Getting All Hormonal: Type 2 Diabetes
Call me crazy, but I really like endocrinology. Hormones are up there with neurons in the category of weird, esoteric, but cool body systems. I picked up on it in Anatomy II and I've been studying it here and there ever since. I even doodle hormone maps when I'm bored in class: hypothalamus → TRH → anterior pituitary → TSH → thyroid → T4 → T3 = boosted metabolic rate. I have a lot of ideas and theories about hormones which are (hopefully) not that es

What's So Scary About Healthcare? Putting Strangers In Charge of Yours.
The upcoming Halloween-themed Change of Shift centers on what scares you in healthcare. I feel like half my blog is about what's scary in healthcare. It was suggested that I should submit my ER story about an infant getting repeatedly and unnecessarily stabbed for an IV access. But I thought I'd write a little more abou

Are You Getting the Swine Flu Vaccine?
I've been mulling over whether to get the swine flu vaccine. Some hospitals in this area are requiring it of their employees. Mine are simply offering it. They almost seem hesitant to encourage it. There's a lot of controversy around it—you've probably heard of the lawsuit in New York against making the vaccine mandatory for healthcare workers. Around here, some of my coworkers are for it, some are ambivalent, and many are ag

Sometimes the Patient Does Know Best
We had a "respiratory distress" transfer to the unit some days ago. The woman, significantly obese, is wheeled down in the a large armchair. In her clothes. That's committing at least two cardinal sins against ICU staff right there—the rules for unstable patients (i.e. if you can't breathe) are, no clothes, and in the bed! So the nurses, suitably, had a cow. The woman and her floor nurse tried to explain that she has such difficulty breathing that she sleeps in a chair, even at home. So I suggested leaving her in the chair. I mean, really, she looked fine except for not being able to breathe. I'm not being facetious. She was gasping like a fish, and only able to spit out 3-4 words at

Biomedically Engineered Birthing Beds!
Darn it, I still like my modern birthing beds post from ages ago. It's a mind-boggling idea. People made these large expensive Transformer-like contraptions just to facilitate laying women flat on their back to push babies out? And to defacilitate any kind of human contact with the mother, except by the doctor? Next they'll inv