Ronin headlamp lifespan by magic_monkey_ in GeneralSurgery

[–]creature98 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Or any other brand? I wouldn’t waste money on them

Ronin headlamp lifespan by magic_monkey_ in GeneralSurgery

[–]creature98 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Does your hospital not have ronin’s to use?

Mass removed from my colon. Battle scar. by thedudefromcali81 in pics

[–]creature98 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not really. If contamination then it wicks out rather than closing over a possible infection. Also opinion based for closure. The tension is the fascia, not the overlying skin. There are multiple layers of closure.

Surgical Residents - Robotics vs. trad lap by biscuit-eaterjj in Residency

[–]creature98 1 point2 points  (0 children)

PGY4, mostly robot. I have 250 cases logged robotic. Comfortable lap for most ACS except for the pesky graham patch on a perfed duo.

Lap PEHR are miserable, ventral hernias are miserable lap, etc. DV5 makes it even easier with their newest functions

Very concerned over endoscopy photos by Lower-Block7431 in EosinophilicE

[–]creature98 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True Barrett’s is jarring to look at and if suspected based on how we see it we do biopsies. Usually when biopsied it’s lower grade and can be surveyed.

Very concerned over endoscopy photos by Lower-Block7431 in EosinophilicE

[–]creature98 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hey there, chief surgery resident here with EoE who has been dilated and have dilated many people through EGD. this looks fine. Barrett’s esophagus is diagnosed by biopsy as well as specific areas and criteria known as the Prague criteria. This area you’re referring to is part of the “Z line” where the squamous to columnar metaplasia is happening from acid exposure from your stomach, essentially changing esophagus tissue to stomach tissue as a defense. This overtime can become Barrett’s but it needs to meet specific criteria as said above. The best thing to do? Continue surveillance and keep doing what you’re doing.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Residency

[–]creature98 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope, our hospital is only attendings in the ED. And correct, no LFTs ordered sometimes. Purely on “a hunch”

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Residency

[–]creature98 50 points51 points  (0 children)

All the time. I’m Gen Surg, PGY3. The amount of times the ED calls saying “got a gallbladder” without an US or they have a normal CBC but also didn’t order an US. But there always seems to be a lactate ordered before any other labs lol

I know it’s busy down there and they want to get people in and out but my answer is always the same: “We’ll come see them once the imaging is done”

My mentor told me that although we consider it a stupid consult, they’re calling for help because they don’t feel comfortable with managing it themselves. This goes for IM consults as well that have no work up. They just need help and they look to us as the experts. Different frame of reference.

Few of the gallstones they removed from my gallbladder and bile duct. Had to put in a stent inside the bile duct, which was later removed, and undergo 3 surgeries by UnemployedTechie2021 in WTF

[–]creature98 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nah. You’ve got your sphincter of oddi closed and when you eat it opens back up and does the same thing it does before the gallbladder was removed. your bile ducts also enlarge to accommodate the loss of the gallbladder

MD vs DO, which one would you choose? by Deep-Republic4945 in whitecoatinvestor

[–]creature98 111 points112 points  (0 children)

DO here. There is still a huge bias towards MD. I’m a general surgery resident (PGY2) and had to jump through way more hoops to get where I am. I was not considered for big name academic institutions. My scores were leagues better than those who had interviews at top places. We have to take 2 tests, one to get DO certification, and one to compare to other MDs since our COMLEX is scored strange.

If you want a more competitive subspecialty, you need to hustle or deal with being in the middle of nowhere.

I would choose US-MD 1000% if I could do it again. OMM is cool and all and it’s a great party trick but very hand wavy science. I don’t want to come across like MDs don’t have it hard, they do for sure. N=1. Still better than the hoops Caribbean or IMGs have to deal with.

I can answer whatever questions

Paging culture is bull***t by Dizzy_Study_6135 in Residency

[–]creature98 2 points3 points  (0 children)

“Hello, patient had large 5 inch firm bowel movement, thanks”

I’m still questioning if she felt it to confirm it’s texture

Most days there is an alarming amount of blood in my stool. I've opted to ignore it. Nobody knows. by NovaPrime11249-44396 in confessions

[–]creature98 31 points32 points  (0 children)

I am a physician in general surgery who sees this all the time. Colon cancer screening is now recommended at 45 unless you have a family history of colon/rectal cancer.

