If only I were single again.....

... ha ha. Just kidding!!! I would never wish that! :)

But I did meet a very eligible Bachelor yesterday on the Davis 7 Pediatrics Ward. Not that I would have recognized this guy anywhere for I don't even have cable, but all the nurses were buzzing about "The Bachelor" being on the floor, going around kissing babies and whatnot. He came by, introduced himself, etc., and shook my hand! :)

I didn't even know his name but apparently he (Andy Baldwin), a U.S. Lieutenant and fellow M.D., works at the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in D.C. (hey! close to my parents!!) and has his own website.

Who knew?? :)

He does have nice teeth, I must say.

See! Sacramento is so worth visiting! And working all the time on hospital floors lets you meet famous people!!!.... riiiiiiight.

Precious last weekend.... and nearly NOT an intern anymore!!!

I had a wonderful last weekend, before my 20-day-stretch of days of work/rounding started Monday (I'm 4 days in! 16 more to go!).

Saturday, we had a family medicine bbq/games afternoon at the house (and nearby park) of Kristin, one of the (true) interns. I wish I'd taken more pictures (Brenden was the big photographer), but our afternoon on the 100+ degree day (this is September, people!!!! Ah, how I am much more at home in CA...) included some good old intern-vs-resident softball (even though I suck big-time at softball, we managed to beat the 'terns in the 3-inning game) and basketball (the court must have been 120 degrees!). There was also great grilled food, guitar-hero playing, and fellowship enjoyed by all. Here are some pics (all candid! Hope they're not too boring!).

Love this picture of Brenden, caught when he didn't know I was snapping!
Alvin jams away on the guitar at Rock Band, while Kristin takes the drums...The others watch and wish they were as good... The great outdoors (don't you love that sky color??? It's what Sacramento is all about!)
Jeremy, Brian, and Phi (who got slightly burned... guess which girl scored in his face a few times in a row? ;))

Playing HORSE... er.. or OX, for the sake of time...
(Alvin, Brenden, Kristin's head)
I wanted to take this little yorkie, Clover, home with me!! (But Shomir wouldn't have anything of it!)
Aww..... how could you not want this little cutie in your home??!?!

On Sunday (even though Shom was post-24 hour call), he was a trooper and we headed to church. He has a darn good excuse for being sleepy, but I couldn't help but posting this one very good blackmail-worthy pic taken by Darina during the sermon... (... and there are more incriminating ones saved on my computer!)

We then had a yummy lunch of Dim Sum at the best place in Sac, New Canton, which is just a few blocks from my house.

Me and Darina waiting for the table... (this is a popular place!)
The group (from left: Alvin, Darina, Adam, me, and Shomir)

We rested a bit in the afternoon and then went tandem kayaking at the Lake Natomas Aquatic Center! It was a great time-- fun to be on the water and (phew) we didn't flip! Thanks to Darina for all of these pics!

Adam and Darina

Shom and me...
.... doing what we like to do best...

Doesn't that look relaxing?? It was a glorious weekend which unfortunately had to come to an end with the return of Monday, the first of my 20-day stretch (can you tell that I'm a wee bit nervous and peeved about this?) of labor.

But, on the bright side, as I write this, I am only 3 days away from being done with peds wards which is, I might add, quite a good rotation, but, more importantly, my LAST rotation of intern year (well, inpatient that is. I still haven't done Sports Med 1, which is a chill couple of outpatient weeks I'll knock out of the way in Feb. But I don't think that counts and will thus ignore it and declare myself done :))!!! I have tomorrow, then Saturday-Sunday 30 hour call to work (you won't catch me being able to even make it to church). Then I get to sleep a bit before going back onto OB as a TRUE R2 from now on!!!! I'm tempted to throw myself a little graduation party! That is, if I have a free hour to do so. Don't expect much blogging for the next few weeks, that's all I have to say! :)

