Saturday 3 May 2014

Belated 25th bday post and the end of surgery!



Surgery is finally over! I will never have to see a 4 in front of my alarm clock again!! I still don't have a life back--yet--because even though I made an effort to get at least 7 hours of sleep, surgery still screwed up my sleep schedule and immune system, and as a result, I ended up getting sick, hard, my last week of surgery. It's been nearly two weeks and I'm still recovering! The day I first started feeling under the weather I ended up scrubbing into an 8+ hr case and near the end, I had to excuse myself because I simply couldn't stand there anymore. And when I took my temp, it was nearly 102F. Yikes!

I stumbled home that day, slept all night, and took the next day off and by the end I was feeling much better, so I thought I was over the hump. Sometime over the weekend, the fever and chills came back, and so I spent the whole weekend in bed at home, not enjoying the first good weekend of the year. I was literally laying in bed like an invalid, staring out the window, wishing I was outside! Last week I was still coughing up half my lungs and slightly febrile, but still had to bust my ass to study for the ridiculous surgery shelf. I studied the most I've ever studied for a shelf this time and I still didn't know half the questions.  They didn't test on anything we learned on the surgery rotation and instead asked us random internal medicine questions not relevant to the SURGERY exam.  So frustrating. Only two more of these stupid shelf exams until I never have to take another test in med school (oh right, other than Step 2 of the US Medical Licensing Exam). I'm still too weak to do anything, so I'm at home again this weekend. I finally got some real meds (a Z-pack and steroids) from my PCP and I feel a little better. What do I think it is? At first I thought it was the flu since my sister had it last month, but now that it's lasted almost two weeks, some sort of bacterial infection that wasn't getting better because I wasn't taking antibiotics. Doctors are usually the last ones to take medicine themselves, but guess I should just suck it up sometimes!

Back to when I had a life, here are some belated pics from my elaborate birthday celebration this year! I celebrated with so many different groups and was so happy to see everyone together again for my birthday.

 P and I have birthdays 1 day apart, so we always celebrate together. 
He let me blow out the candle
 Chocolate mousse cake, so yummy
Bmore friends
 Family+Charlie vacay to Amish country that weekend, JJ was sick :(
 Charlie had fun though
 JJ got me macarons, which I then tried to recreate poorly (see post below)
 Med school girls at Tara Thai for my actual birthday. We saw Divergent! 
My parents' bday surprise

 Zentan with my DC crew
 Vermicelli lamb meatballs
J looking stoic per usual
 Friends since 8th grade and the baker of my beautiful birthday cake!

I had an awesome birthday this year. Thanks for everyone who helped me celebrate! You made the transition into my MID-twenties not so bad ;) 

Thursday 3 April 2014

Pistachio Macarons



I spent the entire day making macarons. The entire day. 

Pistachio macarons with pistachio buttercream and strawberry ones with strawberry buttercream. While they're still far from perfect, at least one batch had feet! Now if only I could get every batch to come out so well....








The strawberry ones look more like ice cream sandwiches...I still have no idea why! Any macaron connoisseurs want to educate me on what I did wrong? 

At least a couple had feet! At least I did something right.


Wednesday 2 April 2014

Trauma

Excited for TRAUMA!
For med students at Maryland, rotating at our world famous R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center (Hopkins aint got nuthin on STC) is a rite of passage. Wearing the hallmark pink scrubs, taking overnight call every third night with the residents, running up to the helipad, doing chest compressions on a dying patient, scrubbing in on urgent surgeries in the middle of the night, were everything I was looking forward to during my two weeks leading up to spring break. And while I did see a bit of everything I wanted to, the whole thing felt a bit anticlimactic--and needless to say, the novelty of staying up all night wore off on hour 18 of day 1.

