WHATS IN MY POCKETS?

WHAT’S IN MY POCKETS?

Life as an emergency medicine intern can be pretty hectic, but having the right tools in your armamentarium can make things that much easier. 

Here are some of the things I carry around on a day to day basis in the emergency department plus a few extras:

Stethoscope

Personally I carry the Littmann Cardiology III Stethoscope. It has served me well for about 4 years now. I think it has one of the best acoustic qualities for those not going into Cardiology. Plus it comes in black!

Stethoscope Hip Clip

White coats get dirty in he emergency department, I stick to just my scrubs mostly. I give my neck a break from hanging my stethoscope around it and clip it to my scrubs pants. Your future orthopedic surgeon thanks you.

Tarascon Adult Emergency Medicine Pocketbook

This book has saved my butt multiple times, especially as a 4th year medical student on Sub-Internship rotations. Faster than opening up your phone and waiting for your WikiEM app to update. Just flip to the back,f ind what your are looking for and BAM! It is especially useful on international rotations when you don’t have internet or data service to spare.

LED Penlight

I think pens with LED lights are less harsh on the patients’ eyes. These pens are still very bright so don’t directly shine them into the patients’ eyes just near them, unless you’re a jerk doctor.

Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy

A great deal of emergency department patients are discharged or admitted on antibiotic therapy. This helps you decide which drug for which bug without having to guess or remember back to your microbiology block. What if it is male with a UTI not a female? Or a kid with pneumonia? What common bugs need what drugs? This book helps a lot. Warning: paper cuts.

Trauma Scissors 

Most trauma patients need their clothes removed. Those who are bleeding out and time is on the essence, whip out these babies and cut through almost anything. Be careful before they cut your dreams.

How I Use Asana to Organize My Life as a Student

Organization.

Ew.

I feel like the words organization, productivity and time management can seem like taboo words to a student. Hearing those words always makes me squirm.

It’s really difficult to get organized and to stay organized. I have tried many different apps, systems and planners to try and get myself organized, but every time I try a new system, it never works out.

When I found Asana, I was so happy that I had finally found a method that clicked. This app helps me organize my tasks for each subject, with helpful tools to that allow me to plan out my weeks and month effectively.

And as someone who values the aesthetic and appearance of an app more than anything, I’m pleased to report that the minimalist and colorful design of this program makes the designer inside me very, very happy.

But you may not have ever heard of Asana before. Which is totally cool. Because in this post, we’ll be covering 

how to set up your very own Asana account and profile, 

how to manage your tasks and assignments inside the app, and 

how to effectively use all of Asana’s amazing tools to further your productivity.

Read the entire post here!

Molecule of the Day: Diazepam/Valium

Diazepam (C16H13ClN2O), also known as Valium, is a white solid that is of significant pharmaceutical importance. It is a member of the benzodiazepine family, which shares the similar bicyclic system comprising of a conjoined benzene and diazepine ring.

Diazepam is used to treat anxiety and panic disorders, and this is achieved by its binding to GABA receptors on neurons. This causes the active site of the receptors to become a better fit for GABA molecules, resulting in a higher binding of GABA to it. This triggers a greater influx of chloride ions into the neuron. 

Since the intracellular portion of the neuron is more negative than normal, the membrane is hyperpolarised to a greater extent. Consequently, a stronger stimulus is needed to trigger an action potential, which is created when a stimulus causes the membrane to reach the threshold potential.

Since the resting potential is now more negative, the action potential and thus firing of the neuron is less likely. This then produces the anxiolytic, sedative, amnesia-inducing, and anticonvulsant effects of diazepam. 

Diazepam can be produced by various synthetic pathways; one such one is shown below.

Requested by anonymous

MEDICAL BOOKS

If you’re looking for some medical (non-textbook) books to read in your limited amount of spare time, check out some of my favorites below:

The House of God by Samuel Shem

A classic pre-medical school book. It details residency life in the 1970s. You can talk about this book with almost any medical student or attending. It is practically a medical school requirement. 

Intern: A Doctor’s Initiation by Sandeep Jauhar

A more modern look into medicine residency intern year from the perspective of Cardiologist Dr. Sandeep Jauhar. Comes with the highs and lows you can expect. After having been through 6 months of residency, I would say it is very accurate.

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story by Ben Carson. Just because I find Ben Carson incompetent as a politician does not mean I do not respect him as a doctor. He is a phenomenal pediatric neurosurgeon and this book details his story.

On Doctoring: Stories, Poems, Essays by Richard Reynolds

A book of stories and poems from doctors throughout time and also from famous poets and authors depicting their views of medicine.

Private Practice: In the Early Twentieth-Century Medical Office of Dr. Richard Cabot by Christopher Crenner

An interesting look into a Boston medicine clinic from the early 1900′s. With excerpts from old patient notes which I found very interesting. 

And if you have an interest is something more dark:

Blind Eye by James B. Stewart

The real story of a doctor murderer from the 1990′s who killed multiple patients without getting caught for several years.

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson 

The story of the World’s Fair in Chicago in the late 1800′s. A great look into the history of Chicago and the murderous doctor who roamed its streets.

And lastly:

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Just a great book in general. My favorite.

Suggested by other users:

The Making of a Woman Surgeon by Dr. Elizabeth Morgan

Suggested by http://thetay-in-the-757.tumblr.com

This book is my all time favorite, as I am a female aspiring to work in the healthcare system myself. Dr. Morgan chronicles her own journey in the male-dominated arena of medicine in the 1970s and 1980s, as she struggles to maintain an appropriate balance between remaining empathetic towards her patients and yet must toe the line of not becoming too emotionally involved with her patients so that she burns out, as well as maintaining her own femininity in a man’s world.

When Breath Become Air by Dr. Paul Kalanithi

Suggested by http://nandemokandemo.tumblr.com

When Breath Becomes Air is an autobiography written by an esteemed neurosurgeon who discovers he has Stage IV lung cancer in his final stages of residency. It appeals to not only medical students, with his profound impressions of cadaver dissection and his first life and deaths, but also to current medical professionals by questioning philosophical domains of mortality and what a meaningful life is, as well as to non-medical professionals with moving thoughts on family, life, death and meaning. It is not a novel to be missed by any person.

We should be more pro-active or we’ll see more of such sad fates of honest people.