It's been a busy sort of week, complete with full sorts of days. Monday and Tuesday were both eight-to-fives (or would have been, had I attended the 8 AM lecture)... Knowing I can watch the lecture online makes it somewhat more difficult to motivate myself in the morning. Today is a bit better; I have the afternoon free (besides catching up on lectures and studying, of course). The midterm is closing in too quickly....
Luckily, everything in this block is already familiar, thanks to the Molecular Biology and Cell Biology courses I took last year at IU. But having four lecture hours worth of material each day builds up quickly -- really quickly.
Monday afternoon, I met with my randomly assigned physician mentor, who is a pediatrician at a nearby children's hospital. I enjoyed meeting her, but she wasn't able to take me around to patients due to my lack of white coat. So it felt kind of useless staying there for two hours when I wasn't doing anything or learning much. Went home exhausted.
Tuesday afternoon, I had my first assigned session for a program called Big Friends, which puts med students in charge of a small group of elementary kids (this year, they're nine-year-olds) to engage them in activities after school. WOW those kids had energy... Some of them, anyway, and that was enough. It was still a generally good time, aside from the screaming and the jumping and the whining about homework.
Tomorrow, I begin learning how to give physical exams. The first step is HEENT (head/eyes/ears/nose/throat). I'm rather excited to see a retina.... I've been practicing listening to Kitty's lungs so I'll be ready for the next step: pulmonary. On a side note, his heart beats incredibly fast!
Friday, I'm skipping class -- at least, the first part of it. Body Worlds opens at the museum on Saturday, and the staff and volunteers get to preview the exhibit Friday morning. I'm pretty excited about it. I hear they plastinated a camel... which honestly raises all kinds of questions for me...
All for now, I think. I should get back to the clinical and diagnostic applications of recombinant DNA. Or I may end up taking a quick library nap... That delicious [yet overprised] asiago bagel isn't sitting quite right.... I suddenly miss BBC.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Emergence
OK, so I disappeared there for a little while. Things got a little crazy. Well-- even more so than usual, that is.
Survived the Anatomy final exam. Didn't ace it, but I passed it. That one guy in my lab group -- the one who did sports medicine in undergrad and already knew the entire course before it was taught -- he was the first to finish his written exam. I was so irritated with him.... I wish I had that weird weapon from No Country for Old Men... Or maybe I was just in another angry mood that day. Then during the practical, he walked through the lab with this air of confidence while every other student was squirming and struggling... I'm hoping he knows nothing about biochemistry... It'd really make me feel better.
So our second block -- Elements of Bioscience -- hasn't been too intense just yet. Honestly, a good bit of it is review from undergrad classes. (I'm really glad I took Cell Biology last year -- even if I've already forgotten a lot of it!) And it's really good that it's mostly review, because it's been a little disorienting... The difference in class structure, going from Anatomy to this, has been rather jolting. I'd just figured out productive ways to take notes and study for Anatomy; now I've got to rethink my study plan. And the fact that this switch happened in the middle of the week didn't help things either.
Also this past week, I had my first videotaped one-on-one interview with a standardized patient. For anyone who doesn't know-- standardized patients are basically actors who play the part of a specific patient who has come into the clinic for one reason or another. They represent actual cases (though I don't know where they get them). So far we've just taken histories, but later on we'll be starting physical exams. They're actually a lot more than actors, though; they're really professional patients. They can tell you your strengths and weaknesses, and whether you're doing a procedure correctly.
This session was actually really useful. (I haven't seen the video yet... I hate watching myself on tape. Then again, I think most people probably do.) My biggest problem was forgetting to ask certain questions during the history-taking. I completely neglected to ask about alcohol/tobacco/drug use. But my standardized patient (who has been doing this for a long, long time) gave me a pretty positive review, so that was really encouraging. Apparently, I'm pretty good at putting forward a comfortable yet professional demeanor.
The weekend has been fairly busy, too. Saturday, Alisha & I went shopping for decor to fill our all-too-bare walls. The adventure was incredibly successful, minus a small scuffle with IKEA. (On a side note -- that store is MASSIVE!) I found I'm really drawn to funky metal works for some reason. Today, I had my orientation/training session at the Franklin Institute for the Body Worlds 2 exhibit. I will actually probably skip class the day before the exhibit opens so I can tour it before having to answer questions about it. (It's okay -- the lectures are taped and posted online so I can listen later.) There are going to be some definite benefits to this volunteer gig.... I get free admission to the museum (and I've got to admit -- that giant heart is pretty darn cool) and IMAX every so often.