On the helipad

Even though we do two weeks on trauma during our surgery rotation (2 months total), the rotation was actually much more centered on emergency medicine and ICU medicine. Most of the time we were on the "floor" managing critically ill patients, many of whom just had major surgery, were on ventilator support, couldn't wake up, or were intubated. It was my first exposure to how to manage these patients who didn't have just one problem, they had problem with every major organ system and were staying ahead of death one day at a time, a real eye opener for sure. Then every third day, we were triaging new patients in the TRU (Trauma Resuscitation Unit), basically a glamorized ER where every traumatically injured patient in the DMV was brought in. I expected to see GSWs, stab victims, lots of car crashes, maybe some drownings or burn victims, some TRAUMA for cryin' out loud--but luckily for the residents of Maryland, those were few and far in between. I saw a total of 3 GSWs and 2 were self-inflicted in acts of stupidity and/or suicide attempts. The one real GSW was dead on arrival and after 5 minutes of CPR, was too far gone to attempt any further resus. Instead, we got a lot of falls, falling from standing, falling from wheelchair, falling from ladders or stairs, and one case of a lady falling from a moving truck (she ended up getting brain surgery and was still in a coma when I left). 

Not my pic, but this is what it's like when they first wheel a patient into the TRU. We would be the people gowned and gloved waiting for the patient to be moved to the bed. 

Most of the time, I had no idea why these people were transported or flown to Shock Trauma, when they would have been fine being managed closer to home, like car crash victims who were transferred to us 12 hrs after their accident who were entirely stable, or a lady who jabbed herself in the eye with a wooden pole and cracked her orbital bone but who was fine otherwise (hint, if you can walk into the TRU, you do not belong in Shock Trauma). In the event of a "priority" victim though, shit got real. We would gown up, the lead resident would assign tasks to the doctors (e.g. you put in the central line, you do the chest tube, you intubate) and everyone would swarm around the patient when they were wheeled in, making sure they could breathe, putting in lines, and assessing the amount of injury. As a medical student, my job was to do the FAST (focused assessment sonography for trauma) exam so we could quickly scan in the abdomen to check for internal bleeding, check pedal pulses, help take off their patient's clothes, and otherwise get out of the way when all hell breaks loose. Sometimes they would "reward" us by letting us sew up lacerations! Whenever they wheeled a new patient in, my partner and I would start scoping them out for lacerations because we knew we could practice sewing them up. The last day I got to put in 12 stitches on a leg by myself! 

Pure madness when a "priority" comes in. A sea of doctors and nurses swarming around the patient. 

Like much of medicine, there were really exciting moments and then a lot of sitting and waiting around for the next patient to come in, even in trauma. If there wasn't something going on, somewhere between 2 am and 5 am, I would lie down in the call rooms for a bit, and was actually able to get an hour or two of sleep a night, which isn't bad by trauma standards. It wasn't this constant never ending stream of dying patients that I imagined (although it may be busier in the summer, when more people are getting into trouble). Hence, my partner and I would take a food break like every hour, and get ice cream every call day. Froyo = trauma life. 

Call day diet

Team A froyo break

Sunday 16 February 2014

Vday brunch


Is this what a normal weekend feels like? Sleeping in, cooking (epic) brunch, and then watching TV for the rest of the afternoon? I had wholly forgotten what it feels like.

Even though I had to work (a shift in the psychiatric emergency department, not as dramatic as you would assume, though I am probably desensitized to what is dramatic and what isn't), the rest of this weekend has been refreshingly undemanding. I caught up with friends, went to the gym, shopped at IKEA, started House of Cards Season 2 (dat first episode....), scavenged for bacon and maple syrup on a Sunday morning in Baltimore (everything is closed), and cooked brunch for some of my favorite couples and J for Valentine's day. The beautiful roses decorating our apartment were from my roommate's fiance. I was in charge of the banana bread, scones, and potatoes; my neighbors A&W brought breakfast tacos! 

Best banana bread I've ever made courtesy of Chocolate Covered Katie: Chocolate Chip Chai Banana Bread. Even though I normally love chai, I think this would have been just as good without the cardamom.The only substitutions I made were adding 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips instead of nuts (I sprinkled some more on top before baking for 35 minutes) and using half whole wheat, half white flour. It was still just as moist with the whole wheat flour. 

