Saturday, November 23, 2019

What Residency Looks Like LXXXII: Happy Friendsgiving!

Sometimes residency looks like a dozen Med-Peds residents and fellows, assorted significant others, a dog, college football on the television, and waaaay too much food. We had a 17-pound turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, roasted Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, two versions of green bean casserole (one vegan), green salad with pomegranate seeds, deviled eggs, Chinese dumplings, rolls, biscuits, herbed spinach-stuffed bread, spicy chili dip, pumpkin pie, mixed berry pie, a divine chocolate cake, chocolate bark, candied walnuts, chocolate-covered gluten-free waffles made out of pretzel dough, wine, beer, and whiskey. Needless to say, no one left hungry!

While people floated in and out of the kitchen for dessert, there was a rotating Bananagrams game.


Also plaid. There was a lot of plaid.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

What Residency Looks Like LXXXI: Acts of Kindness

Since 1998, November 13 has been celebrated as World Kindness Day in an attempt to create a better world by promoting good deeds and acts of kindness. Our local PBS and NPR affiliate, WQED, linked its celebration to Mr. Rogers, who filmed his famous children's show in their studios for decades, as a way to premier an interactive mixed-media exhibit about Fred Rogers by artist Wayne Brezinka entitled "Mister Rogers: Just the Way You Are." In response, my residency program challenged us to wear cardigans today.

Here's a photo of me and one of my colleagues, who had just given his senior talk about pulmonary hypertension in patients with heart failure. The kindness I did was to come early, sit in front, and take notes, so he didn't feel like the large amount of work he had put into his talk was wasted in a half-empty auditorium.

“There’s no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.” ~ Mr. Rogers

What kindness did you do today?

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Monday, November 11, 2019

What Residency Looks Like LXXX: Smile!


Sometimes residency looks like teaching first-year medical students how to perform a physical exam, including mnemonics to help remember where to listen for murmurs on the chest, and the order in which the heart valves close.


These are the heart valves (an oldie but a goodie):
All = Aortic valve
Physicians = Pulmonic valve
Take = Tricuspid valve
Money = Mitral valve

This is the order in which they close (I wrote this one!):
My = Mitral valve
Teeth = Tricuspid valve
Are = Atrial valve
Pretty = Pulmonic valve

And then you smile, because you got it right!

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