Pulmonology. Old Friends. Home

The date should read Wednesday, not Thursday, but I got home late (11:35 pm) so here goes. Today was my last day at Driscoll, and my final subspecialty was pulmonology with Dr. W, who was also the attending in charge of grading all med students. He let me interview several patients on my own before going to see them with me. One little boy (I think his name was Fernie?) was a CF patient who was hospitalized on 6T (sixth floor) the week that Elizabeth and I were doing inpatient care; I think Elizabeth may have seen him. Another patient I saw, a handicapped 10-year-old nicknamed Deedee, made me really sad because she had status encephalopathy along with left torticollis and severe scoliosis. Her spine was so curved that she essentially has no function of her left lung (compressed by the spine), and her limbs are rigid and spastic. Her nurse could tell I was a newbie and said, "Never seen a patient like her, have you." Nope. But it was a good learning experience.

Dr. W went overtime with patients (we didn't stop until just past 12:30), and then he called me into his office for my evaluation. He said that I got good reviews from the other doctors and residents and said that as far as he knew, I did very well. He asked me if I was thinking about pediatrics as a potential specialty, and I hesitated because I wasn't sure. I haven't ruled it out, but it's not jumping out at me, either. After the meeting, I got lunch, packed some more, then turned in my Harriet Lane book (which I barely touched), scrubs, and badge to Dedie, who gave me a hug before I left. I'm glad she made us all feel so welcome here.

I didn't leave Corpus Christi until 2:15 pm, and I drove almost non-stop to Austin, where I got dinner at Cocos, picked up a few things at the Coop, and stopped by the Starbucks where Alyssa works. Fortunately I got there just as she got off work, so we (along with Jeff, who was also at Starbucks) got together and chatted for a while. Andrew was still at work; otherwise I'd have liked to see him, too. After Austin, I stopped in Round Rock to meet up with Randy, a friend of mine getting his PhD at Scott and White, and we talked about medicine and research. We saw a group of three MS I students studying (starting this year, A&M lets some of its students stay in Temple for all four years of med school), and Randy knew one of them, so we talked to them for a while. They were studying anatomy; glad I'm done with that.

Needless to say I didn't leave Temple until 9:30 pm, and it was another 2 hours of hellish driving (I was getting a headache, and I was sleepy) before I got home. Still, the trip was worth it. I had a great time in Corpus, I got to catch up with old friends, and now...home sweet home =)