Ob/Gyn, Picking a Specialty, Burnout, and other medically realated things. 8:25 AM

My Ob/Gyn rotation began Monday of last week with this pitting feeling in my stomach that I was headed back to a "let's get up at 4 in the morning" specialty thus robbing me of the precious free time that pathology provided. Oddly enough, I don't mind this as much as the dreaded general surgery rotation.

For starters there aren't 40+ patients on our service, there's 3. Yep 3. Now when my senior tells me I need to "round on all my patients before signout at 7" I laugh to myself. No more blistering rounds in the morning with a team of 10 people roaming the halls for 2 hours. Now when I examine the patients, I can actually spend time writing notes or talking with the nurse about their nights. I'm not reduced to a myriad of abbreviations (PERRLA, EOMI, RRR No M/G/R, CTAB, NT/ND, +BS).

So this situation is creating a strange feeling that I haven't felt in a long time...enjoyment. Of all the specialties in medicine, I thought I had surely ruled out Ob/Gyn from the get go. Perhaps it was all the jokes my friends would make, or the highly litigious nature of the field. But if my experience is an indication Ob Gyn would provide: A nice mix of surgery and clinic, semi-regular start and end times (right now I start at 6 and get home at 6), and all around friendly residents and physicians.

Could it be that I found a specialty that I really enjoy?

At this point anything to help fight the burnout that resulted from 8 weeks of general surgery will be greatly appreciated. While I loved the OR time I got, I came home completely drained with no interest in reading up on my patients. If anything, my contempt grew for the routine complaints, and found myself having trouble empathizing. These are not desirable traits to have as a doctor and a decent human being.

So yes, any experience that reaffirms my interests is indeed a welcome change. Let's hope this keeps up for awhile.

Incongruent 7:40 AM

Here's how the Fort Hood shooter profiles are summed up by two different news outlets:

New York Times: 

"But Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the 39-year-old man accused of Thursday’s mass shooting at Fort Hood, Tex., began having second thoughts about a military career a few years ago after other soldiers harassed him for being a Muslim, he told relatives in Virginia."

“His parents didn’t want him to go into the military,” Mr. Hasan said. “He said, ‘No, I was born and raised here, I’m going to do my duty to the country.’ ”

Fox News:

"He was sort of a loner and kept to himself," Lee told Fox News. "He didn't socialize a lot with officers off duty or on duty."

"He said maybe Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressor," retired Col. Terry Lee told Fox News. "At first we thought he meant help the armed forces, but apparently that wasn't the case."

There you go.  Either he was a hard working patriotic physician who was mortified at the idea of combat or he was a loner with a single minded agenda to rise up against the Muslim oppressors. 

Reporting stinks.  







 

Groan... 7:54 PM

The City of Chicago has decided to downsize its christmas tree this year due to cost.

You've got to be kidding me.

I'm glad that the ubiquitous symbol of merriment and joy needs downsizing. The last thing that people need these days is a giant symbol of happiness in their lives. Hell, let's just stop celebrating the whole thing, that would save TONS of money. God forbid we save a few hundred thousand by cutting wasteful city jobs, or getting rid of some alderman all together who might as well be wiping their butts with taxpayer money.

The whole situation is like a big pathetic metaphor for this city. We've been spending, spending, spending on bigger and better things, only to realize that we've got nothing left to spend. We need to reign in spending alright, but I think these initial efforts might be a little misguided.