Thread by @traumadoctorsam

Hi y’all!
I’m Brittany (@BKendallMD)

A young trauma surgeon, & assistant professor of surgery at @TTUHSCSurgery.
I’m also “mama” to K + T.

I love both my jobs very much, & want to share today on #AASTagAlong what it’s like! Feel free to ask❓too!
#MedStudentTwitter #SurgTwitter

6:03am
Dressed for the day & off to work!
My day starts between 5-6am depending on what I need to accomplish at work, or when my 3yr old wakes up 😉
MAJOR Trauma surgeon perk: wearing blue pajamas (scrubs!) every day for work.
Days I’m not on shift I get kiddos ready for school!

PS: I’ve noticed all surgeons fall into two categories:

1. Those who use tennis shoes as a way to express themselves and style up their scrubs depending on their mood.
2. Those who commit to 1 pair of @Dansko / clogs / @Crocs & wear them until they’re no longer recognizable

Trauma surgery come in many contract types. Academic, private, urban, rural, hospital-employed, group-employed & contracted with hospital, etc. Calls may be “in-house,”or from home with a certain response time.
My contract is w/ @TTUHSC/@TexasTech & I work at @umchealthsystem.

6:18am
Check OR board in lounge &... Coffee!! I love coffee. & As silly as it is, drinking warm coffee slowly helps me start the day in a chilled-out, mellow, good place. Things can get crazy & busy really fast, so having things to center you (no matter how small) are helpful.

6:25am
My office is a work in progress, but I love it & wanted it to be a space I enjoyed working & being productive in. I usually finish notes from the day before, send emails, or troubleshoot kid issues at home while they’re waking up (ie “MOM Where’s my left shoe?!!”)

6:45am
Sign out!! A key part to the acute care + trauma surgery model is sign out & making sure our patient’s have continuity of care. The night team & day team rendezvous & discuss each pt & the plans. We also review their imaging, and the cases on the schedule for the day.

Great partners are ⭐️KEY⭐️ in any job,but esp in a trauma group.We have diff. in how we manage pts & our operative & teaching styles. But at the end of the day we 💯 have each other’s back- both clinically & in our personal lives.Milos is a new trauma surg too & is a dear friend!

7:49am
Discussed a case w/ my partner, & now FaceTiming w/ the kids before school. Like any working parent who FaceTimes their kids, you know that the majority of the call ends up looking like this 😂. Both know I “have to make a little ouchie on people to help them feel better”

Between cases/pts, I make time for research to minimize what I have to do at home (so I can be with kids). This morning I’m working on a @CovidSurg manuscript, & drafting a research proposal form using an outline provided by the @traumadoctorsam vice-chair @PMH_Trauma_RPD.

10:20am
Round on surgery pts w/ the team! Being a new academic trauma surgeon means getting to teach, work with, & learn from residents & med students. Many emphasize that as attendings we teach... but for me it’s the lifelong journey of also being a learner that I equally love

10:48am
Environmental services are the backbone to everything that a trauma & emerg surg (& all medicine!) team do. Their diligence, hard work, care, & attention to detail should never go unrecognized. My job is only possible because they do theirs so well. Meet Jesus & Susie!

11:01am
A pt w/ a perf gastric ulcer comes in via the ER. The residents appropriately work her up, start antibiotics, get fluids started, & we are off to surgery to fix it. Still in the ER are an abscess to be drained & lac to be stitched.

*all dates/pics changed for pt privacy

12:57pm
Surgery went well. My surg intern @TElsaadi swings by to discuss a research project he’s working on, & his goals for his career in #surgonc. Because surg is a beautiful family, I reach out to Dr @caitlinahester & Dr D. Fleming. Academic surgeons always cross paths!

1:09pm
It’s getting busy around here. Was supposed to go to a mtg but just got paged for a trauma. A pregnant woman was in a rollover accident and her blood pressure is low. For really emergent traumas I take the stairs so I can get there faster.

