Knowing things is my favorite. And now, if you bring me your EKG, I should be able to tell you what's going on. That's right. I know stuff. Or, at least, I should.
This weekend I did not study very much, but instead chose to hang out with Mama at home. There were cookies involved. I did get to go to my first basketball game of the season, and since Auburn is not very good, it was a good one. I got to see State friends too, which is always a plus.
In Dr. Manning vacation news, we did not go to Utah. I was looking forward to Utah. I've never been to Utah. But in the next lecture, he had skipped a few pictures. We went to Japan and Hawaii that day. They were quite beautiful, but I still want to know what Utah looks like. Now I'll never know. We currently have a different lecturer in phys, but Manning comes back on Friday, so maybe I'll get to see Utah then. I can only hope.
Tomorrow starts Biostatistics. I do not know what that means. I only know it's at 8:00 in the morning, so I'd better go if I'm going to Zumba, shower, and go to sleep by 10. Ciao, bella gente
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
i'm alive, i promise
You would think that with two weeks off from school and an extra day for the Ice Apocalypse that I would have updated you, but there really wasn't much to say. I went home, slept, watched TV,read normal books, spent a couple days at the cabin, slept, watched TV, read more books, saw friends when State went back to school. Neither super-eventful nor super-productive, but wonderful. Friends, family, food, reading, sleep...these are the things I needed. I had a great Christmas with fun presents, as always, and I hope you did too. But we now return you to our regularly-scheduled programming.
Physiology is the name of the game now, which is wonderful. It's an engineering class! There are graphs and charts and vectors, things that are comfortingly familiar. We're studying the heart and cardiovascular system right now, topics I learned under Dr. Cathcart in bioengineering. If I saw him in the near future and it were socially acceptable, I would kiss that man. The only reason my brain isn't already on overload is his teaching. It helps that I really like the subject, but I think that's thanks to him as well. Plus, our current teacher, Dr. Manning, is precious. He takes 1-2 minute breaks in the middle of each lecture to show pictures from his vacations so we can rest our brains. And today we went along the Columbia River gorge, down which our family drove during our trip to Oregon when I was in high school. He showed a picture of the bridge over Multnomah Falls and I got really excited because I've been on that bridge!
Unfortunately, these trips through Wyoming, British Columbia, Washington, Nevada, etc., make me extremely jealous. But tomorrow we're venturing through Utah, so I'm looking forward to that.
Have I told you about my Spanish class? There is a group called La Sociedad de Español Médico (Medical Spanish Society), and of course I was all over that. I joined the advanced class since I have a Spanish minor from State, and it has been so fun. We had several meetings last semester, and last night we met to review the things we learned. Basically, we've gone over how to interview a patient. Not having known how to do this in English, I've learned way more than just Spanish so far. I feel like I now have a pretty good grip on what to ask of a patient in both languages now, so hopefully I will be more comfortable with that M3 year. The club recently received a grant to turn it into an actual class, including an opportunity to do a rotation in a Spanish-speaking country, which is really exciting.
In other news, I've apparently lost all ability to keep food upright. Monday, my Diet Dr. Pepper flew right off my tray onto the cafeteria floor, spilling on both tray and floor, and generally causing problems. The food remained untainted, however, unlike today. Today, we were trying to fit too many people around the table, and my tray was hanging dangerously far over the edge. Soon thereafter, said tray flipped over said edge onto ME. There was gravy involved. And more DDP (that's what we call Diet Dr. Pepper on the street). Fortunately I had on a cardigan-type garment that I used to cover up this little mishap. I hope I haven't developed some sort of nervous condition. Maybe that will be a symptom when we get to psychiatry. "Dangerous around food. Do not let patient use cafeteria trays." Maybe next week will be better. Incidentally, that's how I view all symptoms of any illness I have. I go all Scarlett with my, "I won't think about that today. I'll think about it tomorrow."
