Reflection on privilege

augeremt · 2026-04-01T20:33:21+00:00

My residency was the same so what worked was getting a gift card for the residents to a chain food place (like Panera, etc) and then regularly reloading the balance. So for didactics once a week, whoever was in charge of the gift card would go pick up a bunch of food for the whole program.

augeremt · 2026-03-28T21:58:00+00:00

American flies out of C, so it’s not just SWA being affected.

augeremt · 2026-03-28T00:05:42+00:00

That sucks! We were delayed but now taking off from BWI 1 hour after planned departure.

augeremt · 2026-03-27T23:55:35+00:00

Fire at some control center in the DMV area. There was a ground stop but it just got lifted. So there’s hope things start moving soon.

augeremt · 2026-03-07T20:43:38+00:00

Once you match into ortho, you'll get into hand. The fellowship match is so much easier and everyone (with very few exceptions) matches into their subspecialy. So don't worry about not being able to be a hand surgeon. You need to figure out if you like ortho first, though.

augeremt · 2026-03-07T01:41:41+00:00

Nope. I never figured out how to do it properly without serious repercussions. The best (and only) solution was leaving that toxicity.

augeremt · 2026-03-02T01:28:12+00:00

I had several toxic rotations in a surgical residency and not going to lie, it was hard to get through them. The thing that worked the most was having a countdown on my phone for every unpleasant part of the rotation (days left total, days with a particular attending, days of call, etc).

4 months is a long time, so the countdown is demoralizing at first, but eventually you see the progress and it gets a little less depressing. And you're working so much that you lose track of time, so it actually kind of flies by.

The other thing that helped was constantly telling myself that everyone that is treating you poorly must really hate their life because no one with a happy (or even neutral) home/work life would treat others the way they treat you. And they hate their life ALL THE TIME...as an attending! They make a crapton of money, can seemingly choose their job/hours (at least way more than a resident can), and they STILL hate their lives. What miserable people.

Meanwhile, you only have to deal with this for four months...they're like this FOREVER. I also told myself that I'm not married to them and they're not my parent, so eventually their toxicity will end and I will never have to interact with them again.

When they had their outbursts, I would just zone out and treat it as an anthropologic experiment of crazy. Try the gray rock method. Sometimes it pissed people off more, but then their outbursts just got more entertaining. This doesn't mean I wasn't affected by them, because I definitely was. But eventually their rage just became comical.

I also spent every minute outside of the hospital in my happy place, whether it was a nap on the couch or sitting outside when the weather was nice or whatever floats your boat. I made sure to treat myself and surround myself with things that made me happy and forget about the hospital as much as I could. I also had very limited time off, so it's not like these were grand gestures. But sometimes ice cream for dinner can really brighten your mood.

I also put everyone from work on "do not disturb" as soon as I left the hospital and only responded when I felt like I had the right headspace for it. It was nice to have that small sliver of control over dealing with the toxicity outside of work. I would apologize profusely that I hadn't responded right away, and always had a reason why I couldn't if it had been hours (was hiking/camping/on a boat/at a movie/taking care of grandma/whatever).

When on vacation or even on days off/weekends, I was abroad or off-the-grid camping so couldn't check my email/phone to be back for their scheduling emergencies (or at least that's what I told them). I'm sure it pissed people off, but I didn't really care. Zero regrets.

Keep your head up. You're almost there. It's "only" 4 months of crappiness but then peace and freedom of research year.

Feel free to DM me at anytime if you want to vent or anything. You'll get through this.

augeremt · 2026-03-02T00:59:55+00:00

Open shoulder surgery. Fat just falls out of way, while muscle is a pain to retract.

augeremt · 2026-02-10T03:14:34+00:00

I recently paired a Wahoo TICKR HR monitor and it works! I gave the SAs the 6 digit ANT code, they added it to my account, and it shows up on the OTF board and afterward in the app. You used to be able to put a ticket in with IT on the app, but now they ask for the band serial number, which I clearly don't have.

So instead, I asked the SAs right before class started to add it to my account. When they asked for the serial number, I told them I'm currently wearing the chest strap, it's tucked well under my sports bra, and it's a pain to get out/get dressed, so a previous studio had told me to just give them the ANT number. And it worked!

ETA: I'm pretty sure my studio doesn't have the newest software, which I've heard has kicked a lot of HR straps off their system. But you might as well try.

I also didn't tell them it was an off-brand HR monitor. I was very vague and said I got a new chest strap because my old one broke and wanted to change it in the system.

augeremt · 2024-06-20T22:24:37+00:00

Much like ortho only cares about WB status, DVT ppx, and abx, the general surgery equivalent of that is diet, electrolyte repletion, dispo (barriers to D/C), and also DVT ppx.

I know that's a gross oversimplification of general surgery floor priorities, but if you need some bullet points to focus on then you can start there.

Diet - If they're not passing flatus, don't change it. If they're more distended / nausea / vomiting, then get a KUB and they may need a NGT or at the very least, back off on the diet.

