HUG EACH OTHER!

They say humans need at least 8-12 hugs per day. And it is true - there is so much value in sharing a hug with a loved one or friend. I believe so much positive and healing energy can flow between two humans sharing a friendly embrace.

Working in a hospital with a bunch of pretty egotistical Doctors can sometimes drain any amount of positive energy you have right out of your system. Nobody says hello or shares a smile or even gives you eye contact as you pass by the hospital halls! This can really make you feel lost and alone. Indeed, being from California where, although obviously not perfect, we are definitely much nicer to each other, it can really start to wear on the soul to feel no love.

Therefore, I hope we will all take a moment today to remember to reach out to one of our friends. Share a smile, call them, LAUGH with them. And better yet, as you pass strangers on the street, acknowledge their existence with a smile and a nod of the head.

And afterwards, share how you felt in the comments section here. We can create our own little "Chicken Soup for the Soul" corner.

HUGS TO YOU ALL!

"When the best role model isn't even a person"

I found this article in the Baltimore Sun from an educator in the Baltimore City Public School System, where I also spent two very challenging but extremely rewarding years as a middle school science teacher. The author, David Donaldson, shares a very sobering testimony of some of the challenges our students face. I continue to pray for my own students and for the system as a whole and would ask you all to keep them in your prayers as well. There is an incredible amount of talent in Baltimore City - here's hoping the new Administration's educational equality goals will help move our students in Baltimore forward.


By David Donaldson

November 26, 2008

My advisory class at the Maryland Academy of Technology and Health Sciences, a public charter high school in Baltimore, includes a daily lesson in character building or study skills. Recently, I asked six students participating in the group - all boys - to make a list of five male role models. I decided to participate as well, and quickly came up with a list that included educators, my father and my best friend, an Iraq War veteran.

What was an easy task for me, however, proved rather challenging for my students. I had questions and statements from them ranging from, "Do they have to be males?" to "I can't think of five."

When it finally became time to share their writings, none of the boys selected their father as a role model. Not one of my students has a father as an active participant in his life.

One of my students selected his grandfather, because out of all his brothers and male cousins, his grandfather and he are the only two who have never gone to prison. Another student selected his mother because not only does he buy her a Mother's Day present but a Father's Day present as well.

The most touching story took me by surprise. At first, I thought this regular class clown was going to make a joke of the assignment. However, as he began to explain, I appreciated his sincerity.

"I do not have a father and, well, my mom does her best. However, you said we had to pick a male role model. I could not think of five, but just one. So I picked my dog.

"He does not know if I had a good day or a bad day, but he does know I always need a friend, and so he is always there for me. That is why he is a role model - because he is always there and very loyal."

Maybe you had to have been in that classroom with me to fully experience the moment. But I doubt it.

Family Medicine Rotation - DONE!

Here is a post I meant to publish back on December 18, but forgot! Hope you enjoy!

Week 5 of Family Medicine Rotation - "In Patient Week":
Five out of the six weeks of the Family Medicine rotation is spent at a Doctor's office, working within their practice. But, one of the six weeks is spent at the hospital. My in-patient week was at Mary Immaculate Hospital (where my father used to work as the Pharmacist). Unfortunately, the hospital, known as MIH for short, is a tale of "how the mighty have fallen." Back in its heyday, when my father worked there, it was a model of medical education, offering every "service" as we call the various medical services like OB/GYN, Peds, Internal Medicine, etc. Going to MIH now is like exploring a skeleton of what used to be a vibrant place. Years of mismanagement and budgetary cuts have led to the hospital shutting down its Peds and OB/GYN service and offering scaled back versions of anything else it still has. The hospital is no longer considered a premier place to do your residency. And worst of all, it is about to go through its second bankruptcy - one that many are predicting will be its demise for good. In fact, the sixth floor has been completely shut down.

