Ramblings of a Curious Mind

20-something M.D. student pursuing a career in Emergency Medicine. There's not really an over-arching theme of this tumblr, it's half blog, half inner-monologue.

[mf-johnson-deactivated20190605]

Donald Trump really gonna President friday

What?

[tarynel]

I refuse to acknowledge it. Not even gonna leave the damn house.

[mf-johnson-deactivated20190605]

Apocalypse soon come

[tarynel]

I’m bout ready to jump off a bridge. Throw myself into the hudson.

[donprodigy]

@talking2noone

[curiousaleta]

On Friday (and Saturday) I will be braving the DC traffic, not to celebrate the fact that a human scumbag is taking over, but to do my job. I will take care of my patients regardless of their insurance status, immigration status, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability to pay, or any other factor, because that’s what I do and it’s all I can do to protect people from the horrors to come. 

[curiousaleta]

Don’t do drugs

Yesterday I crawled on the floor of a public restroom to unlock a bathroom stall where a man had overdosed on opiates and was barely breathing (apenic respirations). Thankfully we had narcan ready to give, but if I hadn’t been able to get under the door, which was a very tight squeeze as his body was in the way, he could have died. Once you start, it’s difficult to stop. Don’t let anyone convince you to try opiates or other drugs. I guarantee you it’s not worth it. 

[refinery29]

Watch: This powerful new series highlights the ways abortion providers save and improve women’s lives

Gifs: Planned Parenthood

[reproductivejusticeandliberty]

Abortion providers are trained to recognize patients who are not entirely sure about their decision so that they can encourage them to think more on it before performing the procedure. They also look out for people who are being forced into abortions. Do they catch every single one? No, but they catch as many as they can so that those patients don’t make the wrong choice for themselves. I’m so glad that the woman in this video was able to talk with a doctor who understood that abortion wasn’t what she really wanted.

I get really tired of hearing about how abortion is just a money maker for doctors, when there are so many stories like these about doctors who look out for people like this woman. Doctors only want to perform abortions on patients who are absolutely 100% sure that it’s for them. -V

[zinge]

Choice.

[curiousaleta]

This is being pro-choice. 

[azspot]

He will never be my president because he doesn’t read books, can’t write more than a sentence or two at a time, has no strong loyalties beyond himself, is more insular than any New Yorker I ever knew, and because I don’t see anything admirable or honorable about him. This sets him apart from other politicians. The disaffected white blue-collar workers elected a Fifth Avenue tycoon to rescue them from the elitists – fine, I get that – but they could’ve chosen a better tycoon. One who served in the military or attends church or reads history, loves opera, sails a boat – something – anything – raises llamas, plays the oboe, runs a 5K race now and then, has close friends from childhood. I look at him and there’s nothing there.

Garrison Keillor (via azspot)

[npr]

If they repeal Obamacare, they are in for a rude awakening. I don’t think they want to get rid of health care for 21 million Americans. I don’t think they want to be those who say that if you have a disability, you can’t get insurance — the way it used to be before Obamacare. … They repeal Obamacare at their peril.

Sen. Harry Reid on why he thinks the Affordable Care Act might not go away (via npr)

“Obama made something, therefore we must destroy it.” - Republican mentality.

 There is plenty to fix in the ACA. There is plenty of good. Sadly I don’t think Republicans give a shit about making healthcare affordable or improving the general health of America. Single payer is the solution and most people who understand the healthcare system agree.

[themindmovement]

This is the thing: When you hit 28 or 30, everything begins to divide. You can see very clearly two kinds of people. On one side, people who have used their 20s to learn and grow, to find themselves and their dreams, people who know what works and what doesn’t, who have pushed through to become real live adults. Then there’s the other kind, who are hanging onto college, or high school even, with all their might. They’ve stayed in jobs they hate, because they’re too scared to get another one. They’ve stayed with men or women who are good but not great, because they don’t want to be lonely. They mean to develop intimate friendships, they mean to stop drinking like life is one big frat party. But they don’t do those things, so they live in an extended adolescence, no closer to adulthood than when they graduated. Don’t be like that. Don’t get stuck. Move, travel, take a class, take a risk. There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming. Don’t lose yourself at happy hour, but don’t lose yourself on the corporate ladder either. Stop every once in a while and go out to coffee or climb in bed with your journal. Ask yourself some good questions like: “Am I proud of the life I’m living? What have I tried this month? Do the people I’m spending time with give me life, or make me feel small? Is there any brokenness in my life that’s keeping me from moving forward?” Now is your time. Walk closely with people you love, and with people who believe. Life is a grand adventure. Don’t get stuck in the past, and don’t try to fast-forward yourself into a future you haven’t yet earned. Give today all the love and intensity and courage you can, and keep traveling honestly along life’s path.

