Internet Dysplasia

Ah Yes, Medical School This is a fun blog I found. I can actually relate. Scary.

So I ranked this program and they ranked me. Neither of us matched (NRMP mistake?). By some "twist of fate" as some put it (I prefer - "Act of God"), I was able to get in contact with the program director and get one of two unmatched spaces before they even knew what hit them. If I had to do it all over again, I would have been more prepared. I was thrilled when my top choice program had openings. I interviewed there, I spent a month long visiting rotation there, so as long as they still liked me, I should have no problem getting in - if, of course I can get past the voicemail... Then I had the bright idea to find the number and call the program director directly. BINGO. I have matched on Scramble day in less than an hour. I was going to write tips and such, but I found a phenomenal wealth of information just by googling "residency scramble 2007" (should have done this yesterday... duh) What I did learn and would do different if this was all a dream ...

I have had the supreme privilege of working alongside a 3rd year student during my MICU rotation. I havent quite figured this person out. I think she is sharp, but I just cant figure out how she can see three ICU patients in 15 minutes and be totally up to date and ready to present. The only possible way would be to Only read the nursing notes, have the nurse tell you everything they know, only glance at the labs that got printed and placed on the chart, and Not examine the patient. The part that really really annoys me though is that this person gets away with it! The plan is to talk about nothing and skillfully avoid any pimping. I have picked up on this bs-ing during rounds. Whenever the attending asks about a lab, she never knows and grabs the chart. Whenever the attending mentions a lab, CT, CXR whatever she agrees, but I can see in her eyes she has no clue. Whatever, I tried giving her some tips, but she will slack her way through another rotation. At some point this w...

Found a great site. Now at least I know Im not the only one. http://upalumni.org/medschool My ICU patient I have been following had a Hemoglobin of 10.1 this morning, not particularly up or down than it has been. Here the guy has blood hanging. The weekend doc ordered two units to be transfused. Now even I know better than that. At least my patients hemoglobin is a shining 14.1 now. "Better is the enemy of good"

I was speaking with some classmates about things it would be helpful to know that no one ever tells you. 1. When to apply and look for away rotations: Early Early Early. As soon as you have any inkling of an idea what you want to do with the rest of your life. The away rotation has a few roles. You get to experience a program you are interested in, the program gets a preview of what an awesome resident you will be, it can also be a source of some recommendation letters. Places like Mayo clinic have a lengthy application process: including personal statement, letters of recommendation and even immunization records. The earlier you start,the sooner you can go. Some places have deadlines and some merely say 4 weeks before you plan to start. 2. How to schedule your 4 th year. No one tells you anything about 3rd year, why would 4 th year be any different? When the deadline comes to submit your schedule, at least schedule your acting internships - those are the hardest to change l...

This week has been interesting. It hasnt been much of an "acting internship" but I have learned a lot. I've been watching 4 patients and for being so overwhelmingly complicated, that is plenty. Hmm, I dont know what else to say really

David E. Rogers Fellowship Program: The David E. Rogers Fellowship Program is a national fellowship for medical and dental students in support of a project initiated during the summer between the first and second years of medical or dental school. Up to twenty-five fellowships of approximately $3,500 will be awarded. The Fellowship is meant to enrich the educational experiences of students through projects that couple medicine and dentistry with the needs of underserved or disadvantaged patients or populations. Click HERE for More information . This could be a very reasonable project for an interested UND student. The website has examples of previous fellows and it looks like any reasonable research question related to the underserved has potential. In addition, there is a group called the NORTHERN VALLEY DENTAL HEALTH COALITION. They have been working on providing a dental clinic to the underserved here in Grand Forks. For an interested Student, this could be an exciting opportuni...

This patient is a 68 year old male whose chief complaint is "My left cheek has a 'pins and needles' sensation and I have L ear pain, decreased hearing and bleeding from my ear" Approximately 3 days ago, the patient noticed some vesicles on his chin, which coalesced then scabbed. He also noted a 'pins and needles' sensation on his left cheek, in the V3 distribution, and then extending to his ear and into the external auditory canal. Late this evening he describes a worsening of the sensation in his Left ear as well as hearing loss and bleeding. He denies fever, chills, vertigo, lightheadedness, tinnitus, eye pain, or discharge. He had chickenpox as a child. Physical exam: Vitals: No fever, Pulse, respirations and blood pressure are wnl Skin: There is a diffuse papular rash extending from the left chin onto his cheek and along the mandible, into the ear. There is a 2 cm in diameter crusted area on his left chin. There is a single vesicle on the left side...