*times/info changed for privacy

Our trauma bay nurses are amazing. They get our patients the blood, medication, fluid, and IV access they need. Also present is our operating room staff to help us get the patient to the operating room in an expedited way when their life (or limbs) depend on it.

1:12pm
A patient has a bad burn on both her legs & her face & needs the ICU. 3 rooms over a gastric tube has dislodged & needs reinsertion.Also a young girl had appendicitis. Our surgery team works closely w/ the ER in tandem to get pts the best care possible! *pt info changed

Waiting room where I’ve d/w parents, siblings, children, & others about their loved ones’ surgery and prognosis. Nobody wakes up expecting to see me that day- everything I do is an emergency. But I love that I get to give my pts help on what is often the worst day of their life.

2:16pm
Other pts will have to wait now;chief & I go back to trauma bay.This time a gunshot wound to chest & abdomen. My job is to,within min, decide if pt needs ICU or Operating Room or more workup.This can be a life or death decision, & no one in our profession takes it lightly.

3:27pm
We worked diligently & quickly.The trauma O.R. is a sacred place for attempting to save lives that otherwise would have no chance at saving. Im human too;the humility I feel caring for pts is never lost on me. Today was a good outcome,but it’s not always.
*pt inf changed

3:58pm
Being a new academic surgeon is about being confident in what you’ve been trained in, but continuing to grow & learn from those around you. Sr partners & bosses you can call, like @DissanaikeMD, are vital in professional & personal growth. Her support is worth everything.

6:20pm
A semblance of calm for a moment. Following up on CT’s from the day, wrapping up admissions, running list w/chief, & reading an article for tomorrow. It’s quiet in my hallway now. Accepted a transfer for a pt who needs an emergent surgery tonight; outside hosp’s grateful!

6:57pm
As are days on trauma/emerg surg call, my “calm” was short-lived. Just got another page for a man who’s been thrown from a car & has almost lost his arm. EMS will give us details on arrival.For now I find the tourniquet & make sure we have blood.

*pt info & date changed

7:08pm
My team works 12hr shifts;so it’s time for me to go home & see my family. Decompressing is something everyone does a little differently, & I try really hard not to bring the hard stuff home for the few min I have w/kids before bed. Windows down + loud jams is my go-to.😉

7:23pm
Big hugs. “Paci kisses.” These are moments I cherish on working days. There are plenty of days I don’t work,& get to spend more time w/them.That’s a big reason why I love being a trauma surgeon; I can decently balance both (not always 50-50, but that’s how it averages).

7:34pm
Helping kids pick out clothes for next day. I make sure they know if mom or dad or nanny will be there in the morning before school, & that their clothes for gym & school are ready. It’s my little way of staying involved in their early day since I can’t be there tomorrow.

7:40pm
Stories (@mariecurieuk book is our fav) before bed w/ my 3 yr old daughter.Tonight we got to the xray page showing a bullet & she asked if the patient was going to need surgery ☺️ & how would I do it. I love to mix worlds & for her to understand what I do & how I got here.

7:55pm
Lay w/ him & talk about our days. He’s my med school baby & Ive never known being a surgeon or surgical trainee without him. I sing @thebeatles or @coldplay to them both before bed & ask what they’re excited about @ school tomorrow so I know to ask. I love being their mom.

10:17pm
Exhausted. Physically & mentally. Truthfully some days are for productive evenings of committee meetings or dog walks or dinners.& some are just for cereal, mindless TV or reading, & bed.& that’s ok.

Thanks for joining me in our 1st #AASTagAlong. Best job in the world.

To join the AAST Associate Membership you must be a resident, fellow, or early career surgeon. Deadline is July 1.

Details on applying can be found here:
aast.org/Membership/App…

@traumadoctorsam
@traumadoctors
@LisaMKnowlton
@PMH_Trauma_RPD
@LindaDultz
@MatttStrickland