25% Done with Internship

Absolutely flew by. I did General Surgery, IM, and ICU.

The next leg looks pretty sweet: General Surgery, ER, and Family Practice.

At this point, I can't believe how clueless I was just three months ago. I know I have a ton to learn, but I finally feel like I'm getting into the groove a little bit. It helps that I'm going to a service that I already know (General Surgery). It's hard to maximize the rotation when you spend the 1st week just getting oriented and learning how to get things done.

As for my hospital situation, it's about the same. On the bright side, things are moving along on other fronts. I'll have official news in a few months.

Congrats and best wishes to everyone having babies. Ever thought of trying to mix a girl in there Andersen? If you and the Healey's keep going, you could have 7 Brides for 7 Brothers.

(Did I just reference a crappy musical? I'll turn in my man card on the way out the door.)

For Dinner Tonight

We're having Zatarains red beans and rice with sausage. Hat tip to Rhett, emeritus president of the Tremendous Twelve.

Had an interesting roomate last night.

Our call rooms are being renovated right now, so we've been sleeping in patient rooms on a patient floor. Good times had by all.

So last night I was on call, and I went into the room to get a few winks at 2am. I open the door, and there's some guy snoring in the bed next to mine in the Surgery room. He smells like vomit, and snores like a bear (but he was too short to be Jason Caywood). Turns out it was a medicine intern that went to Octoberfest, got really wasted, puked all over himself in somebody's car. His friends dropped him off at the hospital, but he didn't think it was a good idea to drive home. So he bunked with me last night.

When I went to get my stuff at 7am after call signout, he was still in there, now awake, and still drunk. It was pretty funny.

Just a little moaning

Well, no more moonlighting for me for awhile. I'm about to start a couple months of trauma--a couple months of real work like the rest of you have been doing. Last night's trauma resident had 16 new patients besides the several floor calls. His pager wasn't working, and I swear every 5 minutes I heard him paged overhead. I don't mind the consults/new patients, but I'm kind of stuck in the whole ER mindset and would rather not deal with patients after fixing the initial problem--not a huge fan of rounding, dealing with floor crises, etc. Nothing like being in the middle of one intubation in the ER and hearing your name called stat to the floor for "code blue" for a crashing floor patient. Or there's the middle-of-the-night calls for crazy nakeds needing Haldol or suddenly-unresponsives needing intubated and transferred to ICU (the problem with that one was that we transferred to the neurosurgery ICU, and the neurosurgery intensivist was, well, me--no seniors, attending a million miles away and not answering his phone. I wonder if that's why most places don't let first years moonlight? Luckily, the patient ended up doing all right after a 9-day intubated stay in the ICU.).

Quickly, in other news, last Tuesday I placed an IO at the tibial plateau, did a DPL, performed a pericardiocentesis, did a needle decompression thoracotomy, placed a chest tube, did an open thoracotomy with heart massage, inserted a foley catheter into a hole in the heart and inflated the foley balloon and applied pressure to stop the blood flow from the hole in the heart, did a cricothyroidotomy, and did a lateral canthotomy. Unfortunately, after all of that, the anesthetized pig did not survive. I think it was the high-dose potassium chloride injection that threw the heart into v-fib that finally did the old gal in. We have pig labs every 2 weeks to practice these procedures (only a couple residents at a time). We have to do like 9 during our 3 years here. It was actually very helpful.

When it's good to do family practice

Sounds like everyone one is doing well. We moved into Caywoods old ward after several houses fell through. Jason, seems pretty good but there are a few crazies, every ward has them I guess. I am doing OB at Joes right now. Wish I spoke Spanish. I have been keeping my eyes open for Shane but that dude is never at work, the IM program seems pretty easy over there. I have been going to elders quorum for the first time in three years and realized why I liked young mens a lot better. Lesson today was on sabbath day. The usual arguments over paying for gas at the pump and using vending machines etc. Some guy went on and on about how if doctors work on Sunday they should pay everything they earned that day to tithing. It is a good thing we only make 8 bucks an hour, in the end though it is going to be costly for some of you. Glad I'm FP, no Sunday work for me.

Guess who I saw

So today I was at work and I saw Cameron Kessler, Most of you may know him. He is a year a head of us. Played basketball, hung out with the cheating flagfootball team. Anyway, I didn't get a chance to talk to him much. But, he was in San Diego doing IM with the Navy and I guess there were "family things" and that program sucked, so he asked to be transferred here to Colorado. And they let him. That is about all I know right now. I hope those of you in San Diego are doing OK.
Trent

Baby Austin is here!!!!

Hey All,

I just found the link to the blog and thought I would write a little. Leslie had Austin on the 17th of Aug and all went well. He has been doing good but eats all the time. I have not been getting home very early so I don't get to see him much. I just got off G surgery with an attending with very similar characteristics to that of Dr. Goldberg in my 3rd year. I am very glad to be done with him and his staff. Anyway, now I am on a vascular surgery rotation that is awsome. I have been able to do so much in the CV Lab. I am no longer worried about getting vascular access.

I will put pictures of Austin here when I get them down loaded to this computer.

By for now,

Kevin

Went to Kirtland

Hey, we went to Kirtland, OH today. It was a pretty cool. The visitor's center was nice but I was disappointed to see how The Community of Christ Church does not care for the temple very well. Either way it was a good time with the family after not seeing them too much last month.