Thursday, February 27, 2003

 

phew... i can breathe... for tonight at least...

3 exams in one week done... My SPAL went okay yesterday. For this exam, we actually had to do a physical exam on a patient (checked eyes, ears, nose, mouth, vasculature, lymph nodes, etc) while a faculty member was in the room observing us, making sure we did all the tests and did them correctly. For the whole exam, they're just watching like a fly on the wall, and once the students close the exam, the faculty then tells them what they missed, how to improve techniques, etc. Mine - Dr. D (It starts with a D, but I always have trouble spelling the rest) - was very nice, provided some very helpful tips. Me, the patient, and Dr. D ended up chatting for a little bit. I didn't talk to my patient much during the exam, because I was so bent on remembering all the tests we had to do. It's something I need to work on. I was explaining all the tests I was doing during the exam, but other than that, I wasn't talking much. During my last SPAL, my patient remarked that I was very friendly, very caring. I feel like I wasn't like that with this patient. That's probably the thing I'm most disappointed about regarding my SPAL. Otherwise it went pretty well, I think.

grr...Beware, major ranting and raving below...

So my Pathology exam was this morning. Last year's class didn't do very well, so apparently they tried to change up the class a little. Well, I'm not sure it's working so well. The clinician (practicing physicians) who is coordinating our Pathology class wrote up lecture notes for our class and did a bunch of lectures in the beginning. Well, I bought the textbook he recommended for the class and realized that his notes are pretty much the same as the book's, if you know what I mean. Plus, when he lectures (notice, I didn't say teaches), he basically reads off his notes. There were 20 lectures on this exam, 4 questions per lecture. 2 other clinicians taught about 10 lectures towards the end of last week and the beginning of this week. So I open the exam, and the coordinator's questions are first. I soon realize that all of his questions are pretty much cut-and-pasted from the lecture notes. I have a *very strong* feeling that he put little if any effort into "writing" his questions. Granted, it turned out his were easy (honestly, if you could read and match words, you would have gotten at the very least 95% of his questions right - I kid you not), but man, if I'm putting effort into coming to your class and studying my ass off for your exam, the least you can do is write actual questions. His questions were basically all matching concepts and details of concepts with the outline headers from the notes (which, if you read carefully enough, you'd answer correctly even if you'd never taken Pathology). I know that makes me sound like such the overachiever, but really, part of me is really pissed that he didn't seem to put effort into this class. I'm paying soooo much money to go to school, which is paying his salary. One of the other lecturer's questions were all "all of the below are true except" questions. More cut and paste, but more confusing. I give credit to the third lecturer, who actually wrote good questions. Granted, I didn't do fabulously on his questions, but at least they actually were questions. Ugh. I'm just ticked because I start from the beginning of my lecture notes when I study for exams, and since the coordinator's were the first lectures, I was alert and still in a groove when I was going over his. By the time I got to the last sets of lectures, I was tired, I was sick of Path, and I just wanted the test to be over. Had I known that the questions from the early lectures would not require much studying, I would have spent A LOT more time on the other lecturers' material. Ugh. Okay, ranting done, test is over.

and next on the menu...

Physiology - next Friday.. God help me...

and to end on a good note...

I'm going to go finish watching "Ice Age" and have some hot cocoa.

Claud 7:43 PM 

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

 

One down, two to go...

And my first 3-exam week has begun... Got through my OMM practical okay (made some dumb mistakes, but otherwise turned out fine - no embarrassing mistakes like the first one). My SPAL is tomorrow (that's going to be iiiinteresting - it'll take about 2 hours). And my first (of two) Pathology exams is Thursday. Then I can breathe... for a little while.. like a few hours... because...

It's not over yet...

Next Friday, I've got my next Physiology exam (must do well, must do well...). Then the Thursday after that is my last Pathology exam (only 2 exams in that class - it's slightly unnerving). And then comes Spring Break. Thank God, I'm going to need a break.

