We’re PRISONERS. Handcuffed. Placed in a 6 x 8 cell. Told what to do and when by wardens who have no idea how to handle a ward. When you are fighting the uphill both ways, barefoot in the snow battle to become a physician no one mentions THAT in the brochures for medical school. But […]
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“I love crocodiles. They’re like little tiny babies,” number three reports from her seat in the back. The next question: “Mom, do you love little tiny babies”, hits me from left field, but I swing with an, “Absolutely. I love you, baby. Yes ma’am.” However, lately, I’ve been up to my armpits in alligators. And, […]
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I love my job. The reason I know I love it, is because I come into your room in the dark of the night to take care of you. I take care of you and yours when my own need taken care. I set aside the recitals, the school programs, and the PTA events to […]
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She grasps her chest dramatically and falls to the floor. Her eyes flutter as she tries to hold them closed. Her one arm across her chest the other flailed in theatrical fashion to her side. She’s dead. Her heart is broken. The other jumps from the bed, and after landing, reports her leg is broken. […]
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Let’s talk about expectations. And I’m talking the Dickens’ kind. When you watch television, the food flaunts itself before you. Tempting you with golden buns and perfectly placed pickles. The models eating those perfectly styled burgers are the same – airbrushed to perfection. Most often, limbs are stretched to unrealistic proportions and curves are molded […]
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Birthdays are special days. The day you became you. The culmination of your parents’ genes into what is uniquely you. “Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!”1 I have had a truly remarkable year. This time last year I was beginning the final […]
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One month behind me, I have a feeling of euphoria – and it’s not because I was kissed square on the mouth by a complete stranger. No lie. Well, I don’t suppose he was a complete stranger. I had taken care of him for two days. In the bargaining process for discharge, had I known […]
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Hospital medicine and outpatient medicine are two very different practices. At SMA, we try to blur those lines and bridge the gap. Who doesn’t want to see their family doctor when they’re the most sick? It is a dying art, and we know it. This week, I’ve been an obstetrician, a rural family practice doctor, […]
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The oldest is reading now. I gave her Homer’s Odyssey for some light summer reading. She looked at me confused. Instead, I gave her Don Quixote de La Mancha. After all, she did start Spanish last year in primer. I’m not sure why she can’t leap into reading these texts. They’re the basics, right? The […]
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It’s a golden weekend. Two days. No work. All play. Golden Weekend! Those are like unicorns or leprechauns. To those in residency, the golden weekend is mythical. Because, in reality, who has two days that they don’t fill with work? Normally, in residency your every day work-list builds up while you are in the confines […]
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