Not Just Another Night On Call

Usually after a night on call I think of all the funny or crazy things that happened that I want to share. Of course, I have yet to find the time to do this. But, this past Tuesday something terrible happened.

At about 8:30pm, a child was brought in that had been attacked by a pit bull. The child was in asystole. It was my first time to see a true code, chest compressions and oxygen desperately attempting to keep this child alive. Forty-five minutes later it became my first time to see a time of death called.

Watching death win in front of your very eyes despite the overwhelming efforts of doctors and nurses alike is tough enough. Add in the fact that this was an innocent 3 year old, it makes it truly devastating. My heart broke in that trauma room that night.

Bud Light Lime

At my alma mater, I had a friend that, thanks to his love of starting his nights with a bad decision in the form of a tequila shot, always had lime on hand. Playing off his love for Corona with lime, much to the amusment and ridicule of his friends, he started putting a lime in his Bud Lights.

This weekend as I turned back a few of Bud Light's newest craze, I realized this man apparently possessed inginuity before his time. If only he had patented it when he had the chance.

So, here's to you, the originator of making Bud Light a little more exotic.

Don't call it a comeback... You've been here for years.

Fitting for My 100th Post

I realize that I haven't posted in a while, and I would like to blame that on the fact I've been trying to come up with a post worth of my 100th. Unfortunately, I'm terrible at lying via the typed word, and must admit that I have just been too darn busy to update the blog. But, as Providence would have it, my 100th post is an exciting one.

The results for the USMLE Step 1 exam have been released... and I passed!

Years of worrying, months of procrastinating, and weeks of studying relentlessly finally payed off. I am one milestone closer to tacking on those two sweet letters behind my name. Did I doubt myself? Yes. It seems like scores were passed out at random, with people you not only never expected to fail but those you expected to blow the thing out of the water receiving a failing score. Seeing as if you fail, you are pulled off your M3 service, this exam was like a diluted form of the Rapture. One day you're writing progress notes next to someone, next day they are gone.

But, I survived. And now I am just left with the daunting task of just deciding what I want to do when I grow up.

24 Hour Call

My original intention for my first 24hr call was to jump on the computer every hour or so and put in an update on what I had done. That didn't work out so much, seeing as I'm getting the reputation around the Surgery Lounge as being a cursed medical student because no one ever sleeps when I'm on call. And, come to think about it, if I even think about sleeping the trauma pager goes off. So, because I think this was still such a great idea, I'm going to work on a 24hour log of the day (that actually turned into more of a 40 hour day) and post it. So please refresh this page every 30seconds until that appears...

The New Nicorette

The last two days I have followed Dr. Pittman, UMC's Head and Neck attending surgeon. In the OR in order to remove mouth cancers we removed half of patient's jaws. We inserted tracheostomys, and biopsied tumors. At the Cancer Institute in clinic I saw a range of patients, from age 25 to 85. I saw patients breathing out of holes in their necks, speaking out of holes in their necks, and disfigured by tumor removal.

The common link between all of these patients? Smoking.

I think the Surgeon General's warning on packs of cigarettes should include pictures of these consequences. Instead of classy red designs with manly logos or sleek blues that are suppose to make women feel sexy for carrying them around, how about packages with a picture of someone missing half their face?

And then, when you buy your 100th pack, you win a free trip to the Cancer Institute to see and meet yourself in a few more years. I think it'd work better than Nicorette.