From Urgent Care Physician to PGY1 Plastic Surgeon!!!!

#PlasticSurgeonLoading

Ahhhh I can't believe it's been almost 3 months since my last post! So much has happened, and the past few months have been a whirlwind of change and excitement. I honestly haven't had time to sit down and type up a full post, but I will do my best to catch everyone up on this one. This post might be a bit lengthy and random, but guess I'll start from the beginning :)

Closing my chapter as an urgent care physician!

After Match Day, the most important things on my list were finding a place to live, obtaining my training license, completing onboarding work for my program, and making as much money as possible before going back to residency pay. I worked a ton of shifts, taking only Mother's Day weekend off, and on May 16th, I finished my last shift as a full-time urgent care physician. My last day was so busy that everyone joked the patients must have known I was leaving, LOL. I didn't finish until a couple hours after my shift ended and this was AFTER having to close the doors early due to the large number of patients. The bright side is, I was surprised with cakes, a card, and gifts from everyone I've worked with, and it made me feel so loved. Unfortunately, we were so busy that day that none of us actually had a chance to celebrate at work, but I was happy to celebrate and go bowling with a few of my faves a week later. I've been blessed to worked with some great people over the past couple years, and I will surely miss them. 

Officially a Floridian!

As for finding a place to live, I am now a Florida resident and finally settled in! I got very lucky with finding a safe, affordable place that is super close to the hospitals I will be rotating at. I secured my place in early April with the help of an awesome realtor who not only went above and beyond, but sent me full videos of my place which included the drive around the area, and picked up my keys for me when it was time to move in so I could stay in Georgia and finish working. Once I finally made it here, it took a few weeks to get settled since I decided to buy all new furniture (so many trips to  IKEA!), but now it finally feels like home :)

Blessed to have some of my SNMA fam in Miami!

The day before orientation I got the chance to hang out with some of my SNMA fam and residents from another residency program in Miami. We spent the day having fun on a boat, and it was such a great way to kick off my training. I am beyond blessed live in a place where I already have a built in support system. It's no secret that residency is hard, but having people around that you can trust and vent to makes it so much better.   

My Plastic Surgery team!

Orientation week started June 14th and was a two-week affair. Nothing too exciting to note, but it was nice meeting all the new interns in the hospital and everyone in my program. I even got a chance to hang out with my co-interns outside of orientation, and I am so lucky to be training with such an awesome group of individuals. 

My 1st First Author Publication!

Oh wait, I forgot to mention that I finally have a first author publication! It was during orientation week that my case report was published in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports. Even though I have multiple publications, and even published an entire book, I feel so much achievement at finally being listed first on a peer-reviewed academic publication. To break it down in layman's terms: this was basically a report on removing a gallbladder in a 32 week pregnant female, and it was a case I helped perform during my original intern year in general surgery. Having this published during my plastic surgery residency orientation was a great closure to the general surgery chapter of my life. If you're interested in reading (it even has cool pictures!), you can find it HERE (Click "Download PDF" at the top if you want to view the full neat version)

Much needed bonding time with my daughter!

After orientation ended, I had a few days until my official start date of July 1st, so I took advantage of mommy-daughter time. My daughter will be starting high school this fall, is actively involved with band, recently made the color guard team, and said she would like to stay with my family and near her friends out of state instead of moving to Florida. I grew up military and went to 4 different schools during high school alone, so I agreed to let her stay and have the stability I never had. This means we will not get to spend as much time together, but I've always stressed quality of time over quantity, and she's always been so supportive of my surgery goals. With that being said, during my final days before starting, I joined my daughter and her friend for a mini vacation in Orlando. I got us VIP tickets to the park which allowed us to skip to the front of every line and jump right on the rides. We enjoyed 14 rides including the newest rollercoaster that was super intense, got a tour through private areas of the park, and had the greatest time together. It's always worth it seeing a smile on her face, and I love creating memories that will last a lifetime.

First day of residency selfie!

After my trip, it was time to get to work! Like most residents across the country, I started on July 1st and it was actually a great day. I arrived at the hospital around 6am and after rounding on my patients, I spent a good part of the day learning the system and getting access to the major things I needed. I didn't feel like a fish out of water, and felt like I was moving at a decent pace. I also wasn't on call, so I was able to leave at a decent time and come home to study. I am on the General  Surgery service for my first two months, so it feels good being back in familiar territory. Plus, I really like the culture of this program so far. I can tell it's going to be a great year, and I'm ready for all the learning and growth that comes with it!

Happiness after operating for the first time in 2 years!

On my second day of work I got a chance to operate for the first time in over 2 years! I can't tell you how good it felt to be back in the operating room. From scrubbing, to gowning, to performing the most basic parts of a procedure, and even getting grilled on my knowledge by the attending surgeon, I've missed it all. The operating room is truly my happy place and I feel so incredibly blessed to be in this position. So many emotions!

Your PGY1 Plastic Surgeon!

I think I've pretty much summed up the last few months as succinctly as possible. Even though I haven't been actively blogging, I have been making an effort to quickly jot down highlights from each day in a journal. I'll try to update the blog at least once a month, but at least now I'll have a reference to catch everyone up in case I get too busy to sit down and type. Outside of being an active team member and learning as much as I can during my rotations, my biggest focus is on reading and studying so that I'll perform well on my in-service exam in the spring. This means blog posts may be infrequent, but you can still catch me on social media. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my posts, and I look forward to sharing all the exciting times ahead. As for today, I've completed my presentation for didactics tomorrow and finished my readings, so I feel like I've earned relaxation time for the rest of the day. Until next time!