3rd Rotation, Week 7-Charleston, WV

I have finished my time at Thomas and I am sad to see it go.  I loved this rotation for more reasons than one! The histotechs were great, the doctors were so nice and helpful, and I was near my family so I got to spend a lot of time with them!  I feel as if I continued to grow and this rotation and with my skills and comfort.  During my last few weeks, I had a few “new to me specimens” such as an eye removed because it was painful and a large skin excision for melanoma from the base of the foot.  I had grossed larger skin excisions before, but this one was really big which added a challenge.  I also prepared a few different specimens for frozen sections such as breast margins and oriented skins so that was pretty neat!

Thomas is a great rotation for learning because you are able to take your time most days. If there is a specimen you have never done, it is okay to stop and take your time! The work will get done!  Most students come here with a partner so I was worried I wouldn’t get the work done by myself, but I had no problem.

Another awesome thing about this rotation is that they provide you with a 3-bedroom house which is only about 5 minutes from the hospital.  The kitchen has everything you need such as a coffee pot, dishes, silverware, and pots and pans.  There is a washer and dryer and even cable.  Previous students have kept a binder full of take-out menus and suggestions for fun things to do around town.  I am from Charleston so to me it was just home, but if you are new to town I suggest getting out and exploring! It is a fun town with a growing food scene!

I am back in Pittsburgh for my rotation at UPMC-Presbyterian for Autopsy so I will blog about that in a week or two!

3rd Rotation, Week 4-Charleston, WV

I am almost half-way through my 3^rd rotation at Thomas Memorial Hospital in Charleston, WV.  I have really enjoyed it so far!  The day starts at 7:30 AM (which is earlier than most), I gross until about lunch time and I am typically done by 2:00 PM! I have grossed a couple “new-to-me” specimens such as a mandible for squamous cell carcinoma, a submandibular gland for tumor, and an ear for squamous cell carcinoma! I have also got a lot more placentas, uteri, and colons.  The histotechs normally cut the frozen at Thomas, but they will let you cut them if you ask...so make sure you ask! I have enjoyed the practice, because they get a lot of thyroids for frozen, and besides diagnosing it, I basically do everything from start to finish.  Everyone here is very nice and helpful so I am having a good time.  I am from Charleston so I have enjoyed spending a lot of time with my family…and free home cooked meals every night! 

Around the middle of April, I began applying for jobs.  It is still a little early but I thought I might as well start applying for the practice.  I think it will be a long process of finding the right job in the right location.  My husband will graduate from WVU in December as well so it makes it a little more complicated knowing we both need an open position at a job we like, in a city we like.  It is still super exciting to think about either way! I will definitely blog once I have found a job so (much) later in the year I might have some more to share about the job searching process.

I still have 4 weeks here at Thomas, but I can tell I am going to miss it here! I will blog again at the end of the rotation to talk about the second half!

2nd Rotation, Week 7-Johnstown, PA

I have finished up my rotation at Conemaugh. Another 7 weeks down!! I know I did not blog half way through with an update, but there wasn’t much else to say.  I enjoyed my time there and I feel as if I continued to grow more comfortable in the gross room and I gained a little bit of speed with the standard specimens.  I was really hoping I would get a lot of larger, more complex specimens, but we didn’t, until the very last day!! We received a distal pancreatectomy for a pancreatic cyst.  This specimen consists of the tail of the pancreas, the surrounding soft tissue, and usually the spleen is attached.  Ours was a little different, the spleen was received separately along with a segment of transverse colon and we had a portion of stomach attached to our main specimen.  Hannah and I decided to gross it together since there was only one and it was so interesting.  We have heard from previous students they were able to gross a lot of larger cases during their rotation here at Conemaugh, but I guess that is just the luck of the draw.  The rest of the time, I mainly did colons for tumor, diverticulitis cases, uteri, skins, placentas, and biopsies.  The experience is still appreciated because like I said, I gained comfort and speed which are things that can only help! 

(Sidenote: We had the best thing about this rotation was the food, and they weren't wrong!  We also discovered the Toasted Marshmallow Latte from the coffee shop was the bomb so if you find yourself at Conemaugh Health System, you gotta try it!)

 I just finished up my first day at Thomas Memorial in Charleston, WV so I will blog about this one hopefully at the end of the week.  I am from Charleston so it is really nice to be home!