A Tree Grows in Brooklyn…sort of
I thought about going into Pathology.
Some of the interests I have in my field overlap with Forensic Path, but nothing like this.
Medical Trivia
Sometimes a random post is needed. I came upon this.
So I watch Grey’s Anatomy. I do. (Go ahead, judge away). And House. And Scrubs (love JD!). I just couldn’t stomach ER (because I think it’s lame)…not even when Clooney was around. Yes, I realize the soap-opera escapades can be ‘distracting’ (to say the least)…but I think the medical diseases and topics high-lighted are often times super interesting. In fact, I have to give Scrubs credit for an episode which highlighted ‘Familial Mediterranean Fever’. Because of it, I happened to include it in the differential diagnosis when pimped by an Attending during Internal Medicine rounds for med school…and it happened to be one of the answers this Attending was looking for. Go me!
Which one do you watch? Don’t worry, I won’t tell.
To Sleep or Not To Sleep…
I remember my first night on-call as an intern. I stayed up the entire night filled with anxiety even though every patient on the floor was stable and ‘had a plan’ in place. 30 hours – no coffee, no caffeine, nothing but my nervousness to keep me up. I remember my second night on-call. I ran to a code…
30 hours…that’s a long time; especially for someone who really loves sleep (like me). My better half teased me when I would be half-comatose getting ready for work. I think this article in the New York Times highlights some important elements on the topic of Resident work hours. Were there times when patient safety could have been compromised because I hadn’t slept? Yes, absolutely. Did it ever happen. No, thankfully.
I’m curious to hear what others think about the topic.
I have more thoughts to share, but right now all I want to do is crawl into my nice warm bed and fall asleep.
World AIDS Day
Although I’ve cared for many patients with HIV, when I think of AIDS I do not think of statistics or other facts. I overlook the insensitive remarks from those who are too ignorant to understand the significance of this disease. Instead, I see only the face of a child – one that I cared for during my intern year. I think of the night I was on-call and scared to death he would die. He was scared too. He asked me to hold his hand and sit by his bed to help him fall asleep. It was the first time I really truly prayed for a patient. So on this day, I remember him.