This weekend I realized that I really need to get away more often and do things non-school related. I studied so hard this summer but didn't give myself enough time to enjoy myself. If I had continued at the same pace from summer, I would well be on my way to burn-out right now. I need to be ok with not getting all A’s and learning the information because I NEED it and not for an exam. It really is a whole new mindset.
God did not make us to consume ourselves with facts and figures. Yes, it is all important for our future patients, but I am confident that I will learn the information in time. It is why we are sent on so many rotations! The 2nd year students have said again and again how much they have forgotten from their first year. You might think, “Then what is the point!?!” I will say I have experienced how much easier it is to learn and remember something after it has been covered once. The 2nd years can now teach themselves (or remind themselves) of what they had been taught in their classes as they use the information in their rotations. I am encouraged to know that I will not be expected to remember 100% of what I am learning the moment I step into rotations :-) The more you use something, the easier it is to hold on to the information for future practice.
This week will be a busy week but I am so thankful for the time I spent with family. I studied too, don't get me wrong! The weekend was all about balance. Friday night was the party. Saturday I saw my 11 year old nephew play flag football (he won, by the way)! I studied for a while, went out to eat with my dad and sister. Then my sister and I got pedicures to celebrate her birthday (which was over a week ago). The rest of the day was dedicated to studying and hanging out with my sister. Today, I went to church, studied in the car and went out for lunch. After lunch, I was at the airport and headed home.
I have been told that airports are good places to study....I will caution you on a couple things. If you are a people-watcher, it is NOT a good place to study, and if you have too many materials, there could be a space problem in being able to handle all the necessary study materials. Thankfully, I was able to secure an isle seat on the plane but there isn't even a lot of room to get a laptop out on a plane (and be able to type on it).
Overall the weekend was awesome! I am so glad I went, but now I need to shift gears to the upcoming week. I really need to be efficient this week!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
A Weekend Away
This weekend is my brother-in-law's 40th birthday, and he lives in another state. A couple weeks ago I decided to fly out for the surprise party, even though I knew I had 2 tests the following week. Well, here I am in Arizona. The surprise party was a great success, and I even got to hang out with my roommate from undergrad! I also got to see my 3 nephews and niece. They sure are growing fast!
It is fun to see them mature, but I have to say that my current rotation in Endocrinology makes me look at children differently. I am constantly thinking about growth patterns and behavior, wondering if it is age appropriate. I guess this is just the beginning. The more you know about something, the more you want to apply it to the world around you.
Too bad the palate for medicine is every person you meet! It is a good thing too. People are easy to come across and therefore experience is NOT hard to get! On the other hand, it is hard to meet anyone without seeing a mole and thinking, "The shape is symmetrical. The color is good. It doesn't appear abnormal." Or when I went walking with a friend and a woman jogged by. Even my friend commented on the "awkward" gait of the jogger. My immediate thought? She has a problem with her hips and should see someone before she does excessive damage to her joints. :-)
Oh, well. I do enjoy solving puzzles and medicine is just that - a HUGE puzzle. Sometimes you think the pieces go together, and you don't find out for years that the pieces aren't quite right. It is the nature of medicine and science. Our understanding of it is constantly changing. Sometimes it seems disorganized and confused. Patients think doctors aren't giving the best care because of certain methods or medications, but really I think it boils down to the most recent study that doctor agrees with (or knows about). It is really difficult to stay on top of the most recent recommendations, drugs and therapies. Honestly I think most doctors do the best they can, and because medical science is always changing, they may not agree with the most recent research, yet. It is hard to jump on board of EVERY new research study right away. Some people want a little proof first - if I were the patient, I know I would!
Ok, enough of a tangent.
I will squeeze in as much time to study as possible this weekend! I know it will all work out and the tests will come and go, whether I am really ready or not. :-) I will do the best I can!
It is fun to see them mature, but I have to say that my current rotation in Endocrinology makes me look at children differently. I am constantly thinking about growth patterns and behavior, wondering if it is age appropriate. I guess this is just the beginning. The more you know about something, the more you want to apply it to the world around you.
Too bad the palate for medicine is every person you meet! It is a good thing too. People are easy to come across and therefore experience is NOT hard to get! On the other hand, it is hard to meet anyone without seeing a mole and thinking, "The shape is symmetrical. The color is good. It doesn't appear abnormal." Or when I went walking with a friend and a woman jogged by. Even my friend commented on the "awkward" gait of the jogger. My immediate thought? She has a problem with her hips and should see someone before she does excessive damage to her joints. :-)
Oh, well. I do enjoy solving puzzles and medicine is just that - a HUGE puzzle. Sometimes you think the pieces go together, and you don't find out for years that the pieces aren't quite right. It is the nature of medicine and science. Our understanding of it is constantly changing. Sometimes it seems disorganized and confused. Patients think doctors aren't giving the best care because of certain methods or medications, but really I think it boils down to the most recent study that doctor agrees with (or knows about). It is really difficult to stay on top of the most recent recommendations, drugs and therapies. Honestly I think most doctors do the best they can, and because medical science is always changing, they may not agree with the most recent research, yet. It is hard to jump on board of EVERY new research study right away. Some people want a little proof first - if I were the patient, I know I would!
