Updates, and asking for advice

Thanks, K for the good wishes!  It was overall a wonderful Match Day with congratulations flowing between the residents.  Actually, even my kindergarten teacher sent me a congratulations on Facebook! I treated myself to my favorite artisan pizza (fresh basil and roasted garlic, and a mixture of sumptuous cheeses on a perfect thin crust).  Several of us in the third-year class met afterward at a local movie theater-bowling alley where I thoroughly embarrassed myself by bowling gutter ball after gutter ball.  But it was good fun.  Actually, we very much looked like a commercial for world peace: an observant Muslim girl wearing the traditional hijab, several Indians from various states (and probably castes too), and little Ashkenazi Jewish me.

So how will this fellowship work?  I will do seven months of consults (meaning, seeing patients in the hospital) followed by twelve months of research followed by another five months of consults.  Throughout, I will see patients in the Infectious Diseases clinic one half-day each week.  Mostly I will follow them for HIV, some for bone or joint  infections, and some for hepatitis C or confection with HCV and HIV.  I am so excited!  The program director is excited too.  And I have no regrets at all that I will be staying in my current location.

My enthusiasm is somewhat tempered, though, because a friend who applied for gastroenterology didn't match.  He is a hard worker, a great physician, and really should have gotten a position.  Worse, the GI program at our institution took another resident who isn't as strong.  It must feel like such an affront and I heard he is despondent.  I sent him a text message, letting him know I am thinking of him and his wife and that he is a wonderful physician and that I hope happier times are ahead and that I do believe things will eventually work out for him.  I didn't call because I thought he might not want to talk when so upset.  I might text him again in a few days.  But it sure feels unfair.  He really deserved a spot.  You can't be happy when you know other people are sad.

I have also had the challenging experience of leading "morning report" twice this week.  Morning report is a tradition in Internal Medicine.  Interns (i.e. first-year residents) or senior residents present a case from the hospital, while the rest of the residents (and sometimes students) are asked to discuss the case: differential diagnosis, workup, and sometimes treatment.  We have historically had an outstanding morning report.  The level of discussion, the faculty participation -- it's actually one of the reasons I chose Internal Medicine.  But a large part depends on the chief resident, who is the facilitator.  Those are people one year post-residency who dedicate that year to educational activities and administrative duties as well.  Our program added two junior chief positions this year, one for a second-year and one for a third year.  I was chosen.

I have always wanted to lead morning report.  It's been my dream since I was a third year student.  But teaching is NOT as easy as it seems!  And it is SO DIFFERENT teaching a large group from the teaching I do leading a small team on the wards.  I still haven't got the hang of it.  I learned a few things:  I summarize three key points from each case at the meeting's end.  I have a a question or two from an internal-medicine question bank at the end.  But I don't just want to be adequate.  I want to do as good a job as the fabled SH, former resident and now awesome attending.

How do I get there, dear readers?  Anyone in an educational field -- tips?  Because I could use them.

In baby news, things are, thank God, going okay.  We are thirty-two weeks and five days today.  Surrogate was diagnosed with gestational diabetes but her HbA1C (a measure of glycemic control over the last three months) was only 4.5, and her glucose readings have been very well-controlled with diet alone. She will soon start doing NSTs and more frequent monitoring, I guess because she is advanced maternal age now that she's thirty-six.  We will start looking at flights soon!  I still refuse to believe fully, but it feels nice to tell people.  And, I actually had a very fake-pregnant moment last weekend:  I was at a baby shower, and the mom-to-be received a copy of the book Love You Forever.  It's about a mother and baby, and the baby grows into a mom, who ages and becomes ill.  I have never been able to read it without crying.  My sister was at the shower too, and asked about the book.  I burst into tears.  Seriously!  Full-blown tears, over a book!  And I wasn't even reading it!  I thought you had to be hormonal for that sort of thing, but apparently not.

Anyway, we are off to a family friend's holiday party, so have a good rest of the weekend everyone.