The two sides

I'm currently on the tail end of the first week of my 2-week rotation (last of my intern rotations!) on Peds Wards. It's quite interesting because, although I don't really enjoy hospital medicine or really pediatrics all that much, it's been quite a nice week. Although painful at times because of all the scut work, it's kind of nice at times to be in the "intern" role because you have much less responsibility and don't look stupid for asking your superiors for help! I can claim to not know anything about kids and then look smart if I do bust out with some appropriate developmental milestone or miraculously correct drug dose (I do admit that I'm getting sick of doing all the math with mgs per kg drug dosing, cc/kg urine output, etc. though). But back to why it's pretty cush... maybe it's because it tends to be easier to deal with the medical (and usually more limited) problems of these little ones compared to the old geezers (say, at the VA where we do a lot of medicine) who have accumulated 80 years of disastrous medical issues (even though some of these kids have a lot of complex stuff going on). Maybe it's because morning exams and rounding takes less time because there is less body surface area to examine. Maybe I'm swayed by the schedule-- which starts at 6 a.m. but, if you are not on "long call" (meaning admitting during the day), can end with sign out as early as 4 p.m.! I can not say that I have ever on any other inpatient rotation walked out of the hospital before 6 p.m. The extra few hours per day are much appreciated! I've taken more naps this week than I think I did all of last year!

I even have this weekend off (this makes 3 in a row, which has been the most I have had since my 1st month of intern year when I started on gyn!), although I pay for it by being on Saturday weekend call for peds next weekend, followed by OB Saturday call the following weekend and OB Friday call the weekend after that which makes 20 days in a row on and rounding. Yuck. There is definitely a balance. I almost got down (and very lonely!) last weekend because I think I had too much time on my hands that I wasn't used to but I do really think 1 day off per week is kind of necessary!

Continuing to speak of days off-- I found out this week that, when I'm on my peds urgent care rotation in November, I get Thanksgiving and the subsequent 3 days off!!!!!! I can't believe this gift! I'm trying to see if I can meet up with my parents (who will be coming out in October anyway- yeah!) and Grandma in MN like last year.

And then-- (I must have done something really good to deserve this)-- although I am on 24 hour call on (Wednesday) Christmas Eve, I have gotten a clinic break and don't have to go back to work until the following Monday so I have basically 4 days off then, too! I CAN'T BELIEVE MY LUCK. Although I'm probably on call every day in 2009 to make up for this good fortune, I think it's worth it. :)

So enough of residency talk.

As for sides of recently-read books... two thumbs up for Marley and Me (John Grogan) and The Last Promise (by Richard Paul Evans, who is almost as sappy as Nicholas Sparks). Pass on The Almost Moon (Alice Sebold) and Lipstick Jungle (Candace Bushnell). Next is Lost and Found (Carolyn Parkhurst). (Rachel, I keep trying to request your authors/get them from the library but they're always checked out!! Maybe by the time we leave for Belize...)

And as far as 2 sides of things go.... have you all been watching the campaign coverage?

Let's just say that Shomir and I don't disagree on very many things, nor do I discuss much politics on this blog, but we tend to disagree on:

1. Whether dogs should be allowed inside the house

2. Whether playing "Call of Duty"/(Xbox) is a worthwhile use of precious free hours in residency

3. What constitutes a "good movie"

and

4. Which political party and candidate should be in our presidential office come November because the other party is insane.

I have never donated to a national campaign before... but there is a first time for everything and here is a very subtle picture of my preference...




And let me end by this post by wishing my little sis a very happy birthday (big 24!!)! She is far away in Denmark (it is 101 here and probably 51 degrees there) but I'm sure she'll be celebrating in style!!! (here's a pic of her in COLD water I stole from her blog)

Olympic Smiles

Yes, even though they are over, I am still re-living The Games.

You have GOT to read this absolutely HILARIOUS article, "Raising the Stakes" by Joel Stein published in Time.

Visit Laura's blog for a funny illustration about Phelps.

Visit Vanessa's blog for a Phelpsian comparison.


Just do it :)

Current events...

