jenniferhawke.com

i was just going to come here to tell you that i’m busy and don’t have time to write.

how annoying.

i may neglect email and bathing, but i make time for you.

it’s dark and rainy and thundering. which means Maddy is cozying up on the bathroom tile under the sink and i’m tired of getting up before dawn. i mentioned to Brandon this morning that we haven’t slept-in together in this house even once since we moved in. sad, no?

i am pleasantly surprised at how much i’m enjoying Internal Medicine. the patients are sick and it’s hard to keep track of 5 or 6 conditions and 20 or 30 medications in one person, but it’s a lot like solving a puzzle. i’m currently learning how to gather the pieces. my pockets are literally bulging and you should see the inside of my head. index cards are falling out of my ears.

Brandon is considering taking a job for a few days a week. i’ll let him talk more about it on his site, but suffice it to say, we are poor med students that like to spend money on expensive gas so we can drive around to Husker games and i can’t legally work in this country yet. plus, i’m sure he’ll enjoy getting out of the house and talking to someone other than our dogs. i’m actually pretty excited for him. yes, his Big Important Exam is still coming up and yes he’s still studying his little butt off, but the job he interviewed for yesterday sounds pretty cool and may actually relate to the kind of thing he wants to do long-term.

speaking of driving around! Husker games! and dogs! tomorrow we’re dropping the kids dogs off at the babysitter vet and skipping town to pick up a couple of friends in Dallas. then it’s on to Waco for the Nebraksa-Baylor game. i met a neurologist from Lincoln yesterday and, upon hearing i married into the Husker lifestyle, he said “i hear Bo says the entire team is getting the H1N1 shot, except the wide receivers. they can’t catch anything anyway.”

if i’m not posting from the road, i’ll be back sometime Sunday.

happy Halloween, kids! stay safe and stay spooky.

————
photo: me not cutting my fingers off. taken by Brandon.

“If u get a swine flu shot ur an idiot.”
~ Bill Maher

“Hail, Zeus. The Greek god of timely pharmaceutical research! But… Is the H1N1 vaccine a deadly poison? … and are we running out of it??!”
~ John Stewart

i decided to include a little about H1N1 here after an extensive texting conversation with my worried mother this morning. sometimes i take working in a healthcare environment for granted and forget that there are a lot of people who only know what they see on the news.

all questions are from my mom and all answers are from from the Center for Disease Control (retrieved October 20th, 2009).

wow! aren’t you worried? it’s dangerous for people your age!
yes, it does seem to be hitting my age group (25-49) pretty hard. but most of those hospital admissions and deaths are people with comorbid conditions such as heart disease, kidney disorders, asthma, weakened immune systems and pregnancy. i don’t have any of those. nope, not even the last one.

how do you know it’s H1N1 and not the flu?
last week, 2,505 out of 2,520 flu viruses were tested and found to be 2009 H1N1 influenza A. that’s 99.4%. it’s everywhere. i like to think i’m one in a million, but i doubt i’m in that 0.6% bracket. i’m pretty sure i have the same ol’ flu everyone else does.

where did you catch it?
we saw a TON of people with flu-like illness at the clinic over the last couple of weeks.

how can i tell if i have it?
it looks just like the “regular” flu: fever, nausea, aches, etc. it sorta sucks, but doesn’t seem to last as long as regular seasonal flu.

i don’t think i want to get the shot. it’s not here till November.
it’s true that many places will get the vaccine too late. and working from home in Canada probably lowers my mom’s risk, but there isn’t much risk to just getting the vaccine. the shot (different than the nasal spray) is a killed viral particle that can’t actually give you the flu. please check out the CDC website for more information on who should get the H1N1 vaccine and how safe it is.

i hope this post either answers a few of your questions or empowers you to use trustworthy resources like the CDC website to find out information that your local news coverage may be missing. thousands of old people and young kids die from the flu every year. H1N1 is no different. arm yourself with reliable and scientific information.

our attendance policy during clinical rotations is rather inflexible: you are not allowed to miss work at any time for any reason.

but when your throat (cobblestone mucosa) and symptoms (fever + cough + nausea + blahs) look identical to the H1N1 you’ve been diagnosing 20 times a day for the past two weeks, you stay home. the CDC recommends that sick kids stay home from school until the fever has been gone 24 hours.

for the record, if the H1N1 vaccine had made it to our clinic, i would have preferred a shot.

also for the record, i’ve tried my best to cough all over Brandon but his immune system has kicked my germs to the curb. he will probably be the last man standing when this form of chemical warfare brings the world to its’ knees. Richard Matheson would be proud.

