Above: A shot from one of the overpasses at UHS Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, NY.The whole last four weeks were both absolutely busy and awesome. So, here's a retrospective entry on a lot I haven't talked about, and we'll get caught up this week (hopefully). Due to the above, I left the odometer at the mileage before hitting the road today.
THE ROADS WEREN'T EXACTLY
FRIENDLY.
My last night in Decatur wasn't exactly just spent packing. I actually went to a journal club that night with a couple of the residents. A few of the discussions that they had really got me thinking. Now, I think that the current debate on how effective kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty actually are on curing pain for spinal fractures is a good one to look at (and right now the best study shows that it isn't). However, the whole time I was thinking... evidence-based medicine (EBM) against basic-science-based medicine. A lot can be explained with pathophysiology, but theoretical doesn't mean its proven. And that's where evidence-based medicine comes in, the proof that theory works (or doesn't). However, a lot of the ideas where studies for EBM come from either come from basic-sciences or practicality. So, in short, they both go hand in hand.
And 36 hours later after I finished in Decatur, I found myself amongst the Appalachian hills of Upstate New York. The trip wasn't exactly the friendliest, as snow dominated my trip on I-86 in Western New York. Some of the roads I passed only had one lane plowed, and I had to make the ultimate winter road trip decision... Take the plowed lane with potholes the size of montana, or the unplowed lane without them. But I ended up in Johnson City, NY safely. My four weeks on the wards of Internal Medicine for my Subinternship were quite intense, but very enjoyable. One of the things I liked about both of my Internal Med rotations (Core & Sub-I) was teamwork that's necessary to keep things running on the floors and in the hospitals. Somehow different combinations of residents, students, and attendings seem to always work out. But as I may have written before, every time I get into a rhythm of things, I have to move on for my next rotation. I can't wait for residency, as I finally can get into a rhythm with my colleagues for a good three years.
Well, I'm tired after a long day of driving... So, more thoughts on my last four weeks on Internal Medicine and on what's going on with my stop in Columbus tomorrow.
