Month Number One

I am almost finished with my first month in Emergency Medicine!? It was an "orientation" month, so we had less shifts to work and more training (ACLS, PALS, ATLS, etc...) so although busy, it was not the exact flavor of things to come, but it was still tiring in many ways. I think the adjustment to a new city, making new friends, trying to find your way to the closest Trader Joe's and digging a garden all contribute their own small stress, good and bad. All in all, I feel pretty good. I think that after so many different careers, so many moves, new places, new people, it all becomes a bit more routine. Tiring too.... I am completely ready to be done with the transient lifestyle and although I get three years here for training, it still feels temporary in many ways. I find myself already looking, planning and preparing for the day when I finish training and can move to a more permanent location and begin building more permanent foundations. Medical school and residency and all this seemed huge 4-5 years ago. Now I feel like I only have a few more years to learn a lot before I am on my own in Emergency Med and that is sort of scary and sort of a relief at the same time.

On another note, I am returning to SEATTLE next week on Thursday-Sunday for the wedding of my close friends, Josh and Eden. Nicole and I will spend the weekend out on Whidbey Island for the wedding and I will have a day to run some errands and see firends I hope. It is a sort trip, but will be just what I need after this busy couple of months setting up my life here. Mark and Barb are also going to be going through some HUGE changes in their life that I won't go into, but I am very excited and wish I could be coming back just a few weeks later to see the results, but I am sure I will soon after.

The entire next month is Anesthesia at Kaiser South hospital. This is an EXCELLENT rotation by all accounts, partially because it is focused and efficient. You show up in the early AM and intubate as many patients as you can for their surgeries.... when the last surgery starts you can leave. Unlike the Anesthesia resident who are training on much more than just the airways, this is mainly for us to gain airway experience so we are not expected to stay and manage post-op patients. This means a regular work week, M-F, and decent hours. Early morning which I like and early afternoons which will allow me some quality gardening and exercise time. With weekends I plan on getting at least 2 short camping trips in too! Keep your eyes open for those photos... I am also trying to photo document my PGY1 year here at UC Davis on my photo albums, so check it out. (That stands for program year 1). There are several ways we refer to ourselves.... I am sometimes called an "intern" or an "R1" for first year resident or I also say I am a PGY1 resident. It all means the same but sounds like Greek to many not in medicine. I am also trying to get some shots of the back yard now that I have it 70% landscaped and it is starting to grow. I am going to add grass seed now that the grass is coming up and I can see the bare spots. My tomatoes are finally starting to kcik into gear and today I ate the first green chili straight off the plant! Tasty! The eggplant is working hard and the delicata squash has tripled in size. Most exciting though are the little fava bean plants just poking up through the soil! Wish them luck!