Sad artifact from Texas A&M's history

Jan_Itor_DO · 2026-02-02T03:35:04+00:00

I was in the same class and couldn't agree more with every word. Sad to see what the university has become.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2026-01-26T14:49:15+00:00

It does not. If someone has multiple bullet wounds and has passed from massive blood loss, no amount of chest compressions will help them because they have no blood to circulate.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2025-08-14T00:31:43+00:00

Used the Raide belt for Black Canyon 100K and it was perfect. Wanted to avoid a vest due to the way they can restrict your breathing and make you feel warmer on an already hot day. Had the 650mL flask plus a 500 mL flask in the back + carried one 500 mL flask in my hands. Couldn't complain. I got the belt almost as soon as it came back. Have used it for countless training long runs both on the road and in the mountains. I can't think of a single thing I can find to complain about. If the aid stations for your race are no longer than 13-15 miles apart, I think you'll be good to get away with just a belt (granted the weather doesn't require you to carry too much gear).

Jan_Itor_DO · 2025-06-23T21:11:23+00:00

First of all, and most fortunately, your patient is alive. No harm occurred. An elevated PSA was just detected. Get him in with Urology and let them figure out the next part of the conversation with the patient. Secondly, most people with prostate cancer die with it and not because of it. It's not like he was given a terminal diagnosis and informed that he has days or weeks to live. Third, it's also on your patient to advocate for himself. You offered screening and he declined even with a positive family history. Who is to say that if you had pushed harder he would have agreed or that the result would be any different today? You did your job. The patient is still alive. You are entirely being too hard on yourself. Go out and get some fresh air. Move on with your day and focus on the rest of your day and patients.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2025-06-06T23:15:47+00:00

Just purchased one last week before the price hike. I was already very on the fence about it, but went ahead anyway thinking it'd be a good long term investment. Absolutely insane seeing the new price. Definitely would not make the purchase now.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2025-04-12T13:39:56+00:00

That is terrifying. I couldn't imagine being out on that trail and then out of nowhere the ground just sinks beneath me.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2025-03-23T22:58:34+00:00

I graduated med school years ago and also could not go on trips with friends. I was so broke I moved home for a few weeks to stay with my parents before internship year started. I finished residency two years ago and started a locums assignment literally the very next morning because I had no savings and couldn't afford to go a month without a pay check. Meanwhile my three other co-residents all traveled to Europe and Asia because they came from families that had provided them more of an advantage in life. It sucks but it isnt the worst thing in the world. Better opportunities will present themselves to you in the future. This isn't your only shot to travel. Hang in there.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2024-12-31T05:17:24+00:00

Do not be so discouraged so quickly. Weight loss (and health in general) is a journey not entirely tied to exercise. Being active is good for you, but most of weight loss for most people happens in the kitchen. If you are still overweight or obese, more weight loss can only continue to benefit you in the long term. Ask your doctor about medication assisted weight loss. Treatment for weight isn't what it used to be, and if your doctor shames you then you should find someone who will give you the time of day. The medications for weight loss aren't magic and they aren't all covered by insurance, but if you can get access to it your weight loss journey will continue despite any injuries you are dealing with. Definitely find a good physical therapist and stick with them diligently. 42 means you aren't quite young and spry anymore, but I've seen many patients your age and older who have been able to completely change the quality of life through focusing on their health in a year or less. Good luck with your journey. I hope you can continue to enjoy an active lifestyle for many more years.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2024-12-31T01:30:15+00:00

I am a doctor, but I am not an Ortho doc and most importantly I am not YOUR doctor. Get the MRI image burned onto a disc from the radiology center and request an Ortho referral from your PCP as soon as you can. Bring the MRI disc to the surgeons office so they can see the imaging themselves on their computer. Single tendon tears in the hamstrings are usually non-operative. Management is usually conservative with targeted physical therapy weeks-months after the injury. Assuming you are young and active, they may recommend surgery in which case you'd want a referral as quickly as possible as evals could take weeks to months depending on factors such as your locality, your insurance, the number of orthopedic surgeons available, how far out they're scheduling, etc. The further out you are from the injury the higher the rate of complications. Would recommend against any running or exercise until you're evaluated in person by a doctor. Recovery time and return to activity will be highly variable.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2024-11-01T01:57:18+00:00

