Island Med Student

Tomorrow is officially Halloween (October 31st), but a lot of kiddies seem to be celebrating it today. Halloween has always been one of my most favorite holidays. I love dressing up in costumes, and and some of my most favorite memories are of trick-or-treating as a child. My mom being the coolest mom, we pretty much always had homemade costumes instead of store bought ones. I went as wonderful things like Strawberry Shortcake, a princess, Laura Ingalls Wilder (who by the way shares my birthday), She-Ra (Princess of Power), and a cheerleader. All costumes made by my very awesome and creative mother. Since I have three sisters, and no brothers, we were frequently dressed in similar matching costumes.

In other news, I’m loving the feeling of fall right now. The gorgeous leaves in wonderful and vibrant colors. The smell of the crisp air.

I’m still on a hiatus from rotations, and hope to be starting an elective on Monday. I’ve knocked out three residency interviews so far, and still have a bunch more to go.

Today I went grocery shopping and then came home and took the doggies on a nice long run. We went down Myrtle Avenue and over the Brooklyn Bridge into Chinatown. Halfway back my iPod died, and my knee started to act up so I had to walk most of the way home. But a good time was had by all, and I rocked a 12-mile run.

I’m about to make some dinner, reply to some emails, and then likely call it a night. I doubt I’ll be going out tomorrow night for Halloween since I’m short on money and still recovering from the flu. It will be the first time I haven’t dressed up and gone out for Halloween in a long time. I guess I’m getting old.

But I still dress up in costumes on days other than Halloween, so I think it all evens out.

Three of the above photos are from last year’s Halloween during my surgery rotation. Great photos from our winning entry in the hospital pumpkin carving/decorating contest. Man, I miss those days!

Brooklyn Bridge Photo by Carlos Seo

More residency interviews, more rain, feeling better, more cute doggies….

• The Examining Room of Dr. Charles “” A physician's commentary on current issues in medicine, clinical research, health and wellness.
  (tags: blog)

It has officially begun. I was supposed to have my second residency interview last Thursday, but the swine flu pretty much destroyed me that day. Luckily, I was able to reschedule. Today I interviewed in Brooklyn (I’m intentionally refraining from giving away all the details). I think the interview went pretty well. Even though it was a very short drive away and I left over an hour in advance I ended up getting there a few minutes late because of not being able to find the actual building. And I NEVER show up late. So yeah, that kind of threw me off.

I was nervous at first, but once I started meeting the residents, I was a lot more relaxed. I actually got asked some clinical questions, which made me a little nervous. Thankfully, I got most of the questions correct.

I have another interview on Thursday. Then, I’m going to try and get an elective rotation for two weeks, so I don’t lose my financial aid. This whole interview process isn’t so bad, but it’s really difficult to take so many days off during rotations, especially a core. So, we shall see how everything pans out.

More to come soon!

Photo is from Graham Avenue in Bushwick. Am I the only one who thinks it’s scary to put up “seasonal” decorations in October?!

The Internet is a great place for current and aspiring nurses to find important medical and training information. There are websites that provide news, education, networking opportunities, job forums, and many more resources designed specifically for nurses and nursing students. Here are 20 online resources worth exploring:

NurseZone.com – NurseZone.com provides all levels of nurses with a wealth of information and opportunities. Visitors can find details on new medical trends, medical techniques, continuing education, jobs, inspiring stories, and even a community forum.

NursingCenter.com – This nursing site provides clinical articles from over 50 leading nursing journals and over 900 activities for continuing education. Visitors of this site can also find learning centers, peer reviewed websites, clinical resources, and professional resources.

VirtualNurse.com – A one-stop-shop for everything nursing, VirtualNurse.com provides the best reference sites for nursing schools, jobs, websites, and drugs and medication.

MDLinx – MDLinx connects medical professionals to up-to-date medical knowledge. Current nurses and nursing students can use this site to find articles and research news.

Nurse.com – Nurse.com provides nurses with national and local news, career opportunities, and continuing education information. This site also provides over 550 award-winning nursing topics and 12,000 RN jobs.

DiscoverNursing.com – This nursing site provides future nurses with nursing statistics, benefits and salary details, and scholarship program information. DiscoverNursing.com is a great resource for any student looking into nursing programs.

Nursing Scholarships – Nursing Scholarships offers several resources for students looking into a nursing career, including over 100 links to various scholarship and financial aid institutions and organizations.

Medscape Nurses – Medscape Nurses offers educational tools and medical information for health care professionals. The site also provides nurses with resource centers, journals, news, blogs, and discussion boards.

CampusRN2RN – This social nursing network, designed specifically for students, connects future nurses with RN’s, friends, and employers. Special features include blogs, forums, groups, videos, photos, events, job search boards, and podcasts.

NurseConnect – NurseConnect is a free online nursing community for current professionals who are interested in advancing their career and education. The site features news, resources, and a job search board.

AllNurses.com – With members all around the globe, the AllNurses.com online community is a great place to communicate, learn, and network with other nurses. Along with informative blogs and articles, members of this site can also find news, books, and jobs.

Clinical Cases and Images Blog – This blog provides a rich collection of case discussions and medical images that are perfect for studying nurses.

NursingJobs.org – NursingJobs.org is an excellent resource for furthering your nursing career. The site allows you to search jobs, post a resume, and work within a career center. Nurses can also find schools, books, and a nursing forum.

