Thursday, December 25, 2008

Please Thank a Military Family This Christmas

Thank The Troops...

But Thank Their Families Too


My parents have always encouraged my brother and myself to give generously to charity growing up- especially around the holidays. I've always felt lucky and a little guilty to be from a family that (through no help of my own) has always been comfortable financially.

This year, we decided to help Military families. Despite giving up years of their lives for our country our soldiers are not paid very well and many of their families are hurting. There's a great website based out of my home state which has dedicated itself to helping these families:

http://www.thankmilitaryfamilies.com/

It may be a little late for this holiday season (contact them if you're interested) but please keep this in mind for the future.

Happy Holidays!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

What will save your life?

Will this save your life?
Not without this:


Or This:

If you play in the woods in the winter there is absolutely no excuse for you not to have the proper gear. In the mountains, that means an avalanche beacon, AND and probe, AND a shovel. We just pulled our first two avalanche victims of the year out. One was air flighted out, the other wasn't. Why? They don't fly dead bodies. Guess which one we got to first? Guess which one had a beacon on?

Snowshoeing
Hiking
Skiing
Snow Boarding
Snowmobiling

If there is any white stuff on the ground you need to plan accordingly:
  • First and foremost get trained. Take at least a basic avalanche course or better yet a level one certification. You can find a list of providers in your area here
  • Second, make sure you have the right equipment. This means a beacon, probe, shovel, and extra batteries. EVERYONE in your party should have the same. Anything else is sure idiocy
  • Finally, use your head. Be "that guy". The one who says the conditions are too dangerous and makes everyone turn around. Testosterone is a neurotoxin- most avalanche victims claim to have had a poor impression of the conditions, but pushed ahead anyway for reasons of pride or ego. Neither one of those do you much good if you're dead.
Be safe, be smart, come home alive!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Dear Mr. Flight Nurse

Dear Mr. Flight Nurse,
I'm sorry we weren't able to hand you our last patient with an IV ready to go. I know it must have been incredibly frustrating for you too have to do it yourself in the warmth of your helicopter. You see, for some reason I didn't quite have the sensitivity in my fingers to get it right. Oh yeah, that's right, because it was 25 degrees. That's maybe why the patient's skin was f-ing freezing, complicating matters.
We had the patient packaged well and he was alive, give us some credit. Yes, you got a helicopter ride to the top, I busted my ass for 2000 vertical feet. I'm sure all that turbulence was rough- I hope the barf bag treated you well.

Your's in this fine world of medicine,
Me

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Link Love

How about a pre-Thanksgiving post for some of the blogs I enjoy:

  1. Congrats to EE on a new kid! I hope he's as stubborn, hard headed, and smart as you are!
  2. Sam moved her blog to wordpress, if you haven't read her writings before they're well worth it.
  3. Receiving is one of my favorite blogs, they're Quizzes give me some hope for the future (I'm soooo much better at them than Ochem- but hey, an A in Ochem means you'll be a good doctor right?)
  4. Does anyone know what happened to PJ country?
  5. OMG doesn't seem to be looking forward to trauma surg... I hope it goes well. My experiences with the trauma surgeons has been a total dicotomy. They're either going for motorcycle rides with me and super nice, or complete pricks who need a cranial-anal disimpaction.

Friday, November 14, 2008

A Probie's First Callout- Part 3

"Hi, my name is Jason, I'm an EMT with ________ county search and rescue, what hurts?"

"My leg.... where's the helicopter?"

"Dude (yes, I called a patient dude...oops), there's no helicopter tonight, we're carrying you out."

"Oh shit"


I've certainly done better assessments in the past than I did that night. With my right foot and ass hanging off a 15 foot drop, the wind kicking up, and the excitement of my first night on the mountain I was scattered during my initial assessment.
'Shit, do I check his leg out first or give him a head to toe, what about vitals, god damnit- stop moving your head, how am I going to do all of this without exposing him to the elements?'

Kenny damn near smacked me up the head and I got my shit together in about 20 seconds. Talking= ABCs, a quick head to toe revealed no abnormalities except his ankle, and Kenny started on some vitals.

The kid's ankle was bad. Not quite bone sticking out of the skin bad, but bad enough that I lost a pedal pulse in his foot as it swelled to the size of a nalgene bottle. We splinted it and hoped for the best. I know EE hates them, but I love SAM splints, especially in situations like this. One posterior and plantar on the foot, the other medial and lateral under the heel and both shaped as best as possible around the foot/crus made for a fine splint with the requisite duct tape. I put my spare socks on the patient (they are XXL just to fit over a splint) and we wrapped him back up in the survival sack.

At this point, we had a dilema. Everything was in place for a potential spine injury that couldn't be cleared via the NEXUS criteria- MOI, intoxication, and a distracting injury. But, we had no C-collars, no KED, and no Bean Bag. We packed the patient's head into the litter with his boots, our first aid kits and a jacket, put a helmet on him, and I taped it all in. Was it perfect? No... but it worked. I've already placed both an adult and peds C-Collar in my pack...

Skip forward 10 hours and 25 assisted belays later. The eight of us were black and blue from tripping down scree and being torn off the litter team by scrub. Backs were strained, eyes were scratched, hands were bleeding, and everyone was hungry. I have no doubt that this is what 90% of resuces are all about- and I loved it.

