"she's a hyper little bird"

Evidently these are the words that my attending spoke about me yesterday as I stepped ran off the elevator. I think it was a compliment?

It was a busy day and we had just finished rounding for the morning when I saw my dear patient's husband (from IM-TSS elective 2 months back) standing in the elevator bank.  CC was one of my FP (favorite patients) and she was on the service the entire time I was a student.  Over the course of the month I got to know her and her husband well. CC is dying and due to a very messed-up health care system will likely spend the rest of her life in the hospital... She was admitted in December so it has already been months despite the fact that a SNF or Rehab Hospital would be much better for her and her family.... They are not ready for Hospice and due to her health conditions would require around the clock nursing services and a hospital bed to go home which her family is unable to provide. She even has "good" insurance but has been denied from 17 different facilities (at last count). I can't even begin to explain how mad this makes me. She sits in the hospital trying not to die from something iatrogenic while we wait for emergency Medical to be approved so that maybe we can find placement. Anyhow, it has been almost two months since she was "my" patient but I still stop by and see her occasionally and check up on her. And I hadn't seen her husband in awhile and wanted to check in with him. So I jumped off the elevator and my attending turned to the other student to discuss my behavior.

But back to Cardiology. I am starting to enjoy the service more now that I only have 8 days left! And it has been busy which I much prefer to the alternative of sitting in the library waiting for my pager to go off. Better just to run around all day and see 11 consults (3 of them solo and before 10am) and be called a "hyper little bird" then to do nothing or pretend to study EKG arrhythmias in the library while not-so-secretly wishing I was anywhere else. Yesterday was busy, but good.

This morning I am reflecting on a number of things but mainly I am just trying to be appreciative of what I have, the experiences I have been blessed with and the life that I get to live.

Time to go to work and live up to my attending's words now... Happy Hump Day to you!

And just because this made me smile. It is a bit late but in honor of the match being over and no more "maybes" enjoy this.

Up in the air I go...

One more interview, one last trans-America trip, one concluding night in a strange hotel, one final trip exploring a new city.

I am at the airport ridiculously early because I opted for one of those group Shuttle van services to the airport and I guess I'm flying at a not very busy time because I got my own personal town car ride to the airport for fraction of the cost of a cab... and I'm more than two hours early, which is after I cleared security! Less anxiety provoking than leaving my house at this time and taking a cab, two trains and a shuttle bus to arrive in the same spot when boarding is already in process. And I even managed to score one of those comfy SW lounge chairs/charging stations at my gate, so I really cannot complain.

It will be nice to be done with interviews and finished with traveling. Of course the ranking and waiting part is going to be torture but still, it will be nice to have this part behind me. And then I can actually stay in Miami and enjoy it for almost two whole weeks before I am headed back to Cali for the remainder of fourth year.

My Genetics rotation continues to be awesome. If you are at all interested in Medical Genetics or Pediatrics then I recommend this rotation. Miami Children's is wonderful and it is a great place to spend a month. I had to apply for the rotation over 6 months in advance and follow up via emails and phone calls ad-nauseum to ensure I got the elective but it was more than worth it.

I have lots of thinking and ranking and pondering to do, but I'm waiting until this interview is over to really start.... stay tuned!