Mollusk

Thanks to freezing rain and the prospect of an ice storm, flight 42 to Anchorage has been canceled, so I am stranded in Bethel until tomorro...

Yes, this is what I've been reduced to: after 9 exhausting days on the inpatient wards and the possibility that my flight out of Bethel ...

Now we've got a strange combination of rain from the sky with stubbornly persistent slush and ice on the ground, and all flights have be...

The inpatient wing recently got a makeover with mesmerizingly gorgeous simulated wood laminate flooring that makes it look like a spa. Very ...

Against my better judgement (what sane person would want to willingly trek northward to subzero temperatures?), I'm back in Bethel for a...

For most patients who come in for evaluation of abdominal pain, an x-ray rarely elucidates the etiology of the pain, with a couple of rare e...

I had my very first manicure done in preparation for a friend's wedding, and I foolishly allowed the manicurist to talk me into getting ...

Patient #1 He's an 88-yr-old man brought in by his adult son.  For the past 2 days, the patient has been feeling dizzy and, curiously, ...

It's always a dilemma when we see patients with no health insurance who are paying out of pocket for everything: you want to provide hig...

When I saw "wrist laceration" on the list of chief complaints for patients waiting to be seen, I couldn't help wondering if it...

She was unfailingly polite, despite her embarrassment, as she introduced herself, shook my hand, and explained her problem.  She and her hus...

A 15-yr-old girl came to the ED after 9 days of fever, night sweats, and productive cough that did not improve with antibiotics.  She had be...

The other doc on wards with me got a call about a 50-yr-old male with bright red hematemesis and a rapidly falling hematocrit in one of the ...

It's -24 degrees (closer to -40 degrees with the wind chill factor) and my lungs are very unhappy.  The walk between the hospital and my...

There is locums hospitalist named Dr Tran whose visits to Bethel often precede mine by one week or less.  This causes a great deal of confus...

...you're excited to purchase your very first pair of ice cleats!  Which, it turns out, I didn't really need because we're in th...

New Year's eve was a wildly eventful day in clinic.  From a 36-yr-old woman with probable pneumonia who was tachypneic and only satting ...

For the past 25 years, I've been secretly cutting my own hair.  It started when I was in college and I had super thick waist-length hair...

Most of the time, I enjoy my new job, but every now and then I have a truly horrifying day that takes the wind out of my sails.  On Monday, ...

I recently saw a 36-yr-old female who had a 5-day history of vaginal irritation with a "burning" sensation.  She was seen a few da...

I'm very excited about finally starting my first permanent MD job.  The lovely thing about urgent care is that patients generally presen...

The Hoh Rain Forest, which is part of the Olympic National Park, is truly a wonder of the Pacific Northwest.  One of just a few temperate ra...

Imagine you're seeing a 58-yr-old patient in clinic for the first time who is having problems with chronic hip pain.  He is very tan, an...

Cape Flattery is just 8 miles away, and it's known as the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States.  It was named in 1778 ...

Sometimes clinic staff will bring in a homemade treat to share with everyone.  Today it was a beautiful and impressively large blackberry co...

I can't imagine what it's like to be one of only two full-time permanent doctors in a remote rural community, constantly being on ca...

The clinic has 6 exam rooms and 1 small trauma room which is often used for minor accidents, since the closest hospital is 60 miles away in ...

Goodbye, Space Needle! For my final locums gig, I'm working for the Indian Health Service in Neah Bay which is in the northwesterl...

My final night float elicited all kinds of excitement: -A 77-yr-old woman who had collapsed and was found to have a blood glucose level of ...

My night float started off with a 24 yr old G1 P0 at 36 + 2/7 wks with her baby in footling breech position, having contractions every 5 min...