It's been a while. A bunch has happened in the past four months so here is a quick synopsis of the highlights. I had three audition rotation spread out around the eastern half of the US which I spent many hours in my car venturing around.
September: I spent the month in Charleston, WV working in the Women's and Children's Hospital. I spent my first two weeks in the pediatric ICU with a bunch of kids that had the lovely enterovirus D68. This was also where I encountered my youngest victim of child abuse. It is a situation I have long feared and knew it was only a matter of time until I came face to face with a perpetrator but the scenario I had gone through in my head did not fully prepare me for how I would feel. The image of seeing a little four month old baby in a coma with electrodes connected to her head and an intubation tube sticking out of her mouth. Later seeing the images of her brain bleed and the damage to both of her retinas not knowing whether this little girl would ever return to baseline despite all our efforts was hard to deal with. After she was extubated, I spent hours working with her to correct her sucking reflex as she continued to choke on her spit and feedings and the fear was she would have to be reintubated. I will never know what happened to LP but I would have gladly taken that little peanut with me.
My last two weeks in West Virginia was spent on Infectious Disease service. I saw lots and lots of bone infections. My experience over the last two weeks was very different than my first two. I wasn't allowed to really do anything but observe and my initiative to come in early and round on patients on my own was not appreciated. This was a very tough time as it was the beginning of interview season and I was with the program director so I would overhear him talking to staff about offering people interviews. My last day, he shook my hand and wished me luck in my future...that was it. I never received an offer to come back and interview. It stung at the time but reflecting now, I would be very upset if I were to match to Charleston. The program didn't offer what I wanted and I don't think I would have thrived there.
October: Glorious October. I was able to spend it in warm, sunny West Palm Beach, FL. I was so excited just going in to this rotation as I would be spending it in the pediatric ER which is a potential goal for my career direction. And it didn't disappoint in the least. I saw some crazy diagnoses, worked with some of the best pediatricians I have encountered, and interacted with a fantastic group of residents. During my third week there, one of the physicians I worked with sent an email on my behalf to the head of the peds program, the overall residency director, and director of medicine of the hospital system recommending me as a future resident. This started the ball rolling which would have me moved to the pediatric floor of the hospital to take care of my own patients and by the end of the third week I was interviewing for a residency spot. I had been warned that the peds residency director was intense but he was like that with all interviewees and residents. Well I must have caught him on a really good day because I had a fantastic interview. I have talked with the assistant residency director since and had very positive feedback. I am crossing my fingers, toes, arms, and legs crossed (I have been instructed it is not safe to work or drive with my eyes crossed so for safety purposes, they will remain uncrossed).
November: I made the huge climate change up to Detroit to spend the month at Children's Hospital of Michigan. Holy cow is it a huge hospital. I was still trying to get my bearings at the end of week four. We had a hefty patient load that never provided a reprieve. It was an insane month. I don't think I have ever worked so hard in my life. Short shifts were 11-13 hour days with night and long shifts being 14-16 hours. It was slightly different as I was working as a sub intern which meant I had all the responsibilities of a first year resident but I just had to get all my orders and prescriptions entered by my senior residents as I didn't have that capability. And it was freaking cold. There was a record cold streak that went through, the same one that dumped 6 feet of snow on Buffalo. It was the perfect timing for the heat to go out at my friend's house. This made having to stay at the hospital where there the inside temperature was above 60 degrees slightly more enjoyable. All the hours I was putting in didn't go unnoticed, at least by the senior residents I was working with. I received a great deal of praise from my attendings, chief residents, interns, 3rd year students, as well as patients. Unfortunately, this didn't result in an interview at this program. Of the two programs I did a rotation at, this was the most upsetting not to get an interview. I am still dwelling on it and remain frustrated. I don't think I could have done any more than I did while on the rotation so at least I have no regrets in that aspect.
December: I got the chance to return home for the month to do a rotation in physiatry. It has been so nice to be home and the rotation was so relaxed compared to what I had endured over the past three months. It was tough going from all my patients being under the age of 18 to rarely seeing anyone under the age of 50 who didn't have a work related injury with an open L&I claim. I had a hard time not resenting patients who came in complaining of 10 out of 10 pain who were able to walk in to the exam room and were able to smile during the history taking and denied having any disruption in their sleep when I had just come from caring for kids riddled with cancer in their bones who were unable to walk more than 10 steps. I definitely think I am going in the right direction as far as my preferred patient age bracket.
Residency outlook: I have finished up interviews and am currently putting my rank list together. I have been trying not to get too attached to a program going in to the last month before results come out but it has been very hard. My mind set starting out was that I would make the most out of wherever I ended up but coming out of rotations it is more apparent how important it is for it to be a mutual match. February 9th is when all will be revealed. The waiting is excruciating and I'm sure the next month will only be that much harder. Think warm happy thoughts.
Only 14 weeks left of rotations and less than 5 months till graduation.
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