" (internal medicine, surgery, and pediatrics), there's a lot more work and a lot more hours put in. And we don't get holidays. Or full weeekends off sometimes. For instance, this weekend is a long weekend, but I am on call Saturday. I will be up all night, so I will want to sleep all day Sunday. Then I have monday off and start at a new hospital tuesday. Doesn't leave me much time to breathe.

Plus, I am having car issues (nothing major) but I don't have time to take it in to a shop. Plus I need my car for school, so it's not like I can get away without one for a few days. I haven't received any takers from my ad a few posts ago!

I just finished Pediatric General Surgery where I spent all my time in the clinic. I scrubbed in on one appendectomy the whole time (which is fine with me for now because I am lazy), but that's usually where you see some cool stuff. I'm starting 4 weeks of adult General Surgery so you can look forward to more stories of sickies!

One thing that's bothered me here at this children's hospital is a couple of traumas I've seen come in the door. Any time a kid is involved in a trauma (ex. car accident, a fall, a fight, etc) the surgery team gets called because they may need surgery ASAP. 2 kids that have come in lately have been unbelted rear passengers in car accidents. Both kids had serious head injuries and bleeding in their brains. Both parents tried to explain that the kids weren't wearing their seatbelts because they didn't like to. In general, I try not to judge people. I feel that most people are just doing the best job they can, but come on!!!! Are you stupid?!?!??!?

Another one was a 16 month old who was found face-down in a pool after 30 minutes because mom fell asleep on the couch and the kid found their way outside. Some people may say that she's a bad mom that she wasn't paying attention to her kid. I really feel sorry for her because I can relate to being that exhausted and falling asleep at the drop of a hat. Some of my classmates have said that they have fallen asleep during a surgery while they were holding instruments (retractors, etc) The surgeon woke them up when they got in the way of the surgery. Sleep is just one of those bodily functions that, when ignored will happen regardless of what you do and without control. Scary as it sounds, but studies have shown that med students and residents who drive home after a night on-call are just as impaired as someone who has had 3-4 beers.

Like I said. I'm just tired and ready to be done the year.

It's coming to a head!

On the eve of a significant birthday for me, I've just realized that in exactly one years time, we will be doctors. The 4th year class has written their LMCC exams (a licencing exam after med school) and have matched to their respective residency programs. They are now on holidays until they start again July 1st.

Our class is now the most senior medical students!!!!!!! Holy crap! I never thought I'd see the day!

With respect to electives for next year, a lot of my friends are having troubles. Some are still trying to figure out what they want to do and are really struggling with the decision. Some are just having trouble organizing electives for next year. Either the out-of-province schools don't get back to you or all their electives are full. Plus, we are trying to navigate our school's new elective policy (which, in my opinion is a bunch of BS and the office is making more work for themselves than necessary). In any case, my year next year is shaping up nicely. Hopefully I will get my way. So far, this is what it's looking like:

Sept- Rural Family Practice (hopefully with the same preceptor I had last year)
Oct- Internal Medicine (on a small island close to this fair city where I did some of my Obs/Gyn)
Nov- Urban Family Practice (with my mom's doc hopefully)
Dec- classroom work and Xmas holidays
Jan- Emergency Medicine (in my mom's city)
Feb- CaRMS interviews
Mar- not sure yet...I've requested 1) Pathology (in a city up north) OR 2) Dermatology (on an island nearby) OR 3) Radiology in this city
April- High Risk Obs/Gyne in this city

PS I got a full nights sleep last night. Plastics home call RULZ!!!

Home Call

Usually being on call sucks. We usually have to bring an overnight bag and sleep in the gross disgusting 1950's hospital beds with plastic pillows and funny odors. We usually get no sleep because sick people need to be admitted and we're the ones to do the grunt work.

I've had 3 shifts of home call for plastic surgery, and I gotta say, it's pretty sweet. My first 2 were just another regular evening. Although I couldn't have my usual glass of wine before going to bed...poor me. I slept in my own bed with my own pillow and got a full nights sleep...no pages.