Currently on:

Outpatient pediatrics!!! It is so awesome. It is amazing to work 8-5 (or even 4:30 occasionally!, 5 days a week) instead of 5-8 (6 days a week). This is actually a new rotation, as last year as interns, my fellow classmates did a whole month of inpatient pediatric wards. Now the interns (yes, I'm still doing "intern" rotations-- this my last, though!) do 2 weeks on inpatient (which I start in a week) and 2 weeks of this outpatient stuff. Did I mention that it rocks?? I've spent a couple mornings at Kaiser- in the autism clinic at Rancho Cordova and the general peds clinic in Davis, a day with the lactation consultants and an additional 1/2 day at WIC, learning everything one ever wanted to know about breastfeeding, and then at a few half days of FP clinic. I even had a morning designated for reading, which is great (I'm still a big nerd and love to devour my American Academy of Family Physician, Journal of Family Practice, and Green Journal of OBGYN journals when they come in...). I have had time to album-ize all the photos I've taken this year (!), get some errands done, eat lunch outside in the California sunshine, and go to the gym, which has been totally rejuvenating. Why can't life always be like this?

I've also had time to do some reading! On Wendi's recommendation, I'm currently reading and thoroughly enjoying John Grogan's Marley and Me. It is utterly amazing that people could have the energy to put up with such a rambunctious character (makes Scrubs look like an angel!). If you're a dog lover, this is extremely humorous and a very entertaining read.

Currently planning:

A trip to Central America!!! Last week, Shomir and I bought tickets to fly to Belize for our vacation in October. I've been browsing the Lonely Planet guides to set up an itinerary, but in addition to exploring Belize and relaxing on the beach in Ambergris Caye, we want to try to hit the Mayan Ruins of Tikal in eastern Guatemala (another country to the list!). Darina is giving us some recommendations of places to stay and highlights (I'm already set on cave tubing and visiting some wildlife refuges). We are then flying from Belize to Boston (visiting Shomir's sister and nieces, and hoping to meet up with Tia/Rob and Nicole/Bay) before flying back to Sac. I can't wait! This trip will be the light at the end of the tunnel of a every-weekend-call-filled September and October for both of us.

Doesn't this look marvelous?? :)

Other recent events:

Although it was my first weekend off in months, I was called on Friday night (I guess it would be early Saturday a.m.) around 2 a.m. because one of my FP continuity patients was in triage for SROM (breaking her water). I had built a great relationship with her in the past year, her coming to see me as she was trying to get pregnant, and then for all of her prenatal visits, and so I loyally went in to admit her and settle her in. She ended up progressing very slowly (she was also on magnesium for preeclampsia)-- I had to put in a foley bulb to help her dilate, an IUPC to assess the adequacy of her contractions, and she was on pitocin for about 12 hours. All day, the OB chief was anxious to have me just "call it" and do a c-section because of her slow progress, but I just couldn't give up that she would do this "naturally" (vaginally) even though, exhausted, I, too, just wanted the baby to come out so we could all get some rest. After lots of praying ("please, please, please, be more than 7 cm this check"), when I went to check her around 5:30 p.m., she was completely dilated and ready to push. Once the attending got there from where she lives in Davis to supervise, she pushed like a champ and, at 1854, 20 hours after SROM, she had in her arms her beautiful baby boy. Despite my frustration at the slowness of the labor and being cooped up in the hospital for half of a rare and precious "golden weekend," hearing that baby cry and seeing her become a mom made it all worth it!!!! I walked across the street to Shomir's just in time to eat some dinner and promptly fall asleep in front of the TV with Olympics on, which has been my pattern this whole week.

Today, Shomir and I went to church with Darina and her friend Adam from LA and had a yummy lunch at Crepeville (pictures courtesy of Darina, on whom I can always count to whip out her camera before I even remember to document the events for the blogs-- thanks!!)

I'm looking fwd to the Olympic Closing Ceremony tonight (I missed the what I hear was spectacular opening ceremony!). While I will definitely lament not having the sports on anymore and at being able to watch the heroic comebacks and unbelievable performances these games, I am actually relieved. As I've written before, obsessive Olympics-watching is really not very compatible with residency hours! If I felt like (on this outpatient rotation) I had a lot of free time before, I'm going to almost be BORED now, without that 4+ hours of ritualistic primetime Olympics-viewing every night :)

Hope everyone has a great week! I know I will! Yay for outpatient medicine!!!!!

Busy month for births!

Whew.

