Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Murmurs and Protocols

My Cardiology/Dermatology rotation quickly became one of my favorites. My ECG reading ability improved, skin allergy understanding and diagnostic skills developed, andcardiac auscultation aural memory expanded. I was sad for the rotation to end.

Luckily, the first few days of anesthesia have been amazing. I really needed a refresher of the drugs, practice making my own sedation and pain management protocols, and clinically watching these drugs in action. The department personnel is amazing, with great energy, advice, and patience. No ICU duty is an added bonus to my enjoyment. I am assured I will learn an exponential amount this rotation and I am pretty excited about it in a nerdy way. Brand new protocols abound with Fentanyl CRI's with lidocaine, combining propofol with ketamine for induction, learning about new opioids, it's all fun and games!

Having anesthesia directly after cardiology and medicine rotations has made me realize why I love critical care and emergency medicine so much. It has made me question whether I will do a residency or not after my internship. I still stand by my position to practice for a few years before re-entering academia, but I am beginning to wonder whether further specialization is inevitable for me. One of the anesthesiologists believes it is. She told me to email her in 1-2 years letting her know I am pursuing a residency and she said it with such conviction I believed her.

Let the anesthesia fun continue. Life is good.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Ha, like the title of this post! :) Anesthesia was one of my favorite rotations, and I've intermittently thought about "going back" to do an anesthesia residency or something of the sort. As much as I love pain management, I don't really believe that will ever happen--life has happened instead. But I do love my life, and I'm still learning new things all the time!

Krissy Wood said...

We just finished up cardiology physiology, glad to know it gets easier when you get cardio in action!