Ok, enough of a tangent.
I will squeeze in as much time to study as possible this weekend! I know it will all work out and the tests will come and go, whether I am really ready or not. :-) I will do the best I can!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Clinic Day Cancelled
So I was supposed to be in clinic this week but it was cancelled because my preceptor didn't have any patients scheduled. It is sad because I am losing opportunity for experience BUT I am enjoying an extended Labor Day weekend.
I got a lot of studying done this weekend and have been baking cookies for the christian group on campus. They are having a lunch on campus tomorrow and asked people to bring cookies. I don't get to make cookies very often and it is fun to have a reason to make them. Living alone, it isn't good to make anything sweet without a place to take it. Although, I have found my class welcome recipients to free food :-)
With the few extra hours to study, it is nice to catch up on lost hours of studying from last week. First 2 exams of the semester are next week. Can't fall too far behind!
I got a lot of studying done this weekend and have been baking cookies for the christian group on campus. They are having a lunch on campus tomorrow and asked people to bring cookies. I don't get to make cookies very often and it is fun to have a reason to make them. Living alone, it isn't good to make anything sweet without a place to take it. Although, I have found my class welcome recipients to free food :-)
With the few extra hours to study, it is nice to catch up on lost hours of studying from last week. First 2 exams of the semester are next week. Can't fall too far behind!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Labor Day Weekend
With the extended weekend, I drove to my parent's house to hang out, study, see friends and go to my home church. It has been a great weekend. I might not have studied as much as I should have but there is still time :-) and that is my goal for this afternoon!
First exams for the semester are around the corner and I really do need to get organized with all of these classes. 8 classes that don't overlap much makes life a little complicated...but it will all work out.
This week my on-campus Bible Study starts, and I have been asked to organize the food for the meetings. Since I have never even attended one of the official meetings yet, it is hard to know what to provide, or how much. I have a call in to another girl in the group for advice. I know you can't please everyone but it would be nice if the majority of the group is happy with the order :-)
I have been told that this group is primarily women and the few men who are brave enough to come. The goal for this semester is to get more guys to come. It would be great to have a more balanced group! The group meets every other week and they try to bring Christian medical professionals to share about how they incorporate their faith into their practice. I think it will be interesting to hear about the different professions these people work in! It feels like it will be forever until I graduate, but it will pass one day at a time.
In undergrad, I remember that first night in the dorm room and thinking, "I have 4 years of this? I will never make it!" But I did and here I am 11 years later in grad school. The time has passed quickly and so will this experience. I will probably feel like I didn't learn ENOUGH and it passed too quickly. Nature of life, right? It all passes so quickly and one day you wake up wondering how you got that old. :-) The only thing we can do is focus on each day as it comes and make the most of every moment. If I keep wishing for the end of the next phase, I will die without ever enjoying the life God has given me. It doesn't mean we can't dream and pray for things we imagine for our future, but we can't live in the future. It may not really come to pass the way we imagine. God is in control of it all, and we need to allow Him to work in our lives in ways we couldn't imagine!
Ok, I guess I got off on a tangent. :-)
Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!
First exams for the semester are around the corner and I really do need to get organized with all of these classes. 8 classes that don't overlap much makes life a little complicated...but it will all work out.
This week my on-campus Bible Study starts, and I have been asked to organize the food for the meetings. Since I have never even attended one of the official meetings yet, it is hard to know what to provide, or how much. I have a call in to another girl in the group for advice. I know you can't please everyone but it would be nice if the majority of the group is happy with the order :-)
I have been told that this group is primarily women and the few men who are brave enough to come. The goal for this semester is to get more guys to come. It would be great to have a more balanced group! The group meets every other week and they try to bring Christian medical professionals to share about how they incorporate their faith into their practice. I think it will be interesting to hear about the different professions these people work in! It feels like it will be forever until I graduate, but it will pass one day at a time.
In undergrad, I remember that first night in the dorm room and thinking, "I have 4 years of this? I will never make it!" But I did and here I am 11 years later in grad school. The time has passed quickly and so will this experience. I will probably feel like I didn't learn ENOUGH and it passed too quickly. Nature of life, right? It all passes so quickly and one day you wake up wondering how you got that old. :-) The only thing we can do is focus on each day as it comes and make the most of every moment. If I keep wishing for the end of the next phase, I will die without ever enjoying the life God has given me. It doesn't mean we can't dream and pray for things we imagine for our future, but we can't live in the future. It may not really come to pass the way we imagine. God is in control of it all, and we need to allow Him to work in our lives in ways we couldn't imagine!
