tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-213538452024-03-07T04:18:19.745-05:00Collective ContemplationsPlease do not mistake anything that you read here for medical advice or common sense. If you have a medical concern, it is recommended that you seek the advice of your doctor. Anecdotes are exaggerated, anonymized, and edited for entertainment purposes.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.comBlogger415125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-1028013390887655142011-07-19T18:39:00.007-04:002011-07-21T12:52:36.711-04:00Gone to the DogsMeet Shelby, our 6-week old Vizsla puppy! We picked her up from the breeder on Saturday, and it's been sleepless nights ever since! She is very cute, and likes to snuggle, but won't stay in a crate at night and can't be relied on to not have accidents overnight yet. So, I have been getting up with her and holding her while she sleeps at night. Bad habit, I know. I have this week off of work, andKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-66130829553050766282011-06-08T09:56:00.008-04:002011-06-08T11:02:49.096-04:00AcclimatingWell, the boxes are finally unpacked, and AG and I are both here, in the same house! The house is much larger than the apartment we were living in, and for the most part, it's pretty empty. The sofa and armchair that made our apartment living room feel cozy and filled, doesn't even take up half of our "bonus room" upstairs. The living room and formal dining room downstairs need to be furnished inKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-34623095163745529882011-04-28T00:17:00.003-04:002011-04-28T00:42:41.121-04:00The Home StretchNext week, we are moving. Yes, it is finally time to leave the land of blizzards and taxes. I have just a few shifts left at the workplace. And, while it has had its challenges, at least I am familiar with the problems and the players here. For the most part, I like my co-workers. I have been here almost two years, and I think I have gained a lot of self confidence. Looking back, I didn't want myKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-50368473961440578272011-01-19T21:15:00.003-05:002011-01-19T21:19:30.405-05:00BrrrrrThis is the picture of my dashboard when I was driving home from an overnight shift the other morning. That's right, it says -16! And the sun was out! Stupid winter.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-53196763438316365792011-01-14T22:28:00.013-05:002011-01-15T00:17:14.929-05:002010 in PicturesDespite the lack of blog posts, 2010 was a great year. Here's some of what I didn't get around to posting.January- AG returned from Afghanistan after a 13 month deployment! This was the Welcome Home ceremony that is done for each planeful of soldiers before they can greet their families.April- AG and I got married, and headed off to the Canary Islands for our honeymoon.We island hopped from Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-70522170407915134442010-12-11T23:03:00.003-05:002010-12-11T23:11:24.504-05:00Out and AboutLife is changing again, and I am trying to keep up. September was full of shifts crammed together, a week of interviews, and getting to spend one whole weekend with my husband.October brought on oral boards, a visit to AG and my hometown, and the never-ending upper respiratory infection.November meant AG returning home after five months of training, a Thanksgiving with his family, and a house Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-43700400631940671762010-10-14T00:09:00.010-04:002010-10-14T01:30:20.430-04:00More TestingLast weekend, I flew to Chicago to take my oral boards. To be board-certified in Emergency Medicine, one must first pass a written exam (woohoo!) and then the oral boards. Oral boards are scheduled twice a year, and there is a lottery system to determine whether or not you get the Spring or Fall test date. Luckily, I drew October, since there was that whole wedding business going on in April. If Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-90669072870226952002010-09-11T17:48:00.004-04:002010-09-11T18:16:26.965-04:009It is hard to believe that it has been nine years since September 11, 2001. While I personally didn't lose any friends or family members that day, I still remember that awful feeling of seeing the Pentagon burning, planes crashing into the World Trade Center towers, and people evacuating across the Brooklyn Bridge on foot. A lot has changed in my life in the past nine years. At the time, I was Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-119365069305332572010-08-23T23:13:00.004-04:002010-08-24T00:10:34.651-04:00Hard TimesMe: "So, the chart says that you cut yourself yesterday?"Pt: "Yeah."Me: "Why did you do that? Were you trying to hurt yourself?"Pt: "Yeah. I thought that if I cut my hand deep enough, you could amputate it, and then I could get disability."Me: "Do you work now?"Pt: "No, I'm on disability."Me: "So the idea was to get more disability?"Pt: "Yeah."----------No, the hand didn't need to be amputated, Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-25150190586389389802010-08-20T00:48:00.007-04:002010-08-20T02:19:17.616-04:00RestrepoThe other weekend, AG and I went to see the movie "Restrepo". I actually hadn't heard anything about this movie, and apparently it is only playing in certain theaters. AG had heard from one of his instructors that it was playing in Tucson, so we were able to catch it up there. "Restrepo" is actually a documentary that follows an individual platoon during most of their 2008 deployment in Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-79773290519303277112010-08-04T21:44:00.005-04:002010-08-04T22:15:54.941-04:00The Distance to HereWell, so much for regular updates. Life has been a little complex lately. AG (Army Guy) and I have been married just short of four months now. We had about a month together after the wedding, but the last three months we have been apart. I suppose that it is not the most conventional arrangement, but we are making it work.Basically, AG is at a point in his military career where he had to attend aKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-58372461224856650482010-07-18T00:43:00.004-04:002010-07-18T01:12:45.308-04:00YellowI looked at the nurse's notes, and there it was:Chief Complaint: "My skin is all yellow."I sighed, and pulled back the curtain. 