Tuesday, April 27, 2010

4/27 - thoughts, updates

  • I wonder how many of the blogs that have been created on blogspot have a post that was created in the past month? 20%? 10%? It's a difficult thing to get in the habit of doing, though I'm still shooting for twice a month.
  • My goal of running a marathon may need to be put on hold...my right knee started hurting about a week and a half ago and has not improved with rest.
  • We get our initial schedule for 4th year this week. More to come...
  • I'm halfway through my psychiatry rotation, and it's going well. I'll be working in a hospital in Houston for the next 3 weeks seeing inpatients (patients who voluntarily sought help with a problem like depression/bipolar disorder or were hospitalized against there will as they were deemed to be a danger to themselves, or others).
  • I hope the Mavs can push this playoff series to game 7.
  • Hearing "HI DADDY!" from Kyle never gets old, especially when the enthusiasm in his eyes exceeds the enthusiasm in his voice.
  • Courtney is a great mom, and I couldn't do it without her: Love you, Courtney!
  • Many of the sick patients I see share a number of characteristics: obesity, smoking, hypertension, low socioeconomic status, and chaotic families / home life. Family seems to be particularly important in the development of many of the problems I am seeing in psychiatry. What a blessing to have such a great family! What a shame that there are so many without.

Monday, April 12, 2010

family time






We're enjoying the great weather here in Houston -- it's been in the 70's - 80's for the past few days. Both kids love being outside. Kyle absolutely loves playing in our cars, going for walks, and playing with his jumbo dump truck. Brynn loves being carried by Courtney, and watching Kyle get into trouble. We also gave Kyle his first home haircut. Five minutes in the tub with my hair clippers, lots of tears, and a popsicle later and Kyle emerged a new man!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

before 30

A few personal goals I have written down to accomplish before I celebrate the big 30:

-Run a half marathon. I'm deciding between a marathon on 5/15 vs one 5/30, giving me about 6 - 8 weeks to train. I've run 7 miles so far this week, and need to run 6 this weekend to stay on track.
-Drop 10lbs from my weight on Jan 1st. I'm only 2 pounds away thanks to Courtney and her Weight Watchers cooking.
-Finish out my 3rd year of medical school
-Last, but not least I need to have a specialty picked out.


Sunday, April 4, 2010

on residency

Thought I'd take a shot at answering some questions you may have about residency.

What is a residency?
  • Residency is required after medical school in order to become a licensed physician who can practice medicine independently. It represents a training period in which recently graduating doctors can practice under the supervision of licensed physicians.
What is an intern?
  • 1st year residents are referred to as interns
How long is residency?
  • It depends on the specialty, but ranges from 2 - 6 years. (6 years for some surgical specialties).
What are the work hours during residency?
  • The maximum allowed is 80/week. My experience from observing our residents is that many do work this many hours, especially during the 1st year.
What is the application process like?
  • It is very similar to the process of applying to medical school. You submit an application consisting of a mission statement/essay, your medical school academic record with standardized test scores. After an initial screening process, they invite you for an interview process. Afterwards, there is a "match" process whereby schools and applicants alike rate their applicant and school preferences. This information is used to assign applicants to existing residency slots. Each year around 15,000 US students apply for around 16,000 residency slots.

school progress

I am more than halfway through my third year of medical school. I've completed the following clinical rotations this year:
-Pediatrics
-Surgery
-Anesthesiology elective
-Internal Medicine

Here are the rotations remaining during this year:
-Psychiatry
-Ob/Gyn
-Family Medicine


Things on the horizon beyond this year:

  • Year 4 scheduling. I will need to take the following courses: Senior surgery, Emergency medicine, neurology, 5 electives of my choosing, and what is referred to as an "acting internship". I have submitted my preferences, schedules will be revealed at the end of this month.
  • I will need to take my USMLE step 2 exam (united states medical licensing exam). This is a standardized test that all medical students must take before residency. It is a 370 question that will take a full day to take. There is also a "practical" component" where we will encounter actors, or "standardized patients" portraying various clinical scenarios; we will be videotaped and evaluated on our clinical competency. Target date: July
  • Putting together my application for residency. The two main features here will be a mission statement, and a "CV" which details my medical education and experience to date. 1st draft target date: Mid June. Applications accepted beginning in November.
  • Residency interviews. November '10 - January '11
  • Choosing a specialty. I would like to decide this by June. I promise to discuss this more in the future


getting started

If I were to ask you how much essay writing were involved in medical school, what would be your guess? If you'd asked me that question before I started school, I would have guessed just one...the essay on my entrance application. The truth is, I've written 10 or so during my 1st three years (mostly relating to medical ethics). Each time an essay is assigned I have the following reactions:

1) Surprise. Are we really being asked to write an essay in medical school?
2) Denial/Procrastination. I immediately pass all aspects associated with the assignment out of my mind, except for a general idea about when I need to start worrying about it again.
3) Concern. I'm in a crunch, I've waited until the end of the class/rotation, and now need to prepare for an exam and write a paper.
4) Surprise.
5) Brainstorming without writing. This usually takes about two days. I try to collect my thoughts and determine the general idea of what I am going to try to say.
6) Writing and frustration. This takes at least 3 hours longer than I anticipate; and at least 60% of that time is spent typing and deleting a series of horrible introductory statements.
7) Excitement. Done!

Getting started is the hardest part of any project, and I suppose it should be no different with starting a blog. I'm starting this in an effort to better communicate with family and friends, particularly as it relates to me and medical school. I've never enjoyed talking about myself, but I'm going to give it a shot here. My goal is to post something twice a month, but it is entirely possible that will not happen every month (please forgive me if it does not). I'm looking forward to getting started and seeing where this goes.

(I started typing this post at 7:30, and it is now 9:20. See 6 above)