I haven't forgot about this blog, I simply have been trying to heal up and get my health together over the past 8 months. Much easier said than done. Since posting I have had another surgery in September, studied and passed my Step 2 (written portion only). And now I am gearing up to begin rotations again. I start with Family Medicine that is only 20 minutes away from my house. I am excited.
I am very excited yet very nervous. I know that going to school, having a routine, and doing things with purpose in live will be very helpful mentally. In my mind I am very ready to get back to learning medicine. It will be great. One thing that may be difficult is physically being able be busy all day. Not only have I been off for 8 months, but have become so deconditioned, it will take some time and effort to build up stamina to get through my day without getting very tired. It is nothing I can't handle as I was way worse in June when I had to stop school. When I took time off I thought that by now I'd be hopping around all geared up to hop right back into life. Instead, I am proceeding with cautious optimism. I have to be optimistic that my hip will heal up and that I won't hurt the rest of my life. I has to happen, at least to a point where I can live life.
So I am starting with Family Medicine for a month and then Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation for two weeks. After this I am really hoping to get Sports Medicine, Pain Management, or Rheumatology. We will see what we can set up. I still have to do General Surgery and Emergency Medicine (which have proved to be very difficult to schedule up until now). It is super exciting to get back to what I had intended to do for the last year.
Since I will get getting back into my medical education, I will start to update more often. I have many different things that I have had to deal with since being off, many realizations and changes with how I view education, friends, careers, and life in general. I hope to incorporate these views and realizations into the blog in the near future. Until then...I'M BAAAACK!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Midadventures
A lot has happened since I posted last. I completed my Family Medicine Rotation and....LOVED IT! It was so much fun and educational. It was in an inner city clinic that served the under-served. I saw so much pathology and really learned a lot. I also learned to love the patients too. They were so interesting. I found it amazing that I could drive 1/2 from my house and be in a completely different world. Completely different.
The first couple of days were a bit difficult for me. In fact, my first day, I got into the building and the head nurse came up to me and asked if I had any valuables in my car and to make sure that my car was locked. Whoa! Where was I?! Nobody had forewarned me that I was going into this type of environment. The patients all spoke in slang, and I could barely understand them. For the first three days I think I said 'pardon me' a thousand times! But, I quickly caught on. I loved the doctors with whom I worked as well. They were all into teaching and learning. Every time I saw a patient I could come out of the room and the attending would be like: "so, doctor, what do you think and what do you want to do to fix them?" Very intellectually challenging. I appreciated it.
As the rotation progressed though, I started to know that something was very wrong. I mean it was a long time coming, but everything came to a head, so to speak, when I had my 5 month follow-up with my surgeon. I had worked extra during my time at the clinic so that I could spend three days off to go out and have the follow-up. When I saw my surgeon he stated that we needed to do something sooner rather than later and that I was to have hip surgery (yes another one!) in a week. Gulp. But wait, I don't have any time left off from school! This though, did not matter. When we talked about things, it was clear that I was not functioning properly. I couldn't stand for more than 5 minutes and when I did stand all I could think about is where could I sit next. And, when I was sitting, I couldn't sit straight up as my hip wouldn't flex past 90 degrees. And, to add to everything, my other hip was causing much pain as well, and we would have to do surgery on the other side too. Flip....there went my life!
I knew what had to be done. Seriously, I needed to take the time off from school, get my health under control and then pick up where I left off. Much easier said than swallowed. Deep down I knew this was coming, but it was very difficult to handle. I cried for three days, but then, pulled myself together and organized my life. My medical school has been wonderful, within hours they had had a meeting and figured out the best amount of time needed off to heal and return back to clerkship. 8 months. This puts me a year behind, thus graduating in 2014.
I am now 12 days post op and really know I made the right decision. My surgery, I believe, really did work!!! My left hip feels MUCH better. Although I have surgical pain the pre-op pain has vanished. I am thrilled. I am now able to focus on getting better and rehabbing properly. And, when the time comes (perhaps in a month or so) we will do the other hip. I have tried to keep my hip situation separate from my school on this blog, but there was no avoiding it. The hips won this round, but my surgeon and I are gathering forces to give me my life back. I will get through this, and I AM learning so much about myself. Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would have 5 surgeries during medical school and take 5 years to get through medical school.
Life is certainly unexpected.
The first couple of days were a bit difficult for me. In fact, my first day, I got into the building and the head nurse came up to me and asked if I had any valuables in my car and to make sure that my car was locked. Whoa! Where was I?! Nobody had forewarned me that I was going into this type of environment. The patients all spoke in slang, and I could barely understand them. For the first three days I think I said 'pardon me' a thousand times! But, I quickly caught on. I loved the doctors with whom I worked as well. They were all into teaching and learning. Every time I saw a patient I could come out of the room and the attending would be like: "so, doctor, what do you think and what do you want to do to fix them?" Very intellectually challenging. I appreciated it.
