Who Else Feels Crappy?

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Is this a venting thread?

Earlier this month I slipped on black ice in front of a hotel, injured my hip, and needed to visit the ER. No fractures occurred, but there was quite a bit of soft tissue injury (edema, internal bleeding, and a very cranky sciatic nerve) I'm off crutches and attempted to exercise on the elliptical today, but had to stop because my sciatica was acting up. I lost several days of school and two weeks of work, but I'm almost caught up with the former.

Since it was the hotel's responsibility to keep the sidewalks clean, they were also responsible for having their insurance pay for hospital bills and missed work. Unfortunately my attorney is having no luck calling the insurance company; they seem to be dodging any contact we are attempting to make.

I am also being bombarded with "Dear SPTtoMD, YOU'VE BEEN INJURED/DISABLED!" letters from random insurance companies and law firms. A couple of law firms even found my social networking accounts and tried to friend me. I hate ambulance chasers.

I am still thanking my lucky stars that I am nearly fully functional and that the injury happened after the MCAT.
 
Had my first ochem test and I came out of it thinking I made a perfect score only to find out I barely made a B. I wouldn't mind too much in another class but this prof doesn't give any other grades except for 3 tests, final and lab average and I'm already spending the semester working up to an A instead of maintaining one.

I also started an orginization with my wife to make and donate crochete hats for cancer patients and newborns of lower income families. Of course everyone says it's such a great idea, they want to help, hopefully we can have a small impact, etc etc etc and yet not a single person has donated any yarn, hats, patterns or a single thing. It's sad to see so many people like an idea but not do a thing to actually help.
 
Well, just got my MCAT score back :23. managed to rock Verbal with a 10. But got a 6 in Physical Science and a 7 in Biological.......I can't get the higher score repeat with Kaplan since I didn't finish the Homework. Time to hide out with more books until my repeat at the end of May...
 
Antenatal visit for this really nice gal in her mid-20's. 15 weeks gestational age for her fetus. My preceptor turns on the sono. NO HEARTBEAT. NO MOVEMENT. 🙁

And you know, meanwhile, a few patients later is slutty susie on her 3rd kid before her 21st bday.
 
Gfliptastic said:
Antenatal visit for this really nice gal in her mid-20's. 15 weeks gestational age for her fetus. My preceptor turns on the sono. NO HEARTBEAT. NO MOVEMENT. 🙁

And you know, meanwhile, a few patients later is slutty susie on her 3rd kid before her 21st bday.
Click to expand...

🙁

on the plus side, at least susie is making and keeping appointments.
 
Haha, I swear this book has a whole bunch of questions where the author completely missed another perspective that could and does make a so-called "wrong" answer the best choice. I am just tired of reading it.

There are over 20 questions like this that I have come back to day after day just to come to the same conclusion that the author has to be wrong. I wish there were a website where everyone just exclusively shared their reasoning for their answers and passage maps (as opposed to having a discussion).

There's also a negative attitude by some of the authors that readers are forced to see over and over so long as they are studying. For instance, I've read multiple times now that the correct answer is "obvious" or "common sense." Hence, those who got it wrong missed something obvious and don't have common sense. As if failing isn't bad enough on the self esteem.
 
Last night was my last night doing my cornea procurement gig... Almost never get called in, but got called in last night. All I'm going to say is that traumas suck and I've decided you have to be a little screwy in the head to work in medicine and see/ deal with some of the stuff we do... 🙁
 
CajunMedic said:
Well, just got my MCAT score back :23. managed to rock Verbal with a 10. But got a 6 in Physical Science and a 7 in Biological.......I can't get the higher score repeat with Kaplan since I didn't finish the Homework. Time to hide out with more books until my repeat at the end of May...
Click to expand...

Did you call to ask? Kaplan has a pretty liberal policy with repeat classes if you talk to someone on the phone.
 
Just applied for FAP, aaaaaaaaand rejected. My parents must be rolling in some crazy dough that I don't know about. I never realized I had to be destitute to qualify.
 
