Happy 5th Blogiversary to Me!

Yes, it’s been five years since I started this blog.  The title underwent a small change this past fall when I closed my plastic surgery practice and took a job with the disability determination service office as an SMAC.  I have found the job interesting, am learning a lot, and have great colleagues.  I do miss surgery, but the positive changes have outweighed the negative.

I have found it difficult to blog about medical stuff on a regular basis but hope that will change.  I have also found with all the reading I do at my new job I don’t find myself reading as many blogs as I did.  I apologize to all you good medical bloggers.  I am happy @bongi1 continues to write at other things amanzi.   Dr. Rob resurfaced this year with a new blog:  More Musings (of a Distractable Kind). 

We lost a fellow blogger this past fall, but this past Monday another fellow blogger resurfaced on twitter.  You may recall the blog Rural Doctoring, she went by @ruraldoctoring on twitter, now is going by @madhungrymind. 

This week is tied to another anniversary for me, the loss of my mother who died three years ago this Saturday.

Thirty years ago this month I graduated from medical school.  Here is a post on a memory from my junior year:  My First Surgery Rotation  (August 7, 2008).

Thank you all for the allowing me to be a member of the medical blogging community.   I truly value your friendship.

Happy 4th Blogiversary to me!

Updated 3/2017-- all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active. 

Four years ago I began this blog.  It amazes me to realize all the wonderful people I have meet (some even in real life) along the way.   Many are still actively writing, but others are not and I miss them.

I miss SurgeXperiences, a grand rounds of surgery related posts.

I miss Surgeonsblog.  Go read some of the “sampler” posts.

I miss Ant Ears written by a surgery resident.  Thoughtful, well written, deleted so not even there to go back and read.  From one of my old “shout out” post, I found the exert that described why he called his blog  Ant Ears

"Ant ears” is surgical jargon for the perfect length.  The medical student will repeatedly be asked to cut suture.  Sometimes the knot will accidentally be cut, but most times the student will cut “too long” or “too short”.  Fifty or more attempts will usually produce a reliable knot cutter capable of trying more advanced techniques like tying suture around some non vital structure - maybe closing skin or holding a drain in place.

I miss Dr. Rob, Musing of a Distractible Mind, who “unplugged” back December 30, 2010.  He has recently re-emerged on twitter so perhaps he will begin to write again.

I wonder what happened to Bright Lights, Cold Steel, “a surgery resident in the fifth and last year of training. Desperately seeking balance,” who’s last post was in 2008.  Are you in private practice?  Have you joined a group?  Are you an academic surgeon?  I hope you are doing well.

While Moof, All Blogged Up: A Moof's Tale, and the Merry Laundress don’t blog any more, I get to play scrabble with them on facebook.  I correspond with Chrysalis Angel via email.

There are others I miss as well:

Charmaine's Pastry Blog  (last post December 2010)

Donorcycle (last post February 2010)

IntraopOrate (last post January 2011)

Just Up The Dose (last post October 2009)

Marianas Eye (November 2009)

Rural Doctoring (last post August 2010)

I apologize to all of you for not being as active in leaving comments on your blog posts these days.   Thank you for enriching my life.