we've got a bleeder!

holy hell people.

what a crazy week i'm having!

shipped out to ft. lewis sunday morning with my classmate erin, en route to the unknown. figured out how to get on base, made the great tour (it's ginormous) and stopped off at madigan army medical center (also huge) to get a feel for the place. mt. rainier sits almost right on top of the base, so it's quite a treat to have such an astounding view when the mt is out.

and then monday am, day one- the fun really began. got our security passes, spent an hour or so doing gobs of paperwork, then reported to our respective clinics where we'll be assigned for the next 6 weeks. lisa and i to surgery, erin to inpatient, and kristy to family med. met my preceptor, a super nice guy, and in turn was presented to the remaining surgeons and residents on staff- also all super nice guys (not one girl so far)....and then a short tour. followed by..."well, i can't give you the rest of the tour without you being in proper attire, so go change into scrubs and meet me out here...." which was then followed by us being allowed to float in and out of all the OR's for the rest of the afternoon. casually just passing through and watching cases till our hearts were content. i didn't know you could do that...but as i'm learning, the military doesn't play by the standard way that civilian medicine is practiced. and i like it. a lot. you are generally free to do what you want when you want. it's pretty refreshing to have your own healthcare system to work in without all the crappy restrictions you would normally have. i get the appeal.

day 2- rounding with the chief resident i was assigned to at 5:45am, seeing the pts who were in the OR yesterday afternoon. this part i loved. nice to put body parts and internal organs together with a face. and the elderly guy who they had taken out a pancreatic tumor on was so grateful and wanted to shake the hand of the soldier who had "saved" him. the surgeons were pretty touched. i was pretty touched. for as much as i might want to believe the army is lame, there is this overwhelming sense of family there. that they're all in it together, which can be pretty comforting.
the rest of the day was spent in computer training. blegh.

day 3- and possibly the pinnacle of my surgical career this go around....i got to be the first assist on 4 cases. somewhat minor cases, but still fascinating to me. all the residents and most of the surgeons had gone to a conference, so it was just me and my attending. we did an umbilical hernia repair, an accessory breast removal, a lipoma removal, and a pilonidal cyst with sinus tract removal...the last one being the most interesting. i got to cut, retract and suture. it was the coolest thing EVER. i might have sliced through some vessels on the lipoma removal...some good squirters for sure....but knowing how to fix that problem once you create it is also pretty important. so, now i know. my attending was super patient, very informative, and overall a fantastic teacher. the only criticism i have for him is that he walks too fast and i was literally running behind him all day. the CRNA was also super nice, pointing me in the right direction a few times, and sending me hints over the drape. i'm hoping to buddy up to her next week and see if she won't let me work on some airway stuff. the OR nurses were mostly cool...but that is a distinct benefit of being at madigan...the place is just crawling with students, so it's easy to fit in and not get too chastized. we saw a few pts in clinic in between cases, pulled out some drains, assessed some old scars...and then called it a day since there was nothing else to do.

and now...they've sent me home for the long weekend....4 whole days to play with my boys is pretty much a dream come true, mostly cause i know it won't happen again soon....AND super extra bonus...it's supposed to be beautiful, warm and sunny for that whole time.

i'm looking forward to next week, with a more regular schedule, and getting to know who's on my team a little bit better...and getting to know my way around better. i swear i walked in circles yesterday for a good portion of the time i was left on my own to figure out where to go. they tell me i can't get lost because everything is built in a circle pattern....but yeeeah....will have to work on that. in the meantime, have set about to healing my aching feet, blissing out sleeping in my own bed, and having the luxury of eating real food whenever i want to. ahhhh.....