Poor MD

Passed Boards, What Next?

2012-05-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all my mentors, attendings and board reviewers who helped to prepare me for my radiology oral boards. And thanks to my classmates who endured with me this grueling process-- a "hazing" of radiology residents preparing to graduate.

Special thanks to my wonderful wife who achieved sainthood over the past few months, supporting me and our family as I was held hostage by the American Board of Radiology Oral Board Exam.

Never have I studied so much and so hard for an exam in my life. Nor have I ever had so much anxiety over anything in my life (yes, I know it's sad).

But now it is over. Click on the links below to check out my recalls. Click on the images to make them bigger and easier to read:

Radiology Oral Board Recall Page 1

Radiology Oral Board Recall Page 2

Radiologist's Reputation

2012-05-20T03:00:00.000-07:00

Read the corrections after the break...

NEW from Disney's Vault!

2012-05-13T08:34:00.001-07:00

This was one of my first comics that I drew with my MacBook Air and Wacom Tablet. I never posted it because it wasn't medically related until recently when it became deeply relevant to me. Last week, in preparation for our completion from residency and our move for fellowship, we had a moving sale.

Towards the end of the sale, I noticed our DVD collection, which was priced at $4 each, had not been selling well. Not wanting to get stuck again with an obsolete media which would either gather dust in the garage or be donated to Goodwill (ie cassette tapes, CD's, VHS), I joyfully announced that all DVD's were one dollar.

Our family is just too busy to ever watch a movie more than once and with Netflix, Amazon on Demand, iTunes and Redbox, there really is no need for us to buy another movie.

DVD's have had a good run, but don't expect Blu-Rays to stick around too long either. Physically purchasing a movie, just like physically buying a song or album, is for the dinosaurs. The future of digital media is the cloud.

Medical Abbreviations that Kill

2012-05-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

Inspired by a true history I saw in a patient's chart. There's a reason why the use of certain abbreviations is discouraged.

Physician Compensation and Satisfaction 4 Quadrant Chart

2012-04-29T23:27:00.001-07:00

For all those who protested that my Physician Pain Scale comic was unfair representation of the data, here is the Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2012 data presented to you in a glorious 4 quadrant chart format.

Physician Pain Scale 2012

2012-04-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

For those of you who complained that this pain scale is "not to scale," I have a new chart for your viewing pleasure. Check it out here.

This is an update of to my Physician Pain Scale 2011 comic to coincide with the new data from the most recent Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2012.

I have chosen to scale physician pain according to how each specialty responded to the question, "Yes, I would choose the same specialty," which is how the original Physician Pain Scale comic was put together. I did so because I feel that this question is more directed towards the satisfaction within each specialty and eliminates some of the bias from the many other headaches of medicine in general.

The few constants in this pain scale:

Dermatologists still top the list as most satisfied physicians.
General practitioners, ie family practice and internal medicine, are still the least satisfied physicians. 75% of internal medicine doctors said they would not choose the same specialty again! Ouch.

Oh Doctor, The Places You Will Go...

2012-04-21T21:00:00.001-07:00

No comic this week. Just a shameless self-promotion of my picture book "Oh Doctor, The Places You Will Go..." which is now available on iTunes for free to celebrate my little brother's match into dermatology and graduation from medical school.

I put together this picture book completely on my iPad and it is what gave me the idea to make PoorMD into a medical webcomic. This book is great for doctors in any stage of their training or career. I hope you enjoy.

Hamlet and Neuroanatomy

2012-04-14T23:33:00.001-07:00

Another comic I originally published on DiagnosticImaging.com.

Easter Peeps Ultrasound

2012-04-07T08:00:00.003-07:00

... finish the rest of this comic at

DiagnosticImaging.com.

Happy Easter!

Copy, Paste and Edit Radiology

2012-03-31T23:45:00.010-07:00

Another comic which I first published at DiagnosticImaging.com as part of my series of radiology related medical comics.

I must admit, sometimes when creating a radiology report or a webcomic, my favorite keyboard shortcuts are:

CTRL + C : Copy

CTRL + V : Paste

CTRL + X : Cut

CTRL + Z : Undo

Doctors Cheating Comic

2012-03-25T06:54:00.000-07:00

Here is another comic which I originally published on DiagnosticImaging.com back in January, 2012. It must have been a really slow news month for CNN reporters, because they chose to do an "exclusive" on how doctors "cheat" to prepare for board exams through the practice of using "recalls."

First they targeted radiologists and then dermatologists. Both stories gained little traction in the media as most lay people do not consider either specialty to be doctors.

