Scrubs Episode 2: My First Month

Hola todos,

Well, I have emerged from a month of q4 overnight call on VA wards. What has this first month brought? My attendings, co-intern, and senior resident were great. I felt like I had a lot of autonomy but enough back-up , too. My third day, though, my senior and attending weren't in the hospital, and my first patient that I had admitted died of sepsis. I had to pronounce the patient, call the coroner, call the organ donation office so they could prepare the patient's eyes for potenital corneal transplant, and talk to the family all by myself, including asking for an autopsy. The family had flown in from all over the country. They thanked me for all my help, which was kind of humbling...I really was THE doctor in that situation! Other highlights/lowlights of this month: putting in a central line (internal jugular) using ultrasound guidance; pushing IV metoprolol and diltiazem on the floor because my patient was in rapid atrial fibrillation with blood pressure in the 80s; and handing down a new diagnosis of AIDS to one of my patients. I worked over 80 hours every week that month; one week I put in over a 100 hours...so much for work hour restrictions.

I still feel that I have had a more balanced life so far than during much of undergrad and medical school. This past week I went to a Colorado Rockies game with a group of my co-interns. Yesterday, Lauren, another intern, and I drove 3 1/2 hours to the Great Sand Dunes National Park down towards New Mexico, by the Sangre de Cristo Mountatins (see above). It was amazing...if you turned your back to the mountains, it looked as if you had been transported to Egypt! We climbed the High Dune, which was 800 feet tall. People brought sleds and snowboards on the dunes, too! They also had "dune chairs" for disabled people, which were wheelchairs modified with thick wheels that could more easily traverse the sand. Then we waded around in a sandy creek right in front of the dunes...

Lauren exposed me to an Asian thing today. We went to Lollicups, which has these slushy drinks with tapioca balls on the bottom. Sounds disgusting, but I got a passion fruit slushy, and it was delicious. We went to WALL-E today, too. I'm telling you, I think the secret is making the most of your days off. My first vacation week is this coming week, and I am so excited. Talk to you guys later!