I have a real problem with Valentine's Day. Always have. I must just be a cynic. It isn't exactly difficult to find out that the average class size in Elementary school in the US is 23.5 kids. Add in a teacher (or two) and you have right around 25.5 people. Take away the child sending the Valentine's Day cards (they don't need to send one to themselves, and if they do perhaps there are bigger problems), and you have a safe average of 25 people in school that your youngster has to tak...

I had seen this weird grids (9x9), but never really knew what they were about. During our trip to New Hampshire, my wife finished her book before our first layover, so we went in and browsed a book store. She picked up a beginning Sudoku book to see what it was, decided to buy it. And has been hooked since. It really is a fascinating game. Often called a crossword puzzle without words, it simply involves filling the entire 9x9 grid with all numbers from 1-9 across and up and down, as...

White male. For many people, that label alone is enough them to hate me. Sticking a label on someone, placing them in a box, and reducing them to less than human makes the antipathy much easier to swallow. Sadly, I speak from personal experience, having been guilty on more than one occasion of reducing a human to a simple label. I felt much better about hating them. Fortunately, we are each multi-faceted beings. So if one label doesn't fit, we can use others. I have many myself: ...

Ugh, what a week it has been. Not bad, just tense. And this weekend is going to be the worst. Likely one of the most nerve-wracked of my life. I pretty much feel nauseous 24 hours a day these days. See, tomorrow night, at 12:01 am EST (just after midnight early Monday morning), the match results go out. I will be happy with anywhere I end up going. It is the thought of "maybe I didn't match" that is killing me. Urology is a very competitive field, with about 400 people applying th...

My wife and I really love humus. It is interesting, because it is one of those things we just never had before we moved out here to NC. Not a lot of humus to be found in good, old homogeneous Utah (perhaps there is more now, it has been a few years, and I don't really recall looking for it). But one of the things that really bugs me is just how dang expensive it is, for not a whole lot of stuff. So, for our New Year's party, I decided to make some on my own, along with homemade pita chi...

Perhaps this is common to all forms of higher education. But since (gratefully) I am only persuing one graduate degree, I can only speak of my personal experience. We are often admonished to remember that our time in medical school is our education. Academic advisors remind us that it was our choice to come to medical school, and as such, the primary onus of responsibility to make that education counts rests upon our shoulders. I agree with them. This is my education, I should engage...

I just wanted to briefly wish everyone here a merry Christmas, a happy Holiday, or just generally a great day. If you are celebrating something at this time of year, I hope it is wonderful. If you aren't, I hope your day turns out better than the others. May you find peace, happinees, and joy to fill your lives.

I can't help it.  I laugh out loud. I realize that when one is just getting into acting, he/she has to take the jobs they can get, but imagine the look on good old mom and dad's faces when you sit down with them and pop the tape/disc in.  "Here is my big debut!" "I have genital herpes." "And I don't." "And we want to keep it that way." Oh, the smiles, the joy, the tears.  They must be so proud!  "Our son just smiled and told the world he has genital herpes!  ...

Over the course of your intern year, you really learn how to work with nurses.  Some nurse you know will call with the most stupid things.  It just seems they can't think for themselves.  Others, however, only call when it is important.  And when they call in the middle of the night, you better get your butt out of bed. I got one of those calls 1 am Tuesday morning. It was from a nurse on one of the surgical floors who has been doing this for years.  He is fantasti...

I have previously pondered the subject of pimping in medical education.  As much as I may not like it, I recognize that it is a time honored tradition in medical education.  As such, I expect it, and even respect it just a bit (that is the masochist in me speaking). However, lately I have experienced an aspect of pimping I could do without.  Let me set the stage. I present a patient.  On trauma, many of our patients can be rather complex, as they often have injuries a...

Exactly one month ago I wrote a blog about closed doors and open windows.  Well that open window I mentioned?  It's closing. In fact, Friday afternoon, it closes officially, and we will walk away with the keys to our own (first!) house. I am thrilled.  I sat on the couch tonight, looking around our current apartment with such excitement.  It hasn't been a bad place to live, and honestly was exactly what we needed.  Close to the hospital, close to good friends, an...

I'm a ho.  Really.  I am.  I am a HO. House Officer, that is.  And after 6 weeks of this, I feel like I am sort of starting to get the hang of things.  There is still way too much I don't know, and I don't even know just how much I don't know at this time.  But I am learning every day, and I am getting more comfortable with being a HO. I get dozens of ridiculous pages every day.  Some are from nurses who know better, but have to make the call anyway.&...

They say you are only as old as you feel.  Crap, I must be close to retirement today. I decided that I was decidedly sick and tired of not having time to exercise.  So Saturday I resolved to start riding my bike to work.  I don't live that far from the hospital, only about 4-5 miles.  But heading to the hospital is, well, uphill.  All the way.  One long, uphill ride.  It makes the ride home a lot of fun.  But the ride up, well. . . I'm feeling a bit ...

Well, let's try this for the third time. . . I am officially done with "school".  I have been hooded, Pres. Broadhead bestowed upon us the degree of Medical Doctor, and I have my diploma. I have to be honest, given that this has been a goal for well over half my life, and something to which I have been working since High School, it is great to be done with this portion of my training.  No, I haven't finished residency, but I am a Dr. now.  Have a peek at some of our gr...

Remember, back in High School how they took attendance?  You could only miss so many days and then you got in trouble.  Had to have any and all absences "excused".  Boy, that was great.  Wasn't it? Well, after getting a Bachelor's, and now only weeks away from having my MD, apparently I am in High School again. My current four week rotation is the famed Capstone course.  It is a new, one of a kind course in which they cram everything they fear the may have missed i...