Ooog.
Clearly, I have been Busy, judging from how little I've been posting this month. Not sure what I've been Busy with, but I guess it's just endless loops of the work-move-sleep cycle. Things are pretty much packed up for the impending move, which is good, 'cuz I don't have much free time between now and then. I leave on Tuesday for the first-stage interview on Wednesday with McKinsey & Co, back to work on Thurs, then leave Friday for a three-day MSTP retreat somewhere in the middle of Ohio.
That means that I'm basically done with this inpatient month in Family Medicine. Not bad at all -- a few rough nights of call, but mostly it's bread-and-butter stuff. It's fun, but in truth, after a month, I'm pretty sick of it. There's only so many times you can run through "rule out MI" before it gets boring.
My residents from this month simultaneously geniuses and average at the same time. Like most primary-care-centered residencies, this program is essentially 100% international medical graduates, with the occasional DO thrown in. When you talk to the international residents and dig into their background a bit, surprising things emerge. We have a couple MPHs, a former Zimbabwean professor of microbiology who was an expert in HIV medicine, and a Japanese interventional cardiologist, among others. What's odd is that all of these folks, despite being deep experts in medical areas, seem to freeze up into stammering uncertainty when faced with clinical problems. My best guess is that it's the language barrier; I'd seem dumber too if I had to try to express my clinical thoughts in another language.
The other odd thing I've noticed is a high percentage of Christians among the faculty, and specifically, the good kind of Christians. Folks like turnberryknkn, iliana_sedai, or even jennifermuppet, who specifically proclaim their faith by being extra-kind and gentle towards others. There's no proselytizing, but I've noticed more-than-usual faculty who make a point of praying with patients, or who display a plaque from the Christian Medical & Dental Association prominently in their offices. Maybe it's just a confirmation bias, but on the other hand, it'd sort of make sense. This is the specialty for people who want to do "simple country doctor" work, and it'd be very easy to be called here by a true desire to serve humanity.
Been composing this for three days; finally finished as I wait for my flight to board. As I said, I've been busy...
That means that I'm basically done with this inpatient month in Family Medicine. Not bad at all -- a few rough nights of call, but mostly it's bread-and-butter stuff. It's fun, but in truth, after a month, I'm pretty sick of it. There's only so many times you can run through "rule out MI" before it gets boring.
My residents from this month simultaneously geniuses and average at the same time. Like most primary-care-centered residencies, this program is essentially 100% international medical graduates, with the occasional DO thrown in. When you talk to the international residents and dig into their background a bit, surprising things emerge. We have a couple MPHs, a former Zimbabwean professor of microbiology who was an expert in HIV medicine, and a Japanese interventional cardiologist, among others. What's odd is that all of these folks, despite being deep experts in medical areas, seem to freeze up into stammering uncertainty when faced with clinical problems. My best guess is that it's the language barrier; I'd seem dumber too if I had to try to express my clinical thoughts in another language.
The other odd thing I've noticed is a high percentage of Christians among the faculty, and specifically, the good kind of Christians. Folks like turnberryknkn, iliana_sedai, or even jennifermuppet, who specifically proclaim their faith by being extra-kind and gentle towards others. There's no proselytizing, but I've noticed more-than-usual faculty who make a point of praying with patients, or who display a plaque from the Christian Medical & Dental Association prominently in their offices. Maybe it's just a confirmation bias, but on the other hand, it'd sort of make sense. This is the specialty for people who want to do "simple country doctor" work, and it'd be very easy to be called here by a true desire to serve humanity.
Been composing this for three days; finally finished as I wait for my flight to board. As I said, I've been busy...