Dr. Cranquis' Mumbled Gripes

(This is a work-in-progress; missing links are being added as quickly as possible. Some categories overlap a bit, so I’m sorry if you end up seeing the same posts under different links. Let me know if there’s a category that you’d like to see added to this FAQ.)

NOTE: RECENTLY-UPDATED LINKS ARE MARKED WITH “***”

—>CONTACTING DR. CRANQUIS<—

Personal

• Dr. Cranquis — Yes it’s a pseudonym; How Dr. Cranquis came to exist; How to pronounce “Cranquis”.
• The Dr. Behind The Dr. — Biographical entries about the actual doctor-guy who writes this blog (with further personal-ish stuff under the Cranquis and Secret-Identity tags).
• Urgent Care — what my job is like, why I chose it (Hint: Family-Friendly Lifestyle!), and how an U.C. is different than an ER. 
• Who else lives in the Casa de Cranquis — Mrs. Cranquis, Baby Cranquis, and the Cranq-Dog.
• “As a doctor, who do you look up to?”

College/Pre-Med

• “Hey, I’m not even in college yet, but I’m interested in becoming a doctor!”
• How I ended up choosing pre-med.
• College Majors — Is your major “good” for med-school applications?
• Pre-Med Prerequisites — What are they? And what’s the point of Org Chem or Physics, anyways? (Note: This info is particular to US med-schools, your country’s med-school prereqs may differ!)
• Your GPA… and mine.
• Making Your Med-School Application Look Good — Volunteering (Finding a position, and Being an outstanding volunteer), Job Shadowing, Medical Mission Trips, Research, Personal Statements (includes the text of my entire real-life Personal Statement.)
• Interviews — for med school and beyond.
• What’s the best way to prepare for the MCAT?
• Study tips — for college and beyond.
• Good books and journals to read to learn more about the science, art, and history of medicine. (Most of these are accessible/comprehensible to people without medical training.)
• “What about non-MD options, like DO (Doctor of Osteopathy), PA (Physician Assistant), NP (Nurse Practitioner)?”
• “Hmm, or maybe I should torture myself become an MD-PhD?”
• “What about nursing? What do you think about nurses, Dr. Cranquis?”
• “Or maybe I should become an EMT?”
• Every post related to undergraduate issues. (LONG list)

Medical School

• Dr. Cranquis’ Med School Survival Guides
• Med School Relationships: Tips on Meeting Women, Dating, Long-Distance Relationships, Engagement/Marriage, and Having Children during Med School and Residency
• Every post related to Medical School. (LONG list)

Residency and beyond

• Dr. Cranquis’ Intern-Year Survival Guide
• Specialties — Options, Comparisons, and Cranquis’ opinions about various ones. (Plus: How to pick a Family-Friendly Specialty.)
• Credentialing — Getting your US Medical Licensure, transferring your Foreign Medical Graduate (FMG) or Nursing credentials to the US, and maintaining a good reputation (so that you don’t end up on a list of disciplined doctors!)
• Prescriptions — Medications, drug-seekers, pharmacy and pharmacists, self-medicating, errors and miscommunications about meds.
• Finances — Med-School Debt, The “Rich Doctor” Myth, and my current salary.
• US Health Care — Ugh, politics. I hate politics. For my more vitriolic posts, read the Obama-Care tag.
• Are you someone who is grateful for the care you (or a family member) received from a doctor or resident? Here’s some ideas on how to contact a doctor that helped you in the past, in order to thank them in the present. Trust me, they will treasure a note from you for the rest of their lives.

Miscellaneous Topics

• The Love Doctor? — Advice on relationships, marriage, and ***sex, with quite a few personal anecdotes thrown in. (Includes: Getting over a Breakup; Dating Anecdotes about Me and Mrs. Cranquis; Friends with Benefits; My Definition of Love; Facing Your Dysfunctional Relationship Habits; and How I Would Spend My Last Day on Earth)
• “…Then Comes Baby in a Baby Carriage” — Advice on parenting (plus stories about paranoid parents, or people who shouldn’t be parents at all.) 
• Spirituality — Includes posts about my spiritual journey and my Christian beliefs, and how to maintain/utilize spirituality in the world of healthcare.

