C section

(warning, slightly descriptive) I was on call for the first time on Wednesday. We were pretty slow the whole time. The only patient that was close that I was allowed to see had stalled out at 9cm for over 3 hours. As soon as night float came on, they decided to do a c-section. I got off at 7, but thankfully we started at about 550 meaning I got to see it. As the med student you pretty much hold back the bladder. And cut the sutures. I did it pretty well if I do say so myself. While this type of surgery is very bloody it was pretty cool. As they cut, I kept thinking, "Is that the uterus yet? Is that it yet? How bout now?" Then we hit it. Ew. Nothing made me squeamish except the amniotic fluid running over my hands. Weird weird weird feeling. Turns out that getting the baby out only took about 20 minutes. Closing took another 40. I've been following up with this patient, and they are both doing well.

I am almost getting used to my new sleep schedule. Getting up at 445am is pretty tough, but I am getting better. Last Friday when I headed up to my cousin's wedding I had to get up at 230am. That was rough. My flight was at 5am plus I had to shuttle park. Ugh. Early. I almost stayed up 24hrs that day though. The wedding was great fun. We stayed in a hotel with an attached casino. It made for great night entertainment but smokey clothes. Ick. The weather was absolutely perfect up there though. The main problem with going to Washington though is that I get somewhat very very sad coming back here. Sigh. Okay. We had a short day today. Off to enjoy stuffs

House, M3

I am finally, officially, an M3. You really aren't considered an M3 until you pass boards. Not just take but pass. Which means........I passed boards!!!! We got our scores back yesterday. After waiting for 6 weeks, I was starting to get more pessimistic about my performance. My original goal was 230 (average is 221, no one really knows the max, 185 is passing). As release day drew closer, I started thinking, "Oh, I'd be happy with 220." The next day "Oh, I'd be happy with 210." In my mind I kept picturing low scores. As I opened the PDF on my PDA yesterday at the hospital, the night I received my MCAT scores came rushing back to me. I felt I did okay on that, but my score didn't reflect it. I cried some that night. I panicked some. So I had full right to be anxious when opening this email. At first I planned to just wait til I got home because I didn't want it to ruin the rest of my day at work. I gave in though. My hands were shaking like no other. At first my mind read "fail," but that is because the small screen blurred it. Then as I zoomed, I thought it said 208. My heart sank a little. Then I kept zooming. Wait what? I scored higher than my original goal?!? Wait?!?!?! AHHHHHHHHHH! Happy day! I had a few joyful tears as I called my parents. Oh my goodness does it feel good to have that score done with. Other than maybe plastics, which I didn't want to do anyway, I haven't closed off any specialty due to the score. Woohoo!!!!

On Monday and Tuesday I became ACLS (advanced cardiac life support) certified. Basically I can "run" a code, shocker things and all. As it turns out, few places actually use paddles anymore. Sad. That is the only reason I became a doctor. They use the pads that you find in AEDs instead. Boring.

I watched 2 surgeries today: bilateral laproscopic tubal ligation and excision of some squamous cell dysplasia of the outer girly parts. I really have enjoyed the gyn surgery part of this rotation. Alas, on Monday I go to OB. Babies are cool. I have tomorrow off to travel to Bellingham!!!! Family wedding!!! Excited. I am in a very celebritory and non-workouty mood.

Scrubbin in!

I got to actually scrub in today and do stuff! It was great. Yesterday on gyn beeper I was more bored than I have been in a long time. Today, however, I scrubbed in on a total laproscopic hysterectomy (didn't end up total or fully laproscopic, but that is what it started as). It was me, 2 residents, and then a faculty gyn doc. It was great! Even with 4 of us in there (in addition to all the nurses and techs) I still got to do a few things. I will spare you the details (a little on the gross, girl-part side of things), but I am pretty sure I answered all the questions asked of me correctly. Well, most of them at least. Once my surgery was over (about 1130), I got to leave! Nice and short day for me. Then again, I did have to get up at 445. This will be a rough 2 months, but I think I'll survive. I have 2 surgeries tomorrow and clinic in the morning. I have no clue what exactly how clinic works. I think it is pretty much just regular well-woman checks, etc. Thing is I may be on the OB side of things tomorrow, but we will see. You know, I can do procedures and talk to patients, but when it comes to writing notes, I am pretty weak. I guess I know what I need to fix!

