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Category Archives: Life

"I already thought it was what I wanted: to be loved and admired. Now I think perhaps I'd like to be known." Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah

Waste Time Properly

“You should take a holiday. Leave the books aside for a time. If we do not run away occasionally, we will never be at home.” “Hey, that’s deep!” “If we do not waste time properly, nothing will be accomplished.” Island of the World, Michael D. O’Brien

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March 25, 2017

Let’s Visit a Friend!

Guest blog post today!

How did I become a surgeon? The answer is in my guest post on #LifeofaMedStudent! Check it out and let me know what you think. For more great content and information for medical trainees of all stages, follow my friend and host on Twitter: @LifeofMedstudnt

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January 13, 2017
"And your desire for exultation is really a damaged longing for the transcendent." Island of the World, Michael D. O'Brien

Not a Routine Procedure

for your patient or their family

A week ago Thursday, my mom texted me between my cases. We chatted for a bit about the family and then she told me that she was at urgent care. My baby brother, 9-year-old M, had just started football practice on Monday and came home with a headache and nausea. On Wednesday, he spent most of the night vomiting. On Thursday, he felt worse, and said his stomach hurt,…

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August 29, 2016

Burnout and I

6 ways to reduce burnout in residency

Based on the stream of articles and essays, many of us experience burnout at some point. In my personal experience, burnout gradually deranged my emotions and wreaked havoc on my mental clarity throughout residency. Over the first three years of residency, my empathy waned. Residency became what I told myself it could never be: brutal work instead of a calling. 

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August 17, 2016
No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. John Donne

Loss

Today we celebrated the lives of the Pals family. You can learn more about them and their vision at Jamison Pals’s blog, For the Joy of Japan, and the Pals Family Foundation.

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August 6, 2016

The Perils of Dating In Medicine

Why I'm Single?

Me:

”Looking forward to meeting you tonight! I hope you’re having a great day!.”

Me:

 “I’m done at work – I’m going to go home and change. 8:30 at [redacted] still work for you?”

Him:

 “Ya, that will work perfect.”

Me:

 “I am so so so sorry – I just heard from the ER and I might have to do surgery on somebody. I’m going to the ER right now. I’d hate for you to get to [redacted] and wait. This is not me blowing you off, though I know it probably sounds like it. Any chance we could try for tomorrow?”

Him:

“It’s no big deal… BTW if you ever did want to blow someone off, you literally have the best excuse.”

And the worst part is:

I had emergency cases two nights in a row and had to cancel plans twice with the same guy, before leaving town for a week.

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August 3, 2016