I had taken to 5min catnaps while the next belay was being set up. I have a wonderfull talent (wonderfull for EMS at least) in which I can fall asleep anywhere, anytime. The patient was quiet, cooperative, and docile even as we were cussing at the trail and struggling to lift him over downed trees and stumps.

We loaded him into the ambulance at 7:30am the next morning as the sun was coming over the peaks behind us. I gave the bullet to the medic (who looked far to warm, comforatable, and well rested having slept in our command post all night) and we all hid from the TV cameras.

After the debriefing I ate $16.32 worth of food at a breakfast diner and collapsed onto my girlfriend's couch (which may still stink because of it). It was, without a doubt, everything I had expected a mountain rescue to be, and I loved it.

I don't want anyone to get hurt in the hills... but I like knowing that if they do we'll be there, again, to get them out.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

A Probie's First Callout- Part 2

"Jason, you have your pack ready?"
"Yes maam"
"Good, follow Kenny, you're chief medical, don't fuck up"

You
Have
Got
to be
Kidding
Me

That was, word for word, what went through my head. I shoved the trauma kit and an extra pig rig into my pack as it was thrown at me (memo to self, bring a bigger pack next time), an extra liter of water, and resisted the urge to piss and vomit.

We started up the "trail" in two teams that quickly caught each other. Trail is really a loose term for a deer path up some quasi scree. After a wrong turn, Kenny and I found ourselves at the front of the group and were able to stretch our legs out a little.

I would like to digress for a second into one of the reasons I really liked this rescue (and hopefully rescues in the future). I've always had an aptitude for endurance sports. I was an elite cyclist, I ran in high school, I've always been able to hump the heavy pack really fast for a long time. This was, however, the first time that it actually meant something. Whatever genetics I was born with or hard work I've put into my heart, legs, and lungs finally was able to do something other than just cross a white line in the middle of nowhere....

Because there was no helicopter in the air it was hard for us to know exactly where our patient (victim?) was. We had a general idea from the team members in the helicopter who had dropped a survival bag to him but the perspective from the air and from the ground are vastly different. The survival bag contained glow sticks but they were all but worthless in the deep scrub oak we were fighting.

Kenny and I found ourselves in deeper vegetation and on a steep side hill fighting the branches that obstructed our way, and periodically yelling but never getting a response. In the 45min it took us to hike the 1800 vertical feet in there were a lot of thoughts in my head. Was our patient still conscious? Still alive? Are we in the right draw? Did we pass him? I had no frame of reference with which to base anything on and we kept pushing.

Bright yellow green is not a color that belongs in the woods, but visualizing the glow sticks from the survival bag made my bag feel lighter and upped our pace. Kenny had not been able to find them but trusted me and we plowed oh so ungracefully through the woods towards it, cliffing ourselves out twice, and finally descending to the patient.

I approached from the uphill side and the patient's head- usually not a good idea (I don't want to startle him nor make him crane his neck) but dictated by the terrain. He looked good, in the survival bag and yelling at us. I could see about 25feet of scree that had been disrupted when he fell- the MOI for a spinal compromise was certainly there.
"Hi, my name is Jason, I'm an EMT with ________ county search and rescue, what hurts?"

"My leg.... where's the helicopter?"

"Dude (yes, I called a patient dude...oops), there's no helicopter tonight, we're carrying you out."

"Oh shit"



Oh shit is right....

Ahhhh, I'm an idiot

There will be a few posts popping up in a second. I had been saving them as drafts and not posting them. Please, no one tell the admissions committees that I'm an idiot.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

A Probie's First Callout- Part 1

We had just finished a ropes rescue training session, it was 9 O'clock, dark, and slightly drizzling. There had been the usual SAR team bullshit arguing about our team standards, whether or not we should have attendance requirements, what our medical certification level should be, etc. Not surprisingly that all disappeared as everyone unconciously reached for their hip as the multitude of beeper tones and vibrations began.

The five probationary officers of my incoming class looked at each other. I'm sure it was a look akin to a combination of a deer in the headlights and a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. We'd been on the team for two weeks, had three training sessions of training under our belt and were very, very green. Hell, we barely knew how to call in 10-8 (on duty) to the dispatcher, all of just listened to radio traffic for a few minutes once we were in our cars.

The trailhead was only 15minutes away, it probably should have been twenty but most of us drove a little to fast. Of course, it didn't matter. In typical SAR fashion we stood around in the parking lot for 30min just waiting. One of the more experiences members of the team knowingly stopped and grabbed a burrito on the way over- I envied him for most of the next 10 hours.

Not much longer we had a National Parks Service helo on scene and the old, ex vietnam era military era, pilot to go with it (I say this with all due respect, it was the only helicopter we could get at night, in a slight rain). We also had the patient on a dieing cell phone but he didn't know where he was. The bird went up, the Haste team went up the trail and the search began in earest. All while the newbies sat on the bumpers of their cars.

I packed, repacked, and packed again my backpack. Then I drank a liter of gatorade, a liter of water, pissed a lot, and waited. All the while I wished I had packed more food than the package of oreos I scavenged from the floor of my car (the proverbial shit show that it is) and a cliff bar from a cycling jersey on said shit show. It didn't matter, I reasoned, there was no way I was going to be put "on the hill".