I don't know what that means, but I wrote it in my notes. :) Looking through the notes, here are some key points you should not forget: Prostaglandins and the COX pathway Helpful articles: Physiology and pharmacology of the liver (Part 1) Physiology and pharmacology of the liver (Part 2) I will add more later.

This afternoon was interesting to me. Block 2 really gets us learning about different cultures and diversity in general. A more subtle point is that of assumptions. We saw that in a patient earlier in the block whose skin was 'black' but whose ancestry was equally Scottish and Carribbean. His point was well taken - the medical field is very focused on numbers and statistics (if you hadn't noticed) - however there needs to be a proper balance of integrating that information and applying it to our patients. When you get a patient in your exam room, no matter what they look like, you need to get an idea of who they are and what they value. Is culture even important to them at all? Some 'white' people are very into their Norweigian culture, there are European professors on campus who are white but have very different cultures because they are not American. Alternatively, there are some people who claim their Native American roots, but know nothing about their cu...

Here is a presentation I recently put together. Cardiovascular physiology review .... I also put it on your S: drive in the "Hey Jen" folder. My main references were Guyton & Hall and Costanzo, however www.cvphysiology.com seems to be an excellent resource as well.

Here is a fantastic website for heart and vessel embryology. I highly recommend the Aortic Arch and the Fetal vs. Postnatal circulation. Cardiovascular Embryology

Here are some loan programs for applying to residency. Just in case you need extra help with the costs of traveling to interviews, moving to your program, etc. The maximum loan amount is 15,000 and can be given in multiple disbursements. Details can be found on this document: Residency Program Loans CitiAssist: www.studentloan.com MedCap-X-tra: www.wellsfargo.com/student Med Achiever: www.key.com/educate/grad Access Group: www.accessgroup.org MEDLOANS: www.aamc.org/students/medloans/students/medex.htm MEDFUNDS: www.medfunds.com MEDPREFERRED: www.medpreferred.com

Contributed by a fellow student doctor: "The web address below connects to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network(NCCN) Treatment Guideline Database. NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology The three links at the top of the page are the most useful: the top connects to cancers by location within the body, the middle to screening guidelines, and the bottom to principles of supportive care. The information found at the"cancer by body site" link includes appropriate workup (e.g., laboratory and radiological tests, referrals) and treatment (e.g., surgery, chemo, radiation), as well as information on staging/grading and tumor biology/natural course/epidemiology/etc. This database will likely be useful for LOs during the first and second years,and for "not ANOTHER pimp question on cancer...why me?" preparation during years three and four. Plus, it's all the essentials of cancer (which is good stuff to know) organized in one location and frequently update...

Compliments of a fellow student doctor: "For those of you continually vexed by acid-base disorders, the following article is CRYSTAL -GOLDEN - almost VARI-LIKE. Haber RJ. A practical approach to acid-base disorders. West J Med 1991 Aug;155(2):146-51 I've also attached a website link and acid-base worksheet in hopes that it will allow you more "fun" and less "pain in the ass" studying. " Acid Base Website Acid Base Worksheet

Dr. Allen has put together a collection of articles for this rotation. He has a notebook in his office that is more comprehensive, however you can access most of them online at WWW.UNDMEDLIBRARY.ORG on the E-Reserves Page. You can get the password from Dr. Allen. (the course name is the password). There are some great articles on Chest pain, CHF, Diabetes, Colon Cancer, Breast cancer screening, delirium, hypercholesterolemia... everything you would expect from an internist. I have also added the link to the list on the right side of my page under third year medicine rotation. I hope somebody will find this useful.

Clinical Cases and Images - Blog : " to participate " Interesting blog with sample cases and heathcare blog news.

Check out the side bar of my blog! I added a list of websites that I found useful throughout my first and second year, USMLE study, and also clinical rotations. Please feel free to suggest more sites that you found useful as well. If there is anything else you would like to see, please ask away.

Maybe this isnt so important yet, but start thinking about some research ideas for your Epidemiology project. During rotations, think of questions you have had that may be answered by a research project. Ask the physicians you are working with for ideas or input on your ideas. Ask easy questions that dont involve any subjectivity. For the project, it is ideal to have a partner. Not only can you get more done, you have someone to help develop your ideas as well as critique your writing before the final product is due. You are encouraged to conduct local research (ND or Midwest). You are allowed to use chart reviews (usually from the hospital you are currently at) or Datasets that have already been collected such as the North Dakota Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System (PRAMS) , Birth Certificate data, or data collected from the National Resource Center on Native American Aging (UND Medical School). I did my research project on breastfeeding using the ND PRAMS survey. I used ...