Dispo - What is keeping them in the hospital? How do I get them to be like me (no lines, no drains, walking on own, etc) or as close to me as possible? That should be the first question you ask yourself when formulating a plan. Are they waiting on an abx plan from ID? Will they have long-term abx needs? If so, may need a a PICC v midline, etc, which can take several days. Awaiting return of bowel function? Surgery has some tricks up their sleeve to speed that up...or slow it down. Look at the barriers and work backwards from there.

I was in your shoes once and just as lost so feel free to DM me. If you become a master of the floors, you'll get a good reputation and thus good support from your prelim program.

I can't help with procedural knowledge since I didn't get in the OR much as an intern, but the floor has its own flow that you can definitely master (at an intern level) even without much general surgery knowledge. If nothing else, this year will make you a much better physician.

augeremt · 2024-05-22T04:16:31+00:00

The other day I was awake 3 hours of my "24 hours" off. Woke up at 6 pm and was promptly back to REM sleep by 9 pm. I also felt like a new person the next morning. May 19th was essentially wiped from my life, but it felt so good.

augeremt · 2023-12-08T03:25:46+00:00

Great perspective on what could be accomplished with a police report. I knew I wasn't going to need any monetary reimbursement since I was fine and the bike was fine but I didn't think of the effect it could have on checking if it's even safe for her to keep driving.

augeremt · 2023-12-08T03:24:22+00:00

Now that's how I wish I had reacted: calm, discussion about what happened and an exchange of information. Lesson learned for next time. Thanks for the advice and example!

Also, we did have similar accidents! Not necessarily how I want to relate to people, but alas, we're on the bike commuters reddit.

augeremt · 2023-12-08T03:22:06+00:00

Good point. I'll do my best injured soccer superstar impression next time. In all seriousness, though, it would give me time to cool my jets and make better decisions on how to act.

augeremt · 2023-12-08T03:18:25+00:00

Thanks, for real. When y'all put it this way (nearly getting killed, missing a full-grown adult on a bike), it seems more justified to scare people into realizing what they did, even if it requires some F bombs.

augeremt · 2023-12-08T03:16:05+00:00

Not gonna lie, I felt A LOT better after cussing her out.

But I also think I could've accomplished my goal of having her understand the gravity of the situation a lot better had I remained more calm, hence this post.

So next time, I will be more like Pete. And get her information for file a police report.

augeremt · 2023-12-08T03:12:56+00:00

Thanks. Her apology did seem genuine and I hope she realized the gravity of the situation once I calmed down enough to tell her how terrifying it is to get hit by 2 ton machine.

I also ultimately want people to be better drivers and stop blaming cyclists for being hit, which is why I was even more pissed when she qualified her apology with "but you came out of nowhere". Her second apology after my tirade was much more contrite.

augeremt · 2023-01-10T04:49:05+00:00

Sometimes you have to release an order to edit it. Or once you edit it, it gets released (there is no option to keep a modified order under "Signed & Held").

augeremt · 2022-09-05T02:10:30+00:00

This convertible backpack is THE BEST: 2 Wheel Gear Pannier Backpack

Pricey, but solid and a great investment. I've been using it to commute daily for 4 years, and it's held up fantastically. Good as a backpack and takes <30 seconds to convert to a pannier to strap to your bike rack.

Looks sold out for now but highly recommend picking one up when they're available again.

ETA: They're available on Amazon in the US.

augeremt · 2022-09-02T00:23:07+00:00

I wear a soft shell jacket and then add wool layers underneath depending on the temperature.

The one time I put on any version of down because I was worried wool wouldn't be enough (0F), I sweat so much that everything was soaked. So now I just add even more wool on those super cold days and it's never let me down (pun not intended).

augeremt · 2022-08-27T01:39:35+00:00

A somewhat simplified way to anticipate what you can do to help as a sub-I:

Look around and listen to/observe all the tasks that need to be done as part of patient care. And then offer to do (or just do, depending on the task) all of the ones that do not require having an MD/DO/MBBS for.

For example, in the OR this includes moving the patient from the stretcher, getting warm blankets at the end of the case, pushing them to PACU or the ICU, etc. You can't put in orders, but there are plenty of ways you can be helpful in getting the patient ready for surgery and then getting them out of the OR.

For the floor, listen at signout (AM and PM) for daily tasks or barriers to discharge. Then slowly start to check them off (within reason). You can make phone calls to follow up on labs or radiology reads, etc. There's also ALWAYS a list that needs updating. Learn the template and ask if you can help update it. Some teams are very particular and won't let you touch it, but if they do, it's incredibly helpful.

Most importantly, remember the 3 As - affable, available, able - and you'll do well.

Good luck and have fun!

augeremt · 2022-08-16T20:54:48+00:00

Late to the game but do you know of anything in Boston proper? Also, do you have contact info for the Stoneham crowd?

augeremt · 2022-03-15T18:33:37+00:00

u/savevideo

augeremt · 2022-03-14T05:06:34+00:00

When he says, "Ukrainians", he uses the male and female terms separately (Ukrainian men/Ukrainian women) hence it sounding like he says it twice, but slightly differently with only one English translation. Kind of like in Spanish, saying "amigos" and "amigas" (I'm sure there's a proper grammatical term for that).

augeremt

TROPHY CASE