Word came back that they found the hiker and he was much farther south of where we were at. The whole shebang of private SAR cars, our mobile incident command center (a large motorhome), fire trucks, ambulances, and the rest picked up shop and moved to a closer location. I hesitate to call it a trailhead because, well, there was no trail. Again, everyone who knew how to do something did it and the probies waited. I made sure I had my pack on and clothes ready to go so I wouldn't have to strip off any layers if I got to go up...

"What about Jason, he teaches Wilderness EMT classes, let him go up" I have good ears and a curious mind and I couldn't help but overhear one of the training officers talking to a COG (crusty old guy- again, a term of incredible indeerment).
"Nah" A simple anwer accompanied by a head shake that seemed final. My hopes, what little were there, were killed.
Yet, another training officer began speaking to the COG and after 5min he nodded, very subtley, and walked away. I wouldn't let myself believe it, I had to be making things up.
"Jason, you have your pack ready?"
"Yes maam"
"Good, follow Kenny, you're chief medical, don't fuck up"

To be continued.....

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

And So It Begins...

Alright, as of 5:00pm yesterday I'm part of the Search and Rescue team and officially on call.
  • Pager? Check
  • Radio? Check
  • Radio chest harness? Check
  • Backpack dutifully packed, in my car, and ready to go? Check?
  • New Box of climbing goodies? Check
  • Training? Ummmm, we're working on that.
Each new member received our basic first aid kits and a small amount of high angle rescue gear, plus our electronic leashes (pagers) that will define our lives for a while to come. I'm kind of a geek so I ripped into the first aid kit right away. We were told that we can add whatever we want, but we have to have at least this as a minimum:

-Trauma sheers

-BVM

-Sam Splint X1

-NiTride gloves

-Small bio bag

-1 large roll Kerlix

-4 4X4 Gauze

-1 Combine dressing 8X 10

-2 triangle bandages

-Tape

-Emergency blanket

-Mole Skin 4X3”

-3 antimicrobacterial wipes

-2 triple antibiotic

-2 Ibu (Cedaprin)

-2 Diphen

-Bandaids

-1 Bug X towelette

-1 Sunscreen

-1 sting relief

I added:
  1. Two more SAM splints
  2. Acetaminophen (in case someone is allergic to both aspirin and Ibuprofen)
  3. Small mag light
  4. Maxi pads (don't laugh, they're the best wound control I can find other than a quick clot bandage)
  5. Tongue depressors (I'm super nervous about putting my fingers in patient's mouths)
  6. Smaller gloves for bystanders, bigger gloves to fit over my thin pair of liners.
I'll be in a probationary period for the next 9 months. That means I have to be at all the training sessions an 67% of the call outs. The probability of me getting called out before all of my basic training is complete is pretty high because of our call volume (2-3 per week on avg.). I just hope that they'll use me as a pack mule and not much else. Its not that I'm not comfortable with my high angle rescue skills or my medical knowledge (I teach that stuff...) its that having never worked with anyone on this team before I have no idea what to expect, I have no idea how THEY do things, and I sure as hell don't want to piss anyone else off.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

One....More....Month

Looks like in a month I'll begin training with the Search and Rescue team. I wish I had something more exciting to report. A Sheriff's Deputy dropped by my house to look around today and talk with me, then interviewed my neighbors, and yesterday called all of my former bosses and everyone I've ever lived with. They're taking this rather seriously I guess.

I'm excited...
I'm excited to be on call
I'm excited to hump it up a trail and help someone (i.e. 90% of rescues...)
I'm excited to pull people off rocks
I'm excited to learn how to pull people our of rivers
I'm excited to challenge myself and to be a part of the team

I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise that it won't be boring!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Pre-Employment Physical

After being poked, prodded, tested, and felt up I'm one step closer to actually starting on the Search and Rescue team. All that stands in my way now is my yet-to-be-completed FBI background check (because our SAR team is Law Enforcement based its required, we also assist in fugitive recovery and child abduction response).

Surprise, I passed my physical. I guess devoting the last ten years of my life to attempting to become a professional cyclist has some perks. My 12 lead EKG actually came back as Sinus Bradycardia... my resting heart rate was about 39. The rest of the physical was unremarkable. Except that I HATE FRIGGIN NEEDLES. I'm terrified of them. Hence, the blood draw was not fun, nor were the immunizations, nor was the TB test. All I have to do now is get XRayed and hope my background check passes!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Basic Amentities...

Sorry its been a while. I've been working... a lot... between 4 jobs and about 83 hours a week average. The funny thing is that I enjoy all of my jobs enough that it doesn't seem to bad. Sure, not hanging out with the girl of the moment and driving all the time sucks. But, what can ya do?

Interestingly enough we've had some issues at our house too. I say house, but in reality its a cabin... in the woods...at 6500 feet or so. For instance, our septic tank overflowed. So, no toilets for a while until that got fixed (the work bathroom sure saw a lot of use). Now, our well is having issues and hence no water. Its actually quite a challenge to live without running water. We cart up 25 gallon jugs of water from the valley but still no *running* water. No showers, no toilets, and its hard to wash the dishes. Forget laundry or washing the bikes!

In the back country there isn't indoor plumbing either, obviously, but I'm also not having to show up for work, be close to customers, and teach classes. Its not good for me to stink! So, I'm at a loss for what to do until all of this is taken care of.

