Snowstorms and dandruff

This week started out auspiciously enough--with reports of feet of snow coming our way. And indeed, Tuesday morning I woke up to the prospect of digging my car out from under almost a foot of snow. We thought that our appointments might cancel for the day because of the inclement weather, but we only had one no-show. And a bunch of different consults from other services in the hospital.

We worked with Dr. Miller, one of the two Derm chiefs, last week, and this week we're working with Dr. Scott (the other chief) and Dr. Clark (the resident). It's interesting to see each doctor's approach to the same problems--allergies in dogs or ear infections--and also to how they communicate with their clients. I wonder what it's like for clients to have different students every time they come to Cornell, and then only see the doctor for a few minutes at a time sometimes.

I've started to get more comfortable with the computer system we use--UVIS--and all the paperwork and protocols we have to follow. I got to take my first ear swabs (exciting? no.) and make and stain slides, but other than that we don't do much in the way of "procedures" on derm. The doctors did a punch biopsy last week, and all the students (there are 5 of us on this rotation) got to help with the injections for an intradermal allergy test--there are 50 injections to give so I don't think anyone was super keen on doing all of them!

There's more snow forecasted for today, but right now it's looking clear and cold, with not a flake in the sky. Hopefully the weather holds for the rest of the week so that I can make the drive to Vermont to go skiing on Friday with no problems!