I've been on call all day today and I've been at the hospital and in the OR (lingo for operating room for the non-med people). I've also watched "Bring It On" on TV and went out for dinner with a couple classmates. I'm now blogging and plan to update my 'facebook' site (my new hobby to waste time with). Then I should do some reading and go to bed early. I can't wait until I can give orders over the phone!

Wanted:

A handsome man who will cater to my every need...almost (never mix business and pleasure!)
He will be happy to do my laundry, my dishes, my dusting, and clean my kitchen and bathroom. He will cook healthy meals and pack yummy lunches and also grocery shop weekly. He will run to the bank to take care of my suffering finances and ensure my money orders are ready so I can do electives. He will drop off and pick up my drycleaning. He will take care of my bills. He will pick up mail and packages. He will take my car to the shop for an oil change and muffler repair (and then wash it afterwards). He will also research and buy new tires for said car. He will go to the doctors and get a Pap test and prescription renewal for me. He will set up my electives for me and deal with all the bull**** from my schools' Deans office. He will also buy my friend a wedding gift and me a dress to wear to said wedding. He will also be my personal chauffeur and drive to anywhere I want to go at any time of the day or night so I don't have to take the bus at 6am or walk in the pouring rain or pay for parking.

I will focus on school and studying. And look pretty because then I will have time to.

Is this too much to ask????????

Ya, ya, ya. I know. It's been a while. I've been busy.
Finished internal medicine. I think I've already blogged about how that turned out. We shall see how my marks turn out.

Started Plastic surgery last week. It's pretty cool and I'd actually consider this as a career if it didn't involve a 5 year surgical residency! It's a neat blend of surgery, orthopedics, and dermatology. It's not the boob jobs, tummy tucks, lipo, and nose jobs that everyone thinks! Although some plastic surgeons do this towards the "twilight" of their career when they want a cushy lifestyle, most do the nitty gritty. Lots of hand injuries, carpal tunnel releases, wound care and skin grafting, creative muscle flaps to cover skin defects, craniofacial reconstructions, and post- cancer breast reconstruction.

For instance, I assisted in a surgery where a woman had breast cancer and had both of her breasts removed. They then took her abdominal skin and some of the muscle (basically gave her a tummy tuck) and used the skin to make new breasts. Another surgery repaired a guys face after his face met a lead pipe in a back alley. He ratted on his dealer and had his eye sockets and nose totally smashed in.

One that totally pulls at my heart strings is this patient who was a piano teacher and previously healthy. She acquired a very serious meningitis and blood infection which caused a reaction where blood clots formed in all the small vessels in her body. This caused all of her fingers and toes to become dead and gangrenous because they didn't have a blood supply anymore. All of her fingers and toes had to be amputated...and we may have to go back and take more of her feet. To top it off, the antibiotic used to treat the infection caused her to go deaf (it's a rare but known side effect). This poor lady. I feel so bad for her and her family. Makes me angry because she didn't deserve any of that.

So. all in all, some pretty interesting cases.

Tomorrow, I'm going to a session about the CaRMS (pronounced 'karms'), short for 'Canadian Resident Matching Service'. Basically it is a centralized service that we send all of our information like CVs, grades, and letters of recommendations for our residency programs after we graduate. They serve as a 'neutral' intermediate between med students and the schools where we apply to. CaRMS will send our info to all the schools.

Since I am going to apply for a Family Practice Residency, I will have to rank all the programs I want to go to. For example, I might chose my #1 as urban program at school X, my #2 as urban program at school Y, #3 as rural program at school Y, etc. I can pretty much rank as many as I want.

Then the schools all rank us med students for what programs we applied to. For example, the urban program at school X wants student 1, then student 2, then student 3, etc. Keep in mind that all med students from across the country are competing for spots! CaRMS will then take all the programs' lists and all the med students' lists and cross reference them. Whatever CaRMS matched me to is where I will be going...next to impossible to change. The contract is binding.

Now you understand the pressure I am under to choose the right electives with the right preceptors at the right schools I want to apply to. It's all about networking, you know! Gives me a headache just thinking about it. I think I'll just procrastinate...it's worked for me before!