Also, I've been debating which direction I want this blog to go. It began as a semi-anonymous chronicle of my journey to get into medical school and then hopefully points beyond through the medical education system. But, during the summer there isn't much of that going on. Sure, I think everything I do helps me in one way or another but not really directly. Plus, if I begin to get to specific I loose what little anonymity I have (example: I teach wilderness medicine classes... but if I said any more than that a lot of people would know exactly who I work for). We'll see in the future where it goes. I like writing though, when I have the time. Its calming and allows me to organize my thoughts.

Until then, cheers! And thanks for reading!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

CV

I had to rewrite my CV for a new wilderness medicine instructor position I was offered and I thought the cover letter described my "I DONT WANT TO BE ANOTHER PREMED" mentality pretty well. I'm still editing it, but for shits and grins here we go:

Since graduating high school in May of 2004 my goal has been acceptance into medical school. My path towards that goal has changed and evolved as I have continued my education, both within and outside of academia, but the goal has remained the same. Rather than assuming the same path as many of my peers with the same goal I wanted to branch out into other fields of study, gain experience, and prove to myself that a career in medicine was my calling in life.

My first two years of college I balanced my academic career with an elite level athletic career in cycling. In 2006 I decided to take a hiatus from school in order to pursue my other dream of becoming a professional cyclist. I moved to Herstberge, Belgium to race for an amateur Elite team against some of the finest cyclist’s in the world. Racing and living in such a professionally oriented environment taught me many things. I learned discipline throughout my lifestyle, I learned to love a routine, and most importantly I learned how to struggle and be successful.

Upon my return to the United States I was set to return to Europe and race the next season. Fate had other plans and in the spring of 2007 I found myself injured and unable to ride my bike. This blow to my racing career brought me back into academia as I threw all of my energy previously reserved for athletics into my school work. It was at this time that I began working in the Vascular Biology Lab at Big Mountain University and found my passion for research. This new found passion changed my academic plans and I began to explore careers that would allow me to combine medicine and research. The natural path was a combined MD/PhD program.

Athletics had instilled into me a work ethic and my research experience has shown me a new path I wished to take. However, the true turning point after which I allowed myself to completely dedicate myself to a career in medicine came when I earned my Emergency Medical Technician (EMT-B) license. I loved interacting with patients and hearing their stories. I loved having the knowledge to help them and most importantly I was driven to gain more knowledge and more experience in order to help those patients more. I finally saw medical school as a means to an end rather than the goal itself. Now, I wish to go to medical school not to become a physician but so that I can gain the knowledge and experience necessary to help the patients that I cannot help now.

I have many opportunities now that I believe will help me become a better physician in the future. I would like to teach Advanced Wilderness Life Support courses because it is a combination of my passions for the outdoors and for medicine. I would like to work for the County Search and Rescue team because of the challenging and rewarding nature of such work. Finally, I would like to continue my training as an EMT because in the end I believe it is those experiences with patients that have driven me this far and will help me the most over the course of my life.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Reflection of a Mechanic (i.e. sleeping on the ground and wanting a motorcycle)

As part of my job at the bike shop I'm the "Special events and promotions manager" (yes, that's a self appointed title) I get to work at a lot of events, races, clinics, and the such. These events are fun but a ton of work and often the people I deal with are trying to say the least. I figure that's good practice for the future... especially the second part. Plus, clocking in 56 hours in a weekend does not hurt the dwindling checking account.

First, my nomadic sleeping arrangements for the weekend:Please notice the ten grand worth of bike frames in the passenger seat, the awesome lesbian seagull (my car) and my bivy sack which has taken me many, many places. I've said it before, but I feel lucky that my parents raised me in the outdoors, living out of our minivan on vacations. Because of them I'm comfortable living out of my car for days and NOT living like a hobo.

Second, my friend's new KTM 450 dual sport moto:The problem is that he let me ride it when we had two hours of downtime. Now, I was an idiot and didn't have a helmet on or anything but my mechanic's T-shirt. This kept me from going really, really fast. I just went really fast. That bike was like an orgasm on wheels. I couldn't believe it. I want one now, very very badly. Insurance on a motorcycle for a 21 year old male? Ouch.....

Monday, June 9, 2008

What else have I learned?

That simply waking up in the morning means there is something to be thankful for.

Rest In Peace...

Things I've learned this past week

1.) When someone asks you when you can work, tell them to send you the schedule and you'll see what you can squeeze in. Instead, I sent my internship director my schedule and he signed me up for every available shift he could squeeze me into. He even made up some shifts just for me! I guess its nice to be loved, but not when I have to pull a 100 hour week.

2.) Never, ever, schedule a drug test over the phone. That's not something that you want a miscommunication about. Case in point- I'm being threatened with a 12 month suspension even though I pissed perfectly clean....just 12 hours after I was supposed to. I'm in the appeals process now....

3.) I hate to say it, but I wouldn't be anywhere if it weren't for the people I know and my charm.

4.) When I work a lot, I really miss riding my bike/climbing/playing in the mountains. This is the primary thing that gives me pause about a career in medicine.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Pictures from Moab

Where the Colorado and Green rivers meet



Reptilian paparazzi (I have about 50 pics of this little guy, oops)


Sitting on the edge of Dead Horse Point





Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Out of their element

I have no pictures as promised because I can't download my camera =(. But, have no fear, because stories abound!