2 am isn't exactly when my peak diagnostic skills are kicking in. To be honest, I think I almost dropped my clipboard when I first saw her. Icteric eyes blinked back at me. There in the stretcher was probably the most jaundiced woman I have ever seen. She was fluorescentKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-3644492813208575372010-07-14T22:08:00.004-04:002010-07-14T22:22:14.600-04:00Voodoo ChildNobody died during my last shift. Normally, I would say that deaths in the ED (at least mine) are a fairly infrequent occurrence. However, for a couple of weeks, I was pronouncing someone every shift, sometimes two a shift. In my defense, all but one of them were dead on arrival, so it really had nothing to do with me, but it still got around to where some of the techs were calling me Doctor Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-43107687860831488282010-06-28T12:46:00.002-04:002010-06-28T12:51:48.139-04:00Um, Not DeadSorry, things have gotten pretty stagnant around here. I am now a married lady, and there's been a lot going on. I haven't entirely forgotten about blogging, it just kind of got shoved on a the back burner. I have been thinking more about what to do with this blog--whether to start a new one, and whether or not I want to re-evaluate making this more accessible to friends/family. Thanks to my fewKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-71378146366254054302010-01-21T10:48:00.005-05:002010-01-21T10:58:45.915-05:00Looking UpCurrently, I am feeling rather content with myself. Downstairs, there are BBQ ribs slowly cooking and tenderizing in the crockpot, releasing a wonderfully spicy smell.My legs and butt are giving off small, painful protestations about how they have spent the last two days at the gym every time I sit down or climb stairs.AG has been home for almost two weeks now, and it is starting to feel more Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-57763083827784524552010-01-05T23:46:00.008-05:002010-01-06T00:51:32.025-05:002009 Reading ListCurrently I am recovering from a string of overnight shifts. Here are my reads from this past year. Since graduating, I have tried to not be a complete recluse by joining a book club. It has been good in that a lot of the books I probably would have never come across otherwise. As far as discussion goes, we are really more of a wine and dessert club, with often hardly a mention of the month's Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-58736222268317344502010-01-01T23:27:00.007-05:002010-01-01T23:55:00.844-05:002009 In ReviewI borrowed these questions from another blogger. Several of my answers are kind of redundant, but if you've been reading lately, it has just been that kind of year.---------1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? I sold my house, and took my Emergency Medicine boards. 2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?It doesn’t look like I made anyKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-34045221944295196852009-12-22T18:04:00.003-05:002009-12-22T18:13:25.727-05:00NaughtyI have been a bad blogger. At this point, I don't plan on giving up. I just have not been good about getting my thoughts down, and then later I can never remember what I wanted to write about.I am now six months into the new job and am starting to feel more settled. Like any other job, some days are better than others. I do really like my co-workers and am glad that I ended up here.AG has Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-76400696008502927182009-11-30T02:37:00.003-05:002009-11-30T03:02:37.873-05:00RepresentingI am not accustomed to dealing with drug reps. During residency, they were banned from our program by our department chair. Generally speaking, I think that emergency physicians are a much less optimum target for sales than internists or family practitioners. Probably at least 75% of my prescriptions are based on about five different medications. In addition to the fact that I stick with Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-66613165154577865132009-11-25T17:20:00.003-05:002009-11-25T17:43:39.285-05:00GraciasIt is that time of year again. As always, there is a lot to be thankful for. I think that it is important to remind myself of that from time to time.-I am thankful that the boards are over. I think that I did ok, but am mainly just happy to put a checkbox by that bundle of stress.-I have a wonderfully thoughtful and supportive fiance, who won't be home until after the holidays, but as of now, he Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-29664757017801266762009-11-16T22:33:00.003-05:002009-11-16T22:34:54.541-05:00TestingI am taking my EM Boards on Wednesday. I'm not feeling so confident, and yet I am so tired of studying.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-47703705077507358962009-11-10T22:07:00.006-05:002009-11-10T23:13:43.806-05:00Two Weeks of Normalcy, Sort ofAG was recently home on leave. The two weeks flew by faster than I think either of us would have liked. It felt almost like he had never left, right up until I had to take him back to the airport. He seemed to re-adjust to life back home well--razzing me about my driving, "Slow down, I can't find IED's at 75 mph!"We did a few wedding things-- cake testing at a bakery, and menu tasting at our Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-57050300081261973882009-11-03T22:02:00.005-05:002009-11-03T22:21:12.581-05:00Tricks and Men In BlackThe other morning when I went into work, there were a slew of patients waiting for me. One was a guy who obviously needed suturing done on his face, and appeared to still be a little intoxicated. There was more blood on his shirt than I thought the lacerations warranted, so I made him strip down to make sure that he hadn't been stabbed anywhere in the chest. (Stranger unnoticed injuries have beenKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-31778266908139054722009-09-30T20:46:00.004-04:002009-09-30T21:05:20.692-04:00Death By PowerpointLast week I went through a five-day board prep course. A few of my classmates from residency and I flew out to the Midwest and camped out in a hotel. We endured 50 lecture hours over 5 days! I had forgotten how painful it can be to spend so much time in a lecture hall, and haven't slugged down that much caffeine in a long time. A couple of my classmates from medical school were there as well, Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353845.post-59636567859340777812009-09-17T20:31:00.003-04:002009-09-17T20:46:15.771-04:00An Unlikely PatriotI have been well-intentioned about updating more regularly, but this last week has been hell. Now that I am done with residency, there is no protective 80-hour work week restriction. So far, my shifts had been scattered here and there, but due to a number of trades I did to accommodate my partners and my leaving town for a board review course, I somehow ended up doing 8 shifts in 9 days (at all Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18434200154377829826noreply@blogger.com0