Claud 3:52 PM 

Monday, February 24, 2003

 

joe millionaire...

You know, those two crazy kids (Zora and Evan) just might work... I'm not hedging any bets on them having a happily ever after, but I can see them at least working on a relationship. It'll be interesting to see where these two end up.


Ok, must go study. blah.

Claud 8:14 PM 

 

oy vey...

I love it when I create my own personal hell. Ok, hell is too dramatic. Let's just go with inconvenient messes. Don't be concerned, it's not that bad. I think. Yeah, should be fine.

Oh, Joe Millionaire's on... gotta go.

Claud 6:01 PM 

Saturday, February 22, 2003

 

that's when you know when you've been studying too long...

So me, Liz, Jenn, and Christine (med school Christine, not sister Christine) - well, Justin too, but he missed this conversation - were at Border's studying. At one point, we were talking about squirrels. I'm not sure how that topic popped up at that moment. Liz was talking about how her neighbor was deathly afraid of them, how Christine's roommate was attacked by one, and I was talking about how one got into my dorm's multipurpose room during Fashion Show practice (remember that one, Fata?). So at one point during my story, I was doing my impersonation of the poor little animal being confused in a corner of the room and trying to get out. Dude, we were busting up in the middle of Borders's coffee shop. Plus, earlier today, I made some kind of face and did some kind of nose-scratching thing that made Christine crack up because she said I looked exactly like a squirrel. So then after I told the squirrel story, I did the confused squirrel move and added the nose-scratching thing, and that had us cracking up for a while - Jenn was all red, and none of us could look at each other for a while, or we'd start laughing again. Yeah, we're easily amused.

so why was everybody and their brother on SNL?

Anyone know why there were a whole bunch of cameo appearances on SNL tonight? Apparently Steve Martin, Britney Spears, Will Ferrell, and Jim Carrey were all on... I am confused.

Claud 10:08 PM 

Friday, February 21, 2003

 

dumb joke of the day...

Ok, actually it's yesterday's joke, but whatever.

So this elephant walks up to a naked guy and goes, "It's cute, but can you pick up peanuts with it?" Heh, heh. I am too easily amused.

The Friday Five

1. What is your most prized material possession? I'm not sure... there's a lot of stuff I'm incredibly fond of.

2. What item, that you currently own, have you had the longest? I dunno, answering this one would require way more thinking and remembering than I'm capable of devoting just now.

3. Are you a packrat? Uh, yeah. I keep thinking that I might need it later, or I can use it later, it's sentimental, etc...

4. Do you prefer a spic-and-span clean house? Or is some clutter necessary to avoid the appearance of a museum? I think some clutter is necessary. If my place was completely organized, it wouldn't be as comfortable to me. Though I do wish I was a bit neater...

5. Do the rooms in your house have a theme? Or is it a mixture of knick-knacks here and there? Uh, I'm in a studio, so it's more like "room". But there's no theme. Unless you call the "poor cluttered med student" look a theme. But there's lots of knick-knacks and stuff.

Ouch.

So I'm walking to class today. I should at this point mention that this past weekend's snowfall has been melting during our 40 degree days, then those rivers of melted snow on the sidewalks are freezing during our 25 degree nights. So I go off to class, and step off a snowbank onto the sidewalk. Or shall I say ice rink. Next thing I know, I'm lying on the ground. With my head in the snow, no less. Of course this would happen on the day when I'm carrying not only my backpack, but my medical equipment bag and a bag with a change of clothes in it. And I was dressed up a bit nicer today (usually I just wear jeans to class) because I was giving a campus tour to some prospective students this afternoon. Dude, it was painful. I got up, swearing and shaking my head (while trying not to wipe out again), and started walking again. Then one of my classmates happened to drive by and gave me a ride to class. So thanks and a big high five to Kristyn. So now there's a bruise on my elbow. I managed to land on it, smack on the funny-bone nerve, so my right fingertips were kinda numb and tingly for a while. And oh yeah, there's a nice bruise on my butt, too. It's fun being me.

