Surgical Oncology: Day 3

In from 6a-6p. Did pre-rounds, then went to the M&M (Morbidity & Mortality) conference until 9, then I was in the clinic all day. It's fun to see the patients, but I don't like how quick the interaction is. The attending knows all about the patients that come in to the clinic, so he doesn't need to spend the time to learn about the patient, but they are all new to me...so I wish I could spend a bit more time with them, getting to know the process and the disease and treatments/managements.

I saw a patient that had a strange cohort of cancers in her family, things that don't typically go together. If a patient has a family history of several different types of cancers, you might suspect a p53 mutation (a tumor suppressor gene), which can give rise to any uncontrolled cellular growth. Alternatively, you might suspect HNPCC, since there are a variety of cancers associated with this syndrome. Yes, a physician actually knew about HNPCC, and even gave us a little review about it. I was thrilled! Granted he is a surgical oncologist, but the fact that he knows so much about the syndrome makes me really happy. Hopefully he spreads his knowledge to all of the students he sees... He even asked us a question about HNPCC, which another girl on my service answered before the question was even finished, so even though its one thing I know a whole heck of a lot about, I couldn't even impress my attending with my knowledge. What a waste. Hopefully I'll get another chance to really impress him, but I think I'm doing alright so far. My work ethic is high, and I keep a smile on my face along with a "glad to help in any way" attitude, so I think I'm doing ok so far!

5 weeks of chronic sleep deprivation is starting to really catch up with me. I hate to say this, but I am tired. All the time. There needs to be a way to add a few more hours to each day, or a way to effectively live off of only a few hours of sleep. And my next day to sleep in will be NEXT Saturday. So I guess it's off to bed for me - it's only 8:30: oh the exciting life of a third year student on surgery clerkship!!!