Thursday, February 28, 2008

Oh, that wasn't bad.

So, there was this one day when I was taking out a patient's staples from her healing surgical incision and you would have thought I was killing her.

With each staple, she OOOO'd and AHHH'd and OOOHHHH'd. It sounded like she was having a baby without any pain meds. I kept telling her to take deep breaths and it would be over soon.

Then when I finished, she says, "Oh. that wasn't bad."

Sooooo......what was with the sound effects? What's with the drama?

Granted, I have never had staples and thus have never had some taken out, but it is my understanding that it really isn't that big of a deal.

Silly. Silly.

Speaking of annoying.....

Why would you buy a beautiful, fancy-shmancy, expensive, fast sports car & drive like a bloody grandma? What's wrong with you!!!!

And why do you decorate it with crap?

AND WHY IS IT NECESSARY FOR YOU TO HAVE 6 CAR LENGTHS IN FRONT OF YOU! This is H-town. You better learn how to drive like H-tonian!!!!

sheesh!

rekka-frecka

*Breath* *Breath* *Breath*



Oh....and today was a better day. i.e. feel mucho better & less stupid-o. ;)

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

One of those days

I had one of those days at work today where I felt like a doofus. I'll save you from the boring details. Let's just say I felt like a stupid student again. It was stinky.

I understand that I have a HUGE learning curve ahead of me, but man, I am soooo hard on myself and a little impatient at times. I want to know everything right now! I want to be good at it NOW! I have always been that way. The good thing about me now compared to being a child, is I don't easily give up. I am persistant & keep at it! (Not that I would give up my job, I'm just sayin'.) NOW as an adult, I love to be challenged. I don't want an easy job. I want to always have the opportunity to learn more. I want the ability to always be able to improve. Be careful what you ask for right? Well, I definitely got it.

NOW...it's the patience that I need to work on.


Well at least things are moving a little faster now. I got my business cards today & my crackberry yesterday. I am becoming more official everyday. However, I found out that I won't be able to bill for my services, write prescriptions or orders until after March 6 when I get my full hospital credentials (i.e. red tape shtuffs). I think that is a little frustrating for everyone! Well, I guess it gives me a little more time in training mode.

I am enjoying it, but am already looking forward to a weekend gettaway for my cuz's wedding!

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Update on ME

Hi my peeps! I apologize again, for the lack of my craptacular bloginess. As you have read, I have been busy training in my new job as a physician assistant in gastrointestinal surgical oncology (with focus on liver tumors).

My commute is about 2 hours a day added on to a 9-10 hour day. Hubby & I live in the boonies outside of H-town and both have long commutes ITL (inside "the loop"). He works in the Galleria area & I work in the medical center. (HENCE THE REASON WE WANT TO MOVE ASAP!)

I have officially been working for 3 weeks. I am being trained by another PA and every week I am able to do a little more. The first week was mostly observing and doing a lot of HR stuffs. The second week I was finally able to start seeing patients on my own. The third week I saw more patients & am now able to dictate notes on the patients. Everything is a LONG process and a lot of paper work to be allowed to do things. I still cannot write orders or sign prescriptions or bill, so any patient I see, the physician still has to dictate a note anyway. Once I am given full "patient/hospital privledges" then I can bill, write orders, prescriptions, etc & the physician won't have to dictate for me. I can still dictate clinic notes for practice, but it cannot be used for billing just yet. This probably makes no sense to those of you not familiar with medical practice & I apologize for boring you. Anywho, it will probably be 2-4 more weeks before I am completely transitioned in & the previous PA is transitioned out (she is going to be working for another surgeon in the same department, so she'll still be around to help me).

As I said everything is a process at my hospital & some things move slowly. I don't have my business cards yet, I don't have my own white coats (with name stitched on) yet, BUT I do get my crackberry this week....finally. I have a temporary dept pager in the mean time. Even getting my crackberry is a process, as I have to go to a training session! SHEESH! Although, that is probably a good thing since I have never used one before.

So what does my job intale you ask?

So, I am working for a hepatobillary oncology surgeon & my primary responsibilities are in his clinic. I will see new patients, patients getting ready for their surgery (pre-op), patients after their surgery (post-op), and follow-up patients. I perform history and physical exams, coach the patients on what to expect before, during, and after surgery, go over pathology, labs, & imaging (CTs, Xrays, MRIs, PET scans), etc with the surgeon and the patient. Again, all of this is done in clinic. I do not have in-patient responsibilities (but will go on rounds at times with my surgeon, the surgical fellow, and surgical residents to see the patients after their surgeries) and will rarely be working in the OR. Since it is a teaching hospital, the OR is filled with the faculty surgeon, a fellow (a surgeon specifically training in surgical oncology), and sometimes a surgical resident (a surgical resident is a doctor training to be a general surgeon. If they want to specialize in cancer, they have to do a surgical oncology fellowship after their 5 year surgery residency), so there is really no need in the GI surgery department for a PA in the OR. Although, I did have one day in the OR during the second week and may have one this week. Even though OR assistance is not my job, it is good for me to get in there when I can so I am familiar with what my patients are going through. (I'll try to do another post later on my OR experiences.)

