Thursday, October 27. 2005
The cho see
So I've spent almost three weeks on pediatric cardiology, shadowing away. I'm still pretty darn interested in doing pediatric cardiology. We'll see how that goes. Apartment life is fun, although definitely distracting now that I'm used to having my own place. I definitely don't have the same privacy sharing a room, but there's always someone to hang out with.
So I'm about to leave work when one of the cardiologists opens up a drawer and offers me a black market rappaport-sprauge stethoscope for $12. That was awesome. Turns out it wasn't illegal at all, sad to say, but it was a generic which runs about $15 retail. oh well. For you steth buffs out there, the R-S was made by hewlett-packard and originated back in the 1920s. It's still considered gold-standard by the old-school cardiologists, although the "modern" littmann steths are rapidly taking over, as they're lighter, sleeker, cooler-looking. Plus, HP got out of the steth business decades ago, and philips makes them now; retail $300. I think I'll stick with my littmann. Besides, buying three stethoscopes while in med school is crazy enough, but FOUR is just too much...
and yes, the l is missing.
Tuesday, October 25. 2005
Internal Medicine
This picture is from pulmonary function testing class today. Jackie is the guinea pig. On our way to the respiratory lab most of the group was saying how glad they were that our ekg class was over and how they all thought pft interpretation was easier and more fun. PHOOEY! EKG's are awesome! It's like a cool puzzle you have to put together to decipher a mystery! How cool is that! I thought everyone liked ekg's. I guess that's one more nudge in the direction of cardiology for me...
I took this about a week ago at the VA. This was our resident (Peter Tait) the morning before rounds after a call night where everything went wrong.
I also posted some pictures from the same call night online HERE. I only wanted to shoot in the call room so unfortunately there's nothing too exciting. Let me know what you think about the desaturated colors. It's my new kick.
BTW: we are now officially all over the place.
Me - stuck here
Mark - Honduras still?.....
Randall - California
Amit - Brooklyn, NY
(ok I don't know where Umakant is....)
We should get Wilson & Dan set up to post. Dan's in Georgetown right now and I'd love to hear/see more about med school in Arizona from Wilson.
Sunday, October 23. 2005
hurricane
Saturday, October 15. 2005
a dwelling place
justo and i have been homeless for a while now. yesterday morning, while still wiping sleep from my eyes, i took this picture from our tent (thanks sis). the 4x6 foot space has been literally our shelter through the storm, as it rains at least once nightly. the house you see is the casa a catalina, a beautiful and kind widow who is using part of her land for a community garden. it is a prototype for the area, the idea is for members of a school, church, or other community to work the garden together, and share the veggies, thus enriching the nutrient-poor diets and perhaps more importantly, creating an environment of sharing resources and working together. being travellers/rootless wanderers for the past month has been a source of both hardship and growth. it sounds appealing at first, but after a while you want to sleep where it is warm and dry. i've been uplifted by the 90th psalm, sung by the ancient hebrews when they, too were wandering the desert with no home. "YHWH, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations." when all else is stripped away, this remains inside us: A HOUSE NOT BUILT WITH HANDS. we are headed now to the northern coast, near la ceiba. our goals: to dry out, be doctors, and surf.
elevated markings
oaxaca, mexico. this photo is from 3 weeks ago, when justo and i found the highest point overlooking the ancient city. there was an observatory there, and a very knowledgable astronomer who hung out there as a hobby. the chart on the interior wall had placed 10,000 stars, precisely. this tree nearby captured my attention, made me wonder about all the stories represented by the markings here: what's become of luis and juliette, for example? and what is nene up to? one thing that is much different here in latin america is the concept of time. everyone seems to have lots of it, and people LOVE to talk. even to strangers like us. justo is awesome, he engages these people in conversation, and they love him for it. actually justo was talking to the astronomer while i took this. myself, on the other hand, i smile and say "si" as if i knew what they just asked me. sometimes that simple answer makes them laugh, but only purely by chance.