I don't know if I should be happy or bummed that this thread is still going strong. :d

Don't really have anything particularly bad to post about. I'm just functioning at the baseline level of yuckiness here.
 
Well, lemme see. My IRS refund is STILL not in my bank account (thanks, Obama) even though my return was sent to them 2/1. It was delayed being accepted until 2/14 (somehow the IRS wasn't ready to accept their own forms that have been in use for several years???), I just got notified my new student loan payment is $500 a month on a resident salary that is supporting a family of four (and with my husbands student loan payment that takes over 1/3 of my income...thanks again Obama), my paycheck shrank with the new increased taxes (yup...thanks again Obama), and my car needs a new water pump and tensioner. To do that I darn near need to pull the engine and I don't have a hoist. Going to have to get a mechanic for this job. Not sure how I will pay for it without my refund money which was supposed to be earmarked for new tires and earnest money on a house.

And by May 1 I have to come up with a college deposit for my daughter. And I still have to find money to pay for my unrestricted license.

Where is my freakin IRS refund?????????????????????????????????????
 
ShyRem said:
Well, lemme see. My IRS refund is STILL not in my bank account (thanks, Obama) even though my return was sent to them 2/1. It was delayed being accepted until 2/14 (somehow the IRS wasn't ready to accept their own forms that have been in use for several years???), I just got notified my new student loan payment is $500 a month on a resident salary that is supporting a family of four (and with my husbands student loan payment that takes over 1/3 of my income...thanks again Obama), my paycheck shrank with the new increased taxes (yup...thanks again Obama), and my car needs a new water pump and tensioner. To do that I darn near need to pull the engine and I don't have a hoist. Going to have to get a mechanic for this job. Not sure how I will pay for it without my refund money which was supposed to be earmarked for new tires and earnest money on a house.

And by May 1 I have to come up with a college deposit for my daughter. And I still have to find money to pay for my unrestricted license.

Where is my freakin IRS refund?????????????????????????????????????
Click to expand...

🙁 That sucks. My return was accepted 2/15 and I just received the deposit so maybe you'll receive yours soon?

I think you can check your status here if it helps: http://www.irs.gov/Refunds/Where's-My-Refund-It's-Quick,-Easy,-and-Secure.
 
Did a c-section and delivered a dead baby tonite. Umbilical infarct from a true knot in the cord.
 
Spent the last 10 years having babies, finishing my u/g and thinking about medical school. Finishing my masters now, applications went in….so far 8 rejections and not 1 interview invite… did I waste my time? …..what will I do now?

Lesson learned: do not put all eggs into 1 basket!🙁
 
correction 9 rejections, another one just came in!
 
Ebete said:
Spent the last 10 years having babies, finishing my u/g and thinking about medical school. Finishing my masters now, applications went in….so far 8 rejections and not 1 interview invite… did I waste my time? …..what will I do now?

Lesson learned: do not put all eggs into 1 basket!🙁
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear that. If you want to try again, what you will do now is first analyze what went wrong this year. Did you apply too late? To the wrong schools? To too few schools? (Seems likely if you only applied to ten unless your app is stellar.) Need to rework the PS? Get new LORs? Improve GPA or MCAT? More clinical experience? If you're not sure, then contact a few of the schools that rejected you and see if they will give you some advice on how to strengthen your app.
 
Agree with Q, as usual. Early is SOOOOO key. Applied first time on bad advice in October ... no interviews. Applied next year FIRST DAY and had 5 interviews offered by Labor Day, and acceptance by the end of October.

Early is VERY KEY. As is applying broadly.
 
Made the mistake of reading the thread on The SOAP 2013

:scared:


Really makes me wonder, more, how certifiable I am for wanting to do this when there are going to be more american med grads than residency spots when it would be time for me to graduate from medical school and match. Not that it wouldn't suck royally to get through medical school, take on a quarter of a million in student loan debt, and not match as trad student, but doing it at around 40 yrs old seems terrifying...
 