Ok, I guess I got off on a tangent. :-)
Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
More about Clinic this week
So I saw a patient this week that has Turner Syndrome. If you don't know what that means, I will give a brief description - The average person has 2 gender specifying chromosomes (XX or XY). Sometimes cell division doesn't happen quite the way it should, and you can have a child with XXY or XYY or, in the case of Turner Syndrome, X-. This means that there is a chromosome missing and the child is born as a female, but there are often complications as well. Like a Down Syndrome child, children with Turner Syndrome can have very distinct features: short stature, low-set ears, and a short neck, among other features.
This patient was also mosaic which is interesting from a genetic stand point, and I just learned about it this past spring in my Genetics class. Basically it means that some of your cells test with one set of DNA, and your other cells test with an altered set of DNA.
http://www.turnersyndrome.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=123
Because of the short stature, these kinds of cases are often seen in the Endocrine clinic. As these patients grow up, they often have trouble with puberty hormones and will continue seeing an Endocrinologist to be monitored for those hormones as well.
Genetics. We all have our own set of DNA that has made us most of who we are today. The more I learn the more I am truly AMAZED that any of us live past the age of 1...day old. The fact that any of us developed normally and function every day, is truly an act of God. We can see His grace on our lives every day. The fact that our cells continually divide normally and after all our cells have been replaced (this happens regularly!), we still look like we did before. God made our bodies to regenerate themselves without changing our physical appearance...unless you want to count wrinkles :-)
I am also amazed by how basic treatments can off-set major cellular defects in our bodies. For example, Type I Diabetes. These children have little to no insulin production in their bodies and a simple treatment of insulin shots helps them live normal lives. I know the day to day monitoring probably seems complicated and frustrating for those people, but it keeps them ALIVE. Modern medicine can do amazing things.
This patient was also mosaic which is interesting from a genetic stand point, and I just learned about it this past spring in my Genetics class. Basically it means that some of your cells test with one set of DNA, and your other cells test with an altered set of DNA.
http://www.turnersyndrome.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=123
Because of the short stature, these kinds of cases are often seen in the Endocrine clinic. As these patients grow up, they often have trouble with puberty hormones and will continue seeing an Endocrinologist to be monitored for those hormones as well.
Genetics. We all have our own set of DNA that has made us most of who we are today. The more I learn the more I am truly AMAZED that any of us live past the age of 1...day old. The fact that any of us developed normally and function every day, is truly an act of God. We can see His grace on our lives every day. The fact that our cells continually divide normally and after all our cells have been replaced (this happens regularly!), we still look like we did before. God made our bodies to regenerate themselves without changing our physical appearance...unless you want to count wrinkles :-)
I am also amazed by how basic treatments can off-set major cellular defects in our bodies. For example, Type I Diabetes. These children have little to no insulin production in their bodies and a simple treatment of insulin shots helps them live normal lives. I know the day to day monitoring probably seems complicated and frustrating for those people, but it keeps them ALIVE. Modern medicine can do amazing things.
Social Activity
Last night the 1st and 2nd year students planned an outing for us all to hang out. Because the 2nd years weren't on campus this summer, we (the 1st years) didn't get to meet many of them. It was a lot of fun to meet and not talk about school...ok, we talked about school A LITTLE but what can I say - It is a HUGE part of our lives right now.
When I applied to PA school, people told me - you won't have a life. You won't have any time to do ANYTHING but study and that really isn't true. I am writing this blog, right? :-) In actuality you make time for the things you find important. People in my class are married with kids or pets. Some live over an hour from school and yes, they commute EVERY DAY...I think they are crazy, but I don't really like to drive in traffic. I avoid it at all costs! But it is proof it can be done. People make life work around the things in their lives that can't budge.
For example, I am a Christian and feel that church attendance is really important. I am also involved in a couple Bible Studies that meet weekly. I feel it is actually time that I NEED away from the grind of studying and school. Over the summer, I needed a break from the Anatomy lab! Now, I just need time away from the monotony. There will always be more to learn, more to study and by the time we graduate, most of what we learned will be inaccurate. Ok, maybe not "most" but there is a large part that will be replaced with the "new research."
I am sure you get tired of reading about the new scientific study that NOW says eggs are good for you, when a few years ago, they told you not to eat them because they could kill you with all that cholesterol! Well, people in the medical field deal with that on a daily basis. Drugs that yesterday were the "best on the market" are now deadly and cause cancer.
What I have learned over time is that when we call something a "science", it means it is always changing because new methods of research are either proving or disproving past discoveries. It is constantly being refined and sometimes flipped upside down. So why do we call something a science when we really mean it is precise...don't we really mean it is a "math"?
