"Every patient, every symptom, every operation...is a test. A chance for us to demonstrate how much we know. And how much more we have to learn."

This blog entry brings with it the end of OB/GYN. I've decided to write down a few of the highlights for later in the year when I'm trying to decide "deliver babies or take care of babies?"

Pros: Delivering babies, duh. Watching babies on the monitor. Helping mommies have healthy pregnancies. Turning not so healthy pregnancies into good deliveries. Turning not so good deliveries into the best situations possible. The residents (ah-mazing). The experiences (saw lots of things I'm sure I'll never see again). Surgery....?

Cons: GynOnc (onc is just so depressing...). The HOURS (and it's 10000x worse for the interns than the students... wasn't unusual for them to get there at 4 and leave at 8 that night). It's a tough, tough residency. I always knew it was hardcore, but I wasn't quite aware of HOW hardcore.

The Board: Meh. Not as bad as I expected.
CSA: Terrifying. But they'll get better as the year goes along I hear.

In other minute news, that fourletterword came back. And I'm pleased to report that I'm officially officially an M3 now :)

Becoming Aunt Meg

In a twist from general med school reporting, I'd like to update the blogging community on my newest hobby - spoiling my nephew, who arrived July 1st. He's absolutely the most adorable man I've ever laid eyes on.... I had no idea I could fall in love so fast.

A little of his birth story... my sister went to be induced Thurs night. As of Fri morning, the progress she was making didn't look like we were headed in a good direction - so my wonderful GYN residents told me to go home and be there for his almost-sealed C-section fate. By the time I made it home, he'd decided that maybe labor wasn't all that bad, as long as mom laid on one side in one position. She progressed fast and after a complicated/difficult delivery baby made his entrance into the world, changing our lives forever.

Congratulations to the two most wonderful new parents I know. I was blessed to be a part of labor and delivery, and grateful to be the proudest aunt in the world. :)