It still kinda bums me out.

They were a great couple tho. I found a lot of strength in how they behaved in that situation.
 
It can stop with the thunderstorm while snowing, then freezing, then raining and freezing, then snowing thing already. It's like winter and spring are fighting back and forth for dominance and quite frankly I just want to play outside without falling on my hind end.

The thunder and lightning while snowing hard thing is very trippy. 😕
 
1) Took the MCAT 4/4 - prepared great and was getting terrific scores. Of course I come down with a flu-type bug a few days before the test and am sick the whole day. Didn't do my best (which is frustrating enough) and really don't know how to feel about my performance. Still 3 weeks to wait for scores (which is totally bogus - it's COMPUTERIZED for pete's sake, and no essays to grade anymore.).

2) I work as a project manager for an environmental consulting firm. One of our staff is working in the field on one of my projects, and today I got a call that someone was threatening to call the police on them for alleged trespassing (despite having a permit from who we were told owned the right of way). Worked it out in the end (sort of - at least no police were called), but incredibly stressful and not what I need before an OChem midterm this evening. Our client and the other party are still trying to work out what happened, either way it's not going to be ideal. Terrible day. I tell myself it could be worse (no one died!)
 
ShyRem said:
Well, lemme see. My IRS refund is STILL not in my bank account (thanks, Obama) even though my return was sent to them 2/1. It was delayed being accepted until 2/14 (somehow the IRS wasn't ready to accept their own forms that have been in use for several years???), I just got notified my new student loan payment is $500 a month on a resident salary that is supporting a family of four (and with my husbands student loan payment that takes over 1/3 of my income...thanks again Obama), my paycheck shrank with the new increased taxes (yup...thanks again Obama), and my car needs a new water pump and tensioner. To do that I darn near need to pull the engine and I don't have a hoist. Going to have to get a mechanic for this job. Not sure how I will pay for it without my refund money which was supposed to be earmarked for new tires and earnest money on a house.

And by May 1 I have to come up with a college deposit for my daughter. And I still have to find money to pay for my unrestricted license.

Where is my freakin IRS refund?????????????????????????????????????
Click to expand...

Why didn't you thank Obama for the crap that happened with your car?
 
Because he didn't have anything to do with my car. He just has to do with government, silly.

Don't be ridiculous. :meanie:
 
Wow, a lot of people feel crappy and even more people like to read about it. I'm good though thanks. Hope you feel better.
 
mauberley said:
step 1 studying ;_______________;
Click to expand...

Eww! I thought back to last year and it sent a pang thru me.

My condolences. 😛

Anyways, I feel crappy because I've been converted into a vampire for a week being assigned night float (9pm to 9am) for admissions from the ED. Yesterday sucked super mucho cuz I also had clinic 1-4pm and then started night float.

Time to sleep. W/ the sun out. GRRR!!!
 
If this is my cross country wagon train I'm in the weary middle. Big sky country. Distance impossible to gauge. 3rd year into 4th year is one long pull. I've lost all ability to feign enthusiasm. Just sort of going blank. On a another 70-80 hour rotation that I have no interest in doing. Sick of being a clerk. Is there anything more impotent.

Sat in the sun for a few hours today. And wanted to cry. Not because of the work. But because I heard a song that reminded me of me when I was me. Careless and free. No thought of tomorrow. Just right now. This beach, this sand, my feet, this beer, this joint, this music, this chick I'm about to sock it to. I can't even remember her name.

And I couldn't remember the last time I felt that way.

I'm a Jackson Browne tune. A slow burn out of the 70's. All my heros dead. A made up memory of a memory. Somewhere way past cynical. I'd be burnt. But there's nothing to burn.
 
Keep your chin up Journey. It'll get better next year I promise.

And then it gets worse and then it gets better...
 
kimposibl said:
Why didn't you thank Obama for the crap that happened with your car?
Click to expand...