So the busy weekend has left very little time for studying. Was going to read over some notes once I'd laid in bed last night, but Kitty obviously disagreed, since he made himself comfortable right across my chest. I gave in and turned out the light. There will always be more time to study....
Survived the Anatomy final exam. Didn't ace it, but I passed it. That one guy in my lab group -- the one who did sports medicine in undergrad and already knew the entire course before it was taught -- he was the first to finish his written exam. I was so irritated with him.... I wish I had that weird weapon from No Country for Old Men... Or maybe I was just in another angry mood that day. Then during the practical, he walked through the lab with this air of confidence while every other student was squirming and struggling... I'm hoping he knows nothing about biochemistry... It'd really make me feel better.
So our second block -- Elements of Bioscience -- hasn't been too intense just yet. Honestly, a good bit of it is review from undergrad classes. (I'm really glad I took Cell Biology last year -- even if I've already forgotten a lot of it!) And it's really good that it's mostly review, because it's been a little disorienting... The difference in class structure, going from Anatomy to this, has been rather jolting. I'd just figured out productive ways to take notes and study for Anatomy; now I've got to rethink my study plan. And the fact that this switch happened in the middle of the week didn't help things either.
Also this past week, I had my first videotaped one-on-one interview with a standardized patient. For anyone who doesn't know-- standardized patients are basically actors who play the part of a specific patient who has come into the clinic for one reason or another. They represent actual cases (though I don't know where they get them). So far we've just taken histories, but later on we'll be starting physical exams. They're actually a lot more than actors, though; they're really professional patients. They can tell you your strengths and weaknesses, and whether you're doing a procedure correctly.
This session was actually really useful. (I haven't seen the video yet... I hate watching myself on tape. Then again, I think most people probably do.) My biggest problem was forgetting to ask certain questions during the history-taking. I completely neglected to ask about alcohol/tobacco/drug use. But my standardized patient (who has been doing this for a long, long time) gave me a pretty positive review, so that was really encouraging. Apparently, I'm pretty good at putting forward a comfortable yet professional demeanor.
The weekend has been fairly busy, too. Saturday, Alisha & I went shopping for decor to fill our all-too-bare walls. The adventure was incredibly successful, minus a small scuffle with IKEA. (On a side note -- that store is MASSIVE!) I found I'm really drawn to funky metal works for some reason. Today, I had my orientation/training session at the Franklin Institute for the Body Worlds 2 exhibit. I will actually probably skip class the day before the exhibit opens so I can tour it before having to answer questions about it. (It's okay -- the lectures are taped and posted online so I can listen later.) There are going to be some definite benefits to this volunteer gig.... I get free admission to the museum (and I've got to admit -- that giant heart is pretty darn cool) and IMAX every so often.
So the busy weekend has left very little time for studying. Was going to read over some notes once I'd laid in bed last night, but Kitty obviously disagreed, since he made himself comfortable right across my chest. I gave in and turned out the light. There will always be more time to study....
Friday, September 18, 2009
Room 105
It's been a long sort of week . . . Again.
Monday was a terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad day. (Am I allowed to say that without trademark approval?) It was an unusually long day, due to a new class starting. But honestly, it was largely in my mood. I just felt angry toward everyone for no reason. Or, if I had a reason, it wasn't a very good one. I actually felt the need to apologize to a classmate after snapping at him. Also had a headache most of the day, which didn't help things.
Tuesday was a little less angry; it seemed to fade throughout the course of the day. Maybe I just got too tired to be angry anymore.
By Wednesday, I was over the mood thing. Unfortunately, I'd spent a lot of energy being mad, which meant I had less energy to spend trying to understand the temporal bone. (I still don't entirely get it. It's too oblique, got too many twists & turns.)
