Big Day

So on Monday I take the American Board of Pediatrics Certifying Examination, affectionately known as "the boards." I am really excited to be done with this so I can stop spending every spare minute studying (well, not every minute...I guess I am blogging right now.) The thing is, I'd really like to pass. It would be really great if I didn't have to retake this thing next year. And seeing as the national pass rate is in the 70s, I thought I'd call in a few prayers to boost my odds. In exchange I'll tell you some of the useful, and not so useful, things I've been learning.

• If your water heater is set to 150 degrees it will only take 2 seconds to cause a 3rd degree burn
• 80% of toddlers tantrum once a week
• Proteus causes an elevated urine pH and is found with kidney stones
  
• The formula to calculate the correct endotracheal tube size is as follows: age in years/4 + 3 for a cuffed tube and age in years/4+ 4 for an uncuffed tube
• If you happen to have a liver abscess, and you've recently been in the Amazon, consider Entamoeba Histolytica as a likely cause.

A big thanks to everyone who has helped me out already. I am actually feeling mostly okay about the test. And I am very grateful for all the prayers and babysitting that has helped me calm and prepare.


In other news, Ella continues to grow. She's turned into a little fatty, but we love her anyway. She had her 2 month visit yesterday and weighs in at 9 lbs 12 ounces (40%ile) and is 21 inches long (20%ile). Like I said, a little fatty. But she's been a happy little girl as of late, and sleeping much better, so I'll take it.

We almost captured a smile here. Almost.

It's Official

It is now July 1st, and that means I am officially done with residency. I started my new job yesterday at Southpoint Pediatrics. I am working Tuesdays and Thursdays and every 5th weekend--a far cry from 80 hours a week to which I have grown accustomed. I'm not sure quite sure what to do with myself the other 60, but people keep telling me that the little gymnast flopping around in my belly has plans for those extra hours.

Happy Day

Over the past 3 years, I have spent over 150 nights on call. For the lucky few of you who have not had to listen to me complain about this, call means going in around 6 and coming home around 12 the next day. (Thank heavens for the 30 hour rule--back in the day there was no limit to how long you stayed). Yesterday I finished my LAST CALL DAY EVER. Yeah!!! I still have a month of residency, but it should be an easy month, without call. We went out last night to celebrate, and it felt great. Thanks to Ryan for putting up with all of the 150 days and nights. You're the best.

End in Sight

As of Saturday at 3:oo pm, I am officially on my way to being done with residency. I have 3 months left, only one of which will be challenging. After nearly 7 years, it's hard to believe that this chapter of our life only has a few pages left. Even though there were some early mornings I would have traded places with the patients sleeping in their hospital bed, all in all I have really enjoyed this experience. I have met amazing patients and have made friends to last a lifetime. Now if I can just survive the PICU....

You win some.

I am doing a two week stent in the ER, and yesterday I had one of the more satisfying patient encounters. A toddler came in after having a febrile seizure. By the time he got to the ER he was fine, and I began obtaining a past medical history from his mother. When I asked her if he was immunized she said no. When asked further, she said, "I don't believe in it. If I could get a doctor to tell me the truth, maybe I'd think about it." So at the end of the interview, I gave her my schpeal on immunizations, and left it at that.  An hour or so later, as I was giving her discharge instructions, she said, "Can you just give him some shots before we go?" I wasn't sure if we could even give immunizations in the ER, but there was no way I was going to let this opportunity pass. We shot him up, and he is a bit safer for it. One step closer to herd immunity for all!

Perks

On Sunday, after all of my complaining about the hospital, I was reminded of Primary Children's special place in my life. I was heading to church (which by itself is pretty neat--you can go to half hour church dressed in my scrubs!) when lo and behold, there was Elder Oaks sitting in the audience. He and his wife just showed up. He didn't speak, but did stay to shake hands and give warm smiles. It lifted my spirits and kept me going.

You, me and a little RSV

I'm back on wards, and you know what winter at a children's hospital means...lots of bronchiolitis. I swear, half the hospital (staff included) has a respiratory virus. I am just getting over my own version. It isn't all bad, though. At least the kids (every single one of them, so far) get better. I'll take RSV over a liver transplant any day. Two more weeks and I am done. Then I head to the ER with, what else, more RSV.

Castle Country, Here I Come

New Year, new adventures. This week I made the trek to Price for an outreach clinic with a handful of others from Primary Children's. I was told we would be flown down in Governor's Jet. Turns out, our very nice pilots flew a teeny-tiny Fish and Game plane. Because the flight was only 45 minutes, I didn't take any Dramamine. Big mistake. I did not lose my breakfast, but it was very close.
I had a great day when we finally made it. I saw all kinds of interesting kids, and I briefly saw my old friend Brady Bradford, who is the regional epidemiologist for the area. How cool is that. On the way home, we did fly in the Governor's Jet, and I took a whiff of Dramamine. It was an entirely different experience.

4 more hours...

...and I'm done with nights! Only 7 more call nights EVER as a resident. Reason to celebrate.