Doom and gloom aside, there were some highlights - during my in-patient week I learned how to draw blood, start IVs, and the general "Day in the Life" of a Doctor at a hospital. I also met two individuals who actually have been at the hospital since my father's time and actually remembered him. They didn't have any stories like I was hoping for, but alas, it has been 18 years, almost to the day, since my father's passing. I do sometimes wonder, now that I'm in the same field, if my work ethic and personality - or anything, really - is similar to his. I know my family claims we have similarities, but I wanted to actually hear about what he was like from his colleagues. Oh well, I'm a few (several) years too late :)

Overall, my Family Medicine rotation taught me quite a few things - for starters, I do love working with kids. Any time a child would come into the office, I always tried to get their chart! I just felt more excited going into the exam room when a kid was there - trying to help them overcome their apprehension and fear, talking with them about their likes and dislikes, or just plain old talking over their screaming and tears because they knew some shot or another was coming! :(

I also learned that I enjoy working with strong older folks, like my grandmother and some other grandparents I know. In fact, I met more than a few folks in their 90s who were still going strong. One lady, 95, actually went to the Adult Care Centers and taught them dancing!! (By the way, the office I was at catered to Spanish speakers, especially Colombians, where the Doctor was also from - the 95 year old lady was Colombian).

At this point many of you are quickly realizing that I have left out middle aged people. It is not that I dislike this age group, it is just that I find them boring. Sorry to all of you in this age range, but you bore me in terms of medical practice. I have no interest in your complaints and aches and pains. When I step into another exam room with a patient complaining of lower back pain who is 41, I just yawn and wish I was working with somebody else. I know, I'm terrible.

Finally, I learned that medicine can be quite boring sometimes. During my 24 hour call at the hospital, the majority of the time was spent watching movies. Sure, we visited all our patients and made sure all labs and xrays were being conducted and updated, but then it is down time, unless you get a new admission. So, make sure you bring lots of good movies! And your toothbrush - you don't wanna wake up in the middle of the night and see patients with bad breath!

Foley Catheter - Got It!

In all the momentousness of the past few days, I have been feeling like I'm on cloud nine! But don't worry, I'm still focused on my medical education. Today, I inserted my first Foley Catheter in a patient. This is the one that collects urine from the bladder...that's right, the bag with the Pee Pee you see at the side of a hospital bed sometimes, is connected to a long tube that runs up your ureter into the bladder...and those things don't insert themselves!

I also ran my resident through a checklist for what we should do for an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA). It was an incidental finding on a CT scan of an elderly lady. These sorts of aneurysms in the abdomen are more common in males, but we see them in females as well. For this particular patient, there really is nothing we can do about it other than continue monitoring blood pressure and administering Beta-blockers to try and prevent the aneurysm from growing in size.

Quotables: The First Mother-in-Law...and MY Mother

“When you acquire knowledge, you acquire something no one can take away from you."

I have heard this quote so many times from my own mother that when I read it in an article in the New York Times, I felt a chill that somehow the newspaper had interviewed my own mother! Turns out it is our new First Mother-in-Law they are quoting.

Many of you believe I am such an ardent supporter of our new President because of his politics. That is only partly true. Let me admit freely on this blog that there are other reasons. In our new President I see a man who faced challenges head-on, never giving up, including some that are quite similar to my own. No father, a hard-working, independent, amazing mother and grandmother team who have raised us, ambitious and often oversized goals and ideas and vision. Where many see hope only in his politics, myself included and rightfully so, I also see hope in his life and message.

I have never really been the type to look up to people like athletes to find inspiration and role models. I usually find my role models and mentors at my Church or through family. But in President Obama, I see somebody who overcame - and not just on his own, but because of an amazing and supportive parent. I hope to do the same. I pray to do the same. And while I have no ambitions to be President of the USA, I do hope to be the best Pediatrician in Fresno, CA some day, making sure that every child in our great Valley receives quality healthcare, quality education, safe and reliable housing and nutrition, and an equal opportunity to achieve their own goals and ambitions and vision.

Because you see, once I earn my MD - once that knowledge it firmly planted in my head - that is something no man can ever take away from me. Amen to that!

We Are America! A Day to Remember

I want to remember this moment! I was witness to our new President being sworn into office. At the exact moment, I was wearing my white coat, stethoscope around my neck, crisp button down shirt with a nice tie and classy pants. I was sitting with my colleagues in the room usually reserved for lectures on congestive heart failure, kidney diseases and other medical topics. We all watched the television screen as our 44th President - indeed, the 44th consecutive transfer of power without incident - took his oath of office. And afterwards, as a thank you from our residents who had secretly collected money, they threw us a celebratory pizza bash, complete with yummy NY pizza and soda. Call it an adult's pizza party for doing our job well.

I want to remember this moment! I was witness to a new President being sworn into office. A President who evokes feelings of hope, positive change, and happiness. One who calls upon us to face our challenges without fear and to stand tall, for we are America.

I want to remember this moment! Forever.