I'm having Thanksgiving with my grandparents and girlfriend at my great aunt and uncle's place near Sacromento. 4 proper courses of amazing food!
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Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com
Monday, November 07, 2005
Ambulatory Care
I'm back in Loma Linda now, doing a rotation called ambulatory care, which is like a rotating clinic. I spend a day at a variety of clinics, such as internal medicine, dermatology, student health, AIDS, chiropracty, oriental medicine, and so on. The day with oriental medicine was sweet. Very interesting stuff. They even gave me a free appointment where I got accupunture and moxibustion (burning herbs on the skin). The accupunture on my back, feet, and arms relieved some light back pain/tension I had. The moxibustion was supposed to help my qi ("chee", hard to translate, but kind of like a life force) in general. 5 days later I still have a mark on my skin that smells good. And they told me to stop drinking cold water. Room temperature is best. This may sound like silly stuff, but there is thousands of years of experience in the stuff. I have to remind myself that just because we don't have a current scientific explanation, it doesn't mean it doesn't work, or that we won't find an explanation years later. Also, some people may avoid this medicine because they think it's of a cult or another religion. From my experience, there wasn't anything religious about it other than general recommendations for someones spirit, like living a balanced life.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
More on the Heavenly Kettering Medical Center
I want to expound a little on my last post. I've heard Kettering Medical Center as being like a medical student heaven, and I've got to say, that this isn't too far from the truth.
First the facilities. I get to park in a parking garage adjacent to the hospital, so blazing sun, rain, or snow, my car and myself are protected. And then, as you walk into the hospital, you go up a grand staircase to the lobby level with marble floors and a grand piano being played by a ghost. I see my patients (only 1-3), and then go to the morning report, which usually is well run with excellent topics.
Free breakfast is in the new doctors lounge with juice, coffee, cold and hot cereal, pastries, and a most excellent "monkey cake" type food which is hard to describe except as sweet, flavorful, and fattening. This lounge has two 40 something inch plasma flat screen tv's, prepackaged snacks, a frig with a variety of beverages, 2 computers, and all with a 5 star hotel lobby appearance and decor.
Rounds start at 10, so often I get to sleep in until 7 am. My team of residents are all friendly, non-malignant, eager to teach, and never scut-work me. My attending is one of a kind: brilliant with the best bedside manner I've ever seen. She is fun, not taking rounds too seriously, making sure that the patients and myself, the medical student, get plenty of attention and teaching.
Lunch is grand rounds with free food every day. These also are well run and very informative. After rounds, which ends around 2pm on average, I do a little floor work, and almost always finish by 3pm. Sometimes I hang out in the lounge until dinner, which is also free. The Atrium Grille has the biggest, meaty, unique sandwiches ever... cajun turkey, portabello mushrooms, avacado, and the like.
If I'm on call, I'm working mostly in the ER. The ER waiting area is something else: hotel lobby appearance, full service coffee bar, computers, tvs, and a 100 or so gallon aquarium. We take call every 4th day and as a team, which makes it more fun. The residents have me work up 2 - 3 patients, and they are available to help for anything. They normally send me to bed around 11pm to 1am, and then I sleep uninterrupted until the morning in my own private call room with a window. The medical student lounge has a computer with printer, a big tv, with cable, xbox, and playstation, along with prepackaged snacks and a fridge of drinks.
That took too long to write up. Too bad this place is far from mountains, the ocean, and my immediate family, or else I'd rank this hospital #1 for my transitional/internship year... maybe I will anyways.
First the facilities. I get to park in a parking garage adjacent to the hospital, so blazing sun, rain, or snow, my car and myself are protected. And then, as you walk into the hospital, you go up a grand staircase to the lobby level with marble floors and a grand piano being played by a ghost. I see my patients (only 1-3), and then go to the morning report, which usually is well run with excellent topics.
Free breakfast is in the new doctors lounge with juice, coffee, cold and hot cereal, pastries, and a most excellent "monkey cake" type food which is hard to describe except as sweet, flavorful, and fattening. This lounge has two 40 something inch plasma flat screen tv's, prepackaged snacks, a frig with a variety of beverages, 2 computers, and all with a 5 star hotel lobby appearance and decor.