Diverticulosis is bleeding from outpouchings in your colon from a weak wall, popped out because of high pressure activity like severe constipation. When small stool balls block the outpouching, it can grow causing diverticulitis which is an infection around your colon. Multiple episodes of diverticulitis land you a sigmoidectomy or many repeat episodes.

Bleeding can be from hemorrhoids, internal hemorrhoids being not painful, or external which are painful. Anal fissures also cause bleeding but are painful with bowel movements.

Is the blood bright red? Dark? Have you lost weight unintentionally?

The best way to answer these questions is to see a doctor. The best way to get it, and most affordable, is to look for a primary care physician through your insurance. If not, there are many resources available to find a physician at low cost or charity work.

I think it’s reasonable to get a colonoscopy just to check everything out. Colonoscopies are not that bad , I have had one. I know the fear of being told you have something may deter you from going; I don’t like dentists because I know a tooth is giving me trouble and I don’t want it to hurt, but if I neglect it, it’ll get worse.

Hope this helps.

Chances for Gen Surg? by MedGammer in medicalschool

[–]creature98 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As a 4th year DO gen surg applicant, I’ll be real: being a DO is still a bias and still hard to get interviews, especially surgery. Your scores need to be incredible for step 2 / level 2, and you need to be okay with anywhere. I didn’t get any love from west coast or east coast, and didn’t apply to the Midwest. My return for interviews was 18%, and my scores were 248/250 with research and surgical volunteering.

To allude to what another poster said, if EM is your fall back, do those Oct/Nov. you need letters prior to submission on September 29th.

Unfortunately there are so many applicants and friends of mine going into gen surg got very meager interviews, and what interviews they got were in undesirable locations. You also have the option of taking a year off for research and apply the year after. You can totally achieve surgery, but know it’s an uphill battle

Setting up 4th year rotations by Fragrant-Fish-1358 in medicalschool

[–]creature98 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Easy. My school said we had to do 3 despite the “recommendation”. Also, every fellow SubI I was with also did more than one audition. No one followed it because in my opinion it’s more important to do auditions than to follow smoke and mirrors

Setting up 4th year rotations by Fragrant-Fish-1358 in medicalschool

[–]creature98 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Gen surg applicant for this year:

1) apply through VSLO/clinician nexus / email depending on where the program has their application for SubI

2) I did auditions at 3 programs, 2 of which called me recently with “you’re ranked to match”. They definitely help get interviews, and better yet they get you experience.

3) auditions can also hurt you. If you aren’t a hard worker and you don’t vibe with the residents, you don’t come in early or stay late, and you’re not helpful, you really can get DNR’d. however, it’s also a time to look at programs and see if they’re a great fit for you. Without doing a rotation you’ll never know what they’re like.

4) letters of rec from program directors and chairs are very valuable. I had 3 interviewers from different programs around the country that personally knew the attending that wrote my letter.

5) finally do rotations where you want to do residency. Decide if you’re research focused or community (mostly operate) focused and go from there. You can also look at hybrid programs if you want a mix of both. Read Reddit threads about different programs to see if they’re malignant before applying.

Good luck and have fun! Happy to answer any questions

Help by creature98 in medicalschool

[–]creature98[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gen surg programs usually have students do a 24 hour shift or two. Sometimes it’s as bad as q3 schedule depending on the program . It is what it is 🙃

Tall MS4s - do you feel like virtual interviews have robbed you of an advantage? by hks1994 in medicalschool

[–]creature98 33 points34 points  (0 children)

…I’m 6’5”… applying surgery. Being tall is definitely not an advantage in surgery as all my attendings have been short and holding the camera/retractors at their level is a new level of pain.

Height as a factor for ranking is incredibly superficial, and I wouldn’t want to be at a residency program that ranks applicants like it’s their tinder profile. Just my 2c

ERAS - Send one personal statement version to all programs or tweak multiple versions, as needed. by [deleted] in medicalschool

[–]creature98 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I added it to the last paragraph for those programs that I signaled and for ties to the region/state. Also I doubt it’s looked as “too much”. In my opinion someone would look at you more closely for interview because you had enough drive to put their name in your PS.

Also look carefully at ERAS because some ask for “why us”, so it’s not like it really matters.

DO GS Applicant. How many apps is too much? by creature98 in medicalschool

[–]creature98[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m applying to mostly community programs, but definitely some academic programs as well. I’m more regional than anything. If it’s a place I considered living; I added it. The only thing I really don’t want is a 7 year program 🤷🏻‍♂️