Heal Thyself

I'm an Ob-Gyn. Many women (rightly or wrongly) come to me for their only care. I am a specialist, but we'll let that one point slide for now.

I'm like my patients. Getting older, a pound or two heavier each year. I can chart it. It's depressing.

So what do I tell my patients : Exercise. Eat right. Do the preventative stuff.

I decided to start walking the walk (so to speak, it's more like biking the bike, but you get the picture). I've even started lifting weights.

And I'm down a few pounds. My arms look a little bit better, more toned.

Hope it helps.

WTF?

If you admitted for severe abdominal pain, you are OK to be discharged if your nurse catches you in the shower "soaping up" with your boyfriend.

WTF?

Gripes

1. If YOU page ME to a phone number, I had better not get your god-damned voicemail. I just hang-up, since it's obvious it's not important enough for you to talk to me. I may or may not try to call again in 10 minutes.

2. If you come to me to establish as a patient since your previous doctor retired...and you tell the secretary that the purpose of your visit is to renew your meds...and you didn't bother to get records...you better damn well KNOW YOUR MEDICINES AND THE DOSES!

grrrrr.

TV I Love

I don't watch a lot of TV. No time. But I love (in no particular order):

1. Mythbusters. Dude, they blow STUFF UP. How cool is that?

2. Project Runway. I don't care about fashion. I can't sew fabric (but my skin incisions look beautiful - shoulda done plastics!). But I find the process of creativity interesting. Plus, nutty artists = angsty entertainment! And I don't care if Tim Gunn is gay, he's too cool. Carry on!

3. Scrubs. Where else on TV can you find a show that is hysterically funny one moment and the next moment seriously depict religion within America? Few other shows will even say the word abortion, yet the main character and his pregnant girlfriend seriously debated about one. And well, all of us docs have a Dr. Perry Cox in our past. I just started watching the reruns on Comedy Central.

4. I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I love to watch The People's Court and other shows of that ilk. But the only time I do is during my vacations, since they are on during the daytime. WHEN NORMAL PEOPLE WORK! I can feel my IQ falling when I watch them, almost enough for me to call ITT Technical Institute. ;)

5. Ice Road Truckers. It blows my mind that there are people insane enough to drive a bigrig on a frozen lake! Enjoy your bling and think of these men.
ER's Mom
Runway has a new episode on tonight...

Thinking outside of the, um, box

When I was a senior resident, we had several memorable bad interns. One, in particular, stands out. She was foreign and although she spoke wonderful "Queen's English", she was hopeless at interpreting the slang of the clinic population.

So she goes into a room to take care of a patient. "What is the matter?"

"My box hurts."

"Please explain." (no, I am NOT making up this conversation!)

"My box hurts."

"What is this box that you are speaking of?"

I'm doubled over and crying by now because this is too damn funny. I can't look at the nurse in the room with us (I was in the room to supervise the intern because the attending was tied up and the nurse was in there to help us get stuff out/labeled/etc).

She washed out of the program...communication is important, even if only about boxes. ;)

Tired

Too many babies, too many catastrophes, too much call. I'm in a 3 person practice - we want about 35 deliveries/month total. So far for December : 20 deliveries for me alone. And the month is only half done.

And I still have to see patients during the day and operate.

My next vacation can't come soon enough. It's hard to be nice when you're tired. Right now, I'm faking being interested in my patients, because I'm too tired to BE interested. I fall asleep eating supper with the family...if I'm there.

So women, take pity on your OB-Gyns...it's a tough life.
ER's Mom

Another birth, another death...

My DD loves the Lion King's soundtrack. Listens to it almost daily. What chokes me up is the opening song, Circle of Life (as sung in the movie not Elton John's version).

Every new infant who falls into my hands will eventually die. It is a fact of life. Some are dead when I first touch them, their grieving parents never to hear them cry, but instead are crying themselves. My most recent stillbirth, the mother brought in the child's baby book for me to look through during her postpartum visit. The only people smiling in the pictures are the nurses and me.

Some never even make it to that stage, instead the mother passes what we call POC's, never even acknowledging the fact that this is someone's baby. These parents grieve deeply as well.

There isn't anything taught on handling these situations in med school or residency. So we flop through, trying to say the right things. I cry with them, hug them, pass the Kleenex. They seem to appreciate it, but I'm still not sure it helps.

Then I go home and kiss E&R.
ER's Mom