va sub-i and the fun of fourth year

so, if you're one of my loyal readers (and a former/current med student), you probably remember me being a *little* freaked out about starting back on the wards on a VA medicine sub-i. you may even wonder if i have survived this sub-i month, considering i fell off the face of the earth, am no longer allowed to obsessively IM people (the VA blocks a lot of sites!), and haven't updated. of course, the month is going great (like everyone said it would); i survived my first day back on call (also my first day of 4th year), and have become a pro at CPRS (the VA computer system) in no time. i'm confident about my ability to take care of patients, generally admit 2 patients every call night (we take q4 with the interns), and follow-up on their issues with a daily note and orders until they're discharged. i still think it's going to be crazy to take care of 9 patients all at once as an intern, but so far am doing fine with three. i've remembered a lot more than i thought i would, and actually am looking forward to have everything come together and hardcore study for step 2 to get it over with.

i have to say, it is GREAT to be a fourth year. the interns and attending treat me as part of the team, i don't have to round on the entire census, and im more in the loop regarding what's going on with my patients since i take more responsibility for their care (ie getting studies done, etc). i also feel like im contributing to the team because the interns have to take one or two less patients on call (although it may be more work for the senior). she's been awesome though (AND she's going into ID) so it's been good times.

i'm always really lucky when it comes to teams (knock on wood) and this one was no different. our interns switched last week, but my first two were great, really supportive, and gave me some tips on the interview trail and their impressions of different programs. we celebrated the end of their va month with a trip to dominick's post call. the cashier at dominick's was kinda funny when he was taking our order and said he hoped we weren't going back to the hospital to save lives after downing our order in dirty scrubs. no worries - after i drank both beer and sangria and didn't eat lunch, i promptly fell asleep when i got back home (waking up with a hangover four hours later). fun times post-call.

speaking of post-call, my schedule has also worked out surprisingly well for making graduation parties, bbq's, and other fun gatherings my friends have planned before many of them leave ann arbor for good. so far, i've attended Emily's graduation party at Al-Ameer, Lori's graduation party at Andiamo's, Susie's Memorial Day BBQ, and more - all post-call! the highlight of susie's bbq/bonfire (held saturday night) was definitely getting to meet little Noah, who is almost walking at seven months and just a really happy baby. i've decided that maybe i do like kids a little more than i thought, and i'm looking forward to the day chris and i have our own, although that shouldn't be for a couple of years (the fortune teller in Bangkok said we *could* have an accident this year, but we're doing all we can to make sure that DOESNT happen).

back to the va. the new interns on our team are super nice, and i know one of them from AMSA days, so it's been nice to catch up. we had a super slow call day over Memorial Day Weekend (i got my first - and only - admission of the night at 10:30 pm) and i got a chance to bond with my team, tell the story of how chris and i met, listen to the story of how other people met their partners, and get advice on 4th year/residencies/etc. ive been really happy with all my medicine experiences at michigan and am strongly considering staying for residency, but will definitely try to interview broadly and see what's out there. my parents (esp my mom) are of course thrilled about this and i'd definitely be happy about staying close to home, esp for when we are thinking about having kids. as always, chris is super supportive about my career and although i think he would be happy going back to cali, he would also be really happy not having to move and pay a million dollars in rent every month. we'll see how he likes his first year at his new job and what he's thinking about re: grad school, but it would definitely be awesome if he did his MBA at michigan. it IS great to be a michigan wolverine - we're excited about getting partner football tix for this season after not having them since M1 year. bring on the tailgates :)