Residency 3.1: Urgent Care

Whoa--we've hit version 3.0, kids. This is the big time. No turning back now! Who am I kidding? There was no turning back once that first med school tuition check was written--not wasting that kind of money.

But really, it does kind of feel awesome to be the top dog. So I started out my third year by getting the heck out of the hospital. Seriously. Cause hospitals are scary places to be in July.

I did an elective at our Northland Urgent Care this month, seeing everything from fractures and split chins to bug bites and sore throats. Also got to see chicken pox, pertussis, a Morgan lens (look it up, it's like a Chinese torture device), viral meningitis, tons of hand, foot, and mouth disease, and lots of super cute kids. Also, still lots of convincing parents that viruses get better on their own and antibiotics won't help.

I wanted to try out the urgent care setting to see if it is something that I could see myself doing at least for the next few years. It's pretty tempting. Shorter shifts, low-key atmosphere, minor procedures for quick fixes (stitching, nursemaid's elbow), sort of sick kids (but not too sick), elements of primary care that I like without some of the stuff I don't like. I still have to decide if it's worth giving up the continuity and getting to know the families in order to have less call and more flexibility.

The schedule lent itself very well to getting my Kilimanjaro training seriously underway. There will be more on that to come, I'm sure. Right now, I'm just trying to build up my quads and my stamina, doing a fair amount of running, swimming, lunges, and hikes with my pack on. With all of that, I've increased my fluid and calorie intake by about 30-40% it feels like, just to keep from losing weight. Makes me wonder if I can keep up on the mountain, since I've heard that altitude makes your appetite fade. Gear shopping is almost done too; picked up some more key items a few weeks ago--headlamp, gloves, CamelBak insulator, etc. We're getting close!

Until next time...go Team USA!