Everybody's Changing and I Don't Feel the Same

My songs of the moment: "Everybody's Changing" by Keane and anything on the new Coldplay CD

So I've now added one career to the list of things I'm considering: sports orthopaedic surgery. I just finished a two week rotation at the sports clinic, and it was awesome. The patients all have these great stories to tell, they're all motivated to get well, and for the most part, they're otherwise healthy and have well-defined, fixable problems. My attending and resident were great-- they let me do a ton of stuff in clinic and I got to do some minor things in the arthroscopic surgery procedures. My attending, who is one of the team doctors for the St. Louis Rams, even promised me he would take me to one of the team practices later this season so I could see what being a team physician was like.

Anyway, aside from the fact that I'm almost always sleep deprived, I am enjoying third year so far. Plastic surgery was sort of a weird rotation to start on given that very little of what I learned during first or second year prepared me for the cases I saw. However, I was lucky enough to get this great resident for two weeks who gave me tons of tips about how to succeed in the surgery clerkship. I got to see and do a lot during my four weeks in plastics-- I scrubbed in on all sorts of procedures: breast reconstruction, nerve releases, face lifts, tummy tucks, breast reductions/ augmentations, etc. They also let me do a lot of sewing. One side thing that I learned during the four weeks was: while plastic surgery is neat to watch and to participate in, I don't think I'd ever want any of the procedures done on my body.

But now, after four weeks of plastics and two weeks of sports, I move on to a two week rotation in orthopaedic hand surgery. Six weeks into my surgery rotation, I still am not sure how I'd feel about surgery as a career. Now that I've seen it, I am definitely considering it more than I was at the beginning of third year. However, I'm not sure I could do surgery and accomplish my academic/ administrative/ medical education goals as well. Luckily, I have another year or so before I have to commit to anything.

In other news, I have something to add to the current summer updates about important exams. John and I both got our boards scores last week and we were happy with them. They're high enough that we should meet the minimum cut-off for most programs, which is really all you can ask for at this stage. Now we just have to navigate the subjective world of third year grades and letters of recommendation, and, of course, we have to figure out "what we want to do when we grow up."

Finally, I wanted to let all you West Coast people know that there's a small chance I might be in the Bay Area on August 20th and 21st for a high school friend's wedding. I still have to clear it with the surgery department (even though I'd only be missing one weekend day of work) and figure out if I have the money for a plane ticket, but if I end up there, I hope to see some of you.

Before I go, here are some replies to previous posts:
- Bonnie: Glad you're enjoying pathology. Sounds like your internship still leaves you and John enough time to do fun stuff. Keep us updated on all your adventures in Washington. Also, I finished the new Harry Potter book a few days ago. I really liked it-- now we just have to wait two or more years for book seven :)
- Babs: Thanks for letting us know about Wonderboy. Glad you're enjoying your job these days. Sounds like you're still able to keep in touch with tons of Stanford people-- say 'hi' to Maureen for me next time you see her.
- Marisa: Congratulations on taking the bar and getting a new job! I look forward to hearing some stories from your clerkship. What does Joe think about third year so far?
- Amanda and Char: How have your summers been? Write when you have a chance.