Relevant magazine (via themindmovement)

As a 29 yo this is true. Where I am now, is not always where I expected to be, but on most days I am really happy with what I’ve done in the last decade and the choices I made. I spent a few years partying, enjoying being young in the city and now I’ve grown up and have made some big decisions about the kind of person I want to be. 

[npr]

Women across the country are rushing to get IUDs. Or at least, they’re tweeting about rushing to get long-term birth control, according to a surge of messages on social media.

They’re concerned that the Trump administration might end Obamacare provisions that require insurers to cover intrauterine devices (IUDs) and other contraception, and cut funding for abortion and reproductive health overall. So women are looking for long-term solutions like IUDs: ones that will outlast a presidency. But they may have a bit more time than they think.

They’re not just talking about it on social media; they’re looking for more information, too. Google Trends showed a massive peak searches for “IUD” “birth control” and “Planned Parenthood” on Wednesday.

The online conversations have left a lot of women wondering how much longer their birth control will be available without copays, as is required under the Affordable Care Act. The short answer is that while memes say women should get their IUDs before Inauguration Day, things might not be quite so urgent. The wheels of government take time to turn, so no one will lose their coverage on Day 1 of the Trump administration.

But women are already acting.

Women Rush To Get Long-Acting Birth Control After Trump Wins

Illustration: Joy Ho/NPR

[curiousaleta]

Literally the first thought I had Wednesday morning was, “I need to get an IUD.” Fuck conservatives.

[why-bless-your-heart]

HOSPITALS. ARE. ALREADY. REQUIRED. UNDER. LAW. TO. PROVIDE. LIFE. SAVING. EMERGENCY. CARE. REGARDLESS. OF. ABILITY. TO. PAY. OR. EVEN. CITIZENSHIP.

Stop acting like Americans have no access to emergency healthcare unless we socialize medicine.

[kyidyl]

IF. YOU. GO. AND. CAN’T. PAY. YOU’RE. STILL. THOUSANDS. IN. DEBT. THIS. IS. NOT. ACCESS.

[jamaicanblackcastoroil]

This hospital in my city just threw out a homeless man

[bankuei]

The hospital which took me in after I collapsed from the fist sized tumor over my heart, released me after refusing to diagnose it as cancer, which would have forced them to give me some kind of treatment. The doctor at the county hospital which took me in looked at their tests and said, “this is CLEARLY cancer, why didn’t they diagnose it? We can’t let you leave.”

Hospitals find ways when they want to, to avoid helping people when they want to.

“Oh that’s illegal, you should sue” “ with what money and how will I get the time and energy when I’m busy recovering from chemo?”

People who can’t afford treatment also can’t afford to protect their rights.

[landunderthewave]

Absolutely this: “People who can’t afford treatment also can’t afford to protect their rights.”

[magick-dragon]

LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK

[lilmisscrayonbox-blog]

A little fucking louder.

[tatteredobsidian]

Scream it from the roof tops!

[doctorkintsugi]

Not to mention what phenomenally shitty economic policy it is to force people into county hospital ERs for what would have been preventable issues. Fuck. It’s just so upsetting. The ACA has been so important to my patients. Losing it will be a tragedy for this country.

[postingwhileblack]

Autistic NY Black teen gets lost running 5K, assaulted by a white man who’s afraid of getting mugged.

For more than two years, Clarise Coleman faithfully attended every track practice and every cross-country meet for her son, Chase.

A few weeks ago, Chase, who is a nearly nonverbal autistic child, was running in a meet in Rochester, New York, with his team from Corcoran High School - was assaulted by a stranger in the middle of a race.

Coleman was waiting for him at a part of the course where runners would come down a hill but he didn’t appear and she went looking for him. She was shouting his name and then she started to meet people who pointed in the direction of her son. One of them said:

“I see a grown man, who is quite tall and fairly heavy … exit the vehicle and give this young man a shove that puts him back 10 feet and flat on his butt. Like, just shoved him across the road. The kid didn’t seem to be doing anything but standing there, obviously had nothing in his hands and weighed all of 130 pounds. This guy was easily twice that.”

This tall white guy was a 57-year-old man named Martin MacDonald who told the police that the reason he attacked the Black kid was he thought Chase was going to mug his wife and take her purse.

“My son is a minor. [MacDonald is] a grown man,” Coleman said she told police. “He put his hands on my son. Of course I want to press charges.”

However the police was deaf and on Oct. 21, Rochester City Court Judge Caroline Morrison sent a letter to the Colemans that shocked them: 

She had denied their warrant application, and MacDonald would not be charged for second-degree harassment.

Now the autistic Black boy refused to go to practices and skipped running in his last meet of the season. He turned his running uniform in to his coach, who gently encouraged him to change his mind. Chase refused.

“We just keep telling him, ‘You didn’t do anything wrong. Chase is good. There are mean people and there are nice people and this person was just a mean person,’ ” Coleman said. “We just keep apologizing to him that happened. Especially me. I kept apologizing to him that I couldn’t keep him safe.” 

