Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Ok, so my apartment hunt has turned obsessive. I'm at the end (light at the end of the tunnel) but it's been a long crazy road. As my old roommate Mary used to say (a lot) in her droll manner of speech: "Joanna, you're on crack."
So I just have to weigh in town vs just outside, (driving vs biking), whether a pool and gym is important... yes, I'm ridiculous. And I can't wait to move in this weekend.
I finished my OB rotation today, and I think it's amazing how fast the last two weeks passed. Seven deliveries this month, including a breech delivery and two vacuum forcep deliveries; many many surgeries that I observed, including some difficult and some easy ones... hysteroscopies, laparoscopies, total abdominal hysterectomies... someone is even walking around with a tube that I "tied" myself. And I think I improved in skill during this month... though somewhere between apartment obsession and a URI I've had trouble concentrating/answering questions intelligently. (sigh)
I'd definitely seriously consider OB, whether as a specialty or as part of my practice. Up sides: most times it goes well, it's a miraculous part of life and it's special to get to share it, it's daily interesting and challenging, and with a group practice I get time off... Down sides: tough residency, maybe lots of call, when it's bad it can be really bad, and malpractice almost forces you into hospital-based employment.
I've been warning moms about this viral cold for the past month, and after last week's 3am-presentation-prep debacle I knew I was in trouble... what I didn't expect is that it would hit all of a sudden last night right smack in my nose/sinuses... yuck.
Busy weekend coming up... drive to lansing to grayling to traverse again, and unpack pack unpack pack unpack... whew! I look forward to being settled!!
And a last note: I just received a note from my nephew, Lorenzo... it was a Spiderman/Doc Ock valentine with a transfer tattoo of Spiderman!! yippee, I'll wear it friday for my Peds shelf exam. :)
So I just have to weigh in town vs just outside, (driving vs biking), whether a pool and gym is important... yes, I'm ridiculous. And I can't wait to move in this weekend.
I finished my OB rotation today, and I think it's amazing how fast the last two weeks passed. Seven deliveries this month, including a breech delivery and two vacuum forcep deliveries; many many surgeries that I observed, including some difficult and some easy ones... hysteroscopies, laparoscopies, total abdominal hysterectomies... someone is even walking around with a tube that I "tied" myself. And I think I improved in skill during this month... though somewhere between apartment obsession and a URI I've had trouble concentrating/answering questions intelligently. (sigh)
I'd definitely seriously consider OB, whether as a specialty or as part of my practice. Up sides: most times it goes well, it's a miraculous part of life and it's special to get to share it, it's daily interesting and challenging, and with a group practice I get time off... Down sides: tough residency, maybe lots of call, when it's bad it can be really bad, and malpractice almost forces you into hospital-based employment.
I've been warning moms about this viral cold for the past month, and after last week's 3am-presentation-prep debacle I knew I was in trouble... what I didn't expect is that it would hit all of a sudden last night right smack in my nose/sinuses... yuck.
Busy weekend coming up... drive to lansing to grayling to traverse again, and unpack pack unpack pack unpack... whew! I look forward to being settled!!
And a last note: I just received a note from my nephew, Lorenzo... it was a Spiderman/Doc Ock valentine with a transfer tattoo of Spiderman!! yippee, I'll wear it friday for my Peds shelf exam. :)
# posted by Joanna @ 11:40 PM
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Two weeks down, only two weeks to go in my OB rotation here. I'm certainly enjoying it alot. I think that I was kinda nervous the first week, and it was all so new and I was overwhelmed, so people asked me "are you having fun?" and I was somewhat noncommittal about it. I've gotten some more sleep and I'm not so stressed, so now the answer is "HECK YEAH!"
So to sum up the first two weeks: I was present for at least part of 8 deliveries (four and a "half" that I did myself) and have seen lots of moms for OB visits, and many women for PAPs, colposcopies, and annuals. The fetal heart tones is the best part :) This weekend I've been on call, and it was slow friday after the 5:30pm delivery. This morning I got called in mid-dream for a mom in labor, who was moaning and in pain and not dealing well with it, and about 10 minutes after amniotomy suddenly she said "I gotta push I gotta push oh take him out take it out" and she kept squirming up the bed to get away from the pain or something. She was pushing and part of the baby came out, and at first I thought it was a very molded head, then the nurse said, "hey, it's a boy" and "that's a butt" and things made more sense. So the baby was in frank breech (which I learned meant the butt's down, hips flexed, and knees extended, which is the best way for a baby to be if breech). I didn't know what to do and Dr. L stepped in (whew!) and delivered the head. Mom's a lot happier now.
Currently there's another mom in very slow labor on pit, and we just did the amniotomy. But considering her last baby took 36 hours of labor, it might be kinda late. So I'm going home to sleep.
This weekend was also a birthday party in Cedar for Brad and Marco, and it was great fun. About 12 kids running around or in arms, at least 2 pregnant women, and me doing OB and another girl who works as a nurse tech in OB at Munson. Everyone had fun, there was a yummy cake, and Josh, Dominic, Laura, and Brandon played for hours, and by the end we were all dancing :) Good time.
