Doctor Psychobabble

“This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I’ll never look into your eyes…again
Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need…of some…stranger’s hand
In a…desperate land
Lost in a Roman…wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane”

- The Doors, “The End” lyrics

Tomorrow is my last day of neurology consults, and it will only be a half day because I have psychiatry didactics in the afternoon. I have thoroughly enjoyed my two months of neurology. While it’s been a great learning experience, I certainly do miss psychiatry. But I see the incredible value of learning neurology, especially as a psychiatrist. There is so much overlap. And I feel much better prepared to deal with neurological conditions in my patients than I did 2 months ago.

Next up, I have two months of out-patient medicine and then one month of in-patient medicine and then it’s the end of my intern year and back to psychiatry for the last 3 years of my residency.

A random thought to share: I really do love doing “procedures.” As much as it sucks when your patient can’t get their CT angiogram because they have crappy veins and you’ve been sticking them for over an hour and can’t get a line and are frustrated beyond anything else, I do enjoy the satisfaction of a simple procedure well done. I like successfully putting in nasogastric tubes so that my patient can be fed and receive their medications. I like drawing STAT cardiac enzymes to rule out acute coronary syndrome. And I think I will actually miss some of the more routine and mundane procedures, which will be less commonplace during my years in psychiatry residency and years as a professional psychiatrist.

However, I am so passionate about psychiatry that I’m sure I will deal, and will possibly even come up with creative solutions to the lack of “procedures.”

Also, all the children are insane. (Figure THAT one out!)

Photo: My doggy Scope wearing his “Cone of Shame” and makeshift doggy-diaper-sling-so-he-doesn’t-lick-his-wounds-contraption.

I just got home from the hospital. It’s late and I’m tired, dirty and hungry, but happy.

For those of you not familiar with medical lingo, “DNR” stands for “Do Not Resuscitate.” If a patient is “DNR” it means that if they were to go into cardiac arrest, we would not do chest compressions and push all kinds of meds in order to restart their heart. It does NOT mean that we won’t do other measures to keep them alive. I have some interesting thoughts on this concept, but just realized that I’m too tired to elaborate. But I plan to share my thoughts in the near future. Promise.

In the meantime, please enjoy this “DNR” subway sign. Time for chow down. Nitey.

Please check out my latest post on “The Ink Blot” at Medscape/WebMD to read about the power of cheap “talk.”

Click Here to View the Original Post on Medscape

• My Med School Vacation
  (tags: blog, medical student)

Below are some photos I took on my recent run, with cool filters applied to them. I used an awesome iPhone app, Camera Bag. Enjoy!

Today was an awesome day. It started off with me going for an 11 mile run into Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge and then back into Brooklyn over the Manhattan Bridge.

Next up, I hung out with my partner Micah’s parents who were visiting from D.C. We subwayed into Manhattan and had a fabulous brunch at the Uptown Lounge. After that, we made our way to the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum to check out the “Jewelry of Van Cleef and Arpels” and “Color Moves: Art and Fashion by Sonia Delaunay” exhibits. Then we made our way to the Guggenheim Museum to check out all the exhibits, including my favorite, the “Kandinsky at the Bauhaus.”

Now it’s time to relax for a bit before going out to dinner tonight. I heart Saturdays off!

Please enjoy the photos in this post which I took during my run this morning.

You can view the rest of them here. I’ve started a new photo album called “Run Kendra Run” where I will be uploading all of my running photos from now on!

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
- Confucius

I had a lovely day of work today at the hospital. In the afternoon, we had our psychiatry didactic sessions.

My day began walking to the hospital in the freezing cold and darkness, with snow falling, and I walked home in the sunshine and relatively warmer weather. I then cleaned my apartment and am about to have some dinner.

I am very content.

I love my job. And I’m convinced that having a job which challenges me every day is one of the reasons that I’m persistently happy and satisfied. There are ups and downs. But I could absolutely not imagine doing anything else with my life right now. I will never have to work a day in my life.

Photos: 1) View from the top of Prospect Park during my run a few days ago. 2) Me about to leave for the hospital last week. A chronically happy soldier.

I just got home from a day of neurology consults. I wasn’t on call, but ended up working fairly late. I had an older attending say today that in all his years of working as a neurologist, this is the busiest month he’s ever experienced, and that he’s seen more interesting cases than ever before. I feel incredibly lucky to have been a part of this experience. I’ve been exposed to all kinds of fascinating patient cases.

I continue to be pleased with my residency program, and in particular, the variety of clinical experiences which I’ve been exposed to. I’ve heard time and again from attending physicians and others that the hospitals at which I rotate provide a “one of a kind experience.” As a hospital in an urban and very diverse environment, we admit many patients with rare and advanced diseases. This basically ends up meaning that us residents get exposed to cases, which we would not necessarily otherwise be able to learn from. We have the unique opportunity to learn from our patients, who present with incredibly diverse and rare pathologies.

I am immensely grateful for this experience. Regretfully, the most intense and fascinating cases are generally the worst for patients and their families. So, I again thank my patients and their families for allowing me the opportunity to learn from their diseases and tragedies. It’s an immensely powerful gift.

Photos: Taken on my walks to and from the hospital.

Part of My “Trash Talkin” Photo Series

I’ve fondly refer to my fellow psychiatry residents as “psychos.” We all went out for St. Patrick’s Day drinks last week, and my fellow intern Sasha won’t stop nagging me for the photos (I love you, Sasha!) He’s been bribing me daily with chocolate (he knows my weaknesses well).

So, enjoy a few of the photos in this post and click here to view the rest.

I love all of you psychos! (Oh, and I love you psychos’ significant others and random radiology residents, as well!)

Please check out my latest post on “The Ink Blot” at Medscape/WebMD to read being upfront with patients and their families.

Click Here to View the Original Post on Medscape