Monday, October 29, 2018

Intern Year Update: What Month Is It Again?!?!

Random pic of things you run into while in South Philly lol
I've been super busy, making it a while since my last post, but thankfully everything is going great. I'm even happier now than when I first started intern year, and I think I'm finally starting to adjust to my new role. Last week, I finished my fourth month of general surgery, and tomorrow I will be off service for two months while I complete both an Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine rotation. It will definitely be a change in pace as I won't have to wake up at 3 or 4am every day, and I'll have a lot more free time than what I'm used to, but I gladly welcome the change. Plus, I'll be taking my two-day final medical board licensing exam in December and it's officially residency interview season again, so the change will give me time to both travel and study.

When the surgery team runs 10-15 deep
As for surgery life, I truly can't get enough of it! Over the past few months, I've had the opportunity to scrub into some awesome cases, work with wonderful individuals, and every day I am blown away by how much I am not only learning, but actually retaining. When I first started, I could barely remember a patient's name, but now I sometimes surprise myself with how much information I am able to provide about any given patient when asked. I even got to place my first chest tube recently, and ran my first trauma. The past few months have been super fast paced, and it seemed like there was something new every day that gave me the chance to learn and constantly stay on my feet. I won't lie and say that the past few months have been all happiness and smiles, as the hours have been long and the stress levels always high, but even during the rough moments, it's hard not to smile at the fact that I am getting the chance to live my dreams right now.

Love my daughter!
Outside of working and devoting most of my time to taking care of my patients, I've also made sure to continue to make time for my personal well-being. Whether it has been flying to see my daughter during a golden weekend, or going to the movies on a post-call day, I always make a little time each week to do something that makes me happy. It's amazing how one day of normalcy can brighten up an entire week!

Things I do when I have free time
Tomorrow, I start the first day of my emergency medicine month and after my shift I will continue to stay to complete a full twenty-four hours since I am also required to take internal medicine call this month. I haven't even started yet and it's already a drastic change as I had today off (my first non post-call weekday off since starting residency in June!), and I don't begin my shift until 9:30 tomorrow morning. Usually, I've pre-rounded, rounded, and finished up a quick case by that time! Working somewhat regular hours is definitely going to be a huge adjustment for me, and I'm not looking forward to actually having to sit through traffic in the morning, but I'm excited to submerge myself into a different subset of medicine and learn something new.

That pretty much sums up my life for the past couple of months. Nothing too fancy or exciting. Just working and taking time to enjoy the rare moments when I actually get free time. Since I won't be working super crazy hours over the next couple of months, I plan on posting a bit more, so if there's anything you want me to write about, feel free to let me know. Otherwise, I hope everyone reading this has a fantastic week!




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