Blueberry lemon scones were from an old recipe I got from my sister over the summer. Again, I used half white and half whole wheat flour. Even though they looked like gargantuan Frankenstein scones, they were a hit! 

C also made french toast and "bacon" (aka bulgogi)


I love getting up late on weekends and making breakfast so I was so glad to have opportunity to host an epic brunch for some of my best friends here in Bmore. And not spend it alone even though they never make me feel like the 5th wheel =)  

Thursday 13 February 2014

Snow day!

As a third or fourth year medical student, there is no such thing as a "snow day." When grocery stores, offices, schools, and the government are closed, hospitals are always open, and thus essential clinical staff have to make it in come snow, sleet, or ice. Gone are the days of first and second year when we would feel like giddy grade schoolers after getting the text alert saying school's closed the next day. This year, I don't even pay attention to when it's supposed to snow until I get a blast of snow in my face out the front door. I bitterly ignore the "school's closed" texts because most days I'm already in the hospital at 6 am and halfway through rounds. 

Not today. Chalk it up to a combination of being on a chill rotation (psychiatry), having the nicest resident ever, and a forecast to get up to a foot of snow, and I got my first snow day this year! My resident told me to enjoy the days off when I still can though, because in just a short 1.5 years, I'll be the one on call and the one who has to drive in with a foot of snow on the ground (though I'm thankful I don't live in Chicago or Minneapolis or something). 

I spent the entire day just taking my time waking up, eating my breakfast and drinking my coffee, working out, cooking, and eating with neighbors. And even got a little studying done because I find psychiatry. I actually love what I'm learning on this rotation but finding it difficult to take care of the patients because they're literally crazy. And so even though I find the pathophysiology and presentation of schizophrenia, bipolar disease, depression, and various personality/anxiety disorders fascinating (I've never seen such a wide range of human behavior in such a short time), I couldn't go into the field. I do really enjoy this rotation though because it will give us a good foundation for seeing these patients in a medical setting (apparently 20% of all visits to a PCP are for psychiatric complaints)--and then refer them to our psych colleagues. 

Here's last month's parade of Things I Ate. Went out to a hip new restaurant with my girls (Fork and Wrench in Canton) where we saw Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (filming Veep in Baltimore; apparently the cast of House of Cards visits the restaurant all the time too), but I thought it was a bit overrated, like many other "new American" restaurants. I prefer Woodberry for hipster food when I'm feeling decadent. 

 Bone marrow and animal crackers for starters (also had an escargot bun, not pictured. I think I'll take my bao zi with pork in it again next time, thanks)
 Steak Frites 
Proof we actually get out in third year!


C's family was kind enough to invite us over for Chinese New Year! CNY = friends, family, and lots and lots of dumplings. 
 
 And at this party, green tea macarons! Macarons are notoriously difficult to make and C's sister E is a macaron making monster. Don't they look store bought? I'm obsessed -- I've already commissioned her to make a macaroon cake for my (who knows when) wedding. 

 Mani's and macarons with the roomie. Once again, her sis' Earl Grey tea and rose water macarons. 

My college friends recently moved back to Baltimore and invited me over to their adorable apartment for some tea and scones <3 
 Bacon milkshake @ Paper Moon Diner. Had to try it. 
 Fancy schmancy drinks at the 13th floor of the Belvedere
 Current accessories
 My roommate's sister's handiwork again. Mango/raspberry cake for Vday. 

Snow day potluck! Chicken satay pasta and cauliflower crust pizza. 

Tomorrow's Valentine's day and I have some fun plans with friends this whole weekend. I'll be sharing some recipes next since I've had so much more time to cook lately! Trying to pack as much into this month as possible before I start SURGERY (my worst fear) next month. 

Sunday 12 January 2014

New Year's Resolutions 2014



I can't believe it's been a full year since my last New Year's resolution post and hence over a year since I've been blogging regularly (hey, somewhat).  It's ironic I started this blog during the dark days of second year of med school (third year is so much better), but it's also helped because it helped me chronicle and remember the fun times I had during that period too.