I am off this weekend and partly tempted to sleep in, but I know that will mess me up. I have ACLS (advanced cardiac life support) training on Monday and Tuesday, regular stuff on Wednesday, gyn beeper on Thursday (while being the only M3 on the floor), and gone on Friday!! Excited for the family wedding!

OB/GYN orientation

Talk about some of the most confusing hours of my life!! Yesterday I spent about 4 hours listening to how things work at CUMC (Creighton U Med Center) yet left feeling dumber than I did before. All these different schedules and responsibilities. Show up...pre-round...round...clinic...call...beeper. Ahhh! Bergan Mercy orientation today was a little simpler because they just throw OB and GYN together. CUMC does them separately. I got my ideal order (just by accident): CUMC Gyn then OB for the 1st month, Bergan for the 2nd. Bergan is busier, so I can get my feet a little "wet" (really, I didn't mean to make that pun) before heading there. I also get free food at Bergan. Yay! OB at CUMC and all of Bergan has 12 hour call shifts that you rotate through with your classmates. CUMC gyn (what I am doing right now) has "Gyn Beeper," which I am on tomorrow. Now, I really have no clue what this means. I know it means I don't get to go into previously schedule gyn surgeries. I know it means I can't leave until 430pm. Basically I carry it around in case there is a "Gyn-mergency" anywhere in the hospital (as in the ER or something). It rarely rarely rarely ever goes off, so I am not too worried. It also means though that I get to "assign" the gyn surgeries for the next day to my fellow CUMC gyn students. My first call on CUMC OB isn't til the 22nd. Of course it has to be the day Matt comes back. I am on day call though (7am to 7pm), which sucks a little bit because I don't get the next day off. In fact, I think all my night calls are on the weekends meaning I never get any week days off (you don't need to round on the weekends unless on call). Think you are confused? Well I am right there with ya. I am basically going to go until I get scolded and then change some things.

My 4th was pretty relaxed. Went over to a friends place and watched people around the neighborhood set off fireworks, something I never really experienced much growing up. It sounded what I imagine a war zone sounds like. Just without the fear.

The biggest development in my life: I have become slightly addicted to iced chai tea lattes. So much so that I have taken to making large, delicious batches and cooling them overnight so I can drink it the next day. This may or may not be a bad thing.

I will really try this year to keep y'all updated with the things I am doing. Some of it may be cool. Some of it may be lame. But you'll read it anyway.

PS: my 1st day of school photo from this year. Sorry it is a little foggy...weird

Hiatus

I think I have used that subject before. Sorry. I was enjoying my "summer" too much and being too lazy to write. Plus, not that much happened. A week at home. A few days in Olympia. Hiked around Rainier national park. Week at Camano (I swear pics will be up soon). Back home for a rockin Hoopfest. Back to Omaha. Lame M3 orientation. Speaking of which, I should change my profile on here. Some highlights

Home: I love my parents, my dog, and I guess my little brother. It sucks that none of my friends live there any more

Olympia/Seattle: Matt's parents' new kitchen is awesome, rode a lot of buses

Da Beach: 16lbs of bacon and a flat of fresh strawberries every day...need I say more?

Hoopfest: with Corrina only on our team, we managed to capture 2nd place!! Yay for new t-shirts. Mind you, this was only with 3 players since our 4th broke her nose in 4 places...during the first game. Ouch. We love you Mary

I am not back in Omaha highly unmotivated about life. I am both intensily excited and scared about what will come this year. So much more responsibility. So much less hand holding. I don't need to be spoon-fed, but I do need to know what is expected of me. Also, I need to eat pretty often, which may pose an issue this next year. I guess I need to train myself now to not eat as often. I start with ObGyn on Monday and am pumped. Even if this isn't my #1 area of choice, I am excited and (almost) confident in my abilities. I am very thankful for the clinic I had this past year because it really gave me a GREAT chance to get my feet wet. Gave shots, drew blood, assisted in pelvics, and did almost all the interviews, which is more than many got to do. Yay!

We have tomorrow and the weekend off. I hope everyone has a great 4th. I'll be back Monday (hopefully) with an update on the first day.

PS: the one advantage of living in Nebraska --> 10 ears of corn for a $1...even before July 4th