Claud 7:24 PM 

Tuesday, February 18, 2003

 

Another class down, a bunch more to go...

Finished Microbiology yesterday. Call me a geek, but I thought the class was pretty interesting. Studying for the tests, however, was not fun. Rote memorization left and right. Granted I'm capable of that, but sometimes, I don't feel like I'm learning anything. So we had our last exam yesterday morning, did pretty well. We then celebrated the end of yet another class by gathering at Wellman's, the bar down the street. It was fun, had a beer (don't worry Dan, I didn't get drunk - I'm saving that for the end of Physiology), got to hang out with some folks that I haven't gone out with in a while. We don't get to do that very often, with all the exams and everything. I kinda miss it.

Joe Millionaire

Yes, I watched it. I have to admit, I was surprised Zora decided to give it a go. I thought she'd have a major problem with the whole lying thing. But I can kinda see it working out. They're both pretty simple (simple tastes, I mean) people, neither of them seem like they care much about having loads of cash. I liked her a lot more than Sarah - Sarah was totally throwing herself at him. And then after he told her that he'd decided on Zora, Paul the butler brought Melissa in to help Sarah pack, and they're like "Now I wonder if the jewelry is real" or something like that. Niiiice. Glad he didn't go with either of those two.

= )

sweetie, you leave the bestest phone messages. =) thanks!

Claud 5:01 PM 

Saturday, February 15, 2003

 

snowed in...

It started snowing around 4:00 last night and didn't stop until now. Or at least I think it's stopped. I'm not quite sure, but I think it has to have snowed at least a foot. And I'm NOT going outside to check. So I'm homebound today, but that's probably good, since I have an exam on Monday.

Claud 12:08 PM 

Friday, February 14, 2003

 

why it's scary to be in med school...


As glad as I am that I'm here, and that I'm finally in medical school, and will be doing what I've always dreamed of doing (career-wise), every so often I can't help but think to myself, "Is all of this really going to be worth it?" We've had these Ethics classes sporadically throughout the year, and to be honest, I sit in those classes and think, "Why am I doing this?" Seriously, it's like we're putting ourselves through hell now (and paying a hell of a lot in tuition to do it), just to go through more hell later. We've talked about so many topics in ethics, from difficult patients to having patients declared incompetent, and a lot of times it seems, no matter what, the doctor stands a lot more to lose.

It'll get to the point where all of us in our group (they split us up into smaller groups for discussion with a faculty facilitator) just go, "please, someone tell us something good about the profession we're about to spend our lives doing..." It's a fact. We will all be sued for malpractice at some point in our career, whether or not it was our fault. But as I'm learning about various infections and such in microbiology, I'm learning that soooo many different infections have the same initial presenting symptoms. And most of the time, the only way to differentiate between different infections is to do a multitude of tests, which a lot of insurance companies won't shell out for right away (which is generally when you'd need them). And some infections will go away on their own, but some can be really dangerous. And some are just really rare. Though I too would want to be able to hold someone responsible if someone I loved suffered because a doctor missed something, doctors are only human. I will not be able to save everyone. No doctor can catch everything. And for that, we get sued. Often. And for a lot of money. It's gotten to the point where malpractice insurance costs will double for physicians - often into six figures. That's for one year of coverage. High-risk specialists like obstetricians and neurosurgeons stand to pay as much as $200,000 a year for insurance (I know you're thinking yeah, they make a lot though - well, not all doctors are filthy rich). And some companies won't even sell malpractice insurance anymore. Some physicians, especially in small towns and rural areas (where there is a shortage of physicians as it is), can't even afford to stay in practice. I can only hope and pray that the situation gets better, or my future doesn't look as bright as I thought it would when I was a kid. Yeah, I may be sounding overly dramatic right now, but if you were in my shoes, I think you'd be a little concerned too.

Just had to get it off my chest. It was a rough week. But really, I am doing better, and continuing to hope for good things... =)



but on the other hand...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

And to my special valentine... i love you!


