Changing of the guard
This is always a melancholy time of year. As I mentioned in a recent post, it marks the changing of the guard. A graduating chief class is replaced by a group of newly minted doctors stepping into their roles as interns.
At the end of every year, we have a few parties to honor them. The best is the one at Dr Barker's house. He sets up a few tents. Dr Maxwell roasts the meat... usually an all night ordeal. Sometimes its a whole hog. This year it was a bunch of ribs. They were splendid. At some point the chiefs are presented with a bunch of gag gifts. All in all, its a relaxing celebration of the accomplishments of the graduating class.
Every year, it gets a little bit harder to see them leave. I've spent four years with these guys, and have come to really enjoy them. Aderhold has been the source of numerous "ader'isms" that have made it to this blog. He's the guy who explained that hill-billies are poikilotherms, hence the rise in summer time traumas. He's also the guy who explained why pens in the south are called "ink pens." (Done to distinguish them from hat pins, bobby pins, pig pens, etc). Its also impossible for the guy to talk without gesticulating. Hence, engaging him in conversation during an operation is not wise. He will be heading back to his home town in south Georgia.
Mauldin decided that surgery wasn't for him after all, and decided to do an anesthesia residency. I've admired his attitude this past year. His decision to not practice surgery did not turn him into a jaded, negative personality. He was still a good leader and example to the rest of us. He will be doing an anesthesia residency in Atlanta.
Koontz was the ultimate example of taking responsibility for your patients and making sure that they got the best. He is also a publishing machine, who has probably had more publications than any resident to complete this surgery program. He is heading to Emory in Atlanta for a pediatric surgery fellowship.
Green is from Louisiana. He was one of those rare people who derive a true, infectious, joy from doing surgery. He's the kind of guy whom you'd call in the middle of the night to tell him about some disaster of a patient needing surgery. His enthusiasm never waned. He was just a real pleasurable person to be around. He'll be moving to Kansas City, Missouri to practice trauma surgery.
If you want to see pictures of any of these guys, or any of the other people whom I work with, go to... http://www.utcomchatt.org/Dept/Surgery/surgery.asp?dpage=residents
At the end of every year, we have a few parties to honor them. The best is the one at Dr Barker's house. He sets up a few tents. Dr Maxwell roasts the meat... usually an all night ordeal. Sometimes its a whole hog. This year it was a bunch of ribs. They were splendid. At some point the chiefs are presented with a bunch of gag gifts. All in all, its a relaxing celebration of the accomplishments of the graduating class.
Every year, it gets a little bit harder to see them leave. I've spent four years with these guys, and have come to really enjoy them. Aderhold has been the source of numerous "ader'isms" that have made it to this blog. He's the guy who explained that hill-billies are poikilotherms, hence the rise in summer time traumas. He's also the guy who explained why pens in the south are called "ink pens." (Done to distinguish them from hat pins, bobby pins, pig pens, etc). Its also impossible for the guy to talk without gesticulating. Hence, engaging him in conversation during an operation is not wise. He will be heading back to his home town in south Georgia.
Mauldin decided that surgery wasn't for him after all, and decided to do an anesthesia residency. I've admired his attitude this past year. His decision to not practice surgery did not turn him into a jaded, negative personality. He was still a good leader and example to the rest of us. He will be doing an anesthesia residency in Atlanta.
Koontz was the ultimate example of taking responsibility for your patients and making sure that they got the best. He is also a publishing machine, who has probably had more publications than any resident to complete this surgery program. He is heading to Emory in Atlanta for a pediatric surgery fellowship.
Green is from Louisiana. He was one of those rare people who derive a true, infectious, joy from doing surgery. He's the kind of guy whom you'd call in the middle of the night to tell him about some disaster of a patient needing surgery. His enthusiasm never waned. He was just a real pleasurable person to be around. He'll be moving to Kansas City, Missouri to practice trauma surgery.
If you want to see pictures of any of these guys, or any of the other people whom I work with, go to... http://www.utcomchatt.org/Dept/Surgery/surgery.asp?dpage=residents
posted by The Mad Hatter at 4:39 PM
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