I Made It!

Tuesday I took my general surgery exam which means I'm doooooone with gen surg!!! :-D I missed blogging so much...

Anyway, all-in-all it was not bad at all. Granted the hours were redic (I am NOT going to miss that 4:30AM start time), I absolutely loved my patients, our residents were cool, the attendings were all great teachers, and I saw some AH-MA-ZING things.

I really gained a new-found respect for Riley on this rotation. I already knew it was considered a tertiary care center for Indiana, but until you see how many families and physicians statewide bring/refer their kids to Riley so that they can have the best of the best care, you can't fully understand what that means. It is so impressive and I am honored to be able to learn from all the great doctors here.

Oh, and everything I was nervous about because I am preggers didn't happen. Like:
- I didn't pass out during long surgeries.
- I didn't need to eat every hour on the hour.
- Long days on my feet didn't induce contractions...just swollen feet lol
- The attendings/fellows/residents were all super understanding if I did need to sit down for a moment during the longer cases and didn't get upset about it.

Here are some of the past 5 week's highlights:
- My first full day on service, I had an 8 hour procedure: choledochal cyst excision
- My second week I had a 5 hour Whipple procedure
- I spent some time in the NICU
- I did some routine things like hernia repairs, circumcisions, port placements and removals.
- I had my first overnight calls - i.e. 5PM-7AM in the hospital (basically 5AM-7AM on a week day)

It was all very cool :-)

Yesterday I had my OB orientation and tonight is my first day on night float (i.e. 5pm-8am shifts)!! And not a moment too soon, look at all this BELLY!

My attire for the last 5 weeks: Scrubs + Bump 

Headed to church for Resurrection Sunday (24 weeks)

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In other news....

Pumpkin was on spring break for the last two weeks of my surgery rotation, and I missed him so much. It's like he got bigger and more mature while he was gone... I can't take it! Now all three musketeers are back in the mix of things...

In other, other news... last week we got the assignments for our three required clerkships for fourth year. I'm so geeked! My preliminary outline of my year will look like this:

June: Elective - SubI in what I want to go into
July: Elective/Give Birth - Something low key would be good here...lol
August: Vacation month with baby
September: Radiology
October: Medicine SubI
November: Elective/Interviews/Maybe Vacation Month
December: Elective/Interviews/Maybe Vacation Month
January: Elective/Interviews
February: Emergency Medicine
March: Elective
April: Elective
May: Graduation!!!!

Okay, hope that wasn't too many updates. I am so happy to be back! Hope you all have a great day! I need to get back in bed so I can be fully functional to deliver babies all night ;-)

P.S. GO BLUE!!! So proud of how our boys did this year!!!

In Case You Don't Hear from Me in a While...

Sometimes we just have to encourage ourselves...
Photo Credit: Pinterest

Don't worry, because I'm fine. I'm just on my general surgery rotation....

We got our assignments on Friday, and starting Wednesday, I will be on pediatric surgery for the next five weeks. This particular rotation has been notorious for being one of the most grueling, mentally exhausting, and nerve wracking rotations due to the high stress level and short tempers of staff.

I have been mentally preparing myself for this seeing as the rumor is if you get a subspecialty rotation as wonderful as ENT, you usually end up with a polar opposite for general surgery (insert Peds Surg).

Photo Credit: Pinterest

I asked some of my friends who have been on the rotation this year if they had any advice and one person responded with: "...Just remember you can't win so don't get mad at yourself if they get mad at you. Just remember, they get mad about everything...Stay positive!"

:Le SIGH:

Today, I felt myself getting a tad bit nervous because of all the unknown, but I realize I need to keep that in check. I'm supposed to "be anxious about nothing", right? Yesterday, at church he talked about having courage to trust God in all areas of your life, and it couldn't have come at a better time. I am totally giving this rotation to God and I know that it will all work out for my good. Third year thus far has been amazing and all of my rotations while with-child have been completed without any setbacks. I am going to lean on faith and expect the best despite what the situation looks like. I pray that His light shines through me as I complete my general surgery rotation.

Rounds start at 5:30AM so I have to be in the hospital pre-rounding on my patients by 4:30AM. It sounds like my days will end around 4:30/5PM, and that will be phenomenal because I can still pick up the little before aftercare shuts down at 6. See, that's already something to be thankful for!

I can do ALL things....

20 Week Belly!

Side-note, I'm officially 20 weeks pregnant today! I cannot believe how fast things are going by! So much to do!!! I think it's time to cave and buy some real maternity pants...I've been holding on with the belly band and/or untucked shirt with undone top button for two weeks now and it's starting to get a little uncomfortable...LOL

Many thanks as always for keeping me in your prayers! It is working!!

xoxo

Reflecting on My Clerkship Experience: Outpatient Pediatrics

Another rotation down as of this morning! We are already one third of the way through third year!!

From the AAMC Careers in Medicine Clinical Evaluation 

1. Name and Location of Clinical Rotation: I got a chance to work around the city in a number of general pediatrics offices: 

• Blackburn Health Complex - through the county hospital Wishard
• Wishard Primary Care Center Pediatrics Scheduled Clinic
• Wishard Primary Care Center Pediatrics Urgent Care Clinic
• Wishard Primary Care Center Adolescent Clinic
• Riley Children's Hospital Developmental Clinic
• Riley Children's Hospital Emergency Room 

I really enjoyed working with all of the pediatricians I met the past two months. They were all so friendly, willing to teach, and encouraging. I feel like I learned so much!