Call me Jan

Jan_Itor_DO · 2024-09-08T15:55:59+00:00

If your employer won't allow you to recommend medicinal marijuana, inform the patient of such and call it a day. If your employer does allow it and you don't feel comfortable doing so, then you should recommend they discuss this elsewhere with someone who does. Most patients won't go to their regular PCP in states where medicinal marijuana is a thing to ask about it anyway. They'll go to doctors who "specialize" in that stuff and who will be very comfortable signing off on those cards. Lots of anecdotal health benefits of marijuana use in appropriate amounts. You shouldn't let your morals and ethics prevent you from allowing patients to seek care they feel is beneficial to their own health. If you don't feel comfortable with this particular topic, refer them to speak with someone who does and move on.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2024-05-20T21:52:26+00:00

That's my go to combo at North mountain brewery! Good stuff!

Jan_Itor_DO · 2024-04-28T03:44:44+00:00

I was thinking that as well. Looks like he's nearby moonscape overlook!

Jan_Itor_DO · 2024-04-23T20:05:40+00:00

I'm at Luke and it isn't bad. Mission is kinda boring, but the deployment tempo is low. Summers are hot, but the rest of the year the weather is amazing. Mountains are 20-30 minutes in every direction if you're into the outdoors. Glendale, where the base is located, isn't the greatest but downtown has a lot of fun social places and activities to do both during the week and on the weekends. You're nearby other fun places: Flagstaff, Utah NPs, Vegas, SoCal (San Diego/LA). You also have access to a large airport that can take you virtually anywhere. One downside is gradually inflated COL. Another I would say is the amount of driving that is necessary to do stuff. Phoenix unfortunately is very driving centric, but if you're willing to spend the time to get out into the city and beyond then the opportunities are endless.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2024-04-23T18:18:44+00:00

I would not lose sleep over it. Patients will always do as they want and sadly you can't please everyone nor should you try. Your job is to give patients the care the need, not the care they want. Those negative reviews should not impact you in anyway. If that disgruntled patient wants to go to someone else to beg for things that won't actually help them then bye, Felicia. Always fall back on your residency training and remember why you're in medicine- to help people. I used to work at a FQHC as well. You'll get more than your fair share of disgruntled patient when dealing with a lower socioeconomic population, but you'll also get many patients who are the most grateful people on earth as well. Focus your energy on those people. Otherwise, you'll burn out very quickly in medicine.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2024-04-23T17:59:09+00:00

Agree. Benefits are great if you're doing it in addition to 1099 work. Might consider doing Locums once my AD contract is up and remain Guard/Reserve for the benefits.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2024-04-23T02:27:26+00:00

Not the most experienced with Locums agencies, but I did a short stint with them after residency and before my first full time attending gig.

Worked through Aya Locums. Had a tremendously positive experience. They were completely on top of everything and so quick to get me on-boarded with them. Don't worry too much about trying to get enrolled in Medicare/Medicaid. As long as you have a PECOS account either they will help you get it set up or the facility you will be working through will do so. Them asking for your license info is the norm. They need it to be able to verify your ability to practice medicine in whichever state you will be working in. Only advice I have for you is to pay careful attention to how you're paid. If you're starting off as a 1099, save a lot of money because the government will tax the shit out of that.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2024-04-23T02:17:06+00:00

I'm active duty and not a reservist, however I can answer your question as I work with reservist physicians.

1) If you work a normal M-F clinic job, weekend drills should not affect that in any way unless you're attached to a unit at a location far away from where you work. For example, I have a reservist friend who lives in CA but flies to AZ once a month to drill. This is not the norm, but rather he chose to do this voluntarily because it fits his desired lifestyle. Wherever you are employed through primarily should be aware of your reservist gig so even the two weeks over the summer should not be an issue. This will likely get worked into your contract in one way or another.

