Sep 16, 2012

Watches

Since early last year I've been dying to get a watch. I do not know why I associate professionalism with watches, but let me speculate:

1. Pulling out a phone to check the time is "disrespectful" (your older professors will assume you're getting a quick round of "words-with-friends" in).
2. Being successful but also professional means having functional bling. If I get a doctor's bag, it's going to be the most abstract Vera Bradley pattern I can find. If I have an excuse to have a watch, it will be like a crazy beautiful watch. It won't be like I'm "dressing" up (which would be unprofessional) because I actually need a timepiece (... well I mean technically. I think I can make the argument that I need a time piece).
3. It just feels like a doctorly thing to have. I want to be standing over a patient, taking their blood pressure, their heart and respiration rates, and instead of staring at a wall, I want to be looking somewhat at the patient so I don't seem distant. I also feel like there are a lot of portraits of doctors looking at their watches while assessing a patient's vitals.
4. Also, most obvious: being late is unprofessional. You can lose "professionalism points" from our clinical reasoning course by being late to lab. So yea, punctuality is professional.

Consequently, I've been obsessed with finding a watch. Stylistically, I'm pretty "out there," so the challenge is to try and find something that expresses my personality but doesn't force my personality onto others (or worse, offends people). I also don't want to drop much more than $100, so I went to overstock.com because it's really difficult to find cool watches for women. I guess time is more of like a "dude thing." I don't know and I didn't really care, until, after scrolling through about 500 watches I see this atrocity:


Not only is this thing disgusting, it also asks a very important question: why isn't there a "whimsical women's doctor theme white leather watch"? I do not think I want to put on an air of "whimsicality" when I begin rotations next year, but dammit, I want a doctor's watch made for my womenly wrists!

Well, I have since searched overstock.com for a doctor's watch, and they don't have any. I tried searching for "professional" watches, and of the 40 results I got, 39 of them were men's watches. The one female watch was for "professional divers." Which I guess is cool and stuff because hey! I would've never thought women could descend to the same depths as men due to their whimsical womenly constitution's and other almost-trivial-but-still-obnoxious sexist b***s***. 



Anyway, rant over. If you're curious, I bought the above two watches. The one on the right is transparent, which means I've finally gotten something that's actually my skin tone.... which is another thing I could complain about. But I won't. Since like, I'm in medical school and am like, totally busy and schizz.

Sep 10, 2012

Read Between the Lines

We have a pathology professor--he seems like a nice, funny man--who's voice slowly deteriorates from a standard, older person's grumble to a dying, dehydrated, lip smacking affair. It's his third hour of lecturing. I get it. You need water. I understand this.

WELL THEN GET A DRINK OF WATER.

I should explain. I can't stand several things in this world of a billion annoyances. But the thing that bothers me a lot and is also quite common is hearing. people's. mouths. Mouths are disgusting, disgusting places. In general I can't stand the sound of people eating. This bothers me to no end. I have had to yell at people to stop, I have gotten into so many annoying fights with my little sister who--is an amazing person--but who needs to understand that I simply can't stand listening to other people eating and no, I will not get over it. F*CK that. I AM ACTUALLY ENRAGED RIGHT NOW. Because I am sitting in class and my professor, teaching pathology--an amazing course--keeps making eating sounds over his goddamn microphone. I swear to God I might leave. I want to leave. Maybe I'll put in headphones.

I have put in headphones. I no longer want to pay attention in class, however, and am pretty upset. The only other times I feel this irrationally upset, I am usually PMSing. I know it's irrational, but I am clearly having a physiological response. My breathing is shallower, more rapid--my chest is tightening. I may pass out. 


Worst of all, this is now affecting my note taking. BECAUSE HOLY SHIT, when something doesn't make sense, I get slightly upset. When I am already upset and things don't make sense, I break down.

Medicine is not for the easily incensed.

Sep 7, 2012

Exemplary Professional Behavior (possible extra credit points for being a good human being)

personal accountability: dependability, initiative, dress
demeanor: humility, compassion, adaptability
ethical behavior: honesty, fairness, confidentiality
relations with others: respect, communication, acceptance
relations with the community: teamwork, service, stewardship

Sep 6, 2012

Yes, what is immunotherapy?


Seriously though.... #stockphotofail

Lazy Leukocytes

I love it when medicine gives serious conditions funny names. Personally, I'm offended by the term diabetes, because it sounds super cute with all those "eee" sounds. But clearly egregious is the "Lazy Leukocyte Syndrome." Leukocytes (white blood cells of the immune system) are incapable of migrating from the circulating blood into tissues to fight infections. It's a serious, serious condition because it is fatal. Newborns either receive a successful bone marrow transplant or they die. Thanks science.