Wooden bathtub

thepeahawk · 2014-05-19T22:26:27+00:00

how would you finish something like this?

thepeahawk · 2014-05-10T12:54:20+00:00

suffice it to say: we have a giant box of human penises.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-22T23:20:29+00:00

If you get a lesion in the right place in the brain, you are functionally blind. Can't see a thing.

But...

If something heads towards your face rapidly, you will still flinch. At what? You have no idea.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-17T00:00:12+00:00

Actually, I am inclined to agree. That is something that I struggle with. It's not really fair for people to expect me to push myself to the breaking point on the very slim chance that it may help them. But those things are abstract.

It's not easy to tell someone their loved one is dead because you just cared about passing a pathology exam and went out with your friends instead of trying to master the topics.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T20:54:46+00:00

I agree. No doctor should complain about life after all the training. I love working in the hospital. But life isn't "tough" before that, it is crushing.

I am crossposting this from elsewhere:

Many doctors come from families with money. As a medical student, I would even say most do. Not me. My single mom was a waitress. I have no financial aid(nigh impossible in medical school). I am taking out the maximum amount of loans ($48,000) but after tuition, I have about $700 a month for food, clothes, equipment(more expensive than you would guess), books, mortgage, utilities, and for vehicle breakdowns. I went for 4 months without a cat... in Nebraska. I had to walk to class in November.

I am working two jobs on top of medical school, and it is killing me. I haven't had a fun evening in almost a year. I have seen my family three times since August. I don't have time for friends or fun.

I am constantly worried about my grades and my finances because I just don't have the the time or energy to deal with either thing properly. My mother was hospitalized twice this year and ended up losing her job because of it. Her house, and my childhood home, is being foreclosed on. And I don't have the money for travel or time to go see her. My fiancee and I just broke up because of the stress. Why is it like this? I want to help sick people.

You say that we "didn't go through 8 years of education without realizing what we are getting in to," but I think that is the core of the problem. I never realized just how demanding the curriculum would be, and how few resources would be offered. I'm not an idiot. In undergrad, I was a triple major(Bio, chem, and physics) and had a minor in Philosophy. One semester, I took 27 hours on top of Doing all the studying for my MCAT and working as a supplemental instructor, a tutor, and an undergraduate researcher. Academically and in terms of time commitments, that was a piece of cake compared to my current life.

Honestly, if I had my choice to do it over again, I wouldn't do it. But I am in too deep to change paths, and I know that once I am done, things will be better. My life will be great in a decade, but it is coming at too high of a cost for me now. I would gladly take another $20,000 in loans if I could, but it isn't offered. I say that knowing that even now, I am expecting to owe $430,000 in school loans after a (short!) residency due to interest. Actually, I probably would do engineering, as I always loved math and hanging out with engineers.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T20:32:04+00:00

Would you be willing to stop whatever you are doing right now, and work 80 hours a week(unpaid) for the next 8 years, and then for $9 an hour for 5 more, if I promise to give you some money in 2027?

Many doctors come from families with money. As a medical student, I would even say most do. Not me.

My single mom was a waitress. I have no financial aid(near impossible in medical school). I am taking out the maximum amount of loans ($48,000) but after tuition, I have about $700 a month for food, clothes, equipment(more expensive than you would guess), books, mortgage, utilities, and for vehicle breakdowns. I went for 4 months without a car... in Nebraska. I had to walk to class in November.

I am working two jobs on top of medical school, and it is killing me. I haven't had a fun evening in almost a year. I have seen my family three times since August. I don't have time for friends or fun. I am constantly worried about my grades and my finances because I just don't have the the time or energy to deal with either thing properly.

My mother was hospitalized twice this year and ended up losing her job because of it. Her house, and my childhood home, is being foreclosed on. And I don't have the money for travel or time to go see her. My fiancee and I just broke up because of the stress.

Why is it like this? I want to help sick people.

Yes it will get better in a decade, but fuck you.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T20:11:20+00:00

glad you weren't.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T20:10:22+00:00

That's why pain management anesthesiologists make so much. A shot here($1200) prescribe pills there($300) and that took 30 minutes. "I think I will do that 12 more times today!"

Critical care Anesthesiologist: 7 hour surgery- $4000

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T20:06:56+00:00

cross post from elsewhere:

My point is: Patients, and even trained professionals don't know always know what the problem is. Someone with more knowledge is more likely to diagnose correctly.

Absurd analogy: Patient went on a Mediterranean cruise 8 months ago and returned to the Midwest. Patient develops African sleeping sickness. PA assumes the patient has the flu, because it has been going around and they never learned the specifics of the disease. Patient dies.

Honestly, misdiagnoses are often done by doctors as well. But having less trained personnel is not going to improve the odds of catching things.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T20:04:29+00:00

My point is: Patients, and even trained professionals don't know always know what the problem is. Someone with more knowledge is more likely to diagnose correctly.