As the rotation progressed though, I started to know that something was very wrong. I mean it was a long time coming, but everything came to a head, so to speak, when I had my 5 month follow-up with my surgeon. I had worked extra during my time at the clinic so that I could spend three days off to go out and have the follow-up. When I saw my surgeon he stated that we needed to do something sooner rather than later and that I was to have hip surgery (yes another one!) in a week. Gulp. But wait, I don't have any time left off from school! This though, did not matter. When we talked about things, it was clear that I was not functioning properly. I couldn't stand for more than 5 minutes and when I did stand all I could think about is where could I sit next. And, when I was sitting, I couldn't sit straight up as my hip wouldn't flex past 90 degrees. And, to add to everything, my other hip was causing much pain as well, and we would have to do surgery on the other side too. Flip....there went my life!
I knew what had to be done. Seriously, I needed to take the time off from school, get my health under control and then pick up where I left off. Much easier said than swallowed. Deep down I knew this was coming, but it was very difficult to handle. I cried for three days, but then, pulled myself together and organized my life. My medical school has been wonderful, within hours they had had a meeting and figured out the best amount of time needed off to heal and return back to clerkship. 8 months. This puts me a year behind, thus graduating in 2014.
I am now 12 days post op and really know I made the right decision. My surgery, I believe, really did work!!! My left hip feels MUCH better. Although I have surgical pain the pre-op pain has vanished. I am thrilled. I am now able to focus on getting better and rehabbing properly. And, when the time comes (perhaps in a month or so) we will do the other hip. I have tried to keep my hip situation separate from my school on this blog, but there was no avoiding it. The hips won this round, but my surgeon and I are gathering forces to give me my life back. I will get through this, and I AM learning so much about myself. Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would have 5 surgeries during medical school and take 5 years to get through medical school.
Life is certainly unexpected.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Another rotation bites the dust!
So I finished up my Pediatrics rotation yesterday. Woohoo. I can't say I loved it or hated it. I learned a lot and that was the goal. I did well on my post-rotation exam as well. 8% higher than all of my other exams. I loved this rotation in that I learned how to do blood draws and immunizations. Something that I don't think that I would have been able to do elsewhere. The doctor and staff were really nice as well. I will miss it, but definitely don't want to do it for the rest of my life.
Now, I am onto Family Medicine. It is much closer to my house and I hear the hours are great. I start at 10:00am on Monday! Incredible. I'll get LOTS of studying done. I am now board studying in addition to the regular studying that I do for my rotations. It has been quite hectic. Plus I have a problem called OCD and I can't stop studying. It is like an obsession. I guess it's good, but man, it is exhausting at times.
I am still trying to get my feet under me from my most recent hip surgery. It is quite difficult. I am having a difficult time standing and walking while on my rotation. It really stinks. Most of the time I am good at ignoring it, but sometimes it just really gets to me. I mean, I've been through so many surgeries to get functioning and things never seem to improve. Quite frustrating. I do have the comfort of knowing that I am seeing one of the world's best young adult hip surgeons and he promises to not give up on me until I can live without pain. But at what cost? Going out to see him is a financial burden and, since things aren't going according to plan, we keep having to go back out there to figure things out. Plus I have no more time off from school and there is a real possibility that I'll need at least one more surgery in the near future. I would try to delay it until residency, but I don't think that I'll be able to do another year in my current condition. Perhaps things will make dramatic improvements in the future, but, as it stands now, it doesn't look hopeful. I try not to think about what might happen when I go back to figure things out and find out what needs to be done. Right now though, I think that it is a quality of life concern. Is it worth struggling through the days concerned about how much things hurt? I dunno. All I know is that things need to fixed so that I can continue on with my medical education, career, and life.
Now, I am onto Family Medicine. It is much closer to my house and I hear the hours are great. I start at 10:00am on Monday! Incredible. I'll get LOTS of studying done. I am now board studying in addition to the regular studying that I do for my rotations. It has been quite hectic. Plus I have a problem called OCD and I can't stop studying. It is like an obsession. I guess it's good, but man, it is exhausting at times.
