Island Med Student

Last night, I hung out with my Group D surgery folks at a nearby bar. We all had a blast.

In other news, today I entered our group in a hospital wide pumpkin carving contest. I wrote down my name, and the cafeteria gave me a pumpkin to use. The battle is on!

To freakin neighborly courtesy? I just came home. My USPS package was stolen. I had a FedEx package stolen less than a month ago. People in my building are stealing from me. My FedEx package was a gift from a good friend. My USPS package was from Amazon….a bunch books on philosophy. Who would steal these things from me? I only have a few neighbors. Let bad karma pour on them. This is so messed up. I dunno what the hell is wrong with people these days. Whoever stole my shit, let bad luck come your way until you return what is mine.

Sorry if I’m bitter. But seriously. Don’t steal from me. Especially not books on philosophy and religion. I think you thieves have truly crossed the line.

Is is just me, or are Scope and me the cutest couple that ever existed? There is nothing like coming home after a long day, and having the very cutest ball of fur waiting for you, wanting to lick you, wanting to cuddle. He makes everything okay.

Today I learned not to count your chickens before they hatch. I’ll write a longer post later, but the gist is that we were sure a patient had stage IV cancer, and we would have to tell her that she only had 6 months left to live. But then the frozen sections came back, and it turned out to be completely benign. Sometimes, it does turn out other than what you expect, which is why expectations can suck.

Also, I got yelled at by a doctor for talking to my patient. More on this to come. But, seriously? So, instead of listening to him, I came back later, and again talked to my patient. Screw him. Patients need to hear a human voice, and feel a human touch. I don’t care what any doctor says.

The other day, Midori needed some blood drawn, so I volunteered. Two sticks and a lot of blood later, I had her blood in a vial. Yes, if I can’t get blood from Midori’s incredible veins, I definitely need practice!

In other news, Midori has incredibly small feet and Baby Boy has incredibly large ones.

Stuff learned today? I think not a damn thing, at least not about surgery.

This morning, an article in the Baltimore Sun really caught my eye. The article described a new pharmacy opening up in Virginia that has decided not to offer any form of birth control for sale. I was shocked to find out that this pharmacy is actually located very close to a town that I lived in during my undergrad years, and hence the article really hit close to home for me (literally).

The debate over pharmacists’ right to refuse to sell birth control pills based on religious views has been going on for years now. Some states have passed laws defending this right, while others require pharmacists to offer birth control, regardless of their religious beliefs. For years, the American Medical Association (AMA) has been battling the American Pharmacists Association’s policy, which states that pharmacists should not have to “engage in activity to which they object.” The AMA has voted to support legislation requiring pharmacists to either fill prescriptions or refer the patient to a pharmacy that will.

I support the AMA’s actions to protect patients’ access to pharmaceuticals, but the issue is much broader than just drugs. What about a patient’s right to have access to medical treatments? What about a doctor’s responsibility to provide care to all patients? This is, of course, a very heated debate, and is a sensitive subject for many.

The Differential’s Thomas Robey wrote an article that touched on the subject of a physician’s responsibility to provide therapies to patients. The debate is very old, and I can only offer a small amount of insight in this short article. But, it’s something that I feel strongly about, and I wanted to give an opportunity to others to air their opinions on this important subject.

In the AMA’s Code of Ethics, it states that a physician must “refrain from denying treatment to your patient because of a judgement based on discrimination.” But, the Code of Ethics also states that, “when a personal moral judgement or religious belief alone prevents you from recommending some form of therapy, inform your patient so that they may seek care elsewhere.”

Here comes my very provocative question. Where is the line between denying a patient care, such as prescribing birth control or even offering an abortion, and denying a patient care because a personal moral judgement or religious belief prevents you from doing so? If I deny a patient care because they are black, is that discrimination? Most people would say yes. If I deny a patient an abortion because it violates my religious beliefs, is that within my right? Perhaps many people would say yes. But what about denying a homosexual couple access to in vitro fertilization therapy because your religion doesn’t condone homosexuality? Would this be considered denying care because of discrimination, or is the physician’s right to deny treatment protected, because of their religious beliefs?

The waters are clearly murky. What do you think?

Click Here To View the Original Post on Medscape

• Survey: U.S. Doctors Regularly Prescribe Placebos : NPR
  (tags: news)
• Study: Warm hands do make warm hearts – CNN.com
  (tags: interesting)

The other day my friend Midori asked me why she frequently sees shoes hanging from telephone and electricity wires throughout the city. I realize at that point that I had no idea why people did it, but that I’ve seen it in many places. Anyway, here is what Wikipedia has to say about the custom.

I guess it’s still sort of a mystery.

So, please enjoy my snapshot of a pair of shoes I saw hanging in Brooklyn, and two more pics that Midori sent me of shoes she saw hanging from wires…

“Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” Photo Series

Over the past few months, the drain in my bathroom sink has been getting more and more clogged. I finally realized today that it took about 15 minutes to drain all of the water out.

So, I went to the store and purchased a bottle of draino. Following the directions, I poured half of the bottle in the sink, waited 15 minutes (anxiously) and then rinsed the sink out with hot water.

It worked!! My sink now drains like champion. I am jumping up and down with joy and amazement that the magic gel actually worked!

Today is the best day of my life.

“The day you stop getting excited about the power of draino to clear your clogged drains is the day you need to step back and evaluate your life.”

-Kendra Campbell

Yesterday, Bindi and I had to give a presentation on Step 3 orthopedic surgery questions. I think the orthopedic surgeon didn’t think our questions were very good, but oh well! We took them from Kaplan, so who knows. But my idea of making it a contest and giving out silly prizes seemed to work pretty well. I’m just glad to have it over with!

Click Here to See the Pics (crappy quality, b/c low light…scroll to the bottom to see them.)

Okay, I’m sorry but I just realized that YouTube has the clip, which explains the reference in my past post. I can’t resist! THIS IS A MUST WATCH!