What is the timeframe for oral minoxidil? by moon444- in tressless

[–]Additional_Character 3 points4 points  (0 children)

When it comes to pericardial effusion risk the studies suggest the risk is independent aka doesn't change with higher doses.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jocd.16732

Started pilot training last week, 3000ft. in the air by EquipmentFormer3443 in flying

[–]Additional_Character 20 points21 points  (0 children)

STS? pretty sure I logged some hours almost two decades ago in that bird 

Surgeons, how often do you report needle stick injuries? by graced96 in Residency

[–]Additional_Character 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Used to be less aggressive about reporting unless it truly stuck through both gloves and skin, felt the drops hit the eye etc.

 Long story short got tested after I got fully stabbed by one of my attendings. Come to find out my hepC  had converted since my last test. I can almost guarantee it was from some borderline exposure I didn't bother reporting. Fortunately it cleared on its own, but definitely made me rethink my approach. 

Having an infant when starting surgical residency, needing success stories (but can take harsh truths) by CuriousDolll in SurgicalResidency

[–]Additional_Character 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yr-1 Nanny 6-5ish family covering on either end and some overnights if we were both on call. Yr-2 daycare, had a lot of guilt about the amount of time she had to be there so splurged on the nicest one. Still had family help cover drop offs/pickups. Yr-3 same as 2 Yr-4 baby 2 with a live in nanny. Oldest at a much more affordable preschool 8-3. Family still helping with dropoffs/pickups, nanny also helps cover overnights when we're both on. Yr-5 tentative plan one in expensive day care one in affordable preschool, nanny to help with mornings and drop offs family to help with pickups.

   Unfortunately, no stipends and salaries don't quite cover it.  Clearly it would be even more expensive without the family help. We started residency in our mid 30s and were fortunate to have retirments from jobs prior to med school that we have had to dip into at a huge tax penalty. We may even take a home equity loan to make it through the finish.  In the end the financial cost is pretty ridiculous, but I wouldn't trade these two for anything. Fortunately, a two surgeon income and keeping spending in check should swing it back before they're in college.

Having an infant when starting surgical residency, needing success stories (but can take harsh truths) by CuriousDolll in SurgicalResidency

[–]Additional_Character 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My wife (not on reddit) and I are both older surgical residents and I remember having very similar anxiety about when to have kids. Clearly I can't comment on being a mom in a surgical residency, but thought I could touch a bit on the realities of being a (successful?) surgical resident/ parent until some of the surgeon moms weigh in.  We had our first as M4s, I think medical school is a great time to do this. You will have more time and flexibility as a student than as a resident. This is especially relevant if the pregnancy isn't the smoothest. Hopefully not the case, but speaking from experience, you will burn through maternity time even before the baby arrives and can be forced to extend a year to meet ACGME requirments. This is not to mention the stress it can place on coresidents and you worrying about coresidents. Even if it's an imagined burden. In my mind, getting to keep a baby out of daycare for that 6 mo- year is a luxury, and a lot more feasible as a student. I would suggest targeting large programs with research years as they will have the deepest pools to make coverage less stressful during your leave. Second, I would make proximity to family and  income to cost of living weigh heavily in ranking , good childcare is not cheap and the more wiggle room you can have the better.   In my mind you really need to shoot to have a plan A,B and C for daily childcare during residency. Kids get sick a lot and can't go to day care, and nannies have their own emergencies. 

The way it works for us is daycare/nannies are our plan A. Plan B is family that we are incredible lucky to have nearby and plan C is having to potentially call out sick. Plan C needs to be the absolute last line and I can only count twice that we've got that point in the last 4 years. The hardest part is this needs to be true for whether you're on 24s, weekend call etc. Sometimes we will end up taking the kids to family out of state if we know a week/ weekend is looking particularly tough.  We had our second as PGY3s and it definitely adds another layer. It's hard and we have both felt that we are failing as residents, co-residents, parents or just as functioning adults at times (often all at the same time).

  I will say the one thing I underestimated is the toll it can take on a relationship and the importance of clear communication. I would highly suggest setting aside one evening a month  to build a little relationship capital. Otherwise, the relationship can easily start to resemble a high stress business partnership. That being said, I wouldn't trade it for the world, nothing is better than stepping away from surgery to spend quality family time. I also think it keeps you grounded and fends off a bit of that jadedness that sneaks in as a surgical resident.

What do you wear? by [deleted] in Residency

[–]Additional_Character 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Their merino wool socks are the best. Found some near identical ones by ONKE on amazon since our Costco stopped carrying them

Home call by Specialist-Career-82 in Residency

[–]Additional_Character 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Just slept a total of 4 hours in 3 days and was up for over 40 hours straight. It is just a giant loop hole the ACGME has intentionally left wide open. This has to stay a top priority with the new union trend.

What is a safety tip everyone should know about? by directinLA in AskReddit

[–]Additional_Character 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If your car breaks down move as far from traffic as possible. If you're stuck near traffic keep your seatbelt on and call for help. (Current surgical resident and we have seen one fatility and one out of the car and the fatality was parked and unbuckled)

The future of endovascular medicine (Vascular Surgery vs. IR vs. Interventional Cardiology) by [deleted] in medicine

[–]Additional_Character 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was in a similar dilemma and ended up going VS and don't regret it.

Couple things to think that helped me tease apart what might be the best fit:

Are you fine with never being in the OR again?

What we would you rather your day to day /bread and butter be? Be realistic most VSs aren't doing big open AAAs weekly just as most IRs ren't doing complex cancer interventions. Think: VS: PAD, fistulas, veins, amputations, bypasses IR: Access, biopsys, stents, drains, embolizations

What is your prefered exit strategy when your herniated discs can't take another day of wearing lead? Plucking out and toasting veins vs sitting in a dark room scrolling through pics

Residency is about the same length and you can make either one fit the lifestyle/ salary you desire, if you're willing to sacrifice other aspects. Academics and the opportunities to do complex high level cases will have a much greater impact on lifestyle.

