Island Med Student

Today has been a pretty el crapo day. I’m not ready to share all the details with the whole world yet, but let’s just say there is some suckiness to come.

In completely opposite news, I finally received a package from my mommy and sister today. The box was chalked full of goodies like doggy treats, Princess Bride t-shirts, and the very coolest, a Scope and Molly wall calendar! Mom (Bob), you are the absolute coolest! The package came at a time when I really needed a spirit lifter. How is it that moms always plan these kinds of things just perfectly?!

I think I have been in a little bit of a slump as of late. I don’t know if it’s the weather or the fact that I’ve been sick for a while or if it’s something more profound, but I have been just a little bit less motivated and spunky than usual. I’m such a high-strung, excited, happy, over-the-top person all the time, that even a little bit of funk seems like a big deal to me.

Anyway, I think the villain is likely the weather. This is my first winter in over two years, and I think it’s starting to wear me down. How I long for the warmth of Dominica right now!

The only spirit lifter that seems to work for me on a daily basis has been my daily doggy walks. I take Scope and Molly for a 4-6 mile walk every day, and I try to explore new neighborhoods each time. The other day I actually walked all the way to Manhattan! Anyway, I just wanted to thank my doggies. Scope and Molly, thanks for forcing me to get off my butt and explore the world every day. I owe you. In fact, I’m gonna go give them both a treat.

Okay, so my Brooklyn iPhone series is becoming a bit overloaded with broken stroller pics, but I can’t help it! I see so many of them that it really does seem like there is some sort of baby stroller plague going around. Perhaps I will eventually make a separate photo series for all the broken baby things that I see on the streets. But for now, please try to humor me. Thanks.

“Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” Photo Series

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I just wanted to give a shout-out to Laura, who came and visited me this past weekend. As always, she brought a big scoop of sunshine my way. I also wanted to thank Bindaloo for her constant ability to make me smile when I’m down. My favorite hobby is meeting her in the hospital lobby and having crazy and obscene discussions about absolutely nothing and absolutely everything. I’ve come to think of our evening gab sessions as a form of therapy. I love the both of you!

I wanted to thank everyone for all of their helpful comments on my recent post about my surgery evaluation. I’ve since come to accept the grade and have vowed from now on to always seek guidance from my higher-ups as to their expectations of my performance. Also, I couldn’t help but notice one theme running through the majority of the comments, and that’s the advice to just accept my grade by chalking it up to the ambiguity of the grading policies. Since receiving a “B” is a relatively minor incident in the grand scheme of things, I don’t feel bad accepting that advice, being happy with my grade, and moving on with things. However, it really got me thinking (and a few commenters pointed this out) about what it means to accept things because “that’s just the way it is.”

In life, we all have to pick our battles. The world is full of unfairness, rules that don’t make sense, inequalities, and things that just aren’t what we think they should be. Most of the time, I just accept all of this to the best of my ability. But sometimes I witness inequalities or injustices that are so egregious, I can’t just sit back and say nothing. These are the times when I take a stand about what I believe is right. I’d like to believe that I do this more often than most people, but that’s probably just wishful thinking.

But what if we all just said, “that’s just the way it is” about everything? Think about how history would be changed. Black people would be forced to give up their seats on American buses had Rosa Parks not decided to take a stand. Doctors wouldn’t be washing their hands after performing autopsies if Dr. Semmelweis had simply bowed to the popular notions of his time. Didn’t smallpox seem impossible to eradicate before Edward Jenner developed a vaccine?

I guess my point is that, while sometimes it is necessary to accept that things are unchangeable, the world seems like a much larger place, with more possibilities, if we instead reject all notions of immutability and decide to take a stand against things we believe are not right.

In that vein, here is a list of medically-related ideas that are viewed by many people as unchangeable facts:

• Physicians can never be replaced by computers.
• Doctors can’t have pink mohawks.
• Patients will never completely comply with their treatment.
• Medical school has to be grueling.
• It’s impossible for everyone in the world to receive equal and high quality healthcare.
• Cancer is unavoidable.
• Medical education has to be expensive.
• Doctors don’t have enough time to give their “all” to every patient.
• Kendra will never stop complaining about everything.
• Mortality is a certainty.

Perhaps we are just simply farther away from achieving the ones that seem completely ridiculous. After all, isn’t it easier to imagine being hit by a train if you can see a glimpse of the engine on the horizon?

Click Here To View the Original Post on Medscape

This one is nice, but I’ve seen some even more amazing ones. Will keep my iPhone handy to take more pics.

“Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” Photo Series

I can’t believe it’s been almost a week since I posted something! This is very unlike me. Anyway, I’ll try not to do that again. I don’t really have any good excuses as to why I didn’t post stuff, so I won’t try to make up any.

This coming week is my very last week of internal medicine. Now that I have finished the only two rotations that are a whopping 12 weeks long, it’s all smooth sailing from here on out. Actually, not really, but it’s nice to think of it that way.