Superman's Breast Cancer Problem

2012-03-18T07:00:00.001-07:00

And all those times, Lois Lane thought he was gazing into her eyes.

But in the end Superman had to be taken off of the streets, given the health risk he posed.

The caption was edited for this comic. You can see the original version published on Diagnostic Imaging.

Residency Match Day

2012-03-10T23:58:00.003-08:00

This comic is dedicated to all those participating in the residency match this week and especially to my little brother. Three and a half years of blood, sweat, tears, and sleep deprivation culminate to Match Day, arguably the most important day of medical school.

The actual match algorithm which decides where all the hard working medical students will spend the next three to five years of their lives is conducted by a supercomputer designed to handle extremely complex and sophisticated tasks like playing mine sweeper. This is why the process costs so much money and takes so much time.

The whole match thing is not much different from the magical Sorting Hat of Hogwarts, which magically decides which of the four houses of Hogwarts each new student is to be assigned. In all reality, why the process takes so long and costs so much is an enigma. I'm sure an iPhone app could be whipped up to expedite the process and save medical students, who are already deep in debt, some money.

But if the match process where run on an iPhone, and if all those hefty fees were waived, what would happen to the magic and mystery of Match Day? Thank you, NRMP for keeping the process expensive and complicated so that no normal human can fully comprehend how it all works. I'll just keep imagining Harry and the Sorting Hat magically assigning us to where we need to be.

Happy Scrambling and/or Matching!

Also, make sure to check out our special homage to he-who-gives-us-residency-life at this tribute.

Black Monday Residency Match

2012-03-10T19:33:00.000-08:00

If the Monday of Match Week comes and goes without much fanfare, then consider yourself lucky. It is on this day, "Black Monday," that 4th year medical students find out if, but not where, they have matched.

So if you are not scrambling on Black Monday, then pay homage to the magical Sorting Hat and honor the one who decides where you will be spending the next 3 to 5 years of your life by posting the above image in your home shrine, your Facebook page, or your personal blog.

Also make sure not to miss our Match Day comic.

Radiology Weasel, Waffle, Hedge

2012-03-04T00:01:00.003-08:00

Inspired by Dr. Theodore Keats, "Tell it like it is," Emergency Radiology, 2008 and Dr. Wayne Kubal.

Dedicated to those radiologist with commitment issues.

Twin Pregnancy: Womb Fever

2012-02-26T11:30:00.002-08:00

While studying OB ultrasound and the well-documented risks of a monochorionic monoamniotic twin gestation, for some odd reason this scenario popped into my head. I imagine being cooped up in a small little sac with your sibling. With no membrane to separate the two, all the punching, grabbing and peeing could get a little unnerving.

Forget cabin fever, I'm calling this one, "Womb Fever."

The History of Medicine

2012-02-19T15:16:00.001-08:00

History has a tendency to repeat itself and medicine is no exception. Unfortunately, the uneducated and misinformed are hurling themselves back into the stone age by choosing to put themselves and those around them at risk by not immunizing their children.

Oh well, as the terrible and morbid diseases that were once eradicated make their comeback thanks to those who, without good reason, chose not to immunize, I will finally be able to make use of all those rare diseases I had to learn about in medical school.

This comic was a featured guest post on A Cartoon Guide to Becoming a Doctor.

Apple Core Lesion

2012-02-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

This is a piece that I originally published in Diagnostic Imaging in January 2012, as part of my radiology comic series that I now draw for them twice a month. While the humor is geared towards radiologists, you can check out my comics at their site, Diagnosticimaging.com.

For those of you who have forgotten what an "apple core lesion" is, refresh your memory here. Sorry, there are no CME credits available for this exercise.

Costs of Becoming a Doctor

2012-02-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

Impossible Medical School Interview

2012-01-28T21:23:00.001-08:00

Vegan Cheese Comic

2012-01-22T21:00:00.000-08:00

Grim Birthday

2012-01-14T21:00:00.000-08:00

Not really medical related, but it's a topic that has been on my mind since my birthday.

Urologist License Plate

2012-01-07T21:00:00.000-08:00

The Headache Excuse

2011-12-31T21:00:00.000-08:00

The Closet

2011-12-24T21:00:00.002-08:00

Question: What's worse than a "gunner" in medical school?

Answer: A "Closet Gunner."

This one is dedicated to all those medical school gunners (you know who you are) who study so hard and put so much effort into cutting down your classmates, yet you remain compelled to work just as hard to give the false appearance that you succeed in medical school without ever having to study.