The attack deeply traumatized him and he lost one of the few things that gave him a sense of pride and belonging.

Please, make a shout out to this outrageous accident! The white man still didn’t receive any punishment for ruining life of the Black boy. THIS IS HELL!

#StayWoke #BlackChildrenMatter #WhitePrivilege

[mockiato-deactivated20200315]

Every reblog that includes Martin MacDonald in it is another web page to help make sure that when you google Martin MacDonald’s name, it’s in connection with child abuse and racism.

[curiousaleta]

I want him to run again.

[curiousaleta]

Seriously, what day is today?

At the point in this rotation where I have no idea what is happening. 28 hr call every fourth night for 6 straight weeks is really f-ing with my sense of time. Only 3 more left this year.

Cannot wait to go back to the happy land of the ED where a scheduled 12 hour shift sounds amazing.

[truth-has-a-liberal-bias]

Check to see if your state has early voting or absentee voting.

[curiousaleta]

Going tomorrow because it’s my day off!

[vet-in-progress]

Everyone realizing they still have to remember all the anatomy we learnt in first year

[aspiringdoctors-blog]

Relevant as a resident.

[curiousaleta]

Me trying to do an arthrocentesis. “Knees. There are bones. I forgot everything.”

[hownottoloseyourmind]

Oh boy, I just realized I’m on day 2 of 12 days in a row. Granted, that includes a post-call day because I’ve got a stretch of nights coming up, but those don’t count as days off. Halp.

[hownottoloseyourmind]

Almost halfway through my 12 day stretch. Three more 14-hour night shifts taking care of transplant and cardiac kids, who are perfectly accustomed to sitting at 80% O2 sats with regular desats, which I’m definitely not used to. Five more days until Lumberjack gets here.

I AM MAXIMUM STRESSED.

[curiousaleta]

You can do it. A few weeks ago I did 12 days in a row, including three 28 hour calls. By that last post call morning I was so exhausted my co-interns found me curled up in an office chair trying to sleep. I was all ready to present my patients and peace out when things got crazy. Pregnant lady in acute respiratory failure arrived requiring intubation and a discussion about whether or not to crash section her in the ICU (they did not). Meanwhile one of my new admits seized and another patient who was hypoxic and had a dialysis line that was not tied down while he was getting continuous dialysis. As the senior, attending, fellow were all busy with the pregnant woman I took care of the seizing patient on my own and then with the help of another intern secured the dialysis line and managed the hypoxic patient. It was horrible, but I would say that that day has been a turning point for me. Obviously, I desperately need my seniors and attendings, but being forced to make decisions about sick patients without them standing right there really made me feel like I’m making progress. 

[curiousaleta]

MICU Team A was seriously the best team ever. I miss working with these three. I knew that we got along well, but I’m just now appreciating how special we were as a team. Everyone worked their ass off and we all had each other’s backs. 

[tachycardic-tendencies]

That awkward moment when you weren’t expecting to fall in love with critical care and it’s kind of messing with your five-year plan. But I will say, thank god for all of this. All my memories of life before I started med school feel tinged with a feeling of incompleteness, and I don’t think anything has made me feel as happy and exhilarated as this. I hope that never goes away.

[curiousaleta]

I love critical care, but am not sure. When I finished my MICU rotation my attending asked me if I’m planning on doing a critical care fellowship, which took me by surprise. It was extremely flattering that she had noticed how much I was enjoying the rotation and thought I was doing a good job. 

[telep0rt]

#directionallychallenged

So I have been biking to work every day since I started residency.

But as winter is coming quick I thought I should at least know where to go to park my car. So I thought I would drive in today because I thought I knew where our garage was.

Turns out. I do not know.

No. instead I parked somewhere random because in happens to be a weekend.

But we’re like 4 months into residency and I am super embarrassed to tell anyone I don’t know where to put my car.

[curiousaleta]

Haha. I park my bike in the garage. There’s a bike cage which is super nice. 

[telep0rt]

Between two surprise direct admits, and the mess that is always a pre-op transplant patient...

Not an easy call night.

PLUS I got so many unnecessary calls/pages I started writing them down. I have at least 20 written down that we’re just pointless.

Grr. Sleepy.

[telep0rt]

It will be so nice to know enough so when I get calls that are obviously about nothing I can feel confident they are about NOTHING instead of questioning myself.

You’re calling me about a totally normal lab value – is there a reason I should be concerned about this totally normal lab value??

I always feel like I must be the one missing something.

[curiousaleta]

In the ICU here they have a goal potassium of 4.0. Nothing like AM labs coming back at 5am and having 10 pages asking if you’d like to replenish a K of 3.7. It was so infuriating. Getting their K to 4 is not going to fix their cirrhosis or cancer.