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Iris4u012
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Name: Iris
Country: United States
State: Maryland
Birthday: 3/10/1981
Gender: Female
Interests: Listening for God's still, small voice, taking walks, running, reading, hiking, sketching the beauty all around me, chasing fish with my snorkel and fins, pondering the deep (and not so deep) questions of life, talking online, etc.
Expertise: Laughing out loud, singing parts of random songs at random times, learning new languages, fine arts, teaching, finding object lessons, nurturing, listening, thinking, procrastinating
Occupation: Student
Industry: Medical
Message: message me
Member Since:
1/20/2004
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| Most of my waking hours are spent at the hospital. So as I amble through the halls of the hospital, what do I see? Hear? Smell? In a three part series, I shall give you a glimpse into my daily experience.  Part I: The Smells Unless your olfactory senses have been mercifully (?) blunted by a cold or some other sinus ailment, you smell... - The septic smell of alcohol--from the gel type you rub into your hands every couple minutes...to the small white pads soaked with the stuff ...to cleaning solutions used to wipe out the germs in the rooms & the hallway... to the breath of an intoxicated patient...
- The somewhat nauseating smell of blood--old or new, dark or bright red...
- The even more nauseating smell of vomit that a patient just introduced to the world OR saved in a cup or what-have-you to show you as "evidence" of some sort...
- The "fragrant" smell of a huge bout of diarrhea...especially the particularly identifying smell of a diarrhea let out by a patient suffering from C. diff or some other GI bug...
- The smell of stinky feet that mushrooms into the air like atomic bomb as you remove the patient's socks to check their peripheral pulses/swelling/senses/etc...
- The musty smell of sweat (and various BO) as you lean close to examine the patient...
- The rubber smell of the gloves that still linger on your hands hours after their use...
- The nutty smell of coffee as doctors, nurses, and med students desperately try to stay "alert"
- The delicious smell of someone's lunch or dinner as your empty stomach growls to remind you that you really need a meal break...(How come nurses get more or less regular meal breaks but doctors--minus anesthesiologists--do not?)
- The nostalgic (?) smell of baby powder and baby formula as you walk down the pediatric wards. (Yes, babies smell nicer...even when they poop!)
- The smell of PB&J sandwich that is getting me through Emed.
All these smells surge, drift, and waft throughout my day, greeting my nose without fail. Every now and then, I forget that they are there. Then all of a sudden, I come to my senses and realize that my olfactory bulbs are still working after all. Ah, the smells of the hospital! | | |
| As a part of my Emergency Medicine rotation, we have an option of doing
an EMS ride-along (aka ride in the ambulance and answer 911 calls) for
one shift. Yesterday was my EMS ride-along shift from 4 PM to Midnight.
Some
time yesterday morning, I looked outside the window from the hospital
and saw...snow! Now, I saw tons of snow when I was visiting
Chicago/Michigan area earlier last month, but it was my first snow here
in Baltimore for this winter. And something about snow always makes me
excited.  So as
I was reveling in the fact that white fluffy precipitates were falling
from the sky, it dawned on me: Wait. I have my EMS shift today. I hope
the roads won't be too bad when I get off of the shift in the wee hours
of the night...
Around 3:45, I arrived at the Old Town Fire
Station where I was supposed to report to the medic team. One of the
medics took one look at me and said, "Do you have anything warmer to
wear?" Now, we were told we had to wear black pants and white shirt.
Considering it's freezing outside, I had actually taken the liberty to
wear a sweater on top of the white shirt AND my jacket. And a scarf.
Yet the lady still thought I would be cold. Hmmm...Well, the other
medic gave me his sweatshirt in case I get cold later.
He also
gave me a brief tour of the fire station (my first time at a fire
station), and I looked mischievously at the poles the firefighters use
to get down to the truck faster. Cool. Very cool. I wondered, "Should I
ask if I can slide down the pole?" Hehe. As if they read my thoughts,
the firefighters told me story after story of how inexperienced
ride-along docs attempted the pole slide and ended up with fractured
ankles or burns on hands, etc. Never mind. Maybe some other time.
Still, the poles looked very tempting. 
On
the second floor, the firemen were making dinner: chili with cornbread.