Medical News Today – Medical News Today is the perfect resource for nurses to find the latest articles on caring for patients, nursing education, general practices, and other informative resources.

Rapid Reference for Nurses – This free, 706-page reference book for nurses covers nursing basics, care issues, clinical references, and professional resources.

Online Nursing Degree Guide – The Online Nursing Degree Guide is an online directory for students looking for online nursing degrees. The site allows you to browse degrees, licenses, specialties, and schools by location.

PubMed – PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine, provides nurses with medical journals, clinical queries, medical citations, and other web-related medical resources.

Nurse Link Up - The Nurse Link Up is an online social nursing community with more than 1,000 registered members. The community provides the latest in jobs, nursing articles, and informative blogs.

My Nursing Career – With over 94,000 nursing jobs globally, My Nursing Career is a great place for nurses to find the perfect job. The site also links to online nursing schools and nursing resources.

The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing – The American Nurses Association provides this online peer-reviewed journal that discusses topics affecting the practice of nursing, education, and research.

Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about online degree programs for OnlineDegreePrograms.org.

Check out my post on Medscape to read about my battle with the H1N1 virus.

Click Here To View the Entry

I am going on day 4 of my swine flu journey. What does it feel like? Well, for me, pretty much the same as other flu viruses I guess, but it’s been so long since I had the flu that I had forgotten how horrible it feels.

It all started on Wednesday around 5:00 p.m. I swear it was the most sudden thing. I had felt 100% fine the whole day. One moment I was chillin like a villian, and then I went to swallow some water and it felt like I was swallowing razor blades. My throat was so exquisitely tender. I got up to make myself some hot tea and I realized my legs felt like they had been pummeled on by a heavyweight boxer. Minutes later the diarrhea began. I don’t even want to talk about the horror that occurred in my bathroom. Shortly after that the fever started. I couldn’t find my thermometer so I don’t know how high it was, but I’d guess it was well over 102 degrees fahrenheit. That night was absolute hell. I tossed and turned and barely slept. I was soaking wet with sweat but covered with chills and my skin looked like a freshly plucked goose. I was trembling and shaking but burning and melting at the same time. I had nightmares all night long.

The next morning was the worst. The nausea and vomiting started to kick in. I could barely swallow water because it hurt so bad, but once I did, my body immediately wanted me to expel it. I felt as though I was going to die. I begged Micah to kill me, but he would not. My head throbbed and pounded and my brain turned into hot goo. I only left the bed to go to the bathroom, and that was torture. I had zero energy, and Micah had to help drag me to the toilet. Every time I lifted my head, I felt so dizzy that I wanted to vomit. Every muscle in my body ached. And just when things couldn’t have gotten worse, I started coughing. The cough irritated my throat, and hurt so bad that it felt as though my chest would cave in. I started feeling as though I couldn’t breathe. I warned Micah that if I started turning blue or quit breathing that I needed him to call 911. There were moments where I truly believed that I was going to die, and it didn’t sound like a horrible thing at that point.

After discovering the wonders of Theraflu, the fever started to slowly break late Thursday night. Friday morning I felt much better. I was still sick as hell, but the horrible fever and chills had eased up. I was able to eat food and hold down liquids.

Today is Saturday and I feel a little better still. Pretty much everything has gotten better, except for the cough, which has gotten worse.

I guess I should just be thankful that I am alive, but this was one of those experiences that I’d have preferred not to have. Although I guess I can now empathize with patients who get the H1N1 flu. But this kind of empathy is really not all it’s cracked up to be.

• Accidents Of History Created U.S. Health System : NPR
  (tags: interesting)

I have no energy to write. I just used up every bit of it on writing a post for the Differential, soon to be published.

The gist? I have the H1N1 virus. Yes, the swine flu. I am close to death. Micah keeps refusing to shoot me. More to come once I beat this. Was supposed to be at a residency interview today, but I fought the swine flu, and so far the swine flu has won.

Life for me lately has been pretty quiet but nice. I am on a 2-week hiatus from rotations. I have 4 more residency interviews in the next 2 weeks, and then 15+ more in the coming months, depending upon how many I am able to make it to. My life lately has been very secretarial. I spend my day faxing documents, printing stuff, filing, etc., all in the name of residency interviews and elective rotations applications. Kind of a drag, but sometimes this is what you gotta do.

I went on a super duper long run yesterday over the Brooklyn Bridge and into Chinatown, Manhattan. The weather was gorgeous, and it made me so happy and relaxed. In fact, the weather is supposed to be super nice the next 2 days. I might run every day since this is likely the last of the nice weather for a while and I’m on a pseudo-vacation.

Anyway, I was just thinking yesterday about how much I miss Dominica. I enjoyed the beauty and simplicity so much (even though I did complain sometimes).

I can’t believe that I’m about to graduate medical school in a few short months. I’ve already been getting snail mail and emails to the name “Dr. Campbell,” which still seems incredibly strange. I feel like it was only a few short days ago that I was taking the above photo for my new website, which was going to document my experiences through med school. I also can’t believe I’ve managed to maintain this site the whole way through. It’s something that I’m very proud of. Thanks to all of you out there who have sent me many supportive emails over the past few years. You make it all worth doing!

Soon, I will have to figure out what to do with this site. I will no longer be a med student. islandresident.com? Maybe, we shall see…