So, I am in clinic on Wednesday & Fridays and the other weekdays are what are called my administrative days. On admin days, I get ready for the busy clinic days, dictate notes, talk to patients on the phone or email, help coordinate new patients coming in and those patients cleared for surgery, and just over-all help coordinate the interdisciplinary care for the patients. So, just because I only have clinic 2 days a week does not mean I won't be busy. I am CRAZY busy. My surgeon has a HUGE practice. Think of me as the producer, asst director, & coordinator of "the show." I have to keep things organized. AND once I am fully trained and comfortable with my position and basic responsibilites, more will come. I may eventually help out in other clinics when needed. I will also have to opportunity to take on PA students and medical students in the future. Since I work for a teaching hospital, that will be VERY likely. Plus, I want to do it. I like teaching. (I used to train all the new employees in my previous job).

Anywho, that is my update& job in a nutshell.

I'll update ya when I can.

Friday, February 22, 2008

I'm still alive....

....just crazy busy & then pooped by the time I get home. I am behind on blogging & reading blogs. Sorry my peeps! I still love you all.

I'll try....try being the key word here.....TRY to blog something of greater substance this weekend.

BIG XXXs & OOOs!

P.S. Still enjoying my jobby-job and still in training mode! more laters.

GET BACK TO WORK! ;p

Saturday, February 16, 2008

He loves me BIG, part 2

One of the sweetest things he has ever said to me.....


Valentine's night, Hubby looked at me & said,
"It's so easy being married to you."



He's so sweet!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Um. So. I got NO EMAILS that people commented on my last post!!!

What's the deal-e-o, BLOGGER????????

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Did you know....

...That apparently about 2/3 of cars in the H-town area are made without turn signals? Because certainly if these people had them in their cars, they would use them, right? Especially when they want to cut you off. Right?


Seriously, people! Didja break your arm? Didja forget what a turn signal is? Why do you REFUSE to use it? WHY? HUH?


I hate commuting.




BUT enjoying the job. I finally got to see a few patients on my own today, but I still can't "dictate" notes yet, so not much I can do as far as documenting.... But I am getting good practice & getting used to presenting to my surgeon.

Speaking of surgeon. Tomorrow is my first day (since my PA school clinical rotations) to be in the OR. Yeah! 3 liver resection surgeries (meaning, taking part of the liver out that has tumor(s)). I'm excited!!!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

# 3

It just seems like yesterday, that we stood on the Kapalua Bay beach in Maui exchanging our vows....


These 3 years have gone by so fast!!! We've been a little busy.

And we love each other more and more every day. Hubby is my best friend & I am so glad I married him. What did I ever do without him? ;)

Had enough cheese? Sorry. I hadta! :)

So, you want to know what I got him, eh? I got him THIS & I think he digs it. He is a watch lover almost as much as I am a COACH lover.

We had a DEE-LISH dinner at one of our fav restaurants, Perry's Steakhouse. This place is so crazy delicious. I had a grilled filet mignon, shrimp, & lobster kibob special & Hubby had their famous seven finger pork chop. MMMM!

It was a great anniversary!




p.s. work is going well. I'm still in training mode & will be for the next 2-4 weeks. It's a transitional process. More details later. But wanted you to know I am enjoying it & all is well...

Monday, February 11, 2008

The man....He loves me....he loves me BIG!

He sooooo knows what I love.....









....he feeds my addiction....!!!

;)

Best. Hubby. Eva!!!

Tomorrow is Year #3 for us, but we exchanged our gifts early...

I swear, we are like little kids sometimes....

Thanks!

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all of your thoughts & prayers & kind words.

It truly means a lot to me.

I am doing better. I am still sad, but am doing better.

It's helped to have so many supportive people, including my supportive co-workers. Man, they are such caring people. But it takes a caring soul to work with cancer patients....

anywho....

THANKS!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

It's so hard to say goodbye

I have not been energetic enough or happy enough to be blogging, but am doing a little better today.

I was debating with myself whether or not to blog about this, but thought it might be a bit therapeutic. I wish not to discuss it further than what I type here, so please refrain from questions. Nice comments are always welcome, but please no questions. It's too hard.

Those of you that know me know just how much I am an animal lover and I love my dear pets, as crazy as they are sometimes, with all of my heart. They are very precious to me & truly do enrich my life in many ways.

