CMB = Done

Sweetness.  Exam went ok I think, so hopefully I'm in the clear.  Now on to HSF.

Mmmmmmm bacon.

2 more days...

Exams are killing me.  Why did I think this would be fun?!  I mean, I find the medically pertinent material fascinating, but I can't wait to move on to HSF.  Careful what I wish for, right?  But I think anatomy lab and such will be inifinitely more interesting than memorizing cellular signalling pathways.

On the plus side, someone complemented me by saying he always pictures my medical work as being about like this:

And... a few other things of genius I would like to add:

And finally, in light of our upcoming exam:

And a sample of my awesome note taking!

Updates and more updates

It has been some time since I updated this blog.  I figured I'd at least give an excuse, which comes in the form of "Blogger was blocked in China while I was living in Beijing".  That said, I have now returned to the US and am now attending medical school.  The lowly MA becomes the.... even more lowly Med Student.  But at least I have being an intern to look forward to.... wait a minute!  Can I just retire now?

As such, (no longer being an MA), the direction of this blog is going to change, and will more likely be covering such banal trivalties as how much I hate a lecture method practiced by teacher X, or how I can't believe intern Y managed to pass the MLE's.  One can hope I might find some more interesting things to post, but time will be the judge of that.

ED Stories, vol. 3

Last week I picked up a rather interesting phone call. Pt described himself as a male in his late 20's who was curious if we could treat him. What did he need to be seen for? After a little rhetoric with him saying "a problem", he finally conceded that he had taken several viagra tabs from his father, and used them all at once to impress his girlfriend. We sent him to the ER. God only knows how that gets treated....

What man has seen the viagra and cialis commericals and not been TERRIFIED by that brief little fine print/afterthought they mention in the side effects? "Seek immediate medical attention if you experience an erection lasting for 4 hours or more." When I hear something like that... lets just say I would do everything in my power to avoid such a situation. Overdosing on an ED medication is probably NOT the best way to avoid the side effects.

Bzzzzzz!

Not a long detailed post here today, but I saw something remarkable. A 32ish y/o male, working on a flooring project, sawed the back of his index finger from the base of the nail up to the knuckle by the hand essentially splitting it in two. Despite this, there was no major vascular damage, and all tendons were intact. 17 sutures later, and he was on his way home. This was the largest number of sutures the medical director had put into a patients finger before without having to repair tendons or arteries. And of course, like all good laceration patients, he came in about 10 minutes before we would normally close the clinic.

ED Stories, vol. 2

Today, waiting for a new chart, I overheard a gem from reception. A middle-aged man walked in, and when asked why he needed to be seen, he gave the following response.

"I need someone to screen me for ED."

I'm used to seeing patients at the office for treatment of ED... namely in the form of more Viagra. However, screening for ED? Technically I'm sure he was referring to the bloodwork panels to check thyroid levels, testosterone levels, blood chemistry, etc. But instantly I found myself envisioning the medical director showing him pornography. As my friend put it, a porn assay.

"And now? What do you think of this one? Any reaction? No? How about lesbian porn? Does that do it for you? STILL no? Well, then it's clear, you have ED. It's science."