A belated valentine
I always enjoy the weekend joke from Julie at
Happy Catholic and this week is no exception.
Little Thelma comes home from first grade and tells her father that they learned about the history of Valentine's Day. And, "Since Valentine's Day is for a Christian saint and we're Jewish," she asks, "will God get mad at me for giving someone a valentine?
Thelma's father thinks a bit, then says "No, I don't think God would get mad. Who do you want to give a valentine to?"
"Osama Bin Laden," she says.
"Why Osama Bin Laden?" her father asks in shock.
"Well," she says, "I thought that if a little American Jewish girl could have enough love to give Osama a valentine, he might start to think that maybe we're not all bad, and maybe start loving people a little bit. And if other kids saw what I did and then they sent valentines to Osama, he'd love everyone a lot. And then he'd start going all over the place tell everyone how much he loved them and how he didn't hate anyone anymore."
Her father's heart swells and he looks at his daughter with newfound pride. "Thelma, that's the most wonderful thing I've ever heard."
"I know," Thelma says, "and once that gets him out in the open, the Marines could blow the s**t out of him."
Finally!
I've finally finished my BBBB. I feel like I've been working on that thing for forever, and I'm so glad to be done with it. It turned out really well, but it got pretty boring over the weeks. I'll post pics when I'm done blocking. Now that this is done I'm going to start on my very first pair of socks. There is much potential for disaster with this endeavor, and I'll keep you posted.
Technical question
I'm a dork and I have a question. How do I put a link within a picture like in the buttons on the sidebar?
In medical news
Grand rounds are up at
Dr. Andy's place. Haven't read it all yet, but there's some good stuff in there. I think the lesson about always paying your hooker is one we should all commit to memory. There is also an interesting post about gender discrimination that continues within the medical profession. I remember many times when male patients refused to see me or let me observe when they had urologic or sexual complaints. I guess it's a valid point that some women do not want to see a male Ob/Gyn, but none of my male classmates has ever complained about being asked to leave the room during a pelvic exam. I think some women might feel uncomfortable with a male physician or medical student, but they are much less likely to make an issue of it.
Also on the medical front, today was the deadline for making my rank list. I've had it in the computer for weeks, but until about an hour ago I could still make changes. Now it's final...scary. Just have to sweat it out until March 16 when I find out where I'm going. I won't let myself think about the possibility of not matching though because it gives me panic attacks.
On the podium
Event felting has come to an end. My bags are blocked, dry, and being used. I absolutely love them! The buttonhole bag came out a little smaller than I wanted (apparently waiting 5 minutes between checks is a bad idea) but it still holds the essentials -- keys, wallet, cell phone, and iPod.
Still working on my BBBB and making some good progress. I'm about 70% done so I think I'm going to have it done in time. I am getting bored with it though. My next project is going to be my first pair of socks, and I'm anxious to get started. So the Olympic deadline is a good incentive to stay focused on this blanket.
In other knitting news, I've signed up for
Project Spectrum. March's color is red/pink. Still contemplating what to do, but I'm thinking of knitting a camera strap since I'm starting a photography class. I want to find some yarn that's red with some sparkle in it. Any suggestions?
Olympic update 2
Finished knitting my button hole bag for the Knitting Olympics! And with lots of time to spare too! This event wound up coinsiding with my Anesthesia rotation, which means that I went into the hospital at 7:30 and got home around 9. That's right, living the dream. This left me with tons of time on my hands, which I spent watching entire seasons of 24 and kntting for hours on end. Quite enjoyable. With all this extra time I also decided to start a Booga bag as I think they're so cute.
I used Kureyon like the pattern says and love the colors, but I don't really like the yarn. Some pieces are spun really thin and others aren't spun at all and are instead fluffy chunks of fiber. The finished piece looks uneven. Hopefully it will be okay after felting. All I have left to do is knit the I cord for the strap and then it's into the washer. I must confess that I'm nervous about that part... putting my babies into hot water and then locking them in there to get tossed around. Scary.
Olympic update
Here's the progress I've made on my Olympic project -- a felted bag. Had a lot of trouble with the increases at the base and started over a couple times, but I'm getting the hang of it now. Got some decreases coming up and then the handle, some more new techniques to learn. Could get rough. Got knitters ADD and can't stick to one project, so I've also been working on my Harry Potter scarf.