(i’m sighing on the inside)

concerned reader is worried that i thought i was linking a legitimate bit of information about the H1N1 vaccine and the government’s plot to take over the world. she is rightfully concerned that our medical system is training up a series of doctors that would offer online medical advice without justification or consideration of the repercussions of our words. she feels that we forget there are lives at stake. children.

as a doctor, do you really believe in the h1n1 conspiracy theory? i read the BLOG to which you linked. it is preposterous. firstly, it is outdated. secondly, the questions it proposes you ask yourself have been answered.

i am a mother of 4 who is kept abreast of the h1n1 virus. i have not yet decided whether or not to vaccinate my children.

but, for crying out loudly, you are in the medical profession. please do not tell your readers NOT to do something based on a blog that is pure speculation.

as far as your readers are concerned, you are the closest they have to a knowledgeable “authority”. if you really feel that blog is correct, you need to justify it yourself.

you need to take a look at your actions and ask yourself what the repercussions are to your advice.

please. that is just wrong coming from someone like you. remember there are lives at stake. children.

currently, the numbers in the flu death is above normal.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm#MS

“Seventy-six of the 147 deaths were due to 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus infections, and 29 of these have occurred since August 30, 2009.”

hello, concerned reader.

if this is a true email address that you commented from, then i hope this note reaches you.

i guess you are probably new to my blog. there are two things that may or may not come across in online blog writing unless you are familiar with the author:

1) i can be sarcastic and prefer tongue-in-cheek commentary to flat-out calling someone an idiot. i think parents that believe the H1N1 vaccine is a conspiracy are idiots. i figured linking to such a ridiculous (“preposterous”, as you say) webpage would make my point for me.

2) i have absolutely no medical advice to give anyone at any time anywhere on this weblog. the decision about whether or not to vaccinate your 4 children should be between you and your doctor.

thank you for stopping by and sharing your concern.

have a wonderful day.

sincerely,
`Jennifer

previous rotations: Obstetrics & Gynecology

daily schedule:
Monday 7am – 1230pm
Tuesday 7am – 6pm
Wednesday 7am – 1230pm
Thursday 7am – 6pm
Friday 8am – 2pm

actual daily schedule:
pretty close to above. be sure to show up early. you never know who rotated through before you and how much of a good impression that might make.

what to wear:
white coat + nametag + whatever “business casual” means to you. the attending i work with doesn’t wear a shirt and tie, but i’m sure you could if you want. ladies, i’d recommend keeping necklines high-ish, skirts long-ish, and shoes non-stiletto-ish. but that’s just me. wash your hair. avoid perfumes & colognes. simple stuff like that.

what’s in my pockets:
- stethoscope
- small notebook with a list of things to look up later
- pen
- phone with Epocrates Drug Reference
- Maxwell’s Reference

patient notes you will be asked to write:
- prescriptions
- that’s about it. your attending may avoid having you write in the chart and you should welcome the challenge. you won’t always have a piece of paper with H&P questions in front of you. start working from scratch and the practice should come in handy later.

what to study:
each night i have a dozen or so things to look up. study whatever you don’t know. which, in my case, feels like a lot.

a few unforgettable things learned along the way:
- kids shouldn’t get the H1N1 vaccine because it’s definitely some sort of conspiracy.
- people only die of lung cancer after they quit smoking.

curious things other students do:
there aren’t any other students on this rotation with me. i’m the one doing all the screwing up for these 6 weeks. it’s fun.