Well, I’m gonna be here in Green Bay for a little while longer,
probably until Thanksgiving. So far, I’ve been working mostly night
shifts, bringing back vivid memories of ‘night float’ during
residency. Overall, I’m really enjoying it. Everyone’s really nice and
welcoming. It’s quite a change from residency when you’re the low man
on the totem pole. The patient population is more primary care
oriented. I’ve seen one transplant patient so far, wheras I used to
see almost one-a-day in residency. I couldn’t think of a better way to
transition from residency into real-life…
I found out recently that I’ll be spending 3 weeks (maybe longer) in
Green Bay, WI. I’ll be working as a hospitalist at St. Vincent’s
Hospital (Prevea HealthCare). It’s a 580 bed hospital with 40 ICU beds
and I’ll be doing 12 hour shifts - mostly day shifts, but a couple
nights. It should be fun! I’m looking forward to being back in
Wisconsin, especially Green Bay, for football season. Go PACKERS!!
Still waiting to hear where my first assignment will be. Possibilities
include a VA Hospital in Maine, a hospitalist practice in Green Bay,
WI, a practice in Racine, WI, or an outpatient practice in
Minnesota. Details to follow…
Well, I’ve finally finished my internal medicine residency at New
England Medical Center. WooHoo! I guess it’s time to be a real doctor
now… I’m planning to spend the next year as a locum tenens
physician. I’ll be travelling throughout the country, working for 1-2
months at a time. Hopefully, I will get a broad exposure to different
types of primary care medicine, so that I can make an informed
decision down the road. I’m still considering doing a medical
informatics fellowship - maybe next year…
I’ve signed up with two agencies - CompHealth and VISTA.
In November 1998, I travelled to India to visit family and work in an
Infectious Disease Clinic. I visited the Trivandrum Medical College and
the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institue For Medical Sciences & Technology. The
experience at the Trivandrum Medical College was a little disappointing,
but I was very impressed by the Sree Chitra Institute. I got a personal
tour of the hospital and operating rooms from Dr. Krishnamanohar (a close
friend of my brother-in-law). The standards were equal to U.S. Hospitals
and I learned a lot about physical diagnosis in a very short time.
I recently got a letter from my niece, Devi, which broke my heart…
Dear Vinu Mamman,
I visited your page and you didn’t put a picture of me. I am really
mad at you because you didn’t give me a picture. Why didn’t you put a
picture of me? If you don’t have a picture of me, I could send you one.
Everybody else have a picture of them. If you have a picture you can
put it on your computer.
Love,
Devi
(typed by Amma, as dictated by Devi - age 5)
So, Devi, I have a very special picture from our birthday party together in
August. Here it is!
In March ‘98, after a grueling month in the ICU, I went on a cruise with my
cousins and their parents. I’m currently seriously considering working as a
cruise physician! We went to Freeport and Nassau. The weather and scenery
were beautiful, but my most enjoyable moments were spent discussing old
(and new) times with my cousins at 3:00 AM looking across the unending
ocean.
It’s an experience I hope to repeat soon…