Leaving the VA

So today was my last day at the VA. It has been a rough month. I thought I would post a few of the things that got me through it, just in case anybody else is looking for a pick me up.



This is a clip from the movie "Once". It's a cool little indie romance about two street musicians. The music is AMAZING. The soundtrack has been going on my pocket pc constantly.



After a long day at work nothing feels better than clobbering your friends at Halo 3



This is one of my favorite bands Band of Horses...



We are big fans of Juno around here...I watched it twice over the last month...



Lots of Diet Coke with Lime consumption this month...and I mean loooooots

A little conversation from last night

Setting: Tuesday - 6:30 p.m. 30 minutes before I am supposed to get off. I have been at the VA since 6:30 a.m. I get a call that I have a new patient in the ER. I am grumpy, because that means I won't get to go home on time.

Me: So Mr. ------, what brings you in to the hospital today?

Mr. ------: Well, I been having deez chest pains right hur (points at chest)

I proceed to ask him every question in the book to try and determine the cause of his chest pain. After about 10 minutes of interrogation we haven't come any closer to determining why he has chest pain. He is young, healthy, has no cardiac history, yet he gives a history that really sounds like cardiac chest pain...

Me: Hmmm, this is really puzzling. So, are you sure there is nothing you can think of that might have started this chest pain?

Mr. -------: Well, I have been smoking crack cocaine for about 7 days.

Me: Ya, that might do it...

A 70 hour week at the VA

This week I started my internal medicine rotation at the VA. I have been (un)lucky enough to work at the VA more than any other med student in my class. I got to work there my entire psychiatry rotation, I spent my surgery weeks there, and now I get to do my internal medicine there. There are a lot of things I hate about the VA. I hate how lazy a lot of the nurses are. I watched my patient writhe around in bed last night for an hour after I ordered his pain meds because a nurse was too busy to spend 30 seconds to go give him a shot. I hate how there are certain hallways that smell like poo (somehow my patients always get assigned to the feces wing). I hate how the cafeteria is open for dinner from 1-2 pm. I hate the fact that nobody answers the phone in fear of having to do actual work, so I have to march down to the lab and demand that my stat blood work be done so I can go to sleep knowing my patient won't have a fatal arrhythmia overnight. In all honesty, every time I work at the VA I see things that really shake my faith in humanity. I really start to think the human race is in a pretty sad state.

Despite my moaning and groaning there is one thing that I like about the VA. I love the patients. Sure they are a little spicy. One of my patient's refers to his African American roomate as "the colored fella" or "the gorilla" (this nearly sparks a fight every time I see them together). One of my patients sat through an entire history and physical with his robe open, and at the end said "sorry you had to see my nuts all through that". In all seriousness, they are really great patients and I have learned so much from them. They are so patient and appreciative. I feel really hurt when I see them neglected or given bureaucratic runarounds to the detriment of their health. Over my months at various VA hospitals I have really come to respect our veterans, and I wish that the government would give them the respect they have earned. I hate how we can spend so much money on war, but we can't go the extra mile and pony up a little cash to better cover the health care of those who served.

This article sums up how the system is failing many of our veterans

New music

So I just added a bunch of my favorite music to the blog. I think most of it conforms to the PG-13 standard, but if something slips through the cracks just put your earmuffs on. I highly recommend Band of Horses. There are a few of their tracks on there so give it a try. Also here's one more. This is Em's newest song/chant.



3 little monkeys swinging in the tree
Teasing Mr. Alligator "can't catch me, can't catch me"
Along comes Mr. Alligator quiet as can be and he
Snaps that monkey right out of that tree.

Last month's real St. Louis Moment

So as most of you know, every month Heather prepares a newsletter for our friends and family. At the end we always conclude with a "St. Louis Momement", which usually consists of a story about someone doing something really ghetto. Last month my suggestion got vetoed (I don't think Heather could fathom my Grandparent's reading it). Thanks to this blog, this story has found a home. I was working in an outpatient pediatrics clinic. This lady brought her kids in for a physical. This lady was the typical ghetto mama. 20 years old with 4 kids with 4 different last names. I think she cared more about getting her nails done and getting huge pawprints tattoed on her exposed boobs than any one of these poor kids. Anyways, when you do a full physical on a little boy, you have to make sure that their testicles have fully descended, and the only way to do that is feel 'em. So I was doing just that, and this little 1 1/2 year old was less than pleased. His mom looked at him and said "Don't worry Keshawn, he's just feelin' on yo' nuts". Classy mom, reeeeeeal classy.

It begins....

Everybody keeps buggin us to make a blog. We already have two family blogs that we post on, but I thought that I might throw a few things up here every now and again. Warning...this blog is rated PG-13. Enter at your own risk...