VICTORY in the MICU

I have seized victory in the MICU! Never before shall I return to the morbid halls of Founders 9. Never again shall I find myself sono-siting somebody's right internal jugular vein in the middle of the night! Gone are the days of debating the virtues of synchronous intermittent mandatory ventilation versus continuous positive airway pressure ventilation!

The last night was a doozy. There was somebody with a fairly massive GI bleed that involved calling in attendings from both the Gastroenterology & Interventional Radiology services in the middle of the night, but fortunately (knock on wood) I think they were able to work their magic and get a hold on the blood loss.

Seriously, though; although I have certainly complained a lot about the ridiculously intense nature of the MICU, in retrospect I have to admit that it was overall a good experience, and a much more rewarding one than when I had done the rotation as a 2nd year. A lot of the difference I think was myself being more confident concerning procedures and ventilator management; in addition, it was a lot of fun working with my intern Ali and watching him develop into a powerful MICU force to be reckoned with. I'm leaving the oncoming resident taking over for me with an intern who is now "signed off" (in order to do a procedure independently, you need to be supervised a certain number of times by a senior resident, at which point you are said to be "signed off") on central lines, arterial lines, and lumbar punctures, and needs only one more paracentesis to boot.

The content of my blog will understandably be shifting...as a result of my ability to experience life outside of the MICU! I have two weeks of elective in order to get my life organized, and then it's off to Botswana...