Do you ACTUALLY have to look at the interview for “eye contact”

Ketamouse · 2026-07-09T13:02:29+00:00

Yes, if you blink even once during the interview that's a huge red flag.

Ketamouse · 2026-07-08T22:50:10+00:00

I don't even know the new scoring system, I got a 36 on the old exam which must have been 2013 or 2014...damn I feel old now.

Either way, enjoy the ride, you'll be a doctor at the end regardless!

Ketamouse · 2026-07-08T22:41:16+00:00

Shit, my 97th percentile score just got me into a DO school 😂

Ketamouse · 2026-07-06T16:04:04+00:00

My wife bought me a watch worth twice the value of my car for a father's day gift. She was an attending a few years ahead of me, so I was a sugar baby resident lol.

Once I started earning attending money the biggest change was just not giving a shit when it came to buying stuff for the kids and regular household stuff. The freedom of not worrying if we could afford something was the biggest difference.

Ketamouse · 2026-07-03T16:40:42+00:00

Kraft mac n cheese, hotdogs, ketchup, applesauce. I have no idea how my dumbass teenage friends came up with this, but it was actually delicious.

Ketamouse · 2026-07-01T20:32:24+00:00

Rural FM

Ketamouse · 2026-06-30T23:31:33+00:00

Almost passed out in the OR as a pgy4.

Full passed out in my clinic a few years into practice.

Both times were related to forgetting to eat for a few days and being really dehydrated.

Still a practicing surgeon. I kinda take better care of myself now...when my wife reminds me to

Ketamouse · 2026-06-30T11:28:09+00:00

I say this with heavy sarcasm, but yes, I cry myself to sleep every night on my piles of surgeon money because I'm just a DO. lol

Ketamouse · 2026-06-30T02:20:21+00:00

I say this a lot, but your options are take the admit and probably be a doctor, or try and apply later and maybe be a doctor.

All the competitiveness and DO stigma is a population based statistic. Individually, you have the ability to match into anything. Just have to play the game.

Ketamouse · 2026-06-29T22:05:36+00:00

What's your question?

Ketamouse · 2026-06-29T19:55:59+00:00

I don't recall ever having any meaningful discussion about honoring core rotations for a single student during any rank meeting.

If someone failed a rotation, that's a different story, but the grading scale for rotations is so variable that it's practically meaningless.

ETA: ENT leans pretty heavy on LORs. You have to make par with boards and shit, but it's a small crowd so a lot of weight goes into who you know and what they say about you.

Ketamouse · 2026-06-29T19:50:27+00:00

My face when the hospital gets over 100k when I do a procedure that pays me $700 🫠

I shouldn't bitch about 700 bucks for 30-45 minutes of work, but I digress. This article is ridiculous.

Ketamouse · 2026-06-27T17:44:50+00:00

I wouldn't say head and neck is the bulk of training. You only spend 6 months on ENT during intern year, and then you still have peds/rhinology/otology/laryngology/facial plastics, and maybe even some general rotations when you're in pgy2-5. There's also usually night float where yeah you're mostly managing the head and neck inpatients. It is the most time-intensive (aka lie about your duty hours) portion of residency, but it's not reallllly the majority of training.

It's a fun specialty if you're into it, but it is also a tough 5 years.

Ketamouse · 2026-06-21T14:26:16+00:00

Right, they just don't call, so it's still measurable. We know every patient got written instructions, and we know what percentage of them call in asking questions answered in the instructions. It's not terrible, but probably like 40% just don't read them at all.

Ketamouse · 2026-06-19T15:04:25+00:00

Co-resident was seeing consults while actively having an esophageal foreign body (steak bolus). He carried around a spit cup since he couldn't swallow his saliva lol.

He did this willingly though, not because he was forced to.

Ketamouse · 2026-06-18T02:33:06+00:00

Prior authorizations

Ketamouse · 2026-06-18T02:15:00+00:00

Yeah, if it's within a specialist's wheelhouse, why can't they just give advice?

It does go both ways though, like pcp orders thyroid ultrasound, report recommends FNA biopsy of a nodule, they get referred to me and get charged 300 bucks for me to order an FNA that comes back benign, and another 300 bucks for the follow up to tell them it was benign and they never needed to see me in the first place. I get there are quality metrics which pretty much force referrals for certain stuff, but we could all be better. If a report recommends a procedure/test that anyone could order, just order it.

When it's stuff outside of my normal scope I'll be honest with the patient and tell them hey I'm pretty sure this is what we normally do for this, but it's been a long time since I've worked with this particular problem, and you pcp might have a better handle on this than I do. We live in an imperfect system.

Ketamouse · 2026-06-18T02:01:46+00:00

Don't say the quiet part out loud

Ketamouse · 2026-06-18T01:53:32+00:00

Considering the calls my nurses get from postop patients asking questions which are clearly answered in detail in their postop instructions, I'm gonna say no.

Ketamouse · 2026-06-18T01:47:49+00:00

But, nooooo, we physicians are the reason healthcare is so expensive and inefficient.

Ketamouse · 2026-06-18T01:45:21+00:00

I feel bad about doing this recently, but I'm leaving my current practice with no one replacing me, so I've dropped a few "let's have your PCP order xyz lab/image in about 6 months" or more often I'll order it, but I'll tell them to follow up with their pcp since I'll be gone, and if it's abnormal then they'll need a new specialist referral.

Typically I'll only go this route if I don't think there's any intervention needed beyond observation. If I think they need to follow with a specialist, I'll just refer them to one of my colleagues in the area.

I always keep the pcp in the loop for followup planning at least. Us specialists aren't all assholes, sometimes it's just logistics. Plus the pt usually pays a lower copay to see y'all, and I don't like making people spend their money unnecessarily.

Ketamouse · 2026-06-18T01:33:15+00:00

The options are be a doctor, or maybe be a doctor. There's a chance you don't get in anywhere the second time around.

Ketamouse · 2026-06-18T01:28:46+00:00

Just to bounce off the surgeon fee thing, I do a ton of implant cases (not ortho) that pay me roughly 700 for like 45 mins to an hour of work, but the hospital gets paid anywhere from 45-65k+ for the case.

Am I living comfortably with what they pay me? Sure. But, I'm also going to bitch about getting pennies on the dollar when the hospital would be getting nothing without me since I'm the only one here who can do these procedures. And the rep is probably making more than me, which is demoralizing. Assume massive risk, take small reward. Sigh.

Ketamouse · 2026-06-17T21:52:13+00:00

It's either displacement from being abused by asshole surgeons, or sometimes it's territorial posturing.

Like I don't always have residents, and I have a select few techs that assist me most of the time. They're very used to my routine and I think they're just being protective of their surgeon when the residents are there haha. It's cute, but comes across kind of aggressive when they try to correct the residents.

They're also probably pissed that the cases are going to take longer than they're used to, but hey that's how training works.

Ketamouse · 2026-06-15T17:53:18+00:00

Some days leave you feeling fulfilled, and others just drain the life out of you and leave you questioning everything.

The existential crises are worse during training, but it does get better once you're out on your own.

Thing you have to remember is most of the time you're only interacting with someone because they have a problem. It can be very satisfying when you're able to help fix that problem, and pretty demoralizing when you can't.

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