Tips: How to Perform a Spinal Tap on a Moving Train
I have to admit: spinal taps (lumbar punctures) are not one of my favorite procedures to perform. I’m fairly certain our patients don’t enjoy...
Tips: How to Manage Your Pent-Up, Work-Related Rage
Many jobs, in particular ones involving working at the hospital, have a certain way of… how do you say… taking you there. One of the...
An Administrator’s Tips to Health Care Providers for Curing Burnout
Burnout is prevalent. Most of you reading this are burned out. What can we do? How can we preserve our sanity? We sat down...
Physical Exam Tips: The Nervous System
The physical exam of the brain and nervous system can be broken down into two parts: the lumbar puncture and everything else.
Lumbar Puncture
The lumbar...
Tips: How to Read the New England Journal of Medicine
STEP 1: Grab copy of New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) from mailbox.
STEP 2: Pretend to read through the cover contents, enough to cause...
ICD-10 Primer, Lesson 2: Roller-Skate Documentation
A minute doesn’t go by at work without someone talking about yet another patient involved in some roller-skating injury. ICD-9 codes for roller-skating were...
Tips for Patients: How to Use a Call Light
Nurses are incredibly busy. And by busy we mean doing endless charting. So much so that they're contractually not allowed to eat or urinate....
Tips for Interns: How to Respond to Your Attending’s Questions
Here are a few short cases to help out our new interns!
CASE 1
Your attending asks you during floor rounds:
“What can you tell me about...
So You Dropped Your Pager into the Toilet, What to Do Next
You're on-call, but before sh*t hits the fan, you hit the toilet. Just when you're pulling up your pants or fixing your belt, you...