I just realized I've missed fifteen minutes of Friends! It's a miracle I can watch it on my $5 cable, so I try to take every opportunity so they don't take it away from me. Until next time,
Erin
Physiology is the name of the game now, which is wonderful. It's an engineering class! There are graphs and charts and vectors, things that are comfortingly familiar. We're studying the heart and cardiovascular system right now, topics I learned under Dr. Cathcart in bioengineering. If I saw him in the near future and it were socially acceptable, I would kiss that man. The only reason my brain isn't already on overload is his teaching. It helps that I really like the subject, but I think that's thanks to him as well. Plus, our current teacher, Dr. Manning, is precious. He takes 1-2 minute breaks in the middle of each lecture to show pictures from his vacations so we can rest our brains. And today we went along the Columbia River gorge, down which our family drove during our trip to Oregon when I was in high school. He showed a picture of the bridge over Multnomah Falls and I got really excited because I've been on that bridge!
Photo: multnomahfallslodge.com
Unfortunately, these trips through Wyoming, British Columbia, Washington, Nevada, etc., make me extremely jealous. But tomorrow we're venturing through Utah, so I'm looking forward to that.
Have I told you about my Spanish class? There is a group called La Sociedad de Español Médico (Medical Spanish Society), and of course I was all over that. I joined the advanced class since I have a Spanish minor from State, and it has been so fun. We had several meetings last semester, and last night we met to review the things we learned. Basically, we've gone over how to interview a patient. Not having known how to do this in English, I've learned way more than just Spanish so far. I feel like I now have a pretty good grip on what to ask of a patient in both languages now, so hopefully I will be more comfortable with that M3 year. The club recently received a grant to turn it into an actual class, including an opportunity to do a rotation in a Spanish-speaking country, which is really exciting.
In other news, I've apparently lost all ability to keep food upright. Monday, my Diet Dr. Pepper flew right off my tray onto the cafeteria floor, spilling on both tray and floor, and generally causing problems. The food remained untainted, however, unlike today. Today, we were trying to fit too many people around the table, and my tray was hanging dangerously far over the edge. Soon thereafter, said tray flipped over said edge onto ME. There was gravy involved. And more DDP (that's what we call Diet Dr. Pepper on the street). Fortunately I had on a cardigan-type garment that I used to cover up this little mishap. I hope I haven't developed some sort of nervous condition. Maybe that will be a symptom when we get to psychiatry. "Dangerous around food. Do not let patient use cafeteria trays." Maybe next week will be better. Incidentally, that's how I view all symptoms of any illness I have. I go all Scarlett with my, "I won't think about that today. I'll think about it tomorrow."
I just realized I've missed fifteen minutes of Friends! It's a miracle I can watch it on my $5 cable, so I try to take every opportunity so they don't take it away from me. Until next time,
Erin
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
has it really been that long?
Gracious, I did not mean to go two weeks without telling you anything! It's been lots of studying for me lately, so I haven't been thinking about blogging. So sorry.
It is the beginning of the end. Since Thanksgiving, I have taken two tests. That is, two out of TEN. Yes, ten. 10. Diez. Dix. Dieci. But, we're getting there. Histology will be over for the semester as of Friday afternoon, so that's exciting. Oh, and I did my final dissection in gross lab! I only have to take the practical, then I will never have to go in that smelly place again. I threw away some scrubs the other day, just because I could. It was quite liberating.
This past Saturday my friends that I study with and I went to the Claus Ball, which is a cocktail party for the whole med center. We counted 15 M1's there, including us, which means only 122 of our classmates were at home studying instead...
Unfortunately I will be studying for the next two weeks, so I may not be able to write much in the near future. But when biochemistry and gross anatomy are over, it will all be worth it. Until then,
Erin
It is the beginning of the end. Since Thanksgiving, I have taken two tests. That is, two out of TEN. Yes, ten. 10. Diez. Dix. Dieci. But, we're getting there. Histology will be over for the semester as of Friday afternoon, so that's exciting. Oh, and I did my final dissection in gross lab! I only have to take the practical, then I will never have to go in that smelly place again. I threw away some scrubs the other day, just because I could. It was quite liberating.
