That’s a lot of “M”s in one title!

Since my primary field and time investment is the medical field, it’s natural that I’d derive some motivational moments from my work. Without such moments of fulfillment, it would be difficult to keep going with the intensity and time commitment that’s required. While these are quite far and few between the daily nonsense that goes on during this portion of my training (internal medicine residency), I hope that writing about these moments will put them to the forefront of my mind and remind me of the diamonds that can be found only by working within this field.

A Successful Procedure Performed with the Help of a Great Friend

This past week, one of my closest friends at work (with whom we happen to share the same first name!) earned a title as the leader of the procedure group. Essentially, with this group, he coordinates medical procedures that may be difficult for some residents to perform on patients. Such procedures might include IV lines, lines that go into deeper vessels, tubes that go into the chest, paracentesis (drainage of fluid from the abdomen), intubations, etc. He obtained this role by becoming extremely proficient in most of these procedures.

I became more interested in being able to perform such procedures although I plan to practice in primary care in the long run. It never hurts to have such skills available at hand in case I might need to use them – or a variation of them. Plus I find them pretty fun!

Another piece of background that’s relevant, and you’ll son find out why: last year we went to see Robby Krieger of The Doors together in a rare concert. We were up very close to him, and still recall how he was basically dressed in pajamas while rocking out on his guitar. It was an amazing night which we both remember fondly.

I volunteered to perform a paracentesis on a patient under his guidance. We typically perform this type of procedure on patients who developed liver cirrhosis (death of the cells) due to chronic alcohol abuse. The cirrhosis causes changes in blood flow which result in a collection of fluid within the abdomen. This fluid causes discomfort and increases the risk of getting an infection within that area. That’s why it’s important for it to be drained and assessed in a lab.

We got the materials for the paracentesis set up, and my great, talented friend put on a Greatest Hits album of The Doors on his phone. He just knewthat this would perkeme up, and did this to make the procedure process a heck of a lot more interesting. He guided me through the process, and showed me where to improve my technique. There were some tough spots where I learned how to maneuver the drainage catheter so that more fluid would come out.

There were some fun moments, in particular when the fluid drainage stopped… and resumed the moment that Jim Morrison was singing “Mr. Mojo Risin’” during the track called “L.A. Woman,” which I absolutely love. A bit later on, when my great friend had to take his phone for work purposes, the drainage once again stopped! It’s almost as if The Doors kept the fluids coming lol!

The entire process was a memorable experience thanks to my friend. I’ll be doing more procedures with him, not just for the fun of the process, but to ensure that I’ll be able to teach and help out some of newer residents and interns as well.

A Successful Finding with my Stethoscope

Once in a while, we hear an interesting heart murmur in a patient, either within the clinic or within the inpatient setting. Our attending physicians (supervising doctors) who are interested in teaching us sometimes call upon us to listen to and identify them. Such a case happened in the clinic, and it happened to be with the attending who hired me for my residency.

This was a young, otherwise healthy man who had what is called a mid-systolic click, which in the absence of other factors is often indicative of mitral valve prolapse. Essentially, a valve within the heart opens in the wrong direction, causing this unusual heart sound. When the blood runs through the heart, some can go backwards due to this misdirected opening, which is called mitral regurgitation. A person who has this problem runs a higher-than-average risk of developing heart valve infections, heart failure, and arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms, which can sometimes lead to strokes or heart attacks), which is why it’s important to catch it as early as possible.

My attending stated that it was not very easy to hear, but I was able to hear it surprisingly clearly and correctly identify. I must give my stethoscope some credit here, because it is a good one! Being able to prove my abilities to my hiring attending physician, and even more importantly to myself, is quite gratifying. Such moments seem to occur more frequently as my training continues, which is motivating as my journey through training progresses.

Conclusion

Writing about these little successes did make me feel a bit better about myself and my job! It gives me something to look forward to: the celebration of more successes to come. I suppose Motivation Monday was, indeed a pretty good idea. 😁

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Disclaimer: FreeCompliments will be a beneficiary for this post, and I will attempt to boost it via Ecency points as well. Since this post is heavily medicine-based, I am also adding @stemsocial as a 5% beneficiary.