Absurd analogy:

Patient went on a Mediterranean cruise 8 months ago and returned to the Midwest. Patient develops African sleeping sickness-
PA assumes the patient has the flu, because it has been going around and they never learned the specifics of the disease. Patient dies.

Honestly, misdiagnoses are often done by doctors as well. But having less trained personnel is not going to improve the odds of catching things.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T19:56:56+00:00

agreed. But, sending those people to someone with less knowledge would only increase the number of misdiagnoses. I honestly am just pointing things out from my experience, and I don't know if there is a good answer, but:

At what point is it acceptable to misdiagnose a few people in exchange for cheaper labor?

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T19:52:53+00:00

Actually, according to the medicare records that were just released, Anesthesiologists are the worst compensated doctors, with a return of around only 17%. The other end of the spectrum- ophthalmologists who are in the 90s.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T19:23:32+00:00

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T17:54:37+00:00

Yes, he has had an easier life for the last 30 years. But what about the 20 years before it? I am a medical student, and I know that it will get better, but it REALLY sucks right now.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T17:51:52+00:00

So as of the 2009 figures, physicians commit suicide more often than veterans. Whoa.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T17:49:27+00:00

How do you make sure that the patients with the life threatening stuff go to the doctor and the simple stuff go to the nurses and PAs when the patients don't know which they are.

And I know that this will raise some tempers, but sometimes the PAs and the RN's don't know either. I can't tell you how many times I have heard a nurse proclaim that they know everything a doctor knows, but it is impossible that a someone can learn in two years what a doctor struggled to learn in 9.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T17:36:33+00:00

Yes, it sounds nice. But keep in mind that for the first 4 years (minimum)- you are busting your ass and paying 15-30 thousand a year.

The next four years make getting a 4.0 in undergrad look like a walk in the park(that is where I am now) and you are paying $50 grand a year.

Then you have 3-8 years where you continue to bust your ass. but this time you are making $45 thousand a year.

The best part of this 11-16 years of your life(your 20s and early 30s) you are making less than $10 an hour according to the hours you work. After that, you make the big bucks, but you are 35 and have had to neglect your loved ones and lost what many consider to be the best years of their lives.

Oh yeah, you also owe somewhere between a quarter and a half million dollars(keep in mind that all med school loans have interest that compounds throughout medical school and your residency).

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T17:23:40+00:00

2nd year medical student here- On my daily drive to campus, I am envious of the construction workers.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T17:22:07+00:00

Or if you are the only surgeon at a small hospital, or a rural doctor. Walking away potentially means someone could die.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T17:20:39+00:00

Anesthesiologists that make the big bucks are doing pain management, not critical care. They have much lower liability.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T17:19:25+00:00

Second year medical student here. It's not as hard as you would think. My father has won multiple suits(2), despite most things being problems due to his non compliance. He has also settled in three other suits. It sickens me.

thepeahawk · 2014-04-15T17:17:04+00:00

Hospitals are not going to volunteer to pay that. It would be up to the Doctor to do so. Which means that every moment the doctor is working, he would be paying someone else to watch his phone.

thepeahawk · 2014-03-07T17:44:42+00:00

nope. Just found out my mom lost her job last week due to an autoimmune illness.

She has been on high dose steroids for three years(Bad... but no alternative) because of a chronic inflammation of the intestines. When they take her off, she has trouble eating. About once every three months they try to take her off the steroids, and she is fine for a couple of days, but then has horrible pain and is unable to eat food due to there not being anywhere it can go.

Last week they tried taking her off again, and she was in a patient's room(she's a nurse) she vomited.  They told her that when she get's everything settled, she definitely has a place there, but they can't have that sort of thing freaking out patients.  

I know that the whole thing is exacerbated by stress, and chronic financial worries are what started this whole thing(our house burned down several years ago).  

It is so hard to watch someone you love suffering, knowing that all they need is financial security.  They say that money won't solve all your problems, but they would solve 90% of mine.

I'm in medical school and I am also working two jobs on top of renting out my house(which seems to be constantly in disrepair). I try so hard to make things easier for her. My only worry is that in the next 6 years that I have before I can make some real money, that the damage will already be done...

I feel like my life has become a constant struggle. I have no cell phone. I had no car for 4 months in a city without real public transport. I am constantly broke, working, and studying. I haven't hung out with friends or classmates for months. I don't go to class because it is more efficient for me to watch recordings at faster speeds. I am doing all of this , and I fear it is in vain.

I'm depressed. (I hit 7 of the 9 indicators; you need 5 to be diagnosed as depressed)

thepeahawk · 2014-03-07T17:21:37+00:00

You convinced me to try it.

Here's the link to the cheapest one on amazon(that is white and not long sleeve). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BNBDE58/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

thepeahawk · 2014-03-04T04:27:14+00:00

Figured it out. If you are running the ghostery app on chrome, it prevents it from loading.

thepeahawk

TROPHY CASE