How did I do on my New Year's resolutions for last year? I think I posted a lot more consistently and a lot more photo stories of the more-than-usual trips (Honolulu, Montreal, New YorkBeijing) that I took last year, so I did build my blog more. I tried to keep up with current events more, especially at the beginning of the year, but didn't do so well at the end. And I definitely did NOT phase Facebook out, so there's that. Yeah...

I'm pretty much convinced that New Year's resolutions are a load of bullocks and that the vast majority of people don't achieve them (including me). However, they do offer a good opportunity for introspection on what you think you need to change and improve about yourself. So without further ado, my resolutions for 2014:

1. Dream Bigger - As mentioned before, med school and specifically second year was rough. So rough insofar that I lost a lot of my ambition and drive that I had going into med school to excel. After not doing so stellar on my first couple of tests, I was satisfied to get around the class mean and I resigned myself to the fact that I would just be average. Now that I'm halfway through third year, I feel myself regaining a lot of the confidence I had as I find my knowledge improving my leaps and bounds every rotation. I'm not cowering in the corner during rounds, afraid that the attending will ask me a question, because I know how rounds work, what lab values mean, and what clinical findings are important. As I'm becoming more comfortable with a doctor's role in how the hospital works, I want to set my goals higher and dream bigger this year. I want to travel somewhere far for residency, ideally the Bay Area or anywhere in California, but anywhere on the west coast like Portland or Seattle would be fine, just for a change of scenery and culture. So many of my friends have made the move and don't want to come back. Since I will likely pursue a fellowship, residency will be a good chance to go away for 3 years and then eventually come back to the DC area if I can tear myself away from California. I had a period where I would have been satisfied to stay in DC or even Baltimore for residency just because it would have been "easy," but now's a good time to refocus my plans and resolve to make the big move!

2. Take control of my finances - I've already started doing this by tracking all of my bank accounts on Mint sometime in the spring last year, but now I check Mint much more often than my actual bank accounts. Mint makes it easy to categorize your purchases under the Transactions tab and then see how much you spent on a certain category in a certain period under the Trends tab. It makes it easy to track spending trends throughout the years and to figure out what categories you need to cut back on or expand. My goals for this year are to apply to a new credit card in order to take advantage of the reward miles in preparation for interview season THIS fall (!!) and to learn some basic investing. I gave my dad some money to invest for me after high school and just asked for control of the account so I can learn some stock market basics. I completely forgot that I still had that pot of money, so I'm not going to take it super seriously as if all of my savings depend on it (it doesn't) and instead just try to have some fun with investing!

That's it. Only two and I'm already doing most of the second one. But the first one is a biggie, so I think that'll be more than enough to keep me busy for 2014. Let's see how I do!.

Saturday 11 January 2014

Instagram winter break

Ok technically these weren't all taken during winter break of third year, but they didn't fit nicely into other posts. Here's my winter iPhone photo dump: 

 The roof of Mercy hospital, one of our (fancy schmancy) affiliate hospitals, where I did the second month of my Internal Medicine rotation. The rooftop garden looks out onto downtown Baltimore!
 My classmate K and I on the rooftop during the year's first snow! Our resident took us out to play in the snow and then let us go at 11 am. 
 Mercy Med A was the best!

 Lights on 34th street, an annual tradition in Bmore. 

 I went to Taco Bar, an authentic Mexican place located in a gas station in my hometown (#1 on yelp!), no less than three times over winter break. 

 First meal back with the parents

 Christmas eve selfie
 Christmas eve outfit

 JJ's first attempt at apple pie

 Unwrapping presents on Christmas eve

 J's grown up holiday playdate in DC

Remus is trying to sneak a bite

 The infamous "birth juice"

 Bffls!

 The perfect Xmas present

 My mini cheesecakes for the annual NYE party


 The day MoCo closed schools one day after New Year's

 The most accessories I've ever worn

Bistrot du Coin for Jeff's 25th bday!

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I'm a practicing hematologist/oncologist living in sunny Southern California. I take care of sick patients during the day and try to live life to the fullest outside of work!

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