We had lecture all morning and covered:
  • Scene size up and patient assesment
  • Wound management
  • Cold injuries
  • Heat injuries
  • Lighting
  • Water purification
  • High velocity injuries
  • Water disinfection
I'll admit, I actually skipped the water disinfection lecture... but I'm pretty comfy with that. The acronyms they teach us are similar to what I learned in my basic class (SAMPLE, AEIOUTIPS) but some are different (COLDERR instead of OPQRST). All in all, I've been really comforatable with the material presented.

We went outside for the afternoon and practiced some patient scenarios (which are always total bull shit, but I guess they serve a purpose). This, I might add is where the EMTs and Paramedics shined. The MDs were a little out of their element. Scene size up what!? Obviously, to graduate from medical school and complete a residency you have to have an incredible depth of knowledge. However, when it came to extricating 'patients', carrying, or log rolling things didn't go do well. I learned from them, they learned from me, we're all friends!

As I sign off, I'd like to leave you with some interesting lightning facts (THE most interesting lecture of the day):
  • The most likely time for a severe lighting strike is before the storm appears and after the storm has passed
  • Rubber boots, rubber tires... they don't mean shit when faced with a unidirectional massive current impulse of 30 million volts. If it traveled 10 miles through the air it'll blow through rubber like nothing
  • For those of us in EMS...A mass casualty incident (MCI) involving a lighting strike should be reverse triaged. Patients may appear dead because the heart initially becomes asystolic after the strike. It will, however begin beating again. There will often be a concomitant respiratory arrest that occurs and the heart may deteriorate back into asystole secondary to the respiratory arrest. This respiratory arrest may last 5-8min (during with the patients is asystolic and apnetic) because of a temporary paralysis of the medullary center. -Long story short, keep them alive and they'll be fine (even if they look dead). If the patient looks ok and is at least semi alert and oriented they'll be fine- take care of the serious patients first.
Finally, the feathering pattern from a lightning "side splash" is amazing looking:
I would totally get one as a tatoo if I ever got hit (as opposed to that OTHER tatoo I was thinking of getting, more of that later).

Cheers!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

I might be the one who needs rescueing...

I interviewed with the search and rescue team today. It was me, at the head of a conference room table, being interviewed by three sheriff's deputies and three civilians, for an hour. Easily the most nerve wracking interview I've ever gone through. And, yes, this is a volunteer organization! I'm happy that they take things so seriously.

A lot of the questions I felt easy answering. Rock climbing experience? Check. Ice climbing? Check. Hiking, camping, navigating, scrambling? Check, check, and check. And yes, I know what declination is.

Other questions I wasn't so strong on. Name 10 trails in Area X.... um, I know where the trails go. Hand me a map and I can find where I am, where you are, and get there... but the names of the trails? Damnit! I'm also weak on swift water rescue techniques, and anything that involves me driving a snowmobile or ATV (wait, something that doesn't require me to bust my ass to get somewhere? what's the fun in that!?).

Overall, I tried to convey that if I didn't know something they asked that I'd love to learn. That, and I'll do things their way, I don't mind humping a big ass pack up a mountain, and I learn fast. Luckily, I have about four times the medical requirements (50 hours of class time) required- that was a major plus.

I really, really, really, really hope I get on the team. It would be a huge commitment, but it has also been a dream of mine to work SAR since I was about 10 and meet some members of the Ouray Mountain Rescue team in Colorado. I bought one of their hats:
and wore it FOREVER, no one could pry that sucker off my head. I guess if its to be, it'll be. And if its not to be, then I'll work on my weaknesses and reapply.

J

P.S. In moab now... will post pics from the WALS classes as soon as I have them!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Search and Rescue

I got a call from our local search and rescue team today. They want to interview me for an open position on the team. Excited does not do justice to how I feel. I love the mountains, I love EMS, this is a great combination. I realize that I won't be able to do operations like the picture above for a long time, and that most of the time there isn't much medicine involved (one member of the team impressed me with the quote "by the time we get to them they're usually either stable or they're dead) but I honestly cannot think of anything I'd rather be doing.

If I get on the team it is a huge time commitment though. I would be expected to respond to 66% of all call outs for the first 9 months and 50% of all call outs from there on out. I would also be on call 24/7/365.

My mom (a nurse practitioner) thinks this that if I get on the team it will change everything- that I won't want to go to med school, that I'll be a flight nurse or medic, etc, etc, etc. We'll see about that....

Friday, May 23, 2008

Wilderness Advenced Life Support

Next week I'll be headed down to Moab for a Wilderness Advanced Life Support class. I'm excited for a number of reasons not the least of which is that my whole family will be meeting me there and my dad and I are taking the course together. My dad is one hell of a surly, and excellent, ER doc (formerly family practice) and one of the original members of the Wilderness Medical Society. I've been going to their conferences with him since I was pretty young and I've had the opportunity to meet some cool people (Like Dr. Auerbach, and Alex Lowe among others) and learn a lot about 'improv' medicine- which seems to fit well with EMS.

You see, the people I meet at these conferences give me hope that I won't be miserable if I become a doctor. To often I'm around docs who are workaholics and have completely martyred themselves for the cause. But, at the WMS meetings I've meet doctors (and nurses, and PAs) who have been able to combine their passions of medicine and the outdoors. They are all very much more happy than your average doctor. Most of them use their high level of income to work less (and, gasp, make less money) and play more. They are the doctors I look up to, not the overworks asshole attendings I am usually around.