My medic asked me, "Do you like chili? Hope you're not vegetarian." I
gave him a sheepish smile and told him that I was indeed a veggie. He
exclaimed, "All you girls from Hopkins are vegetarian!" Then he fished
out a box of cheese pizza and handed it to me. As I was making my way
through a slice, the alarm went off and we ran down to the ambulance.
I
hopped into the back of the ambulance and took my seat. Then I
realized, the seatbelt was broken. For a brief moment, a horrible
thought went across my mind. There I was in the back of an ambulance
full of monitors, stretcher and all kinds of sharp objects &
containers on a slippery, wintry night with no seat belt on. One little
sharp brake or skid & I would be flung across a van full of objects
that can impale. Scary. And ironic. I sent up a word of prayer for
safety.
Ten minutes into our siren-ringing, light-flashing
ride, there was a dead silence. The siren had been turned off. Dave,
the medic, yelled through the window between the driver's seat and the
back of the van where I was, "Sorry. The headquarter just paged us and
said we can't be on the road tonight unless we are a four-wheel drive
or have chains on the wheels. So we have to change into a medic van at
another fire station." The next hour was spent doing the "change over":
moving ALL the items from our van to the other medic van. Dave joked,
"At least now you'll know how all the items are organized." The good
thing was that the seat belt in the new van was working. Whew~
On
the way back to our headquarters, we briefly stopped by Safeway to pick
up some items needed for dinner. Who knew EMS ride-along would include
grocery shopping?
Our
next call was for a woman with chest pain. By then, the snow had turned
into sleeting rain, and a lady who was driving with her son felt
anxious, pulled over into a gas station, and called 911. When we got
there, though, she said she felt better. So we left without doing much.
Another call was for a homeless lady who was lying outside on a bench and wanted to go to the hospital because she was cold.
Then
we got called by the wife of a diabetic man. Michelle, the other medic,
told me he's a regular. He often gets low on his glucose level and
needs to be rescued by the medic team. We arrived at the house, went up
the stairs, and entered a crowded room filled with all kinds of junk.
We checked his glucose level: 20. I had never seen such a low number.
Gave him glucagon. Started IV with dextrose. Next sugar check: 260. He
felt much better and was actually lucid enough to carry on a
conversation. After we left the place, Michelle explained to me that
the house was on the cleaner, nicer side for the typical East Baltimore
residency. Many places are full of cockroaches crawling all over the
floor, wall, and ceiling. Feces and urine on the carpet are the norm,
she said. I was aghast. She told me, "When you go to these homes, never
touch anything or lean on anything because you'll be taking bugs home
with you." It blew my mind how people could live like that, and it made
me so sad.
Next, we answered a call about a lady who had abd
pain, nausea and vomiting. Sounded like she had gallstones or
cholecystitis. Took her to Hopkins. She kept throwing up. After we
checked her in, we returned to the medic van & a pungent odor of
rotting flesh greeted our olfactory sense. Was it because of her vomit?
Nope. There was a pig's foot hanging from the rearview
mirror...strategically placed right in front of the heating vent!  A practical joke from another medic team. It made me laugh.
We
got back to the headquarters to wait for our next call. Then it came: a
gunshot case. I was so excited. I had not seen a gunshot case yet. When
we got there, however, we found out that it was a false alarm. What a
disappointment. Then it hit me. I should be relieved, not disappointed
that there was no gunshot. That no one was hurt. My eagerness to "see
cool cases" as a doctor-in-training had momentarily surpassed my desire
to make sure that everyone stays healthy & well.
Next, we
were called to a Code Blue shelter (which was apparently full to
capacity and had to turn away bus-loads of ppl) and a somewhat
intoxicated lady claiming to be high asked us to take us to the
hospital for detox. Michelle explained to me, "She just wants a warm,
clean place to stay tonight." Apparently, the Hopkins ED is
frequented by many homeless who refuse to go to shelters for whatever
reasons. They make up a story about chest pain or difficulty breathing
or what have you and fall asleep as soon as they get a bed...only to
wake up later and demand a dinner box or breakfast. Then they leave.
Only to come back another cold night. I wish there was a more
effective/efficient use of resources so that these homeless can get
good shelter for the night without draining the medical resources &
taking up beds that may be needed for true emergencies... There has GOT
to be a public health/public policy solution...
