Tag Archives: work

Bulls**t Jobs (Part 1 of ∞)

A surprisingly common part of my life: a patient asks me for a doctor’s note for back pain or something. Usually it’s a situation like their work chair hurts their back, and their work won’t let them bring in their … Continue reading

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My IRB Nightmare

September 2014 There’s a screening test for bipolar disorder. You ask patients a bunch of things like “Do you ever feel really happy, then really sad?”. If they say ‘yes’ to enough of these questions, you start to worry. Some … Continue reading

To The Great City!

Related: 0/4, 1/4, 2/4, 3/4 Last Friday I said goodbye to my patients, handed over my pager, and left Our Lady Of An Undisclosed Location for the last time. I was hoping for a moment for quiet reflection, but I … Continue reading

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3/4

Related: 1/4, 2/4 [Content warning: psychiatry, suicide. Note that all stories involving patients are mixtures of several different people which have been obfuscated and changed around in order to protect confidentiality. The ethical standard I have heard in this situation … Continue reading

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Reflections From The Halfway Point

I. A while back one of my patients was having a foot problem, so I consulted the hospital podiatrist. He met me in my workroom, and I explained exactly what I needed from him, but over the course of the … Continue reading

Medicine, As Not Seen On TV

Since I was twelve years old, my life has taken place in a series of Four Year Intervals. Four years of high school. Four years of college. Four years of medical school. Four years of residency. Four times four, nice … Continue reading

I Aten’t Dead

I am torn between being disappointed at how poorly hospitals work and being amazed that they work at all. There are two hundred different very specialized professions all trying to help the same set of people. As difficult as medicine … Continue reading

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The Hospital Orientation

The nun who gives us a big welcome to Our Lady Of An Undisclosed Location Hospital. The intermittent reminders that The Hospital Was Founded By Nuns, You Know. The lingering fear from my days in Ireland, when all of my … Continue reading