Optho Update

This is how we roll.





So I am finished with my first ophtho (sorry, I am not going to type out ophthalmology every time) rotation which lasted four weeks. I actually started this blog well over a week ago, but now that I am in Kentucky with time to spare and nothing to do, it is time I finish this piece. So ophtho was great - good hours, great people, cool surgeries, fast-paced clinic - all that one could ask for. There were some types of surgeries I didn't get to see that I would've liked to, like glaucoma shunt surgery, but four weeks is only a very brief window of time. I didn't get to see a whole lot of oculoplastic work either, making me further question whether or not that's really what I want to do. I know my lovely wife has been telling everyone that my plan was to do that, but in reality, it's simply a possibility my inexperienced mind has considered. I may in fact find that I want to do retinal surgery or cornea/external disease stuff or even pediatrics, although in peds I think I would quickly grow tired from all the prisms and strabismus surgeries. Let's just wait a while and see what happens. Pre-residency is far too early to start thinking about post-residency fellowships.

As previously mentioned, I am now in Lexington, Kentucky, doing basically the same thing I was doing in Little Rock. I am staying in a ladies basement (dungeon) for only $350 for the month. There is a big tree park, the Arboretum, near by where I can jog around a 2 mile trail a few times. I have been walking too the hospital, about a 1 to 2 mile walk each way, every day. I may grow tired of this soon. I can't say much about the program just yet as yesterday was merely an orientation to the hospital and department day. I am curious to see what the next four weeks bring me. I miss my wife terribly, but I am sure we'll both manage.

I did a grand rounds presentation at UAMS in ophtho, but now I must decide about what to do here in KY. I could do the same case presentation again, or take a completely different approach. My thoughts are that I could do a presentation on corneal tissue donation and baking since hardly any resident knows anything about it. The case presentation I did was nothing spectacular or unusual, just a typical case seen in a slightly younger than usual patient.

My application is essentially done, sans one letter of recommendation. This letter comes from the guy who called me a procrastinator. ME! He has taken longer than the other two letter writers. He keeps saying, "Oh I will have it done in a couple days," only to tell me a couple days later that, "Oh it's been busy this week. I just haven't gotten it done." Like this is different than any other week at the VA eye clinic? Was me signing up for the match the first day it opened procrastinating? Was me wanting to turn in the application by the beginning of this week, several weeks before the target date, procrastinating? Was me moving my CS exam up from November to last week procrastinating? Was me. . .OK, enough of this. Just a sore spot, I guess. I'm still waiting on his letter, which he now has to mail to me out here in Kentucky so that I can make the target date. If I wait to pick it up until I come back, the target date will only be a couple days away. I still feel strongly that the match's target date of September 3 is a little late considering some programs have deadlines in early September and the match claims it will take 3 weeks to process the application before they send it to any program. If I could get it in before the match experiences a surge of near-deadline submissions, there's less of a chance of them losing my paperwork, which they have a history of doing.

Well, that's all for now. I'm posting in the morning since there isn't anyone for me to work with this morning. Better luck this afternoon.