After we dropped
off our "intoxicated" lady, we got called to a fire. There was a big
fire at a lumber yard warehouse. Multiple fire trucks were already at
the scene when we arrived. Dave told me, "Put that sweatshirt on. We're
gonna be outside in the cold for a long time." And indeed, we were. It
was still drizzling and I stood shivering, watching the orange flames
lick up the neatly stacked wood even as the firemen tried to extinguish
it with tons of water. Standing in a pool of melting ice and snow, my
feet felt very wet and cold. Dave was nice enough to fish out his knit
hat and gloves for me to wear in addition, but I was still freezing. So
he finally told me I could climb inside one of the firetrucks if I
wanted. So I did. Who knew I would get into a firetruck on an EMS
shift?
By the time the fire calmed down and we returned to the
headquarter, it was well past 1:30 AM. Michelle told me that there was
an actual gunshot case while we were at the fire, and that the victim
actually hopped onto the back of the medic van to avoid the shots that
were still flying at him. Craziness.
My EMS shift didn't have
a crazy case like that, but it was still educational and eventful. I
learned a lot about how my patients live, the state of the homeless in
Baltimore, the life of a medic/firemen, etc. The minute I came home, I
washed up and climbed into my warm bed. Boy, was I ready for some sleep
and warmth!
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| It feels like 2007 flew by in a whirl. The "older" you get, the faster time flies. 
I always associate the beginning of a new year with the rising of the
morning sun. Hence, here's one of my favorite verses to start out the
new year: "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the
Lord has risen upon you" (Isaiah 60:1). It is time for us to rise out
of our slumber and allow the glory of the Lord to shine through us.
I pray that the new year will be full of faith, hope, and love. Happy New Year!
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| I love my prayer partner. She's so cute! I'm looking forward to praying with her this week.
One more week of OB/GYN left...then my final shelf exam ever on
Monday...couple days of break...then back in the OR for anesthesia
elective. I actually love being in the OR...especially if I get to do
things besides retracting or cutting sutures. The highlights of my
surgery rotation included resecting the liver with the Harmonic,
cutting metatarsal bone with a rongeur, and closing skin incisions
during vascular. I like doing procedures...
I've seen all too many uteri in the past 5 weeks...and some are quite
"cute"! It's amazing how babies grow inside them and how they stretch
from small muscular balls to huge balloons. My favorite part of OB/GYN
= witnessing/helping with the birth of babies! My other favorite part
is doing ultrasound and seeing the babies inside the womb---especially
the heart beating away in its mesmerizing rhythm!
Can't believe it's October already!
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About three and a half years ago, I posted an entry about the signs
of "aging." I decided to re-post it with two additions at the end. You
know you're "old" when...
1) you start getting wedding invitations from your friends...your peers...
2) the guys who used to consider you as their younger sister start dating girls younger than you...
3) you can't stay up all night and chill with your friends the way you used to at slumber parties of the bygone days...
4) the laugh lines around your eyes seem to be stuck permanently...
5) you come into a room to get something and then forget why you came in ...only to remember after you walk out...
6) the 8th grader you teach is ten years younger than you....and
born in a different decade altogether...or worse yet, the kids you used
to teach are now in college or grad school...
7) you no longer need your parents' signatures on forms...in fact, you can sign forms as someone else's guardian...
8) the federal government considers you financially independent from your parents...
9) your peers start popping out BABIES...
10) you are older than your youth pastor...
So, all of a sudden, I started feeling "old." But the funny thing
is, I also feel very "young." What do I mean? Well, when I was younger,
the older unnies and oppas in their mid-20's seemed SO grown-up. So
mature. Now that I've reached that point, however, I do not feel like a
grown-up. Perhaps it's because I'm still a student. Or because I'm not
married. Or because I'm in denial. Honestly, though I don't feel like
I'm an ADULT...although legally I've been an adult for quite some time
now. What does it mean to be an adult anyway?
Well, no matter what external factors may tell me, I plan to stay
YOUNG. After all, I will be a pediatrician, and my heart will always be
in tune with my young charges.  And then ultimately we'll all get to heaven where age won't matter at all.
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