q4 call, q7 posts

Sorry for the mini-absence. It's been kind of busy! I do have to say, however, that MICU time does pass quickly with the q4 call schedule! Two weeks (well, and one day) and I am OFF for vacation!!

Last Monday, the first call night where I had to carry the pager, was about as busy as a call night could be with 10 (!!!!) ICU admits, a near-record. Although it was quite tricky to answer all the cross-cover calls on what ballooned to a 46-patient or something service, I (on the "team that has it easy") was blessed to have both another intern to split them with (no, Hans, I, unlike you, am not superhuman and could not physically do that all!) as well as a great senior who took one of them himself. Some firsts for the night: anoscopy to evaluate for a source of GI bleeding (this little bedside funnel-thingie.... I'd never used one until then!) and pronouncing death in a patient who I had never seen before... very difficult and moving. Similarly sad was learning, this past Friday (our next call, where I again took the pager but which was just BORING in comparison), that one of the patients I'd recently transferred to the floor died the next day in the hallway in his second (this hospitalization) cardiac arrest. I was really shaken. Despite feeling more comfortable with the ICU setting, this is one of the many reasons I don't particularly enjoy ICU medicine. I cannot handle deaths.

On a lighter note, are some pics from some recent fun outings.

Shomir and me at Second Saturday last weekend

Bowling (which I still suck at):

Anika and Din Hai

Shomir, Alvin, me and Din Hai

Crocker Art Museum in Sac, where we went on Thursday-- I was trying very hard to take an arsty picture of this mirror exhibit

Then, today, as I had it off, Amy and I took off for a mini day trip to Berkeley (East Bay- around 75 min. from here) and a movie in SF. Berkeley was cool! I'd never been there, but it is home to CAL and has a very hippie feel... Amy and I walked around a bunch, visiting some quirky shops and then going to eat at Cafe Gratitude, a restaurant that specializes in Raw food which, from what I understand, proposes that the best food for you is that which has not been cooked over a certain temperature... The menu was interesting (all items had names like "I am triumphant" or "I am peaceful"-- very "granola,") but the food-- the sushi bowl I had and the enchilada Amy had (which I definitely tried)-- was great! I also tried some almond milk with my organic tea and we did break down and split some raw carrot cake, which was yummy and quite healthy, too!

The Spirit of Berkeley

"I am grateful"

I am grateful for dessert

Amy and I then headed just a bit further west to hit San Francisco to see The Business of Being Born, a documentary (only playing in select cities) recommended to me by my advisor, which discussed many aspects of the birth process and which really raised great points about doing it the "natural" way with midwives and home-births. Although that may put me out of a job, I really took many points home and think I'm going to try to seek out some exposure to labor in these settings, as I think we truly are too aggressive and interventionalistic in our hospital setting and in medicalizing something which is truly, most times, very uncomplicated.

In any case, we are back in Sac now (I still can't get over how close SF is!) but, as there is no MLK day off for me, I should head to bed. Good night! Until next time...