The Adventures of the Future Dr Cara

So, on May 15th, I officially became a physician. It's amazing to think that four years have passed since the creation of this blog, and while I wasn't able to write as often as I would have liked, I'm glad I had a chance to document my adventure, and share it with everyone. I'm also thankful for the awesome friends I made here on Spaces, although most have moved on to Blogger and other networks (not that I blame them.)

I'm not sure what I will do with this blog now... Maybe I'll keep it, or maybe I'll move to other blogging pastures. What's known for sure is this - while this adventure has come to an end, my residency training is proving to be the beginning of a new one!

ALBERT LEA, Minn. - Two teenage girls who worked at a nursing home have been charged with abuse, accused of taunting, spitting on and groping the breasts and genitals of residents who suffered from Alzheimer's disease and other dementia disorders.

According to the criminal complaint, filed Monday, 19-year-old Brianna Broitzman and 18-year-old Ashton Larson laughed earlier this year as they spat in residents' mouths, poked and grabbed them, and at times mocked them until they screamed.

Broitzman and Larson worked as part-time aides at the home

Broitzman and Larson are charged with assault, abuse of a vulnerable adult by a caregiver, abuse of a vulnerable adult with sexual contact, disorderly conduct and failing to report suspected maltreatment. All are gross misdemeanors.

If found guilty, Broitzman and Larson "most likely will face suspended jail sentences and probation, so they'd have the threat of jail hanging over them if they get in more trouble," Freeborn County Attorney Craig Nelson told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis.

	Psychiatry: Psych was excellent. Had a great preceptor who loved to teach and had a great sense of humor. Spent the mornings on the inpatient lock-down ward, and the afternoons in a private clinic. Got to go to court and watch a conservatorship hearing (at the same time Britney was having her psych melt-downs, but that wasn't the case I saw.) Interesting, and fantastic experience.
	Infectious Disease: excellent, had great preceptors who trained in third world countries and had stories that would make just about anyone want to be like "bubble boy." For my end of rotation presentation, I gave a 30 minute talk on Mycobacterium Avium Complex, and quoted the heck out of one of my personal heroes through all the research she's done. (Gwen, if you're reading, I read all your papers! I'll bring my PowerPoint for you to critique next time I am in Denver!)
	Internal Medicine: 28 days of masochism. After the first week, I figured that having a battery acid GI prep would be more fun. 30hour call every four days. Egos that rivaled the surgeons. I counted every day down until the end. On the schedule, it should have just read, "Abandon all hope, ye who rotate here."
	Pediatrics: LOVED Peds! Seriously considered doing Peds, and would have if I hadn't already arranged to do a bunch of family med "audition" rotations, and couldn't swing any for Peds. Pediatricians are about the coolest docs out there.
	OB-GYN: Luckily, I had some great preceptors, and while any rotation at a county hospital is wicked hard, I got to see a LOT of pathology, scrubbed in on some cool gyn surgery cases, and actually delivered some babies. Yep. Me, on the business end telling the patients, "You're doing great! Get ready to push!" while they yelled obscenities at their husbands and the nurses. And for the record, anyone who says that childbirth is beautiful hasn't been on the business end. I mean, seriously, nothing beautiful about it. Not a single thing. Worked with some awesome midwives that taught me some interesting things about deliveries. Became a "Pap Queen".
(Pretend there is a picture of a rash here. Really. It's ok. They all look the same anyway....)	Derm: 3 days a week, in San Diego county. 70 degrees every day I was there. The good news is that the rotation was almost all pathology, and none of that microdermabrasion/Botox/Restylane crap. The bad news was that I spent almost every minute of my patient contact time shadowing. However, I can spot an actinic keratosis at 50 yards.
	Family med x2: One site was so excellently outstanding. I worked my butt off, had my own clinic patients, got to do some outpatient surgery, was a camera operator on some endoscopies and colonoscopies, spent a day at a rural clinic. I fell in love with that site. The other was ok - had some great preceptors, and free food. The commute was hell.
	NICU: At county, had two fantastic preceptors. Had fun playing with the premies, got to see some interesting pathology, including a rare trisomy. There are reasons that those little buggers need to bake for 40 weeks. Learned the difference between "Cute" and "Precious" (hint, the latter is reserved for the "not-cute" babies.) Got to play in the newborn nursery with the fully-baked kids and thought, "my god, these 7-pounders are HUGE!"
Research: A nice, laid-back month. Recruited test subjects, gathered data, found a great bakery down the block that makes organic curry bread.	Mmmm... curry bread....
	Currently: on radiology. Have an excellent preceptor - he started medical school in his 30s as well, loves to teach, and has a crazy-busy rads practice a few miles away from home. Great hours, even better teaching. Oh, and got to spend a day with a radiation oncologist. They have cool toys.

On the horizon:

	EM. Yeah. Sounds... fun.... At least the hours are good. Otherwise, the ED is like being a sorter for the postal service - sort the patients, decide to admit and call the inpatient team to take over, or send them out the door.
	Ortho Surg. 12 hour clinic days. Only one day a week in the OR. Broken fingers, broken ribs, broken femurs and tibias. Disarticulated joints where bone is replaced with metal and screws, and the OR looks like the tool isle at Home Depot. And I'll spend all month trying to figure out why ortho guys are a bunch of moose. (Seriously. I can't figure out why the people who are attracted to ortho are over 6 feet tall, and over 200 lbs... they are GIANTS!!)
	Pain management: joint injections, pain med injections. Sticking people with needles...
	The great unknown. I haven't decided on my last rotation. I mean, it's the last month of my medical school career. Should I go out with a bang on a butt-busting whirlwind of medicine, or rest on my laurels, and take it easy? I'll have to decide soon...

Now, let me state something - surgery is very interesting... to watch. But. let's face it, I'm a clinician, and a primary care one at that. I like talking to patients, remidning them to watch their blood sugar levels, fussing over their blood pressure. I am not a surgeon. I lack the surgeon personality, and I don't like fixing a patient and never seeing them again. And, frankly, I'm quite miserable with 12 hour days and 30 hour on-calls. Thank heavens there are those who answer the call to the OR, but me? No thanks. I'm counting down the days to the end of this rotation.

In other news, we have a new addition it the family.

Introducing Miss Ailsa Lilly:

I forgot how nice it is to have a Scottie around the house. I also forgot how much of a pain housebreaking is. Oh well. Now I have three happy tails wagging when I come home from the OR everyday. It's worth it. And since we have the new pup, and being the high tech family we are, of course all the "kids" have their own webpages:

And for our Dearly departed girl:

Eric tagged me for a meme, I'll try and get it done tomorrow when I get home. And thanks to everyone who keeps leaving me notes. I wish I had more time to blog and blogwalk. I miss that.

(Not really a picture of Fred. Fred's much better looking, and cooler. This is probably Fred's twin, Scott. Scott's the model, but Fred's the smart one...)