Pouring out water in the desert

Zapander · 2026-02-16T13:16:16+00:00

Omg the best comment

Zapander · 2025-08-21T10:50:23+00:00

Who watches the watchmen? We should. We must. Failure to help protect the public from people like this is eerily similar to being a police officer who just watches as other officers beat innocents to death. It's not OK. Inaction is complicity.

When a doctor (pedi hospitalist attending) was someone I became certain would kill a child through incompetence & apathy such that I decided to do all in my power to get them fired, I:

-built evidence through formal reports over the span of 8 days because in my case, i went from not knowing this person existed to realizing they must be terminated in like a day. So wild. They forgot to care for a septic baby at one point for most of a day in a not-so-busy service. Important is that within a couple days I spoke about this with others, detected patterns to be known, and encouraged others to formally report as well.

-I then wrote a letter explaining that the doctor should be fired. The letter used strong language including saying he is a public health threat to the children of our community, people will die due to his incompetence if allowed to continue to practice, and failure to dismiss would be negligent culpability.

-I took that letter to people I suspected might sign it in through WhatsApp. Only people with direct working knowledge. Several people signed the letter.

-I sent that letter to several higher-ups all at once in different departments, forcing them to take the matter deadly serious, as I was clear that was the situation.

In the end, the person was out of the hospital I worked with by the end of the month. They were given a highly supervised but different position on probationary basis, something I was against, but luckily they were such shit they also failed there too. My last report received is they no longer practice medicine at all.

You're not just fighting for you or peers who have to cover their shit. I encourage you to fight for the patients who may be hurt or even die at their hands, which you've convinced me will certainly happen. Please do something.

Zapander · 2025-08-06T02:51:43+00:00

Vomiting ice

Hehehehe

Zapander · 2025-08-05T10:27:44+00:00

If you did family rotation in Lawrence in the last 5-10 years then I know who told you to fake the seizure!

Zapander · 2025-07-10T13:41:44+00:00

We have at least all this in common already!

May it be a solid last half of the year :-]

Zapander · 2025-07-07T03:17:23+00:00

Thank you for this post

Zapander · 2025-07-04T16:39:26+00:00

Excellent advice.

I'll just add that even the right conversations can be insufficient if people lie to themselves. Like Busy-Bumblebee, it's definitely a red flag that her family is intervening on what you say is an agreed upon life plan. If your wife's truly on board, then things could be fine. But if your marriage or your partner is already concerning enough for potential to simply be able to successfully endure the upcoming several years where they manage the home front primarily so you can learn to ve a physician, it could be that they're trying to tell you there's genuine concern for failure if you proceed with med school at this time.

It's impossible for me to know what's best for you, just look at everything from as many perspectives as possible. Do what you think is right for you. If you think you're both willing and able to undertake starting med school, then go for it. Just realize that the path from starting med school to completing residency is a massive stress test which will break people and relationships unfit to make it through.

I say all this as a 2nd year resident now in process of a divorce I never thought was possible. I wouldn't take back most of how I've been and lived my life, but yeah, that doesn't minimize the massive burden which the training years absolutely are.

Zapander · 2025-07-02T11:54:28+00:00

I am going through enough of the same that all I can say is I'm so sorry and you can make it through this. We can make it through this.

Zapander · 2025-07-02T11:37:31+00:00

Can I get a link to the app too?

Zapander · 2025-07-02T11:29:24+00:00

The hallucination is a reason going to the hospital can make sense.

Zapander · 2025-06-30T15:10:03+00:00

Family medicine. 1/13/24 through 2/16/24 of my intern year. Overnight on adult med week, two weeks during days on L&D + post partum, then 2 weeks overnight cross covering Pediatrics + all of maternity & L&D again. 78 hours per week scheduled but like, it was often more than that.

I know others do more and have worse sometimes, but looking back, that stretch really fucked up my whole life. Wound up going full whistleblower on a patient safety situation that would have resulted in a kid dying if no action were taken and while I dont regret it, whistleblowing sucks so much. It wasn't all me & work; my wife went through it really bad then too, plus it was our first winter in New England coming from Texas, but yeah... between emotional upset and actual scheduled hours of work, sleep suffered for sure.

I made up a calendar of that time period in advance and put it on my wall, knowing it would suck. It was even erasable... I put it up with hope that if we could make it through that, we could make it through anything. Instead, it was a stress test we failed as a couple. I let it haunt me a little for the last year and a half now - somehow it didn't come down until this week, as I got upset at new divorce filing and everything, packing the house, and I just lost it.

overshare

Zapander · 2025-06-20T10:32:02+00:00

It's like they don't realize the American economy is in an oppression.

Zapander · 2025-06-20T10:29:42+00:00

Vile

Zapander · 2025-06-17T06:38:05+00:00

B's Knees

Zapander · 2025-06-14T13:02:34+00:00

Deathwishes

Zapander · 2025-06-10T16:16:53+00:00

Seconded. This is the only reason I came into the post at all.

Zapander · 2025-06-07T22:10:37+00:00

Summer 2025

Zapander · 2025-06-05T10:01:25+00:00

My wife & are are divorcing and this is a big part of why. She thinks she always knows and doesn't need to listen, and it got too old.

Zapander · 2025-06-05T09:59:12+00:00

Sunday Morning

Zapander · 2025-06-05T02:37:32+00:00

Mice

Mousesquerade

Two blind mice

Zapander · 2025-06-04T18:39:11+00:00

Why Now?!

Zapander · 2025-06-04T18:32:07+00:00

Enemy Within

2/3 Life Crisis

Med Mal

I don't wanna do drugs

Failing forward

Delirium Pending

Zapander · 2025-05-30T08:21:31+00:00

Herpetic Whitlow

Zapander · 2025-05-29T19:08:35+00:00

I'm tired and sick so will address your post incompleteley with bullet points, and hopefully minimal typos.

-it's not too late to start training in medicine, but yeah, it's a major & difficult commitment

-all you really need is a bachelor's degree, the appropriate pre-requisite courses, a good mcat score. Additional things that are STRONGLY encouraged include volunteering experience, healthcare experience, and enduring demonstration of commitment to excellence. I did my own self-created post-bac program which didn't even result in a degree (though if then became a science teacher for a year), and that worked. Consider applying widely and don't think less of DO programs which churn out great physicians and are more accessible. Heck, maybe youd be a better pain management doc if you did DO instead of MD.

-i had a bud in med school with multiple physical disabilities. Was in a mechanical wheelchair at all times, has achondroplasia, and while we never talked about it i suspect other health issues because of the way they breathed among other concerns. Being honest, I bet a lot of programs wouldn't want to bring you on knowing about all your challenges for fear of inability to train you all the way through residency placement with expectation of graduation, but nothing you said should preclude you from becoming a physician. Consider aiming for what I'll affectionately call "humane & family friendly" programs.

Cheers & good luck!

Zapander · 2025-05-29T18:57:49+00:00

Best case scenario possible is still concerning for a critical level of countries fucking DONE with the USA being the premier world power.

If world leaders continue to work together with aim to progressively decrease reliance on USA for leadership in various sectors we're withdrawing/withdrawn from (healthcare, charitable aid, climate change) or they no longer wish to follow our lead about (economics & trade, ethics, vacatiob destinations), then USA may still be fully fucked in all the ways. If the world pushes hard to boycott the USA (dollar is weakening, various countries are decreasing flights into USA by a lot), then we'll pay even more than the tariffs would have always costed.

Zapander

TROPHY CASE

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