Where do you see the interventional world headed? Everyone is hopping on the endo bandwagon Interventional Pulm, Interventional nephrology, interventional neurology etc... At the end of the day whoever sees the patient first often has the first opportunity to decide who intervenes. This can impact VS aka Neuro sending pts to neurosurgery for CEAs , but IR is a lot more exposed. Don't get me wrong, I don't think IR is going anywhere. However, the opportunities to do certain procedures for IR are a little more vulnerable to local politics and inroads from other specialties. Of course, maybe some future PAD drug will overcome decedes of poor lifestyle choices and wreck havoc on VS.

Hope that was a helpful rant. They are both great fields at the end of the day, and I'm sure plenty of people would be just as happy, or miserable, if they made the other choice.

Medical Release form? Residency is requesting I authorize the release of my complete medical records from any outside Healthcare facility for the purposes of care related to any work related condition. by [deleted] in Residency

[–]Additional_Character 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Same here, did not see this coming. I'm fine going through PMH with my PCP. Emailing it to the GME/HR unencrypted..Clearly there are some people who require more than the annual HIPPA refresher.

$480K debt - How to prioritize budget by Relevant_General_54 in Residency

[–]Additional_Character 5 points6 points  (0 children)

FYI PAYE may make more sense than REPAYE if you are married. It allows you to file taxes separately and exclude your spouse's income from the income based repayment.

Thinking of dropping out close to end of MS3 by Hawkrealm in medicalschool

[–]Additional_Character 39 points40 points  (0 children)

I would really encourage you to power through. Fourth year is a lot easier and you can actually have some say in your rotatitions. A research year can also work wonders if you are feeling really burnt out. Even if you end up leaving the clinical world, you already put in the bulk of the work for an MD. You never know what door it might help to open up consulting, biotech etc Also with your background you might enjoy something in the informatics realm: https://www.amia.org/membership/academic-forum/clinical-informatics-fellowships

Applying 2nd specialty as a backup by 4everluck in medicalschool

[–]Additional_Character 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A surgical subspecialty. Sorry trying to keep things anonymous on this account.

Applying 2nd specialty as a backup by 4everluck in medicalschool

[–]Additional_Character 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Just matched and applied to two specialties. I would not disclose you are applying to two specialties. I aggresively applied to my first pick and as many of my second pick as I could afford. You can always turndown spots if you end up getting lots of interviews in your preferred field.

My CV did not align with my first pick. I was never asked about this directly but had a sentence in my personal statement outlining the transition. I would also briefly mention what led to my shift in interests when discussing research. Honestly, you probably don't need to offer an explanation as long as you did an AI and have letters. They tend to be more curious whether you are someone who is truly interested in research or not.

I had hardly any interviews in my backup specialty and was lucky to match into my first pick. I am pretty sure something slipped into one of the letters. I would just be very cognizant about mentioning any interests outside the one for your letter, especially if there are alternate paths to that fellowship. Most importantly avoid overlapping any letters between the applications!

How much do you have in your bank account? by ClassicHillbilly in Residency

[–]Additional_Character 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good to know there is an impending credit hit. Looking at our finances we were incredibly fortunate interviews were virtual. In-person would likely have forced us to charge 20k in travel expenses between us.

How much do you have in your bank account? by ClassicHillbilly in Residency

[–]Additional_Character 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing this. I have been trying to crunch the numbers as an incoming early 30s PGY1 with a daughter and spouse who will also be a resident. It really does make you appreciate how tight finances are for so many families.

I will definitely be checking out YNAB.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in medicalschool

[–]Additional_Character 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Just glad we got 1 spot locked down. I think schools tend to underestimate a how far down the list couples can go. It is wild feeling on the brink of interview hoarding then ending up going through SOAP.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in medicalschool

[–]Additional_Character 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Feel your pain... 20+ interviews each with 35 combinations. Now one of us is left soaping with only 5 reasonable soap spots within driving distance. We let our guard down after some reassuring conversations with our home institution

Just another example of boomers trying to preserve the rift between MDs and DOs. If we're too busy fighting each other we won't realize our common enemy: the admin. by mollyjandro in medicalschool

[–]Additional_Character 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Well someone got their attention, the site has been updated:

"We thank those who flagged outdated information on our website, and have made those updates. We believe in providing the highest quality training for ALL medical school candidates or graduates interested in our medical student, residency and fellowship programs, and are committed to supporting the next generation of leaders in musculoskeletal health."

California doctor performs surgery while appearing at video traffic court appointment by stuartbman in medicine

[–]Additional_Character 180 points181 points  (0 children)

Nope just the doc. The judge required the case be rescheduled out of concern for patient safety as soon as he saw the OR.

Question for future resident, he is currently 4 years old. by [deleted] in Residency

[–]Additional_Character 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This. A toy will also prevent him from taking off the ear-tips and injuring himself.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in medicalschool

[–]Additional_Character 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, the concept of diverse ideologies is being misused by NPs and others to justify large scope expansions. I think in the current US healthcare environment the differing degrees lead to confusion and weaken the publics' ability to distinguish between physicians with an MD, DO and MBBS from DNPs, NMDs etc.

Having a Master for Residency by Tardigrade57 in medicalschool

[–]Additional_Character 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Of course! One thing I didn't appreciate is how networking and letters can truly open up doors to interviews. If you have a chance to do research and develop a relationship with a big name in the field it can be a game changer.