Thursday, we had another interview with a standardized patient -- this time, we were required to do Chief Complaint, History of Present Illness, Past Medical History, Social History, Family History, and the Review of Systems. Thankfully, they let us use a cheat sheet; otherwise I never would've remembered it all... I hear from a 2nd year that you eventually get pretty good at it. I think I've already improved from the last time we did this, so here's hoping.
Today I woke up with another headache (last night's headache, I think), but I medicated immediately and it's not so bad now. There's a quiz today, but I'm honestly not worried about it. The way my grade is now, I doubt I'll be getting a "high pass." But whether I get a 100% or 0% on this quiz, as long as I pass the final (which is required to pass the course anyhow), I'll be all right.
Good news though -- the volunteer coordinator from the Franklin Institute called me this week. (It was on Tuesday, and it kind of took a lot of effort to have a friendly, professional phone conversation.) We set up an interview time for next Wednesday. She seemed fairly impressed with me, so I suppose it'll work out pretty well. (The website for the exhibit is here, if you're interested in checking it out.) I'm pretty excited about it... I wanted to see the exhibit when it went through Indy but never did. And I really need a regular weekend activity...
This weekend will be: study for anatomy final, go to bank, study, do laundry (studying throughout), clean bathroom, study . . . .
The final is Tuesday -- not this next Tuesday, but the one after. It's cumulative-- so to learn the entire body all over again, I pretty much need to start now. On a related note, if my nasty mood returns, that may be why...
Monday was a terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad day. (Am I allowed to say that without trademark approval?) It was an unusually long day, due to a new class starting. But honestly, it was largely in my mood. I just felt angry toward everyone for no reason. Or, if I had a reason, it wasn't a very good one. I actually felt the need to apologize to a classmate after snapping at him. Also had a headache most of the day, which didn't help things.
Tuesday was a little less angry; it seemed to fade throughout the course of the day. Maybe I just got too tired to be angry anymore.
By Wednesday, I was over the mood thing. Unfortunately, I'd spent a lot of energy being mad, which meant I had less energy to spend trying to understand the temporal bone. (I still don't entirely get it. It's too oblique, got too many twists & turns.)
Thursday, we had another interview with a standardized patient -- this time, we were required to do Chief Complaint, History of Present Illness, Past Medical History, Social History, Family History, and the Review of Systems. Thankfully, they let us use a cheat sheet; otherwise I never would've remembered it all... I hear from a 2nd year that you eventually get pretty good at it. I think I've already improved from the last time we did this, so here's hoping.
Today I woke up with another headache (last night's headache, I think), but I medicated immediately and it's not so bad now. There's a quiz today, but I'm honestly not worried about it. The way my grade is now, I doubt I'll be getting a "high pass." But whether I get a 100% or 0% on this quiz, as long as I pass the final (which is required to pass the course anyhow), I'll be all right.
Good news though -- the volunteer coordinator from the Franklin Institute called me this week. (It was on Tuesday, and it kind of took a lot of effort to have a friendly, professional phone conversation.) We set up an interview time for next Wednesday. She seemed fairly impressed with me, so I suppose it'll work out pretty well. (The website for the exhibit is here, if you're interested in checking it out.) I'm pretty excited about it... I wanted to see the exhibit when it went through Indy but never did. And I really need a regular weekend activity...
This weekend will be: study for anatomy final, go to bank, study, do laundry (studying throughout), clean bathroom, study . . . .
The final is Tuesday -- not this next Tuesday, but the one after. It's cumulative-- so to learn the entire body all over again, I pretty much need to start now. On a related note, if my nasty mood returns, that may be why...
Friday, September 11, 2009
Sleeping in the Woods
For a short week, it's certainly been an intense one. Tuesday was rough, of course, having messed up my sleep schedule over the long weekend. In the past four days of lab, we covered the entire pelvis and started on the head/neck region. Labs were especially intense -- but I'll omit the details for the sake of everyone cringing at home. Then, appropriately enough, we had a discussion this week regarding our feelings and opinions on the body donor program. Perhaps that was intentionally scheduled this week.
Two more weeks of the head and neck, amd anatomy will be behind us. Stethoscopes should be in soon. (I plan to practice on Kitty. Hopefully he'll be able to stop purring.) We get our white coats in a large ceremony on October 30th. It's only been a month, but it feels like I've been in med school much longer. It's strange that I feel so far into this, and I'm still missing such essential "doctoring" equipment.
