Okay, people. I'm not sure what to write, because I can only think of maybe three people who would want to hear about the stuff I've seen in the past few days. I'm on surgery--plastics, to be exact--and let's just say we aren't just doing breast reductions and tummy tucks (abdominoplasty). I have seen one of each, however, and let me tell you what:
1. Do not ever have a breast reduction, even if your wabambas are the size of two dwarfs clinging to your chest.
2. If Weight Watchers wanted to become really effective, it would make all of its new clients watch a tummy tuck. Ask yourself: do I want that cupcake bad enough to have a whole Office Depot worth of staples in my body?
Anyway, plastics does lots of other things; hand surgeries, facial reconstructions after car accidents, skin grafts for burn patients, debridement of wounds, etc. My thoughts are as follows. First, do not ever get into a car accident. Second, never set yourself on fire. Third, don't get a giant wound.
I don't mean to be flippant; these surgeons are AMAZING, and the work they do is quite often miraculous. But seeing these patients and what they have to go through makes me thankful every second that I am not sick or injured.
Anyway, the hours haven't been awful. Sure, I'm getting up at the crack of dawn, but the patient load has been pretty light so we've been finishing pretty early. Of course, I pass out pretty early, and have been having to do a lot of reading; in fact, all I've done this week is work, drive, shower, study, and sleep. Occasionally, just to mix things up, I eat.
So far, I really like patient care, if I can get past my fear and confusion and frustration and ignorance and constantly being in the way and not knowing what I'm supposed to be doing or when or to whom. It is slowly getting better, though, and I'm definitely pretty excited to go in every morning, despite the fact that even God isn't up yet.
I need to go study, but I will leave you with this thought: did you know cheese slicers aren't just for cheese?
The experiences of a recently minted MD/PhD out to take over the world.
Posts Which Might Have Meant Something (A "Best Of" About the MD/PhD Experience)
- Grad vs Med: The Smackdown
- Surviving Graduate School (And Possibly Even Getting a Degree), Part 1
- Surviving Graduate School, Part 2: Be the Captain of Your Own Ship
- Surviving Graduate School, Part 3: Constant Dripping Hollows Out a Stone
- The four most important decisions of graduate school
- The MD/PhD Journey: Welcome to the bottom of a new ladder!
- You say Mudphud, I say Sucker
- MD/PhDs are people, too
- Like Being in the Ring with Mike Tyson
- Student, evaluate thyself
- ChumpWork
- Big Deal, I'm Very Professional
- Grad vs Med: The Smackdown--UPDATE
- Random Observations from the Clinics
- Whatcha, whatcha, whatcha want?
- It's graduate school that sucks; not research
Terms Possibly Unfamiliar to Non-Med Types
- Mudphud: An MD/PhD
- Fellow: A jolly gentleman. Kidding--someone who could be an attending but instead choses to continue training despite being paid and treated like livestock
- PGY: Post-graduate year, ie PGY1 would be a first-year resident, PGY2 would be a second year, etc
- Hammer page: Someone pages you every few minutes for hours; dreaded by all
- AI: Acting internship, done in 4th year medical school, to try and prepare you for your internship
- MS3: A third year medical student
- Rounds: Where the docs and med students get together and check up on all of their patients, usually REALLY early in the morning
- Intern: A first-year resident
- Attending: The senior physician in charge of the service and your future; aka the big boss, the head cheese.
- Clerkship: A rotation through a clinical specialty, such as medicine, pediatrics, etc.
- Shelf test: The big, scary national exam given at the end of each clinical clerkship
- Pimping: When the attending quizzes you on medical stuff in front of the whole team. Var: getting pimped, pimp question
Other MD/PhD, Grad or Med School Web Pages and Blogs
About Me
- Dr.VonB
- An MD/PhD beginning her residency, with an MD/PhD husband beginning his residency, with a weensy MD/PhD offspring beginning her life and two large dogs in tow.
I didn't spend six years in evil medical school to be called "mister", thank you very much.
Current Obsessions
My Favorite Sites
2 comments:
So is it safe to assume that you won't be having a tummy tuck and boob job after a c-section? Because for me, that's still on. Who cares what they stab me with when I'm sleeping?!
The one that freaks me out is the facelift where they pull your face off and squish it up through your hairline. Jeebus. I'd really have to look like an old bag to go in for that.
oh lordy. i'm grossed out already, and i start plastics in a few weeks. we need to chat - i'll trade you gyney squad pointers for plastics pointers... deal? :)
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