Much has been made of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) ”Grade D” recommendation against ”prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening for prostate cancer.” [1] I’ve been logging the most recent comments from major news outlets on my Google Plus profile.
In the board game Go, two players alternate in placing either black or white stones on a crosshatch wood board. The object is to form a pattern that surrounds the opponent. The game can involve dozens of stones in harmony between defense and counter-attack. Toward the end of a game, the Go board may appear as nothing more than an arbitrary array of black and white stones with sparse glimpses of wood for remaining play. This is the critical point in the game. To win, a player must find a cohesive pattern amidst the seemingly random.
Good morning urologymatch.com! I apologize for my month-long blog hiatus, but I experienced a major life event toward the end of the interview trail (hint: “I’m going to the chapel and I’m...”) This “event” has pretty consummed all of my time, leaving me preciously spare moments to blog about my last few weeks on the trail. It has also enlightened me on how criminally expensive diamonds, cakes, dresses, seammtresses, DJs, open bars, and flowers are these days, but I digress…
With sweat on my brow and a pit in my stomach, I waited alongside my fellow med students in a long hallway for residency interview #1. Never have I felt such a fantastically absurd combination of fear and excitement. My thoughts raced faster than Dale “The Intimidator” Earnhardt once did during one of his many dominant Nascar performances:
Urinal conversations are tricky business, so I never initiate them. If I run across a particularly talkative soul whose instinct it is to introduce himself upon initiation of his stream of golden glory, I’m always left to ponder several questions after our inevitably awkward conversation. . .
Boarding the plane for my first residency interview, I noticed that the guy in front of me had a significant amount of back sweat soaking through his light blue t-shirt. This unfortunate circumstance resulted from a combination of factors: hot/humid weather, running to his flight connection with a heavy carry-on, and the extra 200 pounds he was lugging on his short, stocky frame. Knowing I had a window seat, I prayed fervently that he was not assigned to the middle seat in row 22, thus wedging me into a contorted position with lots of unavoidable sweaty man-man contact for the next three hours. . .
Christmas was my favorite holiday growing up. There ain’t nothing better than eagerly waiting for the sun to rise on Christmas morning so you can run downstairs to a pile of Santa’s presents under the family tree. Fortunately for me and my siblings, my Grandma and parents were particularly generous with the presents. We didn’t get anything extravagantly expensive, but we certainly had a lot of presents to open that morning. Add to all our presents quality time with family, lots of good food, and a celebration of great religious significance for us, and we had ourselves one fantastic holiday. . .
Hello urology physicians, fellows, residents, fellow applicants, family, friends, super gunner pre-meds, and whoever else manages to find their way to this wonderful website! First, I’d like to give thanks to my two predecessors—UMUser and M.Arrowsmith—for sharing their “On the Trail” experiences over the past two years. Their reflections were full of refreshing honesty, humor, and humility and were simply a pleasure to read. Undoubtedly, these two anonymous bloggers have helped me and many fellow applicants mentally prepare for the roller coaster of emotions in the months ahead. . .