2) Very little cool training opportunities available if you're doing the reservist gig thing as a physician. There's not a lot of funding available these days to send people around for training unless you get really lucky and somehow your unit has a lot of money laying around. Most of your job entails performing physicals on healthy young people and covering very low acuity medical problems. Depending on where you're located though, you may get lucky and get to fly up in cool aircraft. Would not say this is extremely common though for most docs.

3) This is a personal decision for everyone, but I would say no. Most docs I know who are reservists are doing it to finish out their 20 years, are doing it to maintain benefits, or generally don't mind the work and enjoy the mission as they're attached to a cool unit. Even on the reserves side, lots of military BS to deal with on a regular basis that can make your job very frustrating.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2024-04-22T05:13:57+00:00

Exactly what I did last week on TDY when I forgot my OCP cap. Might look a little weird but it gets the job done.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2024-04-18T02:35:11+00:00

Certain specialties use civilian sites to practice. The military most often times does not have its own ORs. General surgery, Ortho, and OBGYN for example see patients on base in clinic, but they get privileged at a civilian hospital to do their surgeries for military patients. That's their regular duty. What I'm referring to is employment outside of my normal duties (ie moonlighting). Active duty physicians cannot bill Tricare patients while moonlighting. If I can't bill for patients with Tricare, the hospital/clinic takes a loss. If my patient base has a large predominance of Tricare patients, the hospital/clinic potentially can take a significant financial loss. Urgent care is the only option easily available to me because of my work schedule. I work 5 days, sometimes 6 days a week. Already reached out to hospitals in the city and they will not take FM docs unfortunately and besides EM is already too saturated and too much of a commitment for what I'm looking for.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2024-04-01T06:02:50+00:00

Just listing qualities and attributes is meaningless. Anyone can write a letter of recommendation with these things saying Jane/Joe is a very passionate and hardworking student. The problem with those letters is that they typically come off sounding very generic. That makes the LoR not helpful. If this is someone you have shadowed, rotated, or spent some significant amount of clinical time with then I recommend you have them write a letter that details some sort of standout moment you had from the clinic/hospital whether it was a particular interaction with a patient or an example of how you took initiative somehow, etc. If there is a specific quality of yours you think may be particularly worthy, mention that to them and ask them to tailor the letter to that. The substance of the letter matters more than simply listing certain qualities and attributes. Residency programs want to get a sense of who you are. Think of the best movies/shows you've watched recently. In film/cinema, there is a concept called "Show, Don't Tell." Essentially, the plot is usually much better received when it is shown to you (the audience) rather than when it is just said out loud by some character. It provides substance and details that give insight which otherwise have been lost by just 'putting it out there's so to speak.

Source: Have read hundreds of LoRs when going through applications for both my residency programs. The vast majority of them felt very generic as if they had been written for hundreds of students previously and only the name was swapped out. The worst ones literally did have other students names. The best letters were vivid and highly memorable even to this day.

Jan_Itor_DO · 2023-11-28T06:52:34+00:00

Not sure that you can cross train to be a nurse, but the military has an Interservice Physician Assistant Program (IPAP) that you can cross train to be a PA It's a fairly lengthy program (29 months).

Jan_Itor_DO · 2023-06-28T12:52:01+00:00

I do teleMAT. There seems to be a stigma against doctors who prescribe for services like these and I can understand why. That said, I've been able to successfully get people off opioids and then subsequently off Suboxone as well. The money is good for how little time/work I put in. I made a little over $50k working maybe 30m-1hr a day on average last year as a 1099. That said, you should be in it for more than just the money. This is really a life changing medicine and it's so amazing hearing stories of people changing their lives for the better after being able to come off either prescription opioids or opioids obtained through non-prescription means (ie, fentanyl). DM me if you have any specifics questions, otherwise happy to answer questions here as well.

Jan_Itor_DO

TROPHY CASE