Scribbles

Comfortable for whom? What does it mean for the family gathered all around the room as they watch the patriarch snoring peacefully, knowing that this sleep might be the penultimate one. CMO is not for them. But how do you comfort them? Is it comfortable for them to wonder if every breathless apnea is the … Continue reading CMO

I'm a sucker for compliments, even if they are undeserved. You take out an NGT out of a patient - something an M1 could do - and you're a goddamn national treasure. You put in a tube to decompress a stomach or prevent aspiration - and you get a glaring wariness for days on days. … Continue reading Softie

I have ways to go in intern year - suturing, NGTs, antibiotics, etc - but I have started to slip into a rhythm in the day to day of intern life. Which is good. Comfort is good, or at least it feels good. But the steep learning curve of Vascular and Colorectal that forced me … Continue reading Plateau

I had to go to tell the patient's SO that the patient was doing well. It was an emergency surgery and from the 1-liner I had gotten from my senior, this sounded like a disaster case. Honestly, when they opened the patient up, it looked like it would be a disaster case. But in between … Continue reading Premature

And now I can't seem to miss. Two perfectly placed tubes. Smooth. Sailing. Right? Except when things go wrong, they don't always keep going wrong. And when things go right, they sometimes go left instead. It pays not to be too volatile. I was going to write about doing other people's job and finding empathy … Continue reading NGT vol 2

There's nothing incidental about sharing an incidental finding. There's no easy or casual "Oh by the way, there's something on your kidney." I tried that. It didn't quite work. My preface to "not freak out" was not taken in the stride I had hoped. "Do you understand what I am telling you?" He nods. Good. … Continue reading Incidentaloma

Last night, when I was half working, half joking around at the nurses station, the topic came to the quality of the residents these past few months. I know people like to rag on others and tribe mentality is a thing. Plus, I liked many of these nurses, so I mentally and verbally excused myself … Continue reading Shame, part 2