Marci, the torbi kitten, was the newest addition to our family and have only had her a short time. She turned 11 months this month. Unfortunately, she got VERY sick this past week, of which details I will not go into & after one trip to the ER vet and another trip to her regular vet, we had to make the very difficult and devastating decision yesterday to put her down. That was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make in my entire life. AND I was so completely torn up & such an emotional wreck (and still somewhat am), I had to have Hubby go sign the papers at the vet for me. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. And yes, I feel horrible that he was the one who had to be strong, but he is much stronger than I am when it comes to those things. Yesterday just plain SUCKED. It was awful. I cried off and on all day. It was one of THE worst days of my life. Today, I am still very sad & grieving over the loss of my beloved, cute, precious, little Marci. I loved her so much & have to fight back tears (I am as I type this) ever time something makes me think of her. She was such a sweet, sweet kitty.

Those of you that are not animals lovers, probably don't understand what I am feeling. But to me, it feels like I lost a family member & a friend. Though, I only had her since this summer, it was long enough that I loved her so much & became very bonded with her. I am very torn up about it & will be for a long time. I have lost pets in the past, but I have never had to put one down myself before & it sucks. It is so hard. But, I know it was the best thing for her. We couldn't see her suffer or deteriorate anymore. But it is still so hard.

Someday I am sure I will get another little female kitty, but it will be A LONG time before I am ready for that again. I feel like it just wouldn't be fair to Marci because she cannot be replaced. And emotionally (and time-wise), I can't handle getting another one for a long time.

It was a tough week as it was starting a new, stressful job & then to end on such a devasting note, just ruined it. But it is a new week & life goes on & every day will be a little easier and a little better.

Life goes on & I am thankful to have such a loving supportive husband & my pets & my parents who helped me get through it this weekend.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

ug

I am so bloody tired & I think my eyeballs are going to fall out. Oh, and my brain is going to explode, too. Wow, that's going to be quite a mess for someone to clean up. Talk about overwhelming....(but still enjoying this)......and I am still not seeing patients on my own yet.....
Maybe we should move ITL....




I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.




Oh, and I am too lazy to respond to everyone right now. Just know I read your comments & appreciate them all. And I want to know why a certain someone is thinking of shutting their blog down. Although that thought crosses my mind, too.



Oh, and I can do this.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Happy Super Fat Tuesday!

Ha! Super Fat Tuesday! LOVE IT!

2nd day went well. No clinic today, but training & helping with clinic prep. Big clinic days for me are Wednesday & small one on Friday. Monday & Thursdays are sugery days for my surgeon & other days are adminitstrative days. More details on all that later.

So, tomorrow is the BIG clinic day, but before that starts, there is a meeting to attend at 7am. That means I need to go to bed now so I can wake up at 4:30 to make it on time. I don't have my hospital credentialing yet (i.e. "patient privledges), so I can't see patients on my own yet. So, tomorrow I will just be observing for the most part. Which is good, b/c I still have a lot to learn.

I am also still settling into my office & need to get my computer & phone all set up. Things move a little slower at such a large institution. There around 17,000 employees. Huge, right?

It's weird coming home & then getting into bed 2 hours later....

I am tired still, but still excited!

Thanks for all of your kind words.

well, I am pooped. Off to bed...

I think my blogging is going to become fewer and far between. I apologize in advance if it does, but will blog when I can....

Monday, February 4, 2008

First Day!

Well, I survived my first day at work. :)

OK, I haven't actually done real work yet. It was about 9 hours of HR shtuffs. Crazy, I know! History of the hospital, hospital mission & beliefs, benefits info, parking info (parking in H-town med center is a nightmare, so this requires much discussion), safety info, and on and on....

Tomorrow I get to finally report to my department for my departmental training to begin. Not sure what all will go on tomorrow. I'll probably get to settle into my office & get my computer shtuffs all set up. I'll see a lot of my co-workers & may see my surgeon if he isn't too busy with surgery (which is likely). Not sure if I am going to have some clinical training tomorrow. We shall see.

I do know that I hate getting up at 5am & long commutes. Today's 12 hour day (2 hours total of commuting) has made me quite tired. I got used to having all of this time off & then automatically going to a 12 hour day, even though it was only HR stuff, was tiring! I am ALREADY looking forward to moving closer to town someday. :)

Anywho, I am looking forward to getting settled into my department (surgical oncology) tomorrow, seeing my old preceptors who will now be my colleagues, & meeting other colleagues.

I'm pooped, but pumped!

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Bloody Hilarious!

Have you ever seen the BBC show Top Gear?

We are watching it this morning & it is bloody hilarious! ;)

and it has some cool cars.....

speaking of cars, I still think this is so cute!!!!