While I have really enjoyed this month on Newborn and now feel much more comfortable dealing with the little ones, it has been pretty hectic. Tuesday was a busy day on the OB side when I think they had something like 10 C-sections over a 24 hour period... which meant that all of those moms and babies had to be dealt with and rounded on daily for (generally) a good three days... Of course, there were also normal vaginal deliveries on top of that so that our newborn census by Friday was something like 23 babies... We tried to discharge about 12 of them, but some had issues with feeding/jaundice/fever/OB complications and, sadly, despite running around like crazy people all day, trying to coordinate discharges and arrange follow ups, we had new admits all day and our census was about the same! I was doing some diabetes log updating this afternoon and saw the list of 24 currently. Although Bob, who has been my co-intern this month, tends to have the "black cloud," I only wonder how many people I will have to see when I walk in tomorrow a.m. But at least it is the last day! I rememer that August was such a busy month last year too, when I was an intern trying to figure out how to juggle all the tasks on Labor and Delivery! I have to wonder what everyone is doing in November to make August such a busy month for birthdays ;) !!!





So, with respect to birthdays:
Happy Birthday, Nicole! (today is her big day and it was great to talk to her although she is separated from her hubby who is on call in Boston).

Also Happy Birthday to Kate, who's *real* bday is today, although a bunch of us residents celebrated with her and Lefty at a bbq last night (sorry, no pics).

Happy Belated birthday to Lesley (the 13th).

Phi's "Baskin Robbins" birthday was last Saturday the 9th, when we got together for Thai takeout, cake, and Olympics-watching at Shomir's place (note that the Christmas tree from the Christmas-in-July party is still up!)

This expression cracks me up :)

Noelle, Jeremy, and Shomir look on while Michelle deals with the dessert.

Happy Birthday to Molly (Monday the 18th) who seems to be liking Surgery in Salt Lake City despite being yelled at by mean surgeons from time-to-time.

Happy 17th birthday to Natasha later this month although I can't remember what date.

Other news:

• It was so great to see Hans and Rachel last weekend! They stopped by here on their way back to the Sac airport from their stellar honeymoon in Tahoe, and Shomir and I were very lucky to get treated to breakfast. Unfortunately, the picture I'm trying to hijack from Rachel's blog isn't uploading correctly, so you'll have to visit her blog for a pic (and beautiful shots from Tahoe).
• I am totally obsessed with the Olympics. I have stayed up until 12 or 1 most nights this week to watch the finals (why do they have to taunt us w/ the swimming so late?!) and then, every morning going in, wonder "What was I thinking?!" And this is all on Shomir's giant TV. I cannot believe Michael Phelps.
• My sister Vanessa started a blog! She moved to Denmark this past week for 6 months to work at OSCE, an international policy organization, and will surely provide amusing updates from Copenhagen.
• After I finish newborn tomorrow, I go to OUTPATIENT peds! I'm so excited! I also will only have 2 more "real" weeks of intern rotations to complete (peds wards later in Sept) before officially being a second year :)

Recommendations .... (?)

• That residency give me more time off so that I can blog in more elaborate posts than just a few sentences.
• The movie Mamma Mia if you: 1. are a girl, 2. like ABBA (Dad, you would hate this movie!) 3. enjoy watching people break into random song and dance and 4. are up for a cheesy flick (Amy, Kate, and I saw this on Friday)
• Pampering oneself once in a while... Tired of having aching feet every day I have worked in residency, today I bought myself a foot massager from Target. I am using it as I type and love it!
• That you check out Shomir's bilitool if you ever want to know what to do with a jaundiced neonate. It is soooo helpful to decide how to manage the daily transcutaneous bilirubins we get on the babies in the nursery.
• That you come to visit me in Sacramento. Hans and Rachel may swing by here next Saturday on their way back from their honeymoon in Tahoe (they fly in and out of Sac), but I won't see them for more than a couple of hours for breakfast, most likely.

and, from you:

• Book recs? I start an outpatient (yay!!!!) rotation in 2 weeks and am looking forward to (I hope) have time to do some pleasure reading. I will try to get some library books and need some recommendations.
• Travel recs. Shomir and I think we're going to try to go to Guatemala/Belize as well as Boston to visit his sister and family during our first vacation block (Oct 18- Nov. 1) and I need some recommendations of specific places to go to plan the itinerary.