Germy

For the past few weeks I've been on a laborist service -- meaning I try to catch as many babies as I can. Here and there I see gynecological patients, as well. Saturdays I cross cover for general surgery, too. So far I've been in more cesarean section procedures than vaginal births. I enjoy C-sections; fast and horrific. It is one thing to remove an infected gallbladder or appendix, it is quite another to cut open a belly and pull a live, squirming person out. Some people choose family medicine as it gives them opportunities with women's health and obstetrics in a way that no other specialty does. This is not me; and these components of medicine will most likely not play a large part in my eventual practice but nevertheless, it is important to consciously expend energy in areas where we feel less naturally motivated or competent. This idea of focusing on weakness, as unpleasant as it can be, has been on my mind recently. Kind of one of those things where personal experi...

I pay very little attention to celebrity and the going-ons thereof -- I don't really understand the obsession. When a celebrity dies, and people have dramatic emotional reactions, I just don't identify in that they've not played a role in my life, with some exceptions, of course. A week ago Tom Petty died; that day was also the day after the terrorist attack in Las Vegas. I work in LA and many people here have connections to Las Vegas. Numerous people at the hospital had loved ones or friends at the event. Perhaps that is why when I heard the news on Monday afternoon I felt like it was a bigger blow than it might have been otherwise. Today, while driving around completing errands, I had the Tom Petty channel on Spotify playing. It got me thinking, Tom Petty has been a part of many different memories and pivotal points in my life. I'm sure you want to hear about some of them. Here we go. I kinda think of Tom Petty, Rush and U2 as occupying the same area in my musical c...