Campfire stories that don’t fit anywhere else
In the first six months of my intern year, I gained some valuable insights into the patient history. Medical students, wow your attendings by translating these common patient phrases into their actual medical meanings! Things that don’t mean what you think they mean: “I have thyroid problems” –> I’ve gained weight recently Follow-up questions: What medication do you take for that?
» Read moreOne of my attending physicians is fond of saying that most physician errors are not errors in treatment, but errors in diagnosis. The patient is getting the right treatment for the presumed diagnosis, but the diagnosis is incorrect. It doesn’t do much good to treat a febrile patient for pneumonia if they actually have pyelonephritis. This creates a big challenge in
» Read moreToday I had a truly special experience. I am finishing my eighth straight week on labor and delivery – six weeks of nights, and now I am finishing week two of six weeks of days. A certain very memorable patient ended up in triage at least once or twice a week. She had a lot of medical problems and there was
» Read moreSometimes, people ask me what it’s like to be an OB/GYN resident. Well, here is an idea of what a typical night shift looks like: half a dozen patient calls (mostly from people who are having round ligament pain, or who peed on themselves when they sneezed and now they think their water broke) three patients in triage with the complaints
» Read moreIt’s that time again – time to spend long hours at work eating way too much food, trying to be festive. You see, holidays (all holidays) are weird on the labor and delivery floor. Take Thanksgiving, for example. This year, I saw three patients during my 14-hour night shift. One was a patient from our antepartum unit and was being
» Read moreHappy Holidays! I wanted to take this time to share a few glimpses into how we in the medical field celebrate the holidays. This year I am spending most of the holiday season on the trauma service. The nature of trauma is 24/7 – we can’t close for the holidays, so we are fully staffed just like any other day
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