Hahaha I was thinking the same thing. Some people just like to blame Obama for things. Didn't know he was in-charge of personally sending out refunds. 😱

Anyways, been a crappy month with mainly stress about about the MCAT and applications. Just so much stuff to know! The stress has been kicking in full-force :/
 
How the heck do people actually ever pay off their loans? I'm getting my financial aid packages back, and I am feeling so daunted by the amount of money that I will have to borrow. Ugh, what a bummer.
 
NTF said:
Keep your chin up Journey. It'll get better next year I promise.

And then it gets worse and then it gets better...
Click to expand...

:laugh: thanks. I really put on my eye shadow and white make up and did it up robert smith style for those sunday night blues.

But another day going down slow and it aint no big deal. so.

But i tell you what though, on the real. If I have too many sunday night blues for weeks on end then I'm just not doing it right. And I resolve never to suck at life that bad. I'll get the f@ck out. As long as I can pay the people I owe, I'm not worried after that. The government can nibble on my @ss till im dead. But I'm not giving my life over to something that makes me miserable.

I'm still determined that I'll get the right stuff out of my chosen career. But if I'm wrong, then I'm just gonna ask mister medicine to give me three steps....

thanks again. crappy days blow me by!
 
twocats said:
How the heck do people actually ever pay off their loans? I'm getting my financial aid packages back, and I am feeling so daunted by the amount of money that I will have to borrow. Ugh, what a bummer.
Click to expand...

For undergrad or for med school?
 
twocats said:
For med school. It just seems like it will be endless...
Click to expand...

Every practicing physician (preceptor) I've talked to told me to take the whole 10 years to pay it back and chip in a lil extra when you can.

Even if you are a low paying PCP, taking home $100k/year, you will make $1 mil in 10 years. $200k debt.

Plus, it's very important to understand what "good debt" is.
 
twocats said:
For med school. It just seems like it will be endless...
Click to expand...

Just live like a student while in medical school and in residency and then pay back as much as you can afterwards and it should al work out.
 
Juan Solo said:
Just live like a student while in medical school and in residency and then pay back as much as you can afterwards and it should al work out.
Click to expand...

I've also heard live like a student for at least one year as an attending and really pay down that principle in your loans.
 
Had a Code Blue @ 5:55am as a wake up call. We got him back!! 👍

My friend in the ICU txt me before I went to bed after my shift. That patient died in the ICU a couple hours later. 🙁

29 year old guy.

This just illustrates that not everything is wonderfully fantastic about being a doctor. You WILL see people die.
 
Last edited:
Edited my previous post!

My friend is fine. The guy who went into cardiac arrest died in the ICU.

(I wouldn't be posting on SDN if it were my friend. I'd be distraught!!!)
 
Gfliptastic said:
Had a Code Blue @ 5:55am as a wake up call. We got him back!! 👍

My friend in the ICU txt me before I went to bed after my shift. That patient died in the ICU a couple hours later. 🙁

29 year old guy.

This just illustrates that not everything is wonderfully fantastic about being a doctor. You WILL see people die.
Click to expand...
Almost all people who arrest do die; there's probably nothing that you or your team could have done to change the outcome. Codes are not like what you see on TV. They're a huge clusterf***, and the worst ones are the codes on the floors because the floor staff are not used to running codes, and you have total chaos while people try to figure out where equipment is and who is in charge. Even in the unit or in the ED where the staff have more experience, codes are messy. We break people's ribs doing compressions. We shock them with no anesthesia. We put big needles into their groin veins or shin bones with no anesthesia. We shove plastic tubes down their throats with no anesthesia. Most of the time, they die anyway. If they live through the initial code, they go to the ICU and die anyway. If they make it out of the ICU, they go to rehab and die anyway. If they don't die, they're brain damaged and spend the rest of their life in a nursing home. If they are neurologically intact enough to be able to go back home and live a relatively normal life, it's a darn miracle. Codes are the sucks. There are very few happy endings.

