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The recent post from one of the M1s (now M2s!) inspired me to write about how all of that pre-clinical knowledge becomes useful. I’ve spent the last 2 weeks on the Infectious Disease (ID) consult service at the U, which has been amazingly fun.  I have to admit, I was stoked for this month–ID was definitely one of my favorite sequences during the first 2 years, so I couldn’t wait to do it again.  Almost every service I have been on thus far has needed an ID consult at one time or another–the bugs and drugs can be overwhelmingly complicated, so I wanted to see what it’s like to be on the team, and I have not been disappointed.

I have always been a fan of consult services–you come in, make recommendations, and then follow up.  Rounds are fast and full of teaching moments, and you can really help contribute to a patient’s care.  It has been amazing to me how much my ID course years ago (makes me feel old) has come into play–the difference between gram positive and gram negative species, anaerobes, and the oh-so-popular fungus.  AND I have to remember how to treat them! I felt like I walked off the deep end the first day, but since then I’ve settled in and have seen a ton of interesting things, including serious Staph infections, fungus balls in a lung, and abdominal abscesses!

In other news, finishing up the Cardiovascular ICU was a great experience.  It made me more excited than ever to go into Anesthesia–I love the attendings and residents, and Critical Care is pretty cool.  It’s hard–knowing how to manage someone with multiple life-threatening illnesses takes a lot of knowledge and skill, but I was impressed with how my superiors approached each problem. Could be a potential future career…who knows?

After that busy month, it’s just settling in to being a 4th year.  And it is truly as glorious as I had been told!  I was able to take my Step 2 CS (basically an 8 hour test in Chicago that evaluates my ability to diagnose common problems and communicate with patients) last week, so that’s another thing to check off the list.  We are definitely taking advantage of the Ann Arbor summer–it’s a great town all year round, but I think summer is especially awesome.  We try to spend a few evenings outside every week, enjoying Kerrytown, the downtown area, and the park by our house to take full advantage.

Best of luck to those newly-minted M0s who are applying right now–any questions, send me an email at mwixson@med.umich.edu!

-Matt