<p>As a trauma surgeon, I get to save lives every day. It is great. But 36 hours on and 8 hours off usually.</p>
<p>USMLE step 1 scores are out; 257-dad owes me a drink.</p>
<p>Incredible, well done!</p>
<p>hg, I am impressed …but I want to be fully impressed. What the heck does that mean? Wiki told me that’s really good (hence the congrats) but is it “24 yo Special Reserve” good, or “call brand” good? ;)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Shades, you sort of have that wrong. Your FIRST JOB will pay you probably over $100K depending on what field you go into, perhaps even up to $300K. </p>
<p>Your residency is not “a job”. It is a stipend. When I did mine, we got cheap room, peanut butter in the call room and free meals at the hospital and enough cash to laundry our clothes (not allowed to wear greens in those days outside the OR). Most of your federal loans will not have a real payback start until you have finished your residency. True, you may not make as much as some of your lawyer or wall street friends, but you will make more than the majority of them.</p>
<p>As I noted above. I am a trauma surgeon and a pediatric surgeon. If I go to Walmart, I usually get hugged by a family for “saving Billy’s life”. Is there a lot of BS YES. Is there more BS now than yesterday YES!! Is it worth it YES!!!</p>
<p>
I do love me some peanut butter.</p>
<p>So, no “bread” but lots of peanut butter. Got it. ;)</p>
<p>Won’t be bringing home the bacon as a resident, huh?</p>
<p>The end of the “cold war” storages. The US gave all the residency programs big tubs of peanut butter.</p>
<p>Also got my Step 1 score back. Didn’t do as well as hubbellgardner, but all the doors are still open for me. Now I just gotta figure out what I want to do. 
</p>
<p>Right now I have some elective time, so I’m finishing the second of two weeks with the Path department. I started just two days after the interns did, and it was nice to shadow them for the first few days. They were going at a pace which was very comfortable for me. With them, I got to see some grossing of placentas and POCs and some sign-outs. I also got to help with two autopsies.</p>
<p>Anatomic path is okay, but I think I like clinical path much better. I spent most of yesterday with one of the fourth-year residents in the blood bank on the trail of a possible case of TRALI. I’m glad to say that it wasn’t - it looks more like a case of volume overload leading to acute lung injury, rather than a transfusion reaction. As I understand it, CP is all about solving these kinds of puzzles, and so far, I really like it. I’m going to try to hang out with the chief residents in the chemistry labs for my last two days. </p>
<p>Next week I’m going to follow one of the radiology attendings for two weeks. I’ve shadowed with him a few times during first and second years, and he’s an excellent teacher. I’m very much looking forward to it.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I had to grab my Harriet Lane from my locker…but it’s there. </p>
<p>9.0-25.04 mg/dL or 5.0-31.03 mmol/L</p>
<p>Just make sure you have the “right” edition, as it seems lab sensitivity is being improved with each passing year…(wink)</p>