Friday, March 17, 2006
Dear diary,
So today its Match Day!!! I went through four years of school at Stanford, and then another four years at the University of California, San Francisco, for my medical degree. I have piled myself with work after work to make it to this moment. It’s 3:26 AM, and I can’t sleep. So much has happened in these years, I meet the love of my life, Brian, and he came all this way from New York to be with me for today. I also figured out what kind of doctor I want to be: surgeon, and I know it will be hard on me because I would have to go through rotations to figure out what kind of surgical specialty that I would pursue my career in. First, I wanted to be a oncologist and then a pediatrician, but then I really figured out that I wanted to be a surgeon because during the time I shadowed at hospitals; I would be in that OR room and I would hold that live heart or lung in my hands and it was such a big rush of adrenaline and excitement. Anyways…. Back to the point, later today at 9:00 AM I will figure out what residency program I have been accepted in. I went to interview after interview for the past few months to put myself out there so I could be placed high on hospitals rankings list. My top school on my list is Stanford, and I really hope I get in there. I remember the time my mother tried to convince me not to go into the medical field. She said it might be hard to be a good mother and a good doctor at the same time and that the debt for med school would be a great amount of money. Both of my parents were immigrants from China and my dad sold toothbrushes door-to-door to make ends meet. So when I get asked if my parents tried to pressure me to go to med school, I say that they practically tried to talk me out of it. I can’t wait till I get the envelope!! They make everyone open their letters at the same time, which makes the anticipation kill me. So I probably try to get some sleep for a couple of hours so I wouldn’t be too tired when we get to the Golden Gate to receive the hospital that would be every medical student start their residency program.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Dear diary,
So today I met this lady who has a pericardial effusion, which is the technical term for noting that fluid surrounds the woman’s heart. This makes her heart sitting in a giant water balloon. She was about fifty years old, and she looks frail in the hospital bed. I was the intern for the case, because I was on my cardiac rotation. So the attending explained the procedure that he would be performing and the treatment after that. When he was finished she told him that she has been fighting breast cancer for four years and she was tired of the surgeries and chemo and asked if it was okay to not have the surgery. We tried explaining to her that this procedure would benefit her and give her a few more months to live, but she said that she had enough and asked as in a sweet kindhearted voice if it was okay that she just wanted to live the rest of her time on earth out of a hospital bed. Then we stopped pushing, we said that it was alright and the fellow went to get the discharge papers. I have seen this a couple times in my time of being a intern here at the hospital. As a intern, my job is to memorize the patients charts and learn and talk to them. I have to take care of them and make the most comfortable so that they could talk to me of they felt any discomfort or pain. Doing all of this, I learned how some of our patients have been through so much and just giving them a say or a way to express their expression makes it all easier for them. I respect this woman and hope her the best for the time she has left.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Dear diary,
I got my Match today !!! I am going to Danbury for my intern year and then Westchester to complete the rest of my residency program. I am
