Sunday, November 9, 2008

Dr. Kowawa, AI

Song of the Day: Blue Sky - The Allman Brothers Band

Quote of the Day: "X-rays will prove to be a hoax." --Lord Kelvin

Thought of the Day: I have been quite busy over the last few weeks with two things: my Internal Medicine AI (Acting Internship) and interviewing. The acting internship is a position originally born out of shortage of available interns during WWII. The AI, or subinternship as it is called in some places, is where a 4th year medical student assumes the role of an intern on the medical team. After WWII ended most medical schools kept the AI concept in place as they realized it not only served as a solution for staffing shortages but also served as an excellent educational experience for medical students. In my AI I make "orders" in the computer system for drugs, therapies, lab tests, etc, and assume full responsibility for my list of patients. The only thing that differentiates me from the other interns (first year MD's) is that my "orders" must be co-signed once entered in the system. It's a very different ballgame from 3rd year rotations and is a fun challenge! You learn medicine differently when forced to make actual decisions about drug dosages, which labs to order, etc. The other thing that has been keeping me busy is interviewing for Radiology residencies. So far I have interviewed at UVa, U. Maryland, and Drexel/Hahnemann. The interview process is fun but pretty draining. For the last few weeks my interview days have been my "days off", so I haven't had much time for relaxing! Will write more about the interview process in the coming days.

Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

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