Sixth Rotation: Clinical Cardiology Madigan Army Medical Center

***HONORS***So this was one of two electives during my 3rd year. The second will be in anesthesiology, which is two weeks long and begins immediately after my next rotation (final required 3rd year rotation in Family Medicine). The rotation was at Madigan Army Medical Center. I worked with a great doc, Dr. Kurt Kinney, who is an interventional cardiologist. I learned a lot during the clinic hours, but I also got to spend a fair amount of time in the Cath lab.

I actually even got to do most of a catheterization, which was very interesting. I was allowed to get femoral venous and arterial access, and I even floated a swan catheter. Dr. Kinney was very good about letting me do a lot.
The most interesting thing I saw on this rotation happened when we assisted another interventional cardiologist during an emergency. The patient, an 80 year old woman, came in with pulseless electrical activity (PEA). CPR had been initiated in the field by her husband, and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) protocols were initiated when EMS arrived. One of the protocols is to give epinephrine. But no drug is truly benign. When I speed walked into the cath lab, the patient was on a ventilator and they were doing chest compressions while the catheterization was taking place (you don't see THAT every day!). When access was gained and the doc shot the contrast, the coronary arteries were totally clamped down. This was due to the epinephrine. When nitro was introduced into the arteries, they all opened back up. It was very interesting to see how medicines that we use to save a life and are standard protocol can also have a deadly effect. It is an image that will stick with me forever. I will never run a code and think about things the same way again...

Annual Spring Trek Home to Colorado

I look forward to my two weeks in Colorado each year. We always stay with my Dad at his house in Silverthorn, which is nearby a bunch of ski areas. It's always a blast to hang out with he and his wife in the evenings.
The house is very cool. It is along the Blue River, and looks across to Buffalo Mountain. One morning, we actually saw a fox run through toward the river.
I saw an otter, and in the spring, Mr. Bear is often seen raiding the birdseed. The blue jays start asking for their peanuts a bit too early, but otherwise, it is very peaceful to just listen to the river.
One of the things I always look forward to is listening to my dad play the piano. It is one of his favorite things, and even though he is pretty good, he is constantly swearing at the thing when he makes a mistake. Somehow it wouldn't be the same if he didn't do that. :)
There was a very interesting ice and snow formation that formed this year.

The temperature, snow, and wind combination must have been just right to cause this, but my dad had never seen anything like it before.

It was like a twisted monster's mouth with icicles for teeth!During the Day we ski A-Basin. This year we got 12 days in a row.
This is my favorite Colorado resort, because it isn't really a resort. It is a bare bones ski area. There are no hotels, no fancy lodges or restaurants. It is just a very good mountain.
There are tons of steep tree runs, and lots of open chutes to hike to.
You can find challenging terrain here, no matter what your level of skiing is.
But what it DOES have, is a fun little bar in the original A-Frame lodge. They have great local beers on tap.
After skiing non-stop without any breaks from 9-3, we would head down to the 6th Alley Bar for some liquid nutrition.
We got to ski with my Dad one day and he, of course, joined us for a beer. His wife Lucky wasn't able to join us that day.
This has really challenged Seth. Although he is doing really, really, well, it is only his 4th season skiing, and I take him down some really tough stuff.
His favorite is probably the Pali Face, but a close second is West Alley.
It doesn't look that steep in this picture, but it really is.
There has to be a LOT of snow to even get coverage because it is so steep!
My favorite is definitely 3rd alley. It is equally steep, but it is through very narrow tree sections. That, along with just steep chutes, is my favorite kind of skiing.
I cannot wait to go again next year. I will call that the Post-Match Celebration Trip, because it will come the week after the match.
After that, I'll only have one more rotation and I'll be a doctor and moving on to learning how to be an EM physician. I can almost TASTE it!