Rounds start at 10, so often I get to sleep in until 7 am. My team of residents are all friendly, non-malignant, eager to teach, and never scut-work me. My attending is one of a kind: brilliant with the best bedside manner I've ever seen. She is fun, not taking rounds too seriously, making sure that the patients and myself, the medical student, get plenty of attention and teaching.
Lunch is grand rounds with free food every day. These also are well run and very informative. After rounds, which ends around 2pm on average, I do a little floor work, and almost always finish by 3pm. Sometimes I hang out in the lounge until dinner, which is also free. The Atrium Grille has the biggest, meaty, unique sandwiches ever... cajun turkey, portabello mushrooms, avacado, and the like.
If I'm on call, I'm working mostly in the ER. The ER waiting area is something else: hotel lobby appearance, full service coffee bar, computers, tvs, and a 100 or so gallon aquarium. We take call every 4th day and as a team, which makes it more fun. The residents have me work up 2 - 3 patients, and they are available to help for anything. They normally send me to bed around 11pm to 1am, and then I sleep uninterrupted until the morning in my own private call room with a window. The medical student lounge has a computer with printer, a big tv, with cable, xbox, and playstation, along with prepackaged snacks and a fridge of drinks.
That took too long to write up. Too bad this place is far from mountains, the ocean, and my immediate family, or else I'd rank this hospital #1 for my transitional/internship year... maybe I will anyways.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Residency Applications
I am currently applying to like 70 different residency programs... it cost me lots of money for all those applications. I'm applying for anesthesiology, which requires an internship year before starting. Here are the anesthesia and internship programs I got interviews at so far and the date for each. All those flights are going to cost me even more... please let me know if you would like to submit a donation into my bank account!
Arrowhead Transitional Year, Colton, CA, date undetermined
UCLA-Kern Medical Center Transitional Year, Bakersfield, CA, date undetermined
UC Irvine Preliminary Medicine Year, CA, Nov 14
UCLA Anesthesia, Nov 15
U. Southern California Anesthesia, LA, Nov 16
U. Nevada Prelim Medicine, Reno, Jan 9
Banner Good Samaritan Transitional, Phoenix, Jan 12
U. New Mexico Anesthesia, Albuquerque, Jan 14
George Washington U Anesthesia, DC, Jan 21
Cleavland Clinic Anesthesia, OH, Jan 23
UCSF Fresno Extension Prelim Medicine, Fresno, CA, Feb 3
But all this may be fruitless. The Air Force that owns me first has to let me apply for anesthesiology. I find out from them on Dec 14 what's next. If they don't let me do anesthesia, my back up plan is to become a flight surgeon, serve my 4 years, get out of the AF, and then reapply for anesthesia.
Arrowhead Transitional Year, Colton, CA, date undetermined
UCLA-Kern Medical Center Transitional Year, Bakersfield, CA, date undetermined
UC Irvine Preliminary Medicine Year, CA, Nov 14
UCLA Anesthesia, Nov 15
U. Southern California Anesthesia, LA, Nov 16
U. Nevada Prelim Medicine, Reno, Jan 9
Banner Good Samaritan Transitional, Phoenix, Jan 12
U. New Mexico Anesthesia, Albuquerque, Jan 14
George Washington U Anesthesia, DC, Jan 21
Cleavland Clinic Anesthesia, OH, Jan 23
UCSF Fresno Extension Prelim Medicine, Fresno, CA, Feb 3
But all this may be fruitless. The Air Force that owns me first has to let me apply for anesthesiology. I find out from them on Dec 14 what's next. If they don't let me do anesthesia, my back up plan is to become a flight surgeon, serve my 4 years, get out of the AF, and then reapply for anesthesia.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
In the beginning...
Drew created this blog.
Yeah, so now I have a blog too. I thought it would be cool for all friends and family to learn about new happenings in my life, especially since I'm going through a big transition now.
Yeah, so now I have a blog too. I thought it would be cool for all friends and family to learn about new happenings in my life, especially since I'm going through a big transition now.
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