Applied to be a guide for the Body Worlds exhibit at the Franklin Institute. I'd be interested to see the exhibit -- the whole museum actually -- and it'd give me something productive to do on the weekends besides study. And it'd help me learn a new part of Philly. So here's hoping good things come of that.
Two more weeks of the head and neck, amd anatomy will be behind us. Stethoscopes should be in soon. (I plan to practice on Kitty. Hopefully he'll be able to stop purring.) We get our white coats in a large ceremony on October 30th. It's only been a month, but it feels like I've been in med school much longer. It's strange that I feel so far into this, and I'm still missing such essential "doctoring" equipment.
Applied to be a guide for the Body Worlds exhibit at the Franklin Institute. I'd be interested to see the exhibit -- the whole museum actually -- and it'd give me something productive to do on the weekends besides study. And it'd help me learn a new part of Philly. So here's hoping good things come of that.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Some Quick Good News
Midterm grades are in, and I did better than the class average -- which is honestly better than I expected! Makes me feel a little better about having a final in a few weeks.
School has been wild. We dissected the entire abdomen last week -- and there's a LOT of stuff crammed into the abdominal cavity! Honestly, we went from spleen to pancreas to intestine to kidneys to lumbar plexus . . . I feel like I'm keeping up all right, but I'm incredibly grateful for the three-day weekend. I wish I had a barbecue to go to or something . . .
All for now!
School has been wild. We dissected the entire abdomen last week -- and there's a LOT of stuff crammed into the abdominal cavity! Honestly, we went from spleen to pancreas to intestine to kidneys to lumbar plexus . . . I feel like I'm keeping up all right, but I'm incredibly grateful for the three-day weekend. I wish I had a barbecue to go to or something . . .
All for now!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Don't get me started on omentum . . .
MIDTERM'S OVER!!!!! And there was much rejoicing throughout the land of Temple . . .
I think I did pretty well, too. Grades aren't out just yet (it takes awhile to grade 200 answer sheets by hand), but judging from the posted answer key, I was well within "passing."
To clarify-- there aren't A's, B's, C's, etc. Over 70% is passing. If you're in the higher part of your class, you could get a "high pass," or if you're really special, a "pass with honors." I'd be perfectly satisfied with a "pass" myself. And I'm pretty proud of myself, attacking the midterm like that.
I was in a strangely wonderful mood Friday morning, too. The night before I'd been studying to ska music (very upbeat), and I woke up with it still in my head. I didn't have to be at campus until noon, so I slept in an extra hour and did my make-up (which I hadn't bothered with in weeks). I baffled everyone at school by being so smiley. (I calmed down appropriately by the time we started the exam.) I honestly can't explain the mood; I just grooved on it.
So over the weekend, I caught up on sleep. Wow, did I need it. And wow, did I get it!! Now, if I can manage to get my schedule regular again, I'll be set. Also went to a first-year end-of-midterm party Friday night (I have the feeling we'll be having these every three weeks or so), and showed off my dancing skills with my fellow Owls. One of my labmates called me crazy. :) It was a great way to blow off some steam.
Not wasting any time, we cracked open the abdomen today. Monday morning is NOT the time for a four-hour lab. Funny-- the past three weeks we did the back, the upper limb, the lower limb, and the thorax. All that's left is the abdomen, pelvis, head and neck. But there's SO MUCH crammed in that small space-- it'll probably be a bit more challenging.
True to form, Big Bill was difficult. Far too much omentum, and abnormally large organs. His transverse colon was as big as my forearm! You'd think the size would make it easy to find these things, but with all that connective tissue . . .
In non-anatomical news, I see my first standardized patient this week -- Thursday, to be exact. It's not actually a patient, but an actor paid to simulate the doctor-patient experience. They videotape us taking a history, then we get to watch it and learn what we did well and not-so-well. Yes-- it's a bit terrifying. But I have a feeling it'll be fun too.
Plenty for now.
I think I did pretty well, too. Grades aren't out just yet (it takes awhile to grade 200 answer sheets by hand), but judging from the posted answer key, I was well within "passing."