And a big birthday wish to my love, Aaron :) Can't wait to see him again (lucky bum was in LA this weekend on an all-expenses paid law school trip)
So to sum up the first two weeks: I was present for at least part of 8 deliveries (four and a "half" that I did myself) and have seen lots of moms for OB visits, and many women for PAPs, colposcopies, and annuals. The fetal heart tones is the best part :) This weekend I've been on call, and it was slow friday after the 5:30pm delivery. This morning I got called in mid-dream for a mom in labor, who was moaning and in pain and not dealing well with it, and about 10 minutes after amniotomy suddenly she said "I gotta push I gotta push oh take him out take it out" and she kept squirming up the bed to get away from the pain or something. She was pushing and part of the baby came out, and at first I thought it was a very molded head, then the nurse said, "hey, it's a boy" and "that's a butt" and things made more sense. So the baby was in frank breech (which I learned meant the butt's down, hips flexed, and knees extended, which is the best way for a baby to be if breech). I didn't know what to do and Dr. L stepped in (whew!) and delivered the head. Mom's a lot happier now.
Currently there's another mom in very slow labor on pit, and we just did the amniotomy. But considering her last baby took 36 hours of labor, it might be kinda late. So I'm going home to sleep.
This weekend was also a birthday party in Cedar for Brad and Marco, and it was great fun. About 12 kids running around or in arms, at least 2 pregnant women, and me doing OB and another girl who works as a nurse tech in OB at Munson. Everyone had fun, there was a yummy cake, and Josh, Dominic, Laura, and Brandon played for hours, and by the end we were all dancing :) Good time.
And a big birthday wish to my love, Aaron :) Can't wait to see him again (lucky bum was in LA this weekend on an all-expenses paid law school trip)
# posted by Joanna @ 7:07 PM
Friday, February 04, 2005
Today... yesterday... what a long night/day/whatever. I am awake right now but I think if I lie down I could sleep a while. Last night there was a delivery... which I missed b/c I had gone home a half hour too early. Then a call again at 3:45am and I was told not to hurry... and I missed it again (though I did get to deliver the placenta and sew up the perineal tear). A mom's membranes were ruptured, and she later delivered, and in between we saw office patients.
THIS time I was able to be present. Dr. L delivered the head, then I delivered the shoulders and hips-- I learned that you have to get a good grip under the arms because that last push for the hips makes the baby almost jump out of your hands! I delivered the placenta, then sewed up the episiotomy in 3 layers... it took a while, poor mom.
And then Dr. L talked me through a circumcision, which has many many steps and much equipment to keep track of. Though I'm not a huge fan of the concept of circs, I understand that other families want them; so I'll practice and be glad for it. Overall it went well, and I think I can improve the next time I do it.
Random thought for the day: on CNN.com, a story about teaching theater students to speak without their Appalachian accents. One person's reaction: "There's nothing wrong with being able to speak in different accents, but you should above all things hold on to the language you dream in." I like that.
THIS time I was able to be present. Dr. L delivered the head, then I delivered the shoulders and hips-- I learned that you have to get a good grip under the arms because that last push for the hips makes the baby almost jump out of your hands! I delivered the placenta, then sewed up the episiotomy in 3 layers... it took a while, poor mom.
And then Dr. L talked me through a circumcision, which has many many steps and much equipment to keep track of. Though I'm not a huge fan of the concept of circs, I understand that other families want them; so I'll practice and be glad for it. Overall it went well, and I think I can improve the next time I do it.
Random thought for the day: on CNN.com, a story about teaching theater students to speak without their Appalachian accents. One person's reaction: "There's nothing wrong with being able to speak in different accents, but you should above all things hold on to the language you dream in." I like that.
# posted by Joanna @ 2:42 PM
Thursday, February 03, 2005
I'm currently in the Grayling hospital library, taking a little break from reading Danforth's Handbook of Obstetricts and Gynecology, while waiting for a mom upstairs to progress a little bit. Today is day 4 of my OB rotation and I'm enjoying it a whole lot. Monday (Dr. L's surgery day) was busy! First a C-section, then hysteroscopy (from hell), then another (much easier), a exploratory laparoscopy, then a LeFort repair of uterine prolapse with TVT sling of the urethra. PLUS a vaginal delivery somewhere in there. Tuesday was an office half-day. Wednesday was out in Prudenville, and there were many OB visits. I had a lot of fun with those because I was able to talk with the moms, see how things were going (contractions/discharge/pain/fetal movment, other) and measure uterine fundal height (ok so I'm not so good... yet) and check for fetal heart tones... that's my favorite (though I could see having dreams of FHTs after long days of OB visits)
Actually, I did have a dream last night sort of about OB. The beginning of the dream was weird (as usual for me) with some sort of conflict and we were fighting these big metal insect aliens sort of like katydids... but then I was in a room and my "grandfather" (it sort of looked like my mom's dad) was pouring water (acetoacetate solution like in coloposcopies?) on a vagina/uterus and was doing that to predict how healthy that uterus was... and he said that mine was going to be good and I'd have a strong son for him to hold... something like that. WeIrD. (maybe too much OB reading?)
Other than that... enjoying the house I'm renting/borrowing. It's cold (the owner wants to conserve $$ by keeping the heat to 65, and 55 when I'm not home) but it gives me a chance to wear my nice wool sweaters. I've used the hot tub a few times (ahhh) and I'm enjoying having Xap with me... she's getting lots of exercise going up and down stairs. And the dish network has many channels, including "Research Channel" and "Health Education" (with men in suits presenting powerpoint lectures....
Grayling is a nice town. I think I really like it here. Then again, I hope I find a place pretty soon in Traverse, so that I can move all my belongings in before starting at Munson with (dun dun DUN) surgery and 7am-to-7pm hours. Sheesh!
# posted by Joanna @ 8:42 PM