Next Monday I start Neurology, which I’m actually pretty excited about, because that’s always been a field of interest to me.

So, what did I think of the internal medicine rotation? Well, it kind of sucked. While I did learn stuff here and there, I don’t feel like I learned nearly as much as I could have. I do feel a little more comfortable with some of the concepts, but I still feel pretty fuzzy on most of them. One thing that I didn’t like as much, especially as compared to surgery and psych, is that we didn’t have as much patient contact. In fact, I’d go days without really even seeing a patient. This pretty much sucks. And while I could always take the initiative and just go examine patients, it seems kind of silly to do this, and I hate bothering the patients for no other reason than my boredom.

While I don’t think that I am anywhere near being able to actually function as a doctor, I definitely feel like I’ve come a long way since my basic sciences. I don’t feel like a complete idiot examining patients, and I can come up with a reasonably good list of differential diagnoses for many different types of complaints. So, all in all, I know I’m learning stuff.

One thing that I keep realizing over and over again is that I need to be around patients. The longer I go without seeing patients, the more apathetic I become, and the more I feel like med school sucks, and that being a doctor sucks. But then when I see a patient, all the goodness comes flooding back. I definitely could never work in a lab, or in an office on a computer, or any of the other sorts of jobs that require little or no patient contact. I need to talk to people, and touch people, and make people laugh.

I’m off to take my doggy doos on a long walk now. Happy Sunday!

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and I am lucky enough to have the day off. Since I have an exam tomorrow, I decided to come to Manhattan to get some studying in. Unfortunately, it seems that I am always searching endlessly for places with free WiFi. This really shouldn’t be so difficult! Now that I’ve finally found it, Micah wants to go home. I can’t win!

Anyway, I only wish MLK Jr. was around for tomorrow. How awesome would it be if he could witness the first black American president?! I wish I could go down to DC for the inauguration, but I have to go to the hospital tomorrow. I can’t believe as of tomorrow, we will finally be rid of Bush! Sadly, it will take many years to undo the harm that he has done. But at least we can start.

I’ve been meaning to write this blog post for sometime. I’ve received many emails asking me about bringing a dog to Dominica, as well as adopting one while in Dominica. Here are some answers to FAQs:

1) Should I bring my doggy to Dominica?

If you can’t see yourself living without your doggy (or other pet), then I would bring them with you to Dominica. It is absolutely do-able, and I know many people who have. Is it easy? Not entirely, but it’s possible. You will have to keep in mind that you will be very busy studying for many hours at a time. If you absolutely MUST study at the library, or on campus, you might want to re-think. If you can study at home, and be around to walk and take care of your dog, then it’s going to be much easier on you and the doggy.

2) How do I get my doggy to Dominica?

Well, first of all, you have to go to a vet and get a clean bill of health, as well as a list of all their vaccinations. I’m not sure of the complete list, but I know rabies is required. It’s likely that they already have all of their required vaccinations. You can bring your dog via American Airlines or Amerijet. There may be other ways, but I am not aware of them. American Airlines has a weight restriction, and other rules. You can read about them all here. Amerijet is a cargo plane, and is good for larger dogs (or if you are traveling in the hotter months, as it is air conditioned.) This is what I used to get my doggies home from Dominica, and it worked very well. You can read more about Amerijet’s policies here.

3) Do I need to bring dog supplies with me to Dominica?

Yes, some of them. In Dominica, you can find the common types of dog food (I know they have Pedigree), but if your pet requires any special type of food, you might want to consider bringing it with you or getting it shipped. As for treats, I was able to find “some” (dog biscuits, some Beggin Strips, etc.) but not “all” the variety that you can find in the States. If your dog has special needs, again, I would bring the treats with you. You can find some doggy supplies like leashes, bowls, toys, and other things. However, don’t expect the variety that you’re used to finding in the States. Bring what you have with you.

4) Will my doggy be okay in Dominica?

There is no reason that your dog will not be fine living in Dominica. You will find the same doggy hazards there, as you would in the States. All the same rules apply. Don’t leave your dog out in the heat. Don’t leave your dog tied up on a leash outside. Don’t let your dog run around without a leash (except for special circumstances). If you follow the same rules that you would normally follow, your doggy will be fine.

7) If I adopt a Dominican dog, what will I have to do to bring it back with me?

Basically, you have to go through the same steps that you would to bring one into Dominica. You need to get your dog fully vaccinated. (There is a vet, and a vet tech in Dominica who can provide you with all the proper vaccinations. Make sure you ask for documentation when you get them.) A few weeks before you leave, you have to get the vet to sign a clean bill of health (they come and inspect your doggy), and then you bring that with you to the airport. You can use American Airlines or Amerijet to get them off the island.

Okay, that’s all I can think of for now! If you have more questions, let me know, and I will add them to the list!