You're still a med student, right? Take advantage of whatever debriefing services are available to you and don't try to process your feelings about what happened alone. At the very least, talk to one of your residents or attending about it.
 
Appreciate your response a lot.

I'm unfortunately good at dealing w/ death. My dad. A lot of aunts & uncles. My grandparents. I'm from a fairly "deathy" family. What you addressed is really more what had me bummed.

I don't begrudge the fact I am naive as an MS3, but to me (until your post) I kinda thought that the idea of a code was to bring the patient back from arrest and "win" that way. However, if your wisdom/experience sez codes are basically a bridging measure to a patient's ultimate death, then I know there isn't really a "win" to a successful code. I don't like feeling like I "lost".

The code was exactly as you described too since it was on the Gen Med Floor. We had a congo line for compressions, the ICU resident running the code really didn't seem to have a rhyme or reason. At one point I think he said, "Inject something, I don't care". It's nothing like TV or even what we are taught in ACLS. The rate for compressions is as fast as you can then faster, as opposed to 120 compression/min like we're taught. It's a purposeful chaos that I think all of us will/should be a part of at some point in our education/careers.

Thanks for your assistance, Q!! 🙂
 
Gfliptastic said:
I don't begrudge the fact I am naive as an MS3, but to me (until your post) I kinda thought that the idea of a code was to bring the patient back from arrest and "win" that way. However, if your wisdom/experience sez codes are basically a bridging measure to a patient's ultimate death, then I know there isn't really a "win" to a successful code. I don't like feeling like I "lost".

The code was exactly as you described too since it was on the Gen Med Floor. We had a congo line for compressions, the ICU resident running the code really didn't seem to have a rhyme or reason. At one point I think he said, "Inject something, I don't care". It's nothing like TV or even what we are taught in ACLS. The rate for compressions is as fast as you can then faster, as opposed to 120 compression/min like we're taught. It's a purposeful chaos that I think all of us will/should be a part of at some point in our education/careers.

Thanks for your assistance, Q!! 🙂
Click to expand...
I'd argue that the main idea of codes has a lot to do with us having a culture of denying death. Also, many people in the teaching hospital see a code as an opportunity to let trainees practice procedures on moribund people who can't protest. But no, you don't generally "win" when you code people.*** Instead, you often torture the patient with a kind of cruelty that most of us wouldn't wish on an animal, let alone on a human being. A lot of times, I felt like the most useful thing I could do with terminal patients in the ICU was to help families accept that their loved one was dying and convince them to make the patient DNR/DNI....or even CMO (comfort measures only). I also spent plenty of time explaining to people that you cannot be DNI if you don't want to be DNR....there is no R without the I. It's strange how people think of resuscitation as a Chinese menu. Besides the "do everything except intubate" mentality, you get people wanting drugs but no compressions (useless, since how are you going to circulate the drugs in someone with no pulse?).

***The main exceptions are if you can quickly slap an AED on someone in v-fib, or you have some easily correctable metabolic derangement in a relatively young, healthy person. But these aren't your typical ICU protoplasm.
 
To continue this theme (I guess since you are a mod this is still on-topic lol), a relieving intern asked me about the code and whether I got to participate. When I said yes, he told me that was good. Because codes are a good opportunity to do chest compressions. Which is in accordance w/ your

QofQuimica said:
Also, many people in the teaching hospital see a code as an opportunity to let trainees practice procedures on moribund people who can't protest.
Click to expand...

So really, forget it, if you ask me. Between the both of us (since you are not my resident...I don't think lol), I am probably going to be the slowest med student to a code. 🙂

I've also heard patients' wishes for "a la carte" resuscitations. In light of this code talk, I am super duper duper relieved that basically everyone in my family I can think of is DNR. Seeing/participating in what would be done to my loved ones if they weren't DNR squashes any of my previous thoughts of personal protest against their wishes.

Before I was saddened by my mom's DNR...NOW I'm like DON'T YOU MANHANDLE MY POOR DYING MOTHER YOU BASTARDS!!! 😀
 
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