I am still trying to get my feet under me from my most recent hip surgery. It is quite difficult. I am having a difficult time standing and walking while on my rotation. It really stinks. Most of the time I am good at ignoring it, but sometimes it just really gets to me. I mean, I've been through so many surgeries to get functioning and things never seem to improve. Quite frustrating. I do have the comfort of knowing that I am seeing one of the world's best young adult hip surgeons and he promises to not give up on me until I can live without pain. But at what cost? Going out to see him is a financial burden and, since things aren't going according to plan, we keep having to go back out there to figure things out. Plus I have no more time off from school and there is a real possibility that I'll need at least one more surgery in the near future. I would try to delay it until residency, but I don't think that I'll be able to do another year in my current condition. Perhaps things will make dramatic improvements in the future, but, as it stands now, it doesn't look hopeful. I try not to think about what might happen when I go back to figure things out and find out what needs to be done. Right now though, I think that it is a quality of life concern. Is it worth struggling through the days concerned about how much things hurt? I dunno. All I know is that things need to fixed so that I can continue on with my medical education, career, and life.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Long Needed Update
I apologize greatly for not keeping up to date on here. Although there are no excuses, I will mention that things have been pretty taxing as of late. Since I posted last, I started back up with my rotations. I completed one whole month of gastroenterology. I will say that I learned A LOT on that rotation! I feel as if I can manage the basic GI problems despite the fact that the experience was painful in every aspect. Not only was the rotation mentally difficult, but it was also emotionally and physically exhausting. I worked one-on-one with fellows who were, to say the least, intense. One in particular made it his goal for me to feel as if I was an intern, to function, think, and work like one; as a third year medical student just back from having major surgery was pretty tough. I did the first week of the rotation on crutches and then graduated off of them. I was doing 12-13 hour days and not feeling very well at all. Looking back, I am so thankful that I survived it; it was horrible. I won't lie, I wasn't very happy on this rotation. I had no energy at all to do anything but put my time in at the hospital and then go home, veg on the couch, then go to bed, to get up and do the same thing again. To make things even more exciting, I decided to get gastroenteritis! On GI!! It really knocked me off my feet; I couldn't eat properly for two weeks. Despite all of these hardships, I made it through and gained valuable knowledge that I will most definitely use in the future. I am thankful for that.
Currently I am doing Family Medicine. I really like it. Which makes things more confusing for me in regards to my future. I have been thinking, and I really love the continuity and lifestyle of a general practitioner. I may apply to FM as well and perhaps do a OB/GYN fellowship to allow me to do more in my practice. I could gear my practice towards women; it would be cool. Everybody I speak with at the hospital and clinic tell me to do FM, but I seriously could see myself being happy in OB/GYN too! I think it boils down to a lifestyle decision. Time will tell what ends up happening. But now I may apply to both Family Medicine and OB/GYN and see what happens. You never know! :)
Sunday, February 12, 2012
The Future Is Coming
Since I have last posted many things have happened. I ended up having my surgery and I have basically devoted my life to recovering. It has been extremely slow, but hopefully well worth all of the effort. I have yet to notice many differences compared to pre-op, but it is still very early in the game and I assume that things will start to improve quickly. I am though, still on crutches, so I will probably be on crutches when I return back to clerkships next week. I don't plan on this being fun; putting in 11-12 hour days on crutches with a sore hip. I hope that my preceptors are understanding.
Other than recovery, I have been trying to set up fourth year sub-Is for August and September. I am pretty sure that I am going to be setting up to apply for OB/GYN. I am thrilled that I have a semi-plan in place, although there are many, many hoops through which to jump. It is overwhelming at times.
Most recently, I am debating on when exactly to take my Step 2. I have the clinical skills set for August 7th, but the written exam is up in the air. See, I have it scheduled for June 27th. This is early but I thought I would want my scores out in time to submit with my ERAS in September so that residencies will see the scores since I did just about average on my Step 1 and was slightly disappointed with the result. But, this is not set in stone, and I am actually thinking of pushing it back until early-mid September. This a better decision, at least at the moment. I am three months behind the rest of my class due to my two medical leave of absences. If I take Step 2 in June it would be synonymous to my classmates taking it in April. I do not believe that this would be the most ideal situation. As it stands now, taking in September means taking it following several months on intense rotations like surgery, ER, OB/GYN sub-Is. But, it is what it is and I don't have a choice since I am pressed for time due to me having to take so much time off for my surgeries.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Preparing for my Hiatus
Since I have last posted I have finished both OB/GYN as well as Anesthesiology. If you haven't already gathered, I LOVED OB/GYN and seriously considering going into it. Although the lifestyle is rough and it is notorious for the long, hard hours, I can't imagine doing anything else. It was crazy, during my rotation I got up at 4:44 am every day, did 12 hour days, then came home and studied/read until I went to bed around 10:00 pm and still loved it. I didn't ever have to drag myself out of bed or anything. I have yet to feel like this about any other specialty so far. This doesn't mean that I am automatically going to be going into OB/GYN as I still have many different rotations left, but as of now, it is what I love. I would also consider going into Family Medicine since there is a great need for thorough family docs in my area. Only time will tell.
Today was my last day of Anesthesia. Hallelujah! I did not enjoy intubating people AT ALL! I wasn't particularly good at it and didn't enjoy getting yelled at by the anesthesiologists on a regular basis. I was frequently told "you know, the patient isn't breathing!" Ha, go figure! They were just given propofol, succinylcholine, and they aren't breathing!? Imagine that! I understand how important establishing an airway is and I was trying my best. I suppose I just wasn't fast enough for them. Ah well, it is done and over with now!!! :)
So, as of today, I am off for my medical leave until March 1st. I have surgery planned for Thursday Jan. 5th, 2012. It will be great to get all fixed up since trying to do medical school rotations with chronic pain is utterly exhausting. I look forward to the day that I do not need Naprosyn to function during the days, and a muscle relaxant/narcotic to sleep at night. After next week, I will be on my way to a recovery and able to totally focus on my education. Yippee!
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