In this recap of our second week in Rwanda, I talk about our last academic day where we taught the residents about double lumen tubes and oral boards, rounding in the ICU, and meeting new friends who also value and are engaged in global anesthesia care. Although the trip may be over, the mission is not yet complete.

Presenting the first half of my travel blog for my 2-week Global Health Elective in Rwanda. Read along to see what adventures took place during our first week with my colleagues Drs. Shyamal Asher and Sara Park. This week was full of teaching residents with simulation and POCUS workshops, eating good food, some karaoke, and growing closer as a group through deep and meaningful conversations.

The best word to I can use to describe 2022 is growth: for both this social media page and myself. One of the coolest things about creating content is that you can watch the progression of your work over time. Looking back at some of my very first posts of 2022, they look nothing like what I am doing now. And in my humble opinion, that’s because things have improved! One of the biggest transitions I’ve made was using my own voice and face to teach mini-video lessons. Just getting over the sound of my voice and the way my face looks on camera felt like a huge accomplishment. And then the creativity continued to take off from there.

Chao Ji is finishing up her intern year in Internal Medicine at Rhode Island Hospital and starting her Anesthesia Residency tomorrow, July 1st!! This transition is an exciting and nerve-wrecking moment during a resident’s career. You gain so much foundational knowledge from intern year like how to manage common medical conditions (ie. diabetes, COPD, heart failure, etc.), understanding how an electronic medical record works, and how to communicate with various members of a medical team. Anesthesia residency is designed to build on this foundation, specifically focusing on physiology and pharmacology related to the perioperative period and developing hands-on technical skills necessary to provide safe and adequate anesthetic conditions. In this post, Chao reflects on her last day of intern year - reminiscing on how far she’s come and how much more she is going to grow in the next 3 years.

Andrew Winegarner is finishing up his CA-2 year in the next couple of days at Rhode Island Hospital. He is planning on continuing his career at RIH after graduating residency as a General Anesthesiologist. Outside of medicine, Andrew has many interests - one of which is finances . The tricky part of finances as a doctor is there aren’t any finance classes in medical school. You have to learn this stuff on your own and seek out information. In this post, Andrew speaks from his own experience about 5 Tips for a Graduating Medical Student. It’s never too early (or too late) to start thinking about your future goals, particularly when it comes to wealth. You work too hard to not reap the seeds you sow.

Sara is finishing up her CA-2 year at the end of the month at Rhode Island Hospital. When she is done with residency, she is planning on taking a job practicing as a General Anesthesiologist, possibly closer to her family down South. She has a particular interest in Global Health and hopes to incorporate it into her future career. In this post, Sara reflects back on a patient that she helped take care of in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Her message of “caring for patients is a privilege” rings true and makes working in healthcare super rewarding. There can be some really challenging times in the job, but you have to recognize the things that you gain from it - that’s what will keep you coming back for more.

Danny Bui is graduating from residency in 2 weeks with the formal ceremony happening tomorrow! After graduation, he will be staying at Rhode Island Hospital as a full time attending! He is looking forward to giving back to his own residency program and working alongside friends and mentors he has developed in the past 3 years. In this post, Danny reflects on an international experience with his co-resident, Deeran Patel, and attending Anesthesiologist, Shyamal Asher. Experiencing your profession in a different culture and environment gives a much broader meaning to mastering your craft. While three anesthesia providers from Rhode Island Hospital had much to give from their experiences, they also had much to learn from the locals of Kigali, Rwanda.

Ian is finishing up his 2nd year in his anesthesia training, getting ready for his last year in residency. Prior to anesthesia residency, Ian completed a residency in pediatrics and worked as an Emergency Dept Pediatrician in NYC. In this post, he reflects on a moment during his first year of anesthesia residency that truly put him to the test. Emergencies happen quickly in anesthesia, but with good training you learn to move swiftly and adjust to your environment to ensure a safe experience for you patient.

Let me walk you through one of the few tastes of what a “normal” job experience feels like during residency. I had finally reached my Golden opportunity for two days off on the weekend. What ensued was not what I had planned, but none the less was what I needed.

David is finishing up his CA-1 year here at Rhode Island Hospital. In this post, he takes us through a day-in-the-life of one of our residents rotating at our community hospital, The Miriam Hospital. TMH is a Total Joint Center with over 15,000 total joint replacements in the past 10 years. It provides ample opportunity for our residents to practice regional blocks and neuraxial procedures. The repetition lays a solid foundation to build upon once our residents start getting into more complex cases.

Vivek is finishing his first year in anesthesia residency this month. He transferred residencies from Otolaryngology (ENT) in Philadelphia to Anesthesiology in Providence. His training in airway anatomy and management has help him excel in the field of anesthesia. In this post, he reflects on the stress, anxiety, and hope for relief when dealing with an airway emergency.

Harry takes us through his experience as a first year anesthesia resident attending the SCA 2022 Conference (Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesia).

Can you believe it? Fourth year has arrived…

One week down and you’re starting to gain some confidence…