Creative Categories

• Most Popular — My highest-noted/reblogged/liked original posts.
• TSK’s (True Story, Kiddos!) — Real-life anecdotes from my patient-care experiences (Now with 100% of the Recommended Daily Allowance of HIPAA-Compliant De-Identification!) (NOTE: Some posts may contain retroactive sarcasm)
• Behind the Medic — A peek into the mind, heart, and skillset of a doctor
• Lasix for the Soul — Inspirational posts and replies, particularly aimed at students and professionals in the healthcare fields.
• Patients Make Me Laugh — Sometimes my patients actually INTEND to be funny, and succeed. (And it’s funnier when they’re kids!)
• No Idea Why — Patients with “mysterious” problems.
• Bad and Worse — “But wait, there’s more!”
• Stupidiots — The dumbest of the dumb (dumber than the Face-Palmers!)
• Tales from “Dr. Trix” — Submitted TSK’s from a pediatrician
• FurthER Adventures of The GNU — Submitted TSK’s from the Greatest ER Nurse in the Universe.
• Poetry — Hey hey/ what can I say/ sometimes I write/ in a lyrical way.
• Pop Culture — Posts discussing or referring to movies, TV shows (obviously, I’m a big fan of House M.D.), music, books, video games, and zombies (including my Zombie-Pocalypse Plan!)
• Looking for gross medical stories and pictures? You’ve come to the right place. (May contain NSFW material.)
• Ok, now that you’ve been grossed-out, how about some funny medical humor and medical slang posts to ease the nausea? 
• Compliments — Nice things people have said.
• Complaints — The opposite of compliments, but sometimes still enjoyable to read.
• Alien Chestbursters — my go-to explanation for many weird medical symptoms.
• The Cranquis Meme — All my meme-style posts. (Create your own Cranquis meme at MemeGenerator, and post it on Tumblr with a #cranquis tag for me to see!)
• Fan Art — Art from my Number-One Fans.
• ***Music and Mumbles — Songs and other audio recordings performed, written, and/or inspired by Cranquis.
• ***Medical Gang Signs — a popular recurring topic on the blog.

Posts and Cranquis-Mail (tm) Questions about Medical Topics (sorted by medical specialty)

• Allergy — itching, seasonal allergies, asthma
• Dermatology — mysterious rashes, eczema, nails, melanoma and tanning bed addiction, folliculitis
• Endocrinology — short stature, thyroid problems, diabetes, PCOS (PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome), obesity
• ENT (Ear Nose Throat) — sore throats, ear infections, lumps in the neck, earwax and other things in ear canals; plus a few facts and questions about sneezing.
• Gastroenterology — GERD (acid reflux), bloody stool, hemorrhoids, diarrhea (including Dr. Cranquis’ Terrible Diarrhea-Diary Pun), vomiting, a plethora of poop posts, a few fragrant fart posts, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and probiotic therapy. (Plus: Why you get “butterflies in your stomach”!)
• Geriatrics — Medical and ethical issues with the elderly.
• Genetics — Is my skeletal deformity, breast cancer, or anxiety/depression genetic? What about homosexuality?
• Infectious Disease — STI’s (sexually transmitted infections/diseases), genital warts, common cold (including Dr. Cranquis’ Home Remedies for the Common Cold), MRSA (drug-resistant staph infections), mononucleosis (“mono”/”kissing disease”), antibiotics, vaccines (flu shot, Gardasil/HPV shot), home remedies. (Plus: “Can I catch a disease while nude-modeling?” )
• Neurology — migraines and other types of headaches, dizziness (vertigo, syncope), seizures, tremors, (and “Why can I smell TOO well?”)
• ***OB-GYN (Obstetrics/Gynecology) — birth control, pregnant and childbirth, menstruation and fertility, vaginal discharge, miscarriage (w/ a sad question about anencephaly), pelvic pain, endometriosis, ovarian cysts. (And, “Is it common for GLBT patients to be treated poorly by healthcare providers?”)
• ***Oncology — chemotherapy, cancer of the breast and skin, leukemia, and “Tips for Family Members of Cancer Patients”.
• Ophthalmology — contact lenses (and how NOT to remove them), why your eyes get red after crying (and can people really cry tears of blood?)
• ***Orthopedics — fracture, pains and problems with specific joints and bones (clavicle, shoulder, elbow, hand and finger, back, hip, leg, knee, ankle), carpal tunnel syndrome, physical therapy.
• Palliative Medicine — end-of-life issues, hospice, physician-assisted suicide, compassion. (Plus: The first patient to ever die on my watch.)
• Pediatrics — children of all ages, with their assortments of diagnoses… and parents.
• Psychiatry & Psychology — depression, anxiety, suicide, self-harm and cutting, eating disorders
• Public Health — bottled water, vaccines, tobacco, hand-shakes, and zapping mosquitoes with lasers
• Rheumatology — joints, arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis
• Sports Medicine — concussions,
• Surgery — procedures, foreign bodies, surgeons with shaky hands, bedside manner, (and Dr. Cranquis’ Defames every Surgical Specialty Ever).
• Urology — UTI’s (urinary tract infections), erectile dysfunction, kidney stones, prostate, testicle problems
• Cranquis’ Advice on Living Healthy — nutrition, exercise, weight, cigarettes & marijuana & alcohol, insomnia & sleep habits.