I'm not opposed to working hard but in the end it has to be worth it. 80 hours a week once your outside of a residency isn't worth it to me. Combining my passions is.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

NREMT

This just in, I passed my NREMT-B exam.

Not that I'm surprised, I would have felt pretty bad if I hadn't. Its a relief none the less.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

First Busy Week of Summer

My first 'real' busy week of the summer is almost over. I'm thinking I may have bitten off more than I can chew with coaching two evenings a week (plus races on saturday), working in the shop 3 afternoons a week, a summer internship in the mornings, plus two night shifts a week in NICU research lab. All that plus training for some sport aspirations that I thoughts were long gone but seem to have been dredged back up by coaching.

Why do I do it all when most of my friends are content with the easy summer research job? Maybe some summer shadowing? You see, I have a confession. My first year of college, my grades were pretty good. I had a 3.7 or so (although I did withdraw from a calculus class that I retook later and got an A) and was well on my way to an honors degree. Then, I got this hairbrained idea to be a professional cyclist. I'd raced bikes since I was 14 and had some regional success but nothing major.

I applied, and was accepted, onto a European semi-professional team. Classes took a backseat to training and I was on my bike or in the gym 5-6 hours a day. My grades plummeted- at one point I was on academic probation (i.e. below a 2.0 GPA). Far, far from the grades one would need to get into medical school. I up and moved to Europe and said the hell with it all.

This went on for about two years; I was invited back to Europe for a second season and started training hard again over the winter. Then, disaster struck. My hip started to hurt, I assumed it was part of nagging back problems I'd had since I broke 4 vertebrae in a crash years ago, but it got progressively worse. Soon, walking hurt, at times I couldn't even get out of my bed. My dream of becoming a professional cyclist was quickly vanishing.

I also had a lot of free time on my hands because I wasn't able to train so I threw myself into school. The grades went back up, I began doing research, received research grants, and decided I had to make up for lost time. As such, that's how I'm here now. Making up for mistakes on my youth (haha, a whole 2 years ago), retaking almost every class, and hoping somehow it'll work out.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Call Me Theodore

If anyone is curious why I there hasn't been any new posts lately its mainly because I'm now living in the mountains. Far, far in the mountains....at almost 7,000 feet...surrounded by snow and trees.

I

Freaking

Love It

Seriously, I was so happy to be out of the city a girl I was hiking with the other day said I was giggling the whole time we were driving back to my house. However, living in a cabin is not very conducive to communication. The BlackBerry's service is spotty and we have one ethernet cable. Not to mention that after school I'm not all that motivated to talk to people at all!

Good things have been happening though. I'm back on the bike again and training reasonably hard. 3 hour rides the last five days are so. Most of those have been with the Junior's (under 18) team I coach. I discovered that I LOVE coaching. Its really a lot of fun, and we have a great group of kids to work with. That, and they've been working me over on training rides. Damn whipper snappers.

Hopefully... more soon.

J

Friday, May 2, 2008

I just assumed....

What is a college student with no finals left to do? Read blogs, of course...

Moving Meat if one of my favorite ER doc blogs. It has come very close to making me very interested in administration (oh god, my dad will kill me now). I found This Post and Dr. Gawande's Writings particularly interesting (although they are just an aside on the topic of the post).

You see, I always assumed that there were checklists like that in place. For instance, when I do a Western Blot in the lab I have a checklist that I've written that I go through. Before I started doing that, our results were sporadic. Afterwards, they became much more consistent. Hell, in almost everything I do I have checklists. Studying, yep. Training sessions, yep. Girls, ok- maybe not everywhere. Why would medicine be any different?

But, do have I used checklists per say on the few EMS runs that I've done? Nope.
Sure, we have run forms, I have my SAMPLE and OPQRST questions that I run through in my head, but that's the extent of it. In fact, a checklist sounds like it would be a pain in the ass. But, if it would be worth it I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Random Pictures from Our PreFinals BBQ

Steak, Bratwurst, Swordfish
Peppers, Asparagus, and Pineapple
Who says I don't have taste? (ok, a lot of people do, but I try!)




Random people who shall not be named, but rock. One pre-med, one future biology professor, and one engineer, can you figure out who is who?

Oh god, that's a cheese ball picture of me. But lets focus on what's important... the swordfish was excellent. Props to the people who brought it over (who may or may not read this blog).

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Finals!

I'm curled up in my Study Area preparing for my chemistry final tomorrow. Amazingly, I have an A- right now in the class (I got a C+ in my previous chem class, not exactly a 'get into med skool grade') so I'd rather not blow that. I've also begun my redbull regiment- one sip every 5min. I've progressed to the 20 oz Red Bull, AKA- Status Epilepticus. Yes, it helps me stay awake, yes it gives me localized facial seizures and a minor eye twitch... oh well. No one every said this was easy, or healthy.

I take an interesting approach to finals, and exams in general. I work really, really well under pressure. I don't procrastinate and cram for exams (no, I study all the time) but I do put a lot of pressure on myself and I increase that pressure as the exam gets closer. Thoughts like "if I fail this exam I might as well just be a firefighter" go through my head all the time. I have a lot of friends that gasp in horror when they find this out. But, it helps me, a lot. To each their own. I like being in the zone and fighting hard.