To clarify-- there aren't A's, B's, C's, etc. Over 70% is passing. If you're in the higher part of your class, you could get a "high pass," or if you're really special, a "pass with honors." I'd be perfectly satisfied with a "pass" myself. And I'm pretty proud of myself, attacking the midterm like that.
I was in a strangely wonderful mood Friday morning, too. The night before I'd been studying to ska music (very upbeat), and I woke up with it still in my head. I didn't have to be at campus until noon, so I slept in an extra hour and did my make-up (which I hadn't bothered with in weeks). I baffled everyone at school by being so smiley. (I calmed down appropriately by the time we started the exam.) I honestly can't explain the mood; I just grooved on it.
So over the weekend, I caught up on sleep. Wow, did I need it. And wow, did I get it!! Now, if I can manage to get my schedule regular again, I'll be set. Also went to a first-year end-of-midterm party Friday night (I have the feeling we'll be having these every three weeks or so), and showed off my dancing skills with my fellow Owls. One of my labmates called me crazy. :) It was a great way to blow off some steam.
Not wasting any time, we cracked open the abdomen today. Monday morning is NOT the time for a four-hour lab. Funny-- the past three weeks we did the back, the upper limb, the lower limb, and the thorax. All that's left is the abdomen, pelvis, head and neck. But there's SO MUCH crammed in that small space-- it'll probably be a bit more challenging.
True to form, Big Bill was difficult. Far too much omentum, and abnormally large organs. His transverse colon was as big as my forearm! You'd think the size would make it easy to find these things, but with all that connective tissue . . .
In non-anatomical news, I see my first standardized patient this week -- Thursday, to be exact. It's not actually a patient, but an actor paid to simulate the doctor-patient experience. They videotape us taking a history, then we get to watch it and learn what we did well and not-so-well. Yes-- it's a bit terrifying. But I have a feeling it'll be fun too.
Plenty for now.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Papillary muscles
For the record, I am adamantly against midterms in August. It's just not right.
Given that, it's been a bit busy around here . . . Even when I get a good amount of sleep, I'm still exhausted. But I think that's just part of it.
We've left the limbs and gotten visceral. :) Friday we extracted lungs, which I found absolutely amazing. I honestly didn't expect them to have the texture of memory foam, but they really do! And, as luck would have it, there's not much they're expecting us to memorize on the lungs. Today, we cut into the heart. Also pretty amazing.
Our instructors rotated -- I've got Dr. Schneck now. Some students I've spoken to sounded intimidated by him. My opinion sits with that of most students -- he's awesome. I don't find him stressful at all. He knows everything about this subject, and he always emphasizes things that we need to know. He's more than willing to spend time with students. And the first day of class, when I raised my hand, he called on me. By name. And pronounced it correctly.
Considering taking Kitty outside with me once it cools down a little... It's a pretty quiet area around my apartment. And it'd be good for him to run around a little before winter. But once he goes out once, he wants out all the time-- and I just can't put up with that. And he's doing pretty well as an indoor cat. He's re-taught himself to play fetch, and he seems to be rather well-adjusted. I figure I'll play it by ear, as always...
Given that, it's been a bit busy around here . . . Even when I get a good amount of sleep, I'm still exhausted. But I think that's just part of it.
We've left the limbs and gotten visceral. :) Friday we extracted lungs, which I found absolutely amazing. I honestly didn't expect them to have the texture of memory foam, but they really do! And, as luck would have it, there's not much they're expecting us to memorize on the lungs. Today, we cut into the heart. Also pretty amazing.
Our instructors rotated -- I've got Dr. Schneck now. Some students I've spoken to sounded intimidated by him. My opinion sits with that of most students -- he's awesome. I don't find him stressful at all. He knows everything about this subject, and he always emphasizes things that we need to know. He's more than willing to spend time with students. And the first day of class, when I raised my hand, he called on me. By name. And pronounced it correctly.
Considering taking Kitty outside with me once it cools down a little... It's a pretty quiet area around my apartment. And it'd be good for him to run around a little before winter. But once he goes out once, he wants out all the time-- and I just can't put up with that. And he's doing pretty well as an indoor cat. He's re-taught himself to play fetch, and he seems to be rather well-adjusted. I figure I'll play it by ear, as always...
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