2. What did I like most about this specialty? 
Working with children was a lot of fun. It was also great to feel like I really helped parents get through everyday illnesses/injuries confident that their child would pull through and be back to normal in no time.

I also really enjoyed working in the teenage clinic and helping young adults become more knowledgable of and accountable for their own health and well being. I also loved encouraging them as they shared their plans for the future/adulthood. 

3. What did I like least about this specialty? 
Just like with inpatient pediatrics, it was hard for me to see kids that were not doing so well - whether it was health or social issues - I hurt for the kids that I could not do more for. 

4. Did this clinical rotation give me a good sense of what practice in this specialty would be like?
I think I got a broad snapshot of what practicing outpatient community pediatrics would be like. 

5. Did my interests, values, skills and/or personality "fit" with this specialty? If yes, in what way did they "fit"? If no, why might they not be compatible? 
I think that I have great communication and interpersonal skills that would help tremendously as a pediatrician. I also think that being a parent really helped me to be effective in answering questions that other parents had about their child's health/development. I was also very comfortable relating to the teens and able to build rapport in order to talk about some of the more "sensitive" topics like sex, alcohol, and drug use. 

6. What are the possible practice settings for specialists in this field? Which of these settings interest me and do I know enough about them?

• Community Clinic - Scheduled or Urgent Care
• Emergency Room 
• Educational Setting

7. What information do I still need to find out about this specialty? 
I am more interested in learning about the combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics program. 

8. Has my perception of this specialty changed based on my clinical rotation experience?
Not really, I always knew I would like working with children :-) 

9. Did my clinical rotation experience influence the likelihood of choosing a career in this specialty? If yes, how did it influence me?
Although I do not think I would like to solely practice pediatrics, I know that I would miss having children and teens as patients if I was to just focus on adult medicine. 

10. Right now, on a scale of 1-10, how interested am I in this specialty as a career option?
I would say a 5 because I know that I would like to have pediatrics as a part of my practice but just not completely. 

11. Other comments or reflections about this rotation or specialty: 
Here are some of my favorite memories from this specialty/baby doc milestones...

• I gave someone a flu shot!
• I did a few strep throat swabs!
• I diagnosed things correctly!
• I spoke (although very rusty) Spanish to some patients and they complimented my speech!
• I got teenagers to open up to me about their personal lives, and parents to take me seriously as a even though they initially rolled their eyes when I introduced myself as "Jasmine the medical student". 
• When my own child was feeling under the weather this month, I knew exactly what to do and impressed his pediatrician with my astute clinical skills ;-) 

Reflecting on My Clerkship Experience: Inpatient Pediatrics

From the AAMC Careers in Medicine Clinical Evaluation 

1. Name and Location of Clinical Rotation: 

Pediatric Pulmonary at Riley Children's Hospital

2. What did I like most about this specialty? 

The residents and attendings were all very personable and helpful. After seeing so much asthma and cystic fibrosis I have learned a lot about how to make an appropriate assessment and plan on those patients - i.e. I feel more like a real doctor!

3. What did I like least about this specialty?

It really tugged at my heart to see kids alone in their rooms with no parents around. Also, learning of all the non-medical issues that prevented the kids from having a normal, stress-free childhood - like parental neglect, abuse, homelessness - but feeling so limited on what I could do for those families.

4. Did this clinical rotation give me a good sense of what practice in this specialty would be like? 

Not really, we spent the majority of our time with the residents and I am told that you cannot base things on what the residents are doing because their schedule is not indicative of an attending's schedule. Also, we didn't get to see the outpatient aspect of Pulmonology, which is a completely different experience than inpatient medicine.

5. Did my interests, values, skills and/or personality "fit" with this specialty? If yes, in what way did they "fit"? If no, why might they not be compatible? 

Going into this, I definitely had an interest in pulmonary medicine. I think that I have a good personality for Pediatrics, but I am not sure if "all lungs, all the time" is a good fit for me.

Also, to specialize in pulmonary, I would have to do an additional fellowship after a 3 year pediatrics residency. I don't think I want to be in training another 6 years after getting my MD.

Finally, being on call frequently is definitely something I would have a difficult time with when I am finally practicing medicine. My time with family is a HUGE priority to me and I want to find a specialty that would allow me to have that without feeling like a burden on my colleagues.

6. What are the possible practice settings for specialists in this field? Which of these settings interest me and do I know enough about them?
- Outpatient Clinic
- Inpatient Wards
- Academic Settings

Since I only got to see the inpatient side of things, I can't really say which setting I would like more. 

7. What information do I still need to find out about this specialty? 
I would like to learn more about the outpatient side of things and how much free time most physicians have who practice on the inpatient side of pediatrics. 

8. Has my perception of this specialty changed based on my clinical rotation experience? 

I still think pulmonary medicine is interesting, but I am not sure if pulmonary peds is for me.

9. Did my clinical rotation experience influence the likelihood of choosing a career in this specialty? If yes, how did it influence me? 

Yes, it confirmed that I do really enjoy working with children, but I do not want to only work with children - which was a huge reason why I liked Family Medicine so much. However, I do like the idea of specializing and being an expert in a particular thing, versus being familiar with a ton of different things like in Family Medicine.

10. Right now, on a scale of 1-10, how interested am I in this specialty as a career option? 3

11. Other comments or reflections about this rotation or specialty: 
I really enjoyed my time with the adolescent population of patients. I am really looking forward to my time in the Adolescent Clinic during my outpatient Pediatrics month!