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Guide entry
Apr 16, 2005

I've written my first guide entry in what seems like forever.

I'm on call at Schwab. It's really slow tonight, so far. But instead of sleeping, I'm writing. I have a cold and breathing through my nose is painful.

Eventually I'll exhaust myself. Hopefully there will be some time for sleep before that happens...

(No replies)

I'm back
Mar 29, 2004

Hopefully. . .

Life has returned to its usual level of probability. I should be onsite a lot more.

We're keeping out fingers crossed.

Friar

(1 reply, Latest reply: Aug 25, 2004)

ON CALL PHYSICIAN
Jul 8, 2003

Ok, I'm now an internin a 314 bed community hospital. Tonight there are three interns on call, a senior resident, an OB/GYN resident and a Critical Care Fellow (somebody who's finished residency, but is taking another year to become more specialized. . .In this that that means the Intensive Care Unit, i.e. critical care).

Anyway, there are about 250 beds for the three interns to cover tonight. I have the fewest beds (around 60) but I also have the sickest patients. A few patients with cardiac issues, a few with blood clots in their lungs, that kind of thing. I also have a few patients just waiting to die. Usually that's not such a bad thing. All my terminal patients tonight are pretty stable and I should make it to morning without a problem from that group.

There are a few mostly stable almostready to go home patients that scare me a lot more. Why? Because if they get sick, I should eb able to save them.

Me.

yikes

(9 replies, Latest reply: Sep 5, 2003)

National Residency Match Program
Feb 20, 2003

I'm finishing up med school here and the Match happens in a few weeks.

Basically after med school you go into a "residency" program to be an apprentice in your selected field of medicine (pediatrics, surgery, etc). The residency lasts 3-5 years depending on the type of medicine and the hospital at which you train.

The Match works like this:
I rank all the programs I like (all of which i interview at and do some research about)

All the programs I apply to rank me, or choose to NOT rank me.

An algorithm looks at the two lists and decides where I will spend the next 4 years of my life.


Now there is a chance that I WILL NOT MATCH. This will happen if programs don't like that my grades are a little low and just don't rank me, or if they like OTHER candidates more than they like me.

If that happens, i might have to move out of Chicago. Where I own a home, where my wife works and where my entire family lives.

So I'm freaking out a little. Because I've only applied in Chicago the number of programs I'm looking at is far less than my classmates who will move anywhere in the country. that doesn't help me.

I have to submit my list in one week.
I'll find out IF I matched on March 17.
I'll find out WHERE I matched on March 20.

I got a month to go.
they should make this process a little MORE anxiety provoking. . .

(5 replies, Latest reply: Jun 3, 2003)

On working with professional contractors
Jan 23, 2003

I dunno if they have these elsewhere, but in the US when you do major home renovations it's pretty common to hire a Contractor. This person hires Sub-Contractors to do the work (like plumbers, electricians, carpenters, etc.). Because they are often plumbers, electricians or carpenters, they can hire themselves, and because the people they hire work closely and frequently with the Contractors they can pay less then typical folks, like me, would pay.

Anyway, we started work on the addition to our house in August. they aren't finished yet.

We added a two story 830 sq. ft. addition, with two baths. It was a pretty major project. The work didn't really get started until September/October because of legal stuff with the city. In any evern. Since Dec 22 the workmen have been here a total of 6 days. My wife is returning to work (after her maternity leave) on Monday and the workmen have about 4 days left of work to do. Basically unless they work like lil' ba$tards until Monday they will not finish.

I still owe them $20,000. That's the only power I've got to get them to show up and finish. Realistically, I cold finish the work myself. But unless they tell me that they've quit, I have to pay them anyway.

I'm really pissed.

They're totally not going to come and work this week.

They $uck.

damn

damndamndamn

(3 replies, Latest reply: Feb 15, 2003)