Random Challenge

So my friend Hari Krishna, has challenged me to what can only be described as the blog-equivalent of one of those "get to know you" chain emails. Seeing as I've got and hour and half until rounds and nothing to do except study, I have decided to rise to her challenge.

So here are six random things about me, appropriately in random order...

1. I am daily amazed at how blessed I am. Sometimes it takes my breath away.

2. I have a borderline unnatural interest in dragons. Had it not been for finding cool friends in elementary school, I might have ended up being a third level wizard in the local Dungeons and Dragons club. Instead, I just spend too much time reading dragon related books and watching dragon based tv shows and movies (think Harry Potter, Eragon series, DragonHeart, etc).

3. Despite the fact that I have completed approximately 5/8 of my medical career, I am still scared to death of getting my long white coat, more specifically the responsibility that comes with it.

4. I love the holiday season, especially Christmas. I love hearing the same cheesy Christmas songs sung by the "original" artists (think Frank and Bing) a thousand times. I love candlelight Christmas Eve service. I love the twinkling lights. I love the cold. And, secondary to this love of Christmas and my present state of free time, I have already started decorating my house. Just the inside. I figure that I don't exactly entertain on a weekly basis, so I can get by with starting to deck the halls with bows of holly, and no one but me will know the difference. I won't consider this abnormal until I start doing it before Halloween.

5. Sushi has become a staple in my life. Every time the Cutest Boy in the World mentions eating out, my first thought is always sushi. I try my hardest to suppress this so that he can enjoy some variety in his diet, but somewhere deep inside as I stuff my face with cheese dip and chimichanga, I feel disappointed that its not sushi. I'm pretty sure I could eat it, realisitically, three times a week. Yum....

6. I think Ann Taylor Loft should pay me a small advertising fee. Thanks to my recent need for professional clothes, my wardrobe is almost entirely sponsored by the store. Don't get me wrong, I go shopping other places. But I always end up getting scared by the trendiness or overwhelmed by the selection or disgusted at the prices. Therefore, I head back home to the Loft.

ElectroShock Therapy

Electroshock Therapy, or as it is properly known in the medical community ElectroConvulsive Therapy (ECT), seems very archaic, medieval even. It's a form of therapy that has been used in psychiatry for over 70 years to, well, basically knock the crazy out of people with a jolt of electricity. Most people probably think of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, with Jack Nicholson being forced down to have metal probes attached to his head while he's desperately fighting against restraints when they think of ECT. Or maybe they just imagine a mild form of an electric chair that leaves the patient a zombie instead of a corpse. I'm not going to lie. That's what I thought.

Until today.

ECT is still commonly used in psychiatry to treat patients when all medications have failed. So, I followed down two of our patients as they went for treatment. As it turns out, the patients are sedated and given muscle relaxers. Then metal electrodes are placed on their heads, only causing their face to tighten into a deep grimace as the electricity is administered. It's actually a very benign procedure. The only evidence of the seizure being induced is one foot, that has the muscle relaxers blocked by a blood pressure cuff, which goes into myoclonic seizures... Just flapping around until the seizure ends.

Here's the kicker though...

I administered my patients' ECT. I held the metal electrodes to their temples. I caused that electricity induced seizure.

I think I can safely say that my ignorance and misconceptions surrounding ECT is no longer...

Dictation

I did my first dictation this week. Here's a glimpse of how it went...

"The patient was admitted on 11/1/08 with the diagnosis of.... uh..... with the diagnosis of.... uh.... (pause system)... ... ... ... ... (unpause system)...
Axis I major depressive disorder... next line...
Axis II borderline personality disorder... next line...
Axis III none... next line...
Axis IV none... next line...
Axis V GAF 40 out of 100... next line...
to 7 west under the care of... uh.... uh... Dr. Smith... wait, error, scratch that... under the care of... uh... uh... Dr. Jones... period. (This continues for a long time)

Dictated by Lindsey Miller, L-i-n-d-s-e-y M-i-l-l-e-r, M-3. End dictation."

It was a pretty painful experience.

DayLight Savings Time

I've got one word for it: Phooey.

It's 8pm and it looks like its 2am outside, which means my body thinks that its at least midnight... And that means it's way past my bedtime.

I'll say it again... Phooey...