I had my second ever ER shift this evening, and I got to put on my first ever splint. It was for a little girl who had taken a fall onto her elbow and had a possible fracture (by X-ray). So I put a splint on it and sent her home to follow-up with her pediatrician at the end of the week.
I like my ER shifts – for whatever reason I feel much less pressure than I did on the wards… I don’t have a huge "to do" list always hanging over me and I can fully concentrate on one patient at a time. I know it will probably be busier and get harder – especially in the wintertime with all the lovely viruses – but so far I’m having fun and enjoying myself.
I’ve also just started on my Development rotation, which has been good so far. The hours are nice and the information is so interesting. I’ve only really had 1 day so far, but I am eager to see what I’ll be learning in the next few weeks.
Another fun and exciting thing is that the Stanley Stamm Summer Camp is next week – it’s a camp for kids with medical needs that prevent them from attending "regular" summer camps (things like IVs, ventilators, complex medication regimens, etc.). Residents are invited to come and help out, and since I’m on a more relaxed rotation I am actually getting 2 days off to go down and help out. I am really looking forward to that – especially since I haven’t been able to do Camp Casey at all recently. 🙁 Which reminds me, Camp Casey is going on right now – I hope everything is going well. I know the planning stages can get a bit hairy sometimes, but the week of camp was always just the best part – I hope that’s still true for Heather and Carrie this year. I wonder if I’ll get to help with the newspaper again? 🙂
And finally – on a completely different note – A.J. and I have been going to a Sunday evening church service called "in Access" that meets at a coffee shop in, hmm, Bothell (I think). The coffee shop is closed and the church rents the space – it’s nice and comfy and there is always iced tea and some snacks. Anyway, the great thing about this service is that it’s very interactive and discussion-oriented and the purpose is to really seek out "truth" and not just re-emphasize "doctrine". It has been very stimulating to discuss things like original sin, the age of accountability, and heaven/hell. The group is quite small (so far never more than 15 people at a service), which makes it nice for the discussion part. I really feel like my input is important and that I can ask my questions and provide my opinions. There’s good discussion, some prayer time, and then we end with worship. We meet at 6pm on Sundays for a couple hours and so far I am really enjoying it.