Earlier this week, I forgot my bike helmet when I left the hospital. There I stood outside the hospital, looking at my bike, trying to decide whether I should go back upstairs to get my helmet or just bike home without it. I was tired and really, really wanted to just go home. But I turned around and went upstairs to get my helmet.
On the elevator ride back down, the elevator stopped at the surgery floor. A man about my age limped inside the elevator. He had a black eye, his mouth was swollen on one side, and he was leaning on a single crutch. He looked down at my helmet and said, "Smart choice. A car hit me a month ago. They had to take out two feet of my small intestine, and I banged my head pretty good."
"Were you wearing a helmet?" I asked, a stupid question because I already knew the answer.
"No."
The elevator doors opened to the ground floor. I thanked the man for sharing with me and wished him a speedy recovery. Then I walked away on two good legs, carrying an atraumatic head on my shoulders, thankful that I decided to go back upstairs for my helmet.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
Recognition
I went out to a wine bar this evening to celebrate the end of my Internal Medicine sub-internship. As I was looking around for a table, a woman sitting at a table behind me said, "Excuse me, are you a doctor?" She was holding a baby.
My first thought: "Oh no, is she going to ask me for medical advice?" My second thought: "Hmm, she looks familiar." I said no, I'm not a doctor.
"Are you a doctor in training?"
"Yes..."
"You delivered my baby. In fact you caught him."
I took a closer look at the woman, then at her husband sitting across the table from her, and I suddenly remembered them. I did indeed care for her when I worked on Labor and Delivery, and I did indeed catch her baby. I even cut his umbilical cord. And there he was, sitting in his mother's lap peacefully sucking away at a bottle, a healthy two-month-old boy.
"Can I see him?" I ooohed and ahhhed and ogled over this little boy who I helped bring into this world. I said my congratulations to the lucky parents, thanked them for recognizing me and saying hi, then I sat down at my table, glowing.
Finishing my Medicine sub-internship today felt pretty awesome, but this moment by far made my day.
Later in the evening, the waitress came over to say, "Your glass of chardonnay is on the little baby boy at that table." I smiled and raised my glass to them from across the room to say thank you. And I almost cried.
My first thought: "Oh no, is she going to ask me for medical advice?" My second thought: "Hmm, she looks familiar." I said no, I'm not a doctor.
"Are you a doctor in training?"
"Yes..."
"You delivered my baby. In fact you caught him."
I took a closer look at the woman, then at her husband sitting across the table from her, and I suddenly remembered them. I did indeed care for her when I worked on Labor and Delivery, and I did indeed catch her baby. I even cut his umbilical cord. And there he was, sitting in his mother's lap peacefully sucking away at a bottle, a healthy two-month-old boy.
"Can I see him?" I ooohed and ahhhed and ogled over this little boy who I helped bring into this world. I said my congratulations to the lucky parents, thanked them for recognizing me and saying hi, then I sat down at my table, glowing.
Finishing my Medicine sub-internship today felt pretty awesome, but this moment by far made my day.
Later in the evening, the waitress came over to say, "Your glass of chardonnay is on the little baby boy at that table." I smiled and raised my glass to them from across the room to say thank you. And I almost cried.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Medicine sub-internship at Denver Health
I start my Internal Medicine sub-internship tomorrow morning. I decided to do my medicine sub-internship at Denver Health for two main reasons:
First, as a county hospital, Denver Health is the safety net for disadvantaged people who have slipped through the cracks of our broken healthcare system. Such a patient population almost by definition includes a high proportion of people with drug addictions, cognitive impairment, psychotic illnesses, and many other psychiatric comorbidities.
Second, since I also completed my psychiatry sub-internship at Denver Health, this will allow me to more directly compare my psychiatry and medicine sub-internship experiences. Will I enjoy this medicine sub-internship as much as I enjoyed psychiatry? How will this medicine sub-internship influence my feelings about applying to combined medicine/psychiatry residency programs?
While I expect that my plans won't change much as a result of my medicine sub-internship, the possibility remains that two months of back-to-back psychiatry and medicine may clarify which field I'm more passionate about.
First, as a county hospital, Denver Health is the safety net for disadvantaged people who have slipped through the cracks of our broken healthcare system. Such a patient population almost by definition includes a high proportion of people with drug addictions, cognitive impairment, psychotic illnesses, and many other psychiatric comorbidities.
Second, since I also completed my psychiatry sub-internship at Denver Health, this will allow me to more directly compare my psychiatry and medicine sub-internship experiences. Will I enjoy this medicine sub-internship as much as I enjoyed psychiatry? How will this medicine sub-internship influence my feelings about applying to combined medicine/psychiatry residency programs?
While I expect that my plans won't change much as a result of my medicine sub-internship, the possibility remains that two months of back-to-back psychiatry and medicine may clarify which field I'm more passionate about.
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