So now I'm off to Liz's to help her and Christine celebrate National Singles' Awareness Day.

Claud 4:39 PM 

Thursday, February 13, 2003

 

Okay, feeling a bit better today. Still disappointed, but as one of our micro professors told Christine, "tomorrow is another day." And I will survive. Oh, and the whole med school/becoming a doctor being demoralizing thing, I'll discuss that tomorrow.

yummy in my tummy...

Had sushi tonight at James' ! It was sooooooooo good! He went to Waterfront, a seafood restaurant and fish market, and got some sushi-grade salmon and tuna and some unagi... oh, so yummy. We made a bunch of rolls... So full...

for all you CSI watchers...

Awww, come on Grissom! You need to make some serious amends with Lady Heather...

Claud 8:07 PM 

Wednesday, February 12, 2003

 

it's been one of those days...

Phew. Finally get a chance to breathe. Today was not a good day. But then again, it's never a good day when you have to take a 2 1/2 hour exam at 7:30 in the morning. Didn't go nearly as well as I had hoped. Then I got my SPAL score back... those stupid mistakes I made really cost me. So yeah, not such a good day. My mind is just tired. It was one of those days where I kept thinking, "Can I really do this?" But I'm trying to get past this week's hump. Watched "Ice Age", had a beer. Tidied up the apartment. Studied some Microbiology. Made dinner. Doing a little better. Med school can really be demoralizing sometimes, I'll discuss that more tomorrow. But thanks to Dan and Amy for making me feel a little better...

Claud 7:40 PM 

Tuesday, February 11, 2003

 

till tommorrow, my faithful readers...=P

Ok, I know I haven't written since Thursday. I had a busy weekend, then an exam yesterday, and an exam tomorrow. Both at 7:30 AM. Fun. So I'll fill y'all in tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive.

Claud 4:07 PM 

Thursday, February 06, 2003

 

WOO HOO!

I went to the noon hour OMM practice sessions, where our OMM professor, the Fellows (senior students who were selected to do a 5th year of rotations with OMM) and some of the TA's will come and help with OMM. I was trying to do this one technique, the double arm thrust, that helps realign vertebra or put ribs back into their joints (depending on where you put your hand on their back). Now, the double arm thrust is an HVLA (high velocity, low amplitude) technique - I hate describing it this way, but the quick and dirty version is that it's a technique that looks like what chiropractors do, with the bones creating a "pop" noise (most of the time) as they get put back into place. I have issues with HVLA, because I have trouble using my body weight. I'm not that big, so I have to really use leverage to get the technique to work. It's all in the setup of the technique, but part of that is placing myself correctly so I can use my body weight. And I'm having trouble figuring that out. But today at the practice sessions, I actually got an articulation! (the pop) It renewed my faith in myself. The TA was really helpful, he said my setup looks good, it's just a matter of getting that final piece... the leverage. Must figure out how to tweak things.

Have I ever defined OMM for you?

Sorry for all those who read this and go "OMM? huh?" OMM, or Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, is an extra tool that Osteopathic physicians (DO's) learn in medical school - it's one of the things that differentiates us from MD's. OMM uses physical manipulation of the musculoskeletal system to help treat various diseases, injuries, etc. It's amazing how the human body is connected. I mean, you can manipulate the musculoskeletal system and affect the nervous system, which in turn affects the various other systems in the body (like the respiratory system, digestive system, etc). soooo cool...

aww, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside...

I was doing Literacy Army today. It's a program here in Des Moines where volunteers from the community come in and help teach elementary school students reading and other subjects. Well, I'm helping teach 6th grade math (Ok Dan, you can stop laughing...). The teacher selects 2 students to go with me and Jenn to go over homework, or help them with a quiz. Sometimes, I really feel like I might not be helping them very much, because it's been so long since I've had 6th grade math, and some of the stuff they're learning is being taught differently than how it was when I was in 6th grade. I feel like I'm not explaining it well enough, or I'm thinking too advanced for what they're doing. But apparently, I'm not doing so bad. Today Mrs. Johnson (the teacher me and Jen help) talked to us after class, and said how much we've helped her, how much she appreciates us helping her out. And apparently the kids must still like us, because there's always a couple who raise their hand hoping to be picked to go with us.