If you're not afraid about what you're about to try then you're not pushing yourself hard enough.

Cheers!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

No Surprises Here

The Caffeine Click Test - How Caffeinated Are You?
Created by OnePlusYou

Thanks DocSurg

Screw you: World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week



Great, I just got an email from my PI informing us of "World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week" (this week) and a march on our campus to MY building tomorrow. This means that I can't get into said building to get my research done without fearing for my own personal safety. For the record, some of the research I do includes animals, mainly mice, but sometimes rats, rabbits, or sheep. Guess what? I'm perfectly fine with using them and I do everything I can to make sure the animals are treated with respect and are never in any pain. So does every other researcher I know; animal research is strictly governed by every University.

I wonder.....
I assume the people who are protesting the use of animals in research are vegetarians, most of them probably vegans (if not then the hypocrisies have already begun). But:
  • Do they ever visit the doctor?
  • Do they ever use ANY medication, even Tylenol or Advil?
  • Have they ever undergone any medical treatments?
If so, (begin sarcasm) SHAME ON THEM FOR CAPITALIZING ON THESE POOR DEFENSELESS ANIMAL'S LIVES FOR THEIR OWN GOOD (end sarcasm). In reality, if they have then they are hypocrites and should crawl back into whatever hole they came from (or house they're squatting in).

I ask them this: If a loved one was lying on the OR table, rapidly de-sating and facing death, would authorize a procedure that had been tested on animals (virtually ALL medical procedures)? Or, would you value the life of an animal that was bred only for research purposes over the life of someone you love?

Sure, we all want free healthcare (cough), but please god, don't hurt the cute little mice.....

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

I think we're going to need more of these...

if EE could "pimp her ride" I'm sure it would look something like this:
I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo I blatantly stole off the Southwest Ambulance Site
but that's a Bariatric Ambulance.... yes- its for fat people (sorry, obese). Really, really fat people. From the SW ambulance site:

"Its main purpose is to create a safe environment that allows obese patients to preserve their dignity during transport."

Ummmm, yeah. Or so that your employees don't kill themselves and their backs trying to life a beluga whale into the back of an ambulance. Some key features:

  • specialized air shock/ lifts and heavy-duty suspension to lower the entire ambulance for a safer loading and unloading angle. (think you can make it bounce? We'd get a little more street cred that way)
  • A new loading ramp which extends for safer loading and unloading of patients with a motorized pulley system that attaches to the gurney, and a strengthened, lowered and widened patient area.

I'm all for this, hell- can we get a ramp and a winch standard on all the rigs?

(oh, and NO, I do not work for Southwest Ambulance, nor am I affiliated with them in any way. Any rumor you may have heard about me and a female EMT in the back of an ambulance is just that- a rumor. For further comments please speak to my legal council)

Why I Love Anatomy



Today was the last day of my anatomy course- and I'm actually pretty bummed out about it. Its been a hard course, I've been told its almost medical school level but with an easier curve for those who just need to pass. I don't 'just' need to pass... I need to get an A, I want to be a TA. I LOVE ANATOMY, here's why:

-The professor.... the best at our school. He does crunches to show us the rectus abdominus, makes kids flex their biceps brachii, and runs around to show us what each of the three gluteal muscles do. He's a professor that you want to do well for because you love him so much

-The exams. They're hard, really hard. I've never, ever used the whole 2 hours to take an exam before this class. His exams make you think and analyze rather than just memorize. I've never been more proud of an A on an exam.

-The lab. We have a cadaver lab for undergrads. 6 people to a cadaver for the whole semester. Its amazing to put your hands inside of a body... simply put- everything makes sense. Curious to what that muscle does? Pull the tendon. What does that nerve inervate? Trace it out. All the TAs are undergrads too and they have an amazing enthusiasm for teaching.

-The usefulness. Will I ever need to write out a half cell equation and balance the electrons in an ambulance, ER, operating room, etc? Not likely.... Will I need to know the collateral circuitry of the Celiac trunk arteries? Probably... The Brachial Plexus? I bet I will... The funny thing is, anatomy isn't a pre-req for medical school. That's ridiculous! I can't think of any other one class (ok, physiology) that I will use throughout the rest of my education and medical career. Such is the life of living under Ivory Towers.

I'll miss this class a lot, but such is life. Here's hoping I'll be a TA next semester!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

NCUR- A Complete Success!

I just got back to my house from NCUR in Maryland. It was a great time, in fact it may have been even more than great. Stupendous? Excellent? Phenomenal? No pictures yet because I forgot my camera; but as soon as I get my grubby little hands on the pictures other people took I'll post some of the best (like me assaulting Sammy the Seagull ).

What did I do?
-Learned lots of Science, of course. Go Science...
-Partied till 5am
-Made an excellent wingman... and took one for the team
-Made the 8am shuttle, because Science is a cruel mistress
-Meet a ton of cool people from my school that I didn't know existed
-Realized exactly how freaking cool my adviser is
-Watched a lacrosse game
-Partied with the Wisconsins
-Found a new lab to work in!!!!!!!

Some of the research was impressive. Genetics and Cardio are way sexy right now and that's where a lot of the focus was. A lot of the research was pathetic- bad, non-random surveys. In college research!? The stuff I did my senior year was better than most of this crap! Oh well, it bodes well for next year in LaCrosse Wisconsin.

