GLMS EVENTS
ROOKIE MISTAKES AUTHOR Kathryn Vance
On Feb . 9 , the CATO senior physicians committee ( CATO ) met virtually for a discussion and reflection on medical internships . Dr . Charles Oberst , Chair of the CATO group , introduced Dr . Mary Barry , retired internal medicine physician , and highlighted her recently self-published book , The Rookie . In this book , Dr . Barry tells stories of her experience as an intern at Grady Memorial Hospital in the 1980s . The stories in the book inspired this meeting of the CATO group to hold a conversation and tell stories from years past .
All attendees were invited to share stories of their time as an intern and many took the time to “ unmute your microphone !” to tell stories about mentors , colleagues and the many trials and tribulations of those first years in training . There were smiles , laughs and nods in agreement from every video screen and a sense of community was apparent , even if their internships took place on opposite coasts . Partners of physicians ( who are also always invited to these meetings ) also shared stories of the tumultuous times during intern years and how their relationships weathered the storm .
Dr . Barry said it best when she said , “ The way that you learn lessons in internship is usually by making some kind of mistake .”
Keep reading for a sampling of their stories :
Dr . Mary Barry : On my first real day of taking call , I went to the MEC to see Billy from White Oak . He told me he ’ d been coughing up motor oil and I said he couldn ’ t smoke in the ER because of the oxygen , and he walked out . I ran outside and he was draped over a bush , nearly unconscious , coughing up blood , he was sweaty and had a fast pulse . So my very first patient ran from me . He looked awful , I was afraid he would die out there . I finally I told him if he came back in with me , I would buy him cigarettes . He lived for four days . I bought him four packs of cigarettes . That was my very first admission to Grady Hospital .
Dr . Charles Oberst : A man comes in and he ’ s short of breath and I said to the medical student , “ Bring me a nurse ,” and I looked back at the patient and his eyes had gotten big and he was getting sweaty . I asked him “ What ’ s the matter ,” and he said , “ Well why ’ d you tell him to get a hearse ?!”
Dr . Ron Levine : When I was an intern on OB , I knew how babies got in , but I had no idea how they got out . There was this grand multip and she was in labor and she wasn ’ t delivering . Dr . Dave Powers said that I , the intern , plus the student nurse , should take her down to X-ray , to make sure it was an adequate pelvis . We put this grand multip on a gurney and a student nurse and I wheeled her down to X-ray and she said , “ Doctor , the baby ’ s coming !” and I said , “ No , no , Dr . Powers just checked you a little bit ago , the baby ’ s not coming .” She said , “ The baby is coming !” and right then and there out came the baby . The student nurse and I hardly knew what to do but we did it - and that was my first delivery .
Dr . Mary Barry : I never washed windows , but I certainly washed blood off the floor . We were the labor force . If you ordered something , you did it . If I ordered the X-ray , I loaded up the patient , I took them to X-ray , I fetched them back and got them back in the bed . If I ordered blood , I drew it . If you ordered a blood gas , you drew it . And you had to find the Styrofoam cup with ice and run it down to the blood gas lab and run it back up to wherever you needed . Whatever you ordered , you did it yourself .
Dr . Sam Yared : Dr . Frazier ( cardiovascular surgery ) was doing a very difficult case of a young man ; he could not get him off the pump . We put in a balloon pump , we tried to use six drips . The boss said , “ We are taking the heart .” This was a shock to me and I wish I had had an iPhone or something to show the room and show what was going on , but this was 1981 . He said , “ We are going to take the heart and put back in an artificial heart . It was amazing . We didn ’ t have FDA approval or anything , but because the patient was dying , he went and did the artificial heart . We left the chest open because the heart size was big , so we put the mesh and cellophane around it and betadine . He lived seven days and was in Time magazine , he was the first mechanical heart transplant done at that time . ( continued on page 26 ) APRIL 2021 25