Medicine From The Trenches

This is my first post. I wish that I could say it will be something momentous but it a bit of an introduction. At this stage in my career, I am a resident. I am about midway through my training and I have been awestruck with some of my day to day experiences with patients. No matter what, I always learn something from them and many times, they touch my life in a way that I feel humbled to have the privledge to participate in their care.

I titled my blog, "Medicine From the Trenches" because many times I feel like I am in a war. It could be a battle with the clock (I have 30 hours of work and 12 hours to get the work done). It could be a battle of wills (I am going to get something into my intern's head even if it kills me and him). It could be war with the "Sandman" (I am so sleepy but I have more patients to see and more fires to put out).

I am going to post my thoughts on the practice of medicine and what I think it needs. I welcome comments and your thoughts on what I have written. Believe me, I am having the time of my life. I love what I do but sometimes when I am tired, I get depressed and after a couple hours of sleep, I am back to my usual cheery self.

A small bit about me: I went to medical school and now I am in residency. I am female and I am a combination of my father (who was a physician) and my mother (who married a physician). I am half Jamaican (my father looked exactly like Harry Belafonte) and half English (my mother was a carrot-topped, freckled faced Englishwoman). They met during World War II and came to the United States. I was born here but I was essentially raised as a Brit.

Well, let's see where this takes us.