And a few more rows of the BBBB. I'm loving this blanket.
And a shot of the edge just because I love it. Sorry for the blur.
By the way, happy another excuse to make single people feel like losers day!
I've killed 2 people since midnight. I haven't slept in more than 24 hours. So maybe you should be a little more afraid of me than you are now.
Just got the dvds of the first 4 seasons of
24 and watched the first half of season 1 yesterday. Damn, that is good tv. There are so many little details in the plot that I've forgotten, so there are still some suprises. And with all the tv watching I've been getting a lot of knitting done. The rest of my Harry Potter yarn finally arrived so I've been working on that. I'll post a pic when I have more done.
This rank order list establishes a binding commitment
That is the scariest thing I've ever read. After putting it off for over 2 weeks, I finally logged on to
NRMP and made a rank order list. For those of you not in the medical field, the process of getting a residency position involves applying to and interviewing at a bunch of programs and then putting them in order on a rank list. This list is then entered in to the NRMP computer and compared to all the programs' lists of who they would accept. If you like them and they like you, you match into the program and have a job. It's some crazy formula that no one really understands, but in theory a student will get placed in whichever program who will take him that he has placed highest on his list. Seems simple enough, just put them in order from best to worst and then wait until Match Day, March 16, when everyone in the country finds out where they're going at noon EST.
So I finally put my list in. Of course this list can be changed an infinite number on times between now and 9pm Feb 22, but it's still really scary. Whichever list is in the computer at that time is it, a binding contract to go wherever the computer sends you. So clicking the "certify" button made me sick to my stomach, literally. I'm going to try to stop obsessing about it though, at least for today. Maybe I'll try to study for my Neuro exam, or maybe I'll knit instead. Knitting is really good for calming me down lately. Something about just watching the yarn move and the piece grow, the feel of it in my hands, and the way I stop thinking about all the other crap going on in my life. Just counting, remembering when to knit and when to purl.
Oscar nominations!
And the
nominees are...
Still a few movies I haven't seen. Got a few weeks to catch up before I can cast my vote (not like I'm ever right).
But what about a finger in every hole?
As a medical student I've done my share of rectal exams. Esp during my surgery rotation when call nights were spent in the trauma bay doing the job of medical students everywhere -- rectal exams and placing Foley catheters. But apparently a new study shows they may not be that helpful in providing additional information about injury. And only partly because med students don't know what we're doing. From
Cut to Cure.
DRE is equivalent to OCI for confirming or excluding the presence of index injuries. When index injuries are demonstrated, OCI is more likely to be associated with their presence. DRE rarely provides additional accurate or useful information that changes management. Omission of DRE in virtually all trauma patients appears permissible, safe, and advantageous. Elimination of routine DRE from the secondary survey will presumably conserve time and resources, minimize unpleasant encounters, and protect patients and staff from the potential for further harm without any significant negative impact on care and outcome.
And it's not my fault that I don't know what a high-riding prostate feels like, so quit yelling at me!
One factor that may contribute to the propensity of DRE to yield less than useful or accurate information is that it is generally relegated to the least experienced member of the trauma team (at least in academic centers), which is often a medical student. This may stem from the perceived menial nature of the task or a genuine effort to provide a complete educational experience. The issue of poor interrater reliability in determining normal and abnormal DRE has been raised. Further, other investigators have found difficulty even among experienced examiners in determining normal and abnormal rectal tone as confirmed by manometry.
This all reminds my of one particular night in the trauma bay. A man came in s/p motorcycle crash with multiple fractures. He was relatively stable and was getting a bunch of Xrays done before his trip to CT. I of course assumed my position, with KY and Foley kit at the ready. But something wasn't right... I got my resident's attention and pointed out the pt's scrotum, which looked pretty red and swollen. "Just do the rectal and get the Foley in," was his response. So I did the rectal... "Well?"
"Uh... normal I guess... but..."
"Get the Foley in."
So I did... and what came out was red. Not kinda dark like urine often is after a trauma, but RED. So then another resident looks over. "Shit! Was his rectal normal?"
Grand Rounds 2:19
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