I guess it was a good day... =) Too bad I have to go back to studying... blech.

Claud 4:03 PM 

Tuesday, February 04, 2003

 

Tuesday's This-or-That

Don't know if I'll do this every week, but hey, once in a while is fun, too.

1. Morning or night person? I don't know, really. Sometimes I have a good morning, sometimes not. It varies.

2. Heavy or light sleeper? Light.

3. Remember your dreams or not? Once in a while, although I often forget a lot of details quickly if I don't write them down soon after I wake up.

4. Do you need a lot of sleep, or just a little? I try to get 7 hours of sleep if I can, but I think to be relatively functional, I need at least 4. Plus coffee once I wake.

5. Do you need something like a nightlight or TV to sleep, or do you prefer complete darkness? Nightlight if it's just me, no nightlight if Dan's here.

6. Flannel sheets or some other kind? Cotton's good. Flannel is nice when it's chilly out, but my apartment is toasty enough.

7. One pillow, or more? Two usually suffices.

8. Bedroom door opened or closed at night? Hell yeah! I live in a studio, so my bedroom door doubles as my front door.

9. Wrap yourself into blankets like a cocoon, or just cover yourself with them? Just cover myself usually. I move in my sleep.

10. Alarm clock: wake to music or buzzer? Music, though a buzzer would work just as well. But music seems like a gentler way to wake up to me.


DANGIT!

I just want to be good at OMM! Hell, I'll settle for decent! Argh.

Claud 8:05 PM 

 

awww, but i like Animal Planet...

Grrr. Mediacom has taken Animal Planet away from me and replaced it with all things, the Soap Network! I don't watch soap operas! I want my Animal Planet back!!! Phooey.

Claud 11:36 AM 

Monday, February 03, 2003

 

helloooo...

is anybody out there? does anybody read this? i know i'm boring, but dude, no comments for like a week? and i'm finally actually writing in this thing. Peh!

joe millionaire...

Yes, the premise of this show is horrible. Take one guy (Evan) who makes $19,000 a year, clean him up, give him a crash course in etiquette, and tell 20 women that he's just inherited 50 million dollars (or something). Once he selects a woman, he has to tell her the truth, and she then has to decide if she wants to stay. And yet I am now addicted to it. They're down to two women now, Sarah and Zora. I rather like Zora. Unlike every other woman on the show, she hasn't been blatantly throwing herself at him. And she seems like she isn't buying into the fairy tale. Apparently her upbringing was not the most pleasant, and it seems like she has a hard time trusting people. At least Evan seems to feel genuinely guilty about what he's doing. Me and Dan were talking about it, and I'm thinking no matter who he picks, they're not likely to stay... I think Sarah may be more interested in the money. I think Zora could genuinely like Evan, and wouldn't be as concerned about the money, but I think she might leave because of the whole trust thing. Oh well. Just remember this, if I ever even think about applying to be on one of those shows, someone please kick my ass.

My favorite quote from the show thus far... Upon being asked by Evan what she would do with his inheritance if she had it - "If I had money to give and time, I'd want to go to a Third World country and bathe their children and give shots and do things like that. But that's me. I'm a mercenary kind of person, you know." - Melissa, whose spoiled high maintenance booty (apparently she refuses to cook and clean) she got kicked off tonight. When I first heard her say it, (it was from last week's episode), I wasn't sure if she had said mercenary or if I had just misheard her. But apparently to her, bathing the children is higher on the priority list than, say, oh, I dunno, FOOD and SHELTER. But please, that is such the "please pick me, I'll say whatever makes me sound like a good person" answer. It's great if she actually does want to help, but it's just the way she said it. Glad she got booted.