Cheers!

Friday, April 4, 2008

NCUR 2008


Back in February a paper from my lab got accepted to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. I won't tell you what the paper is called because that would shred the (very) thin vail of anonymity I have going on this blog. But, trust me, it was cool.... if you're into that sort of thing.

Two of my colleagues from the lab will be giving talks and I will be doing a whole lot of nothing. I'm hoping to see an old friend that goes to Georgetown and maybe go out and party sometime if it can be arranged. Because, lets be honest here- if I end up stuck with a couple hundred other type A pre-med gunners for 3 days I'm going to have to drink, a lot.

Wish me luck!

J

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Exams are Over!

The Brachial Plexus can suck it! The Anatomy exam was challenging. It took me 1.5 hours and I'm a very, very fast test taker. Case in point- I was done with each section on the ACT in less than half the alloted time and still almost got a perfect score. Usually, I either know it or I don't but this time I made myself slow down and really think about each problem. The good thing is that there were no collateral circuitry questions with the blood traces. The bad thing is that I messed up one of the posterior cords of my Brachial Plexus sketch and that really screwed over my answer. The question:

"The Medial Cord of Bob's Brachial Plexus is cut, the Lateral Cord of Jill's Brachial Plexus is cut. List all of the muscles (and muscles only) that are paralyzed for each person. Also, list the common muscles that are weakened."

Straight forward, easy points... damnit!

Oh, well, I guess I'll just keep studying a little harder each time...

J

P.S. There is nothing quite as cruel as having to sit through 4 hours of research symposiums when you haven't slept in 36 hours. Especially if your PI is on one side and the Dean of the Medical School is behind you. Must... Not... Yawn...

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

My Little Home


oh, and my study place... been living here a lot lately.

All the essentials:
-Blackberry
-Pudding cup
-EMT badge and ID that the state has FINALLY gotten around to sending me 3 months after the fact.
-Desperately highlighted syllabus

One Down, One to Go and Mnemonics

...midterms that is. Chem 2 this morning, Anatomy tomorrow morning.

Chemistry wasn't to bad which scares me because now I'm afraid I missed something. Whatever... to late now!

In case you didn't know, Chemistry saves lives.... it keeps stupid people out of medical school!
har de har har, except I may be one of those people.

Anatomy tomorrow will be difficult. Pelvis/Perineum, Scapular sling, Rotator Cuff, Brachium, Antebrachium, Hand muscles, and the vasculature and nerves to go with. Our anatomy program is one of the best undergraduate programs in the nation and far beyond the typical anatomy/physiology in a semester deal. I'll post some exam questions after the fact.

Anatomy Mnemonics really save my ass. A few of my favorites:

Anterior Antebrachium Muscles:
P
ronator Teres
Flexor carpi radialis
Palmaris longus
Flexor carpi ulnaris
Flexor digitorum superficialis
F
lexor digitorum profundus
Flexor pollicis longus
Pronator longus

Pimps F*ck Prostitutes For Fun From Franks Place
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Branches of the Axillary Artery:

S
uperior Thoracic
Thoracocromial
Lateral Thoracic
Subscapular
Anterior Circumflex humoral
Posterior Circumflex humoral
Profunda Brachii

Sally Thompson Loves Sex and Pot

and:
the first section of the axillary artery (first rib to pertoralis minor) has one branch
the second section (medial to lateral borders of pectoralis minor) has two branches
the third section (lateral border of pectoralis minor to distal border of teres minor tendon) has three branches
------------------------------------------------------------

Yep, its not hard to tell where my mind is based on those... but alas what is a 21 year old guy to do?

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Who am I?



Hey there, first post here and one that I'm sure nobody will read for quite sometime.

Hi, I'm J. Yeah, for those of you who actually know me that's not exactly anonymous but I'm not sure how anonymous this blog will stay. Probably just enough so that I don't get fired ;)

Who am I?
-I'm a student at a big University in the Western United States. I'm hoping to go into medicine and I'll be applying for medical school in 2 years or so. Lately I've been having my doubts about this career path though. My father is a physician and I've watched him work himself to death- he claims its not worth it but I've always been stubborn.

I play the game well, I've been published and I still do research. When I focus on school it gets done and I get good grades. This is my fourth year of undergrad but I really took two years off, which leads me to:

-I was a semi professional athlete. I wasn't really all that talented but I worked my ass off and it let me travel the US and Europe. I loved the lifestyle but hated the day to day work and starving myself. Eventually, I took a sport that I loved and made it into a job- I still don't regret it though. In a lot of ways attempting to be a professional athlete is a lot like going into medicine. I'll talk about that more later on.

-I'm an EMT-B, and a very new wet behind the ears one at that. So far, I love it. I'm sure I'll have some (HIPPA approved) stories to post this summer.

-I've played the cello for 12 years (random instrument ay). Another thing that I'm not very talented at but I make it work. I'd like to learn the guitar this summer.

What do I want this blog to be?

  • An outlet. I often need to vent, I'm hoping this will help more than anger management classes
  • A resource for other aspiring pre-med students. Please, someone learn from my mistakes!
  • A small bit of daylight and happyness, bunnies and all that stuff, in your big world of darkness. Perhaps a bit of entertainment if you will.
Cheers all.