Gotta love it when you arrive at 7am for a day that doesn't have cases until almost 2pm. Coming in any later just isn't an option, so you chew on it, bring a book and just accept your lot as a peon. To stave off sheer boredom I went wandering the floor, chatted up my IM attending (who gave me an A+ and a stellar review) and learned a few things about Pulomnary emnoli, DIC, and "poor prognosis diagnoses." I am actually quite glad I went wandering, because it beat sitting around not doing anything.

Later, I was able to scrub in on a mass excision case. The doctor said "let the student close." So from start to finish I closed. I was ridiculously proud of myself.

Later in the day began the hours-long vascular marathon of popliteal embolism removal. It was so epic I was called to wipe the doctor's face free of blood...The surgery lasted almost four hours due to a host of complications and annoyances, such as luckyone banging his head no less than three times on the overhead lights. Blast ye short people!!!