Claud 8:41 PM 

Sunday, February 02, 2003

 

gotta love the NHL all-star game...

The NHL's All-Star game is going on right now. I really enjoy All-Star weekend. It's fun watching the players interacting with each other in a situation other than super-competitive game time. The skills competition was yesterday night. It's always fun to watch. They put microphones on a few of the players, so it's pretty funny listening to them do commentary on their play as well as that of their fellow players. They're being competitive, but it's much more laid back. It's more for fun bragging rights than anything. It's nice to see a guy just get up and laugh at himself after he totally fans on a shot and wipes out rather than get upset. They smile a lot more during All-Star weekend. It's just fun. Which brings me to my next point. Bud Selig, the commissioner of MLB, is considering making the MLB All-Star game "mean more" by having whichever league (National or American) wins the game have home-field advantage during the World Series finals. And word has it that Gary Bettman, commissioner of the NHL, is toying with doing the same thing. Man, they call it the All-Star BREAK for a reason. If you ask me, it would take the fun out of the game. Granted, there's not as much hitting during the All-Star game, and there's a lot more soft goals, but it's just supposed to be fun. I'd much rather see each team try its hardest DURING the season to try to get themselves home-ice advantage during the playoffs. If this goes through, I'll be so annoyed. Some of the players thought it would be a good idea, but I think a majority aren't fans of the idea. If I'm not mistaken, Martin Brodeur actually used the word "stupid". And I'd have to agree with him.

the fashion-challenged one needs help!

Okay, so next weekend I've got this formal at school here. I've got two dresses. One is a form-fitting sheath-type dress, slit up the side, spaghetti-strapped little number. It's blue stretchy-ish material with a black lace layer on top. To those who might remember 2000 PSA Fashion Show, it's the one that I wore for the Formal Scene. If I find a picture of it, I'll post it. The other option is more ball-gown-y. It's fitted on top, then kinda foofs out towards the bottom. It's dark blue with some embroidered detailing around the top. Here's a closer picture of the top half (I'm the one in the middle), and this is a picture of the whole thing, kinda (I'm the one in the dress). Help me pick! I don't know which one to wear! Sisterfriends, help me!

Claud 12:44 PM 

 

Say a prayer for the 7 lives lost over Texas yesterday...

I woke up just as all the TV stations switched to a special bulletin about the Columbia space shuttle yesterday. It's a tragedy. Those were 7 very special people, moreso to the families they left behind. Some of the family members were waiting at the end of the landing strip for the astronauts to come home, and others were in Mission Control when the controllers lost contact and realized that something had gone horribly wrong. The crew was probably the most diverse crew I had ever seen. Two were women, one was African American, and one was the first Israeli man to go into space. Even before he set foot inside Columbia, he was a hero to all of Israel. Also, one of the astronauts was born in India. So two other countries are also in mourning for those lost. So keep them and their families and loved ones in your thoughts...

it's good to see ya, bryan berard...

ESPN did a little story on him today... Back in the spring of 2000, Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Bryan Berard was hit in the eye by Marian Hossa's hockey stick. It was a freak accident, granted Hossa was high-sticking (a penalty for the most part in hockey), but it was an accident. Many thought that his career was over (he was only 23) because the damage was so extensive. He nearly lost his eye, and doctors weren't sure if he'd ever even see again, let alone play hockey. He tried to make a comeback last season with the Rangers, but it was a bit slow-going for him, so once again, people thought that he wouldn't be able to get back to the level of play that he had been at before. Now this season he's with the Bruins, and he's got nine goals so far (pretty decent for a defenseman - he only had 2 all of last season), and he's looking very good. Plus, Marian Hossa is doing great again, too. After the accident, Marian was so guilt-ridden, such an emotional mess, that he was in a funk for the rest of the season, even part of the season after. But now he's one of the best in the league. It's good to see them both doing well again. Yeah, I know I'm such a sappy hockey geek.

Claud 9:21 AM