...nobody. sorry guys, but not a single one of you chose the correct specialty (although candy store owner
does sound tempting), which means that no one can claim the two week, all-expense paid trip to the italian riviera that i had planned to give out as a prize. bummer.
today was a momentous day, as i officially submitted my online residency application for a position in...anesthesiology (yes, anesthesiology). i fully admit that it was a dark horse and i didn't see it coming...had no inclination towards it when i left home in june. so, lest you think that i've finally gone off the deep end, allow me to walk you through the thoughts and experiences that led me to this decision...
1) i arrive on the anastasis and everyone seems to be talking about how we are desperately seeking more anesthesiologists to cover the month of august. will have to cancel surgeries if we don't find someone. hmmm. i ask if there is a general shortage of anesthesia providers in medical mission organizations and find out that yes, there is.
2) i attend peace's surgery, am thoroughly impressed by dr. gary's amazing skills (see july 7 blog entry) but am equally impressed with the resourceful, creative problem-solving abilities of the anesthesiologist. central line, fiberoptic nasal intubation, warming IV fluids in microwave to combat potentially dangerous hypothermia, infusing whole fresh blood...
3) i (very) casually start to look into the field (honestly i was pretty clueless about it as it had never crossed my mind)...what kinds of fellowships are there? what kinds of rotations do you do in residency? residency work hours? do you have to be good at crossword puzzles? do they actually
do anything?
4) it occurs to me that anesthesiology has a winning trifecta combination of no clinic, no rounds and no full H+P's. plus you always get a lunch break. nice.
5) but will i get bored? will it drive me crazy to be in the OR and not operate?
6) much thought. more research. find that the beauty of anesthesiology is that, as in ballet dancing and free throw shooting, the great ones always make it look easy. that is, a seemingly uneventful surgical case is often uneventful only because the anesthesiologist has thought through every complication in advance and prepared for/taken preventative measures accordingly.
7) however, when things do get exciting, they are REALLY exciting.
8) i pick the brains of some of the anesthesiologists on board. continue to be impressed. i had never given a second's notice to "the man behind the curtain" before, but actually find it to be pretty darn interesting.
9) i really do love to intubate.
10) but i also love surgery.
11) the more i look into anesthesiology, the more i feel a deep peace about it. i can't describe or explain this phenomenon except to say that it's the kind of peace that only comes from God.
12) good grief, i haven't even done a rotation in this specialty. what am i thinking?
13) my job in the OR is awesome and i come to the conclusion that the OR is the only place in medicine where i really feel at home.
14) but my life outside of the OR is even better and there is no way i am going to give that up, even temporarily. i am working on reading book number ten since arriving in africa...i haven't done that much pleasure reading in four years of medical school combined. i want to have a family some day and spend
lots of quality time with that family. i want to be able to regularly get away for weekend ski, kayaking and hiking trips during residency. i want to be able to easily move to another part of the country if a family illness or hypothetical husband's job requires it. finally, i want to be able to help fill the need for anesthesiologists in developing countries and continue to have amazing experiences like i've had here on mercy ships.
15) in short, i know that i love surgery. and i know that i would be good at it. but would i be a happy person outside of my job? probably not. i believe that in anesthesiology i've found a way to be both content with my job and with myself.
so with that, i begin the long wait to find out which of 18 states i'll be moving to next spring...
# posted by Jenn @ 2:54 PM