Math? Hopefully 1+1 will always equal 2 (unless you are one of those computer geeks who wear teeshirts that try to disprove this) :-) The area of a circle of a particular size will always be just that. Sure, new methods come out for different learning styles, but the answer is still the same!
History? That probably won't change - unless we find hidden artifacts or novels that bring about new facts.
English? Always changing but even "old" communication styles still work - Thou art the most skillful in the land!...see, you understood :-) Sometimes I can't keep up with new lingo like all the chat abbreviations (ttyl, lol, brb - the ones I actually know).
I guess this is why we are told never to stop learning. Nothing is completely static - so why not pick a field where it changes almost every day? You won't have to go out looking for something new to learn, it will come to you! :-)
When I applied to PA school, people told me - you won't have a life. You won't have any time to do ANYTHING but study and that really isn't true. I am writing this blog, right? :-) In actuality you make time for the things you find important. People in my class are married with kids or pets. Some live over an hour from school and yes, they commute EVERY DAY...I think they are crazy, but I don't really like to drive in traffic. I avoid it at all costs! But it is proof it can be done. People make life work around the things in their lives that can't budge.
For example, I am a Christian and feel that church attendance is really important. I am also involved in a couple Bible Studies that meet weekly. I feel it is actually time that I NEED away from the grind of studying and school. Over the summer, I needed a break from the Anatomy lab! Now, I just need time away from the monotony. There will always be more to learn, more to study and by the time we graduate, most of what we learned will be inaccurate. Ok, maybe not "most" but there is a large part that will be replaced with the "new research."
I am sure you get tired of reading about the new scientific study that NOW says eggs are good for you, when a few years ago, they told you not to eat them because they could kill you with all that cholesterol! Well, people in the medical field deal with that on a daily basis. Drugs that yesterday were the "best on the market" are now deadly and cause cancer.
What I have learned over time is that when we call something a "science", it means it is always changing because new methods of research are either proving or disproving past discoveries. It is constantly being refined and sometimes flipped upside down. So why do we call something a science when we really mean it is precise...don't we really mean it is a "math"?
Math? Hopefully 1+1 will always equal 2 (unless you are one of those computer geeks who wear teeshirts that try to disprove this) :-) The area of a circle of a particular size will always be just that. Sure, new methods come out for different learning styles, but the answer is still the same!
History? That probably won't change - unless we find hidden artifacts or novels that bring about new facts.
English? Always changing but even "old" communication styles still work - Thou art the most skillful in the land!...see, you understood :-) Sometimes I can't keep up with new lingo like all the chat abbreviations (ttyl, lol, brb - the ones I actually know).
I guess this is why we are told never to stop learning. Nothing is completely static - so why not pick a field where it changes almost every day? You won't have to go out looking for something new to learn, it will come to you! :-)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Clinic - Day 2
Do you ever have one of those moments where you meet a friend of a friend in a seemingly random place? Today I was working in the Endocrine department of the hospital and met a 4th year medical student from my school. We worked together throughout the day. At the end of the day, we headed to a departmental meeting to talk about difficult cases, and I heard this person talking about her travel experiences during a break in medical school. The story sounded familiar so I looked down at her badge and saw her last name....GASP!!!!...this is the sister of a GREAT FRIEND of MY sister...follow that? :-) It is crazy!
To help you realize the enormaty of this in my mind:
My sister met her friend when we lived in CA (we left in 1988), and now her friend lives in Florida. They kept in touch and are still great friends to this day. Such great friends that when the friend's sister got married, my sister flew to Florida to attend the wedding. This wedding happened recently, and the name on the badge is now her maiden name. Anyway, my sister told me to look this person up on campus, but I wasn't sure how to find her! God intervened and placed us in the same rotation at the same time! It was awesome to talk with her - I love when stuff like this happens! It is like walking through a large airport in another state and running into a good friend :-)
Other than that, it was a good day of clinic too. We had some interesting cases of Growth Hormone Deficiency and Turner Syndrome. I am learning a lot about the pathways of how hormones affect different parts of the body. More to come in ISBM this semester.
To help you realize the enormaty of this in my mind:
My sister met her friend when we lived in CA (we left in 1988), and now her friend lives in Florida. They kept in touch and are still great friends to this day. Such great friends that when the friend's sister got married, my sister flew to Florida to attend the wedding. This wedding happened recently, and the name on the badge is now her maiden name. Anyway, my sister told me to look this person up on campus, but I wasn't sure how to find her! God intervened and placed us in the same rotation at the same time! It was awesome to talk with her - I love when stuff like this happens! It is like walking through a large airport in another state and running into a good friend :-)
Other than that, it was a good day of clinic too. We had some interesting cases of Growth Hormone Deficiency and Turner Syndrome. I am learning a lot about the pathways of how hormones affect different parts of the body. More to come in ISBM this semester.
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