This past Saturday my friends that I study with and I went to the Claus Ball, which is a cocktail party for the whole med center. We counted 15 M1's there, including us, which means only 122 of our classmates were at home studying instead...
Unfortunately I will be studying for the next two weeks, so I may not be able to write much in the near future. But when biochemistry and gross anatomy are over, it will all be worth it. Until then,
Erin
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
deep breath, everybody
Okay. So. Here's what's been happening:
1. Lots of tests. Lots of studying. More tests. More studying.
2. Last test. Gross lab. Home.
3. Cookie dough. Memoirs of a Geisha. Lots of deep breathing.
4. Shopping.
5. No studying.
6. Panic because I haven't been studying and don't know anything about anything.
7. Furious studying for about a day.
8. Mental shutdown. Hummus. Cookie dough.
9. Thanksgiving!!
After a few weeks of what seemed like interminable studying/test cycles, we finally got a break. I have thus far used this break to restore my mental capacity, panic about school, and lose mental capacity all over again. Now I have reached that dangerous place where all I can think about is going home for Thanksgiving and taking lots of naps.
1. Lots of tests. Lots of studying. More tests. More studying.
2. Last test. Gross lab. Home.
3. Cookie dough. Memoirs of a Geisha. Lots of deep breathing.
4. Shopping.
5. No studying.
6. Panic because I haven't been studying and don't know anything about anything.
7. Furious studying for about a day.
8. Mental shutdown. Hummus. Cookie dough.
9. Thanksgiving!!
After a few weeks of what seemed like interminable studying/test cycles, we finally got a break. I have thus far used this break to restore my mental capacity, panic about school, and lose mental capacity all over again. Now I have reached that dangerous place where all I can think about is going home for Thanksgiving and taking lots of naps.
Lately we've been studying hematology in our physiology class, which I find incredibly interesting. First of all, physiology is just awesome. It's biological engineering in practice! I see graphs and equations and it makes me happy (and hearing the panicked whimpers of my biochemistry-major classmates makes me giggle a little). But secondly, hematology (the study of blood) is quite fascinating. I guess this is a good sign, because if I do an oncology fellowship in the future (many, many years in the future), it will most likely be a combined hematology/oncology fellowship. Plus, the new professor is a BE grad from State, so of course he is the best around. That's just how we roll.
Tomorrow I'm going home for Thanksgiving. Here's what I predict will happen: studying gross, studying biochem, reading Vogue, eating turkey and other deliciousness, taking naps, playing with a skull, hanging with the family, and more naps. Except for the studying, which will probably be minimal anyway, it's going to be a good week.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
toobusyforspaces
So, it's been a hectic couple weeks. I shouldn't even be typing this right now. I should be studying oxidative phosphorylation and all other types of biochemical pathways. But, it's been a long time, and I don't want anyone to think I've died or been maimed or something.
On Monday we had four tests again: a light histology test, developmental anatomy, and gross written and practicals. All the grades are in, and it was a complete victory! Getting a 100 on that histo test was the best reward for a week of studying, even if that particular test only counted for about 4% of my grade in a class worth not much more than that of my whole year. I take what I can get. That, combined with B's on developmental and gross written and an A on gross practical, equals a win.
Coming up on Monday are some biggies. Biochemistry and physiology, together covering about 30 lectures (more than a college midterm). If I can survive until Tuesday, I'll be home free. I'll have time to do things like shop for groceries, buy a dining room table, and maybe even spend time with friends that doesn't involve lying on the floor dramatically like on "Grey's Anatomy" because you think you're going to fail and don't know anything I'm talking to you Savannah.
Here are some things that have happened recently:
I got a skull to study now that we've moved on to head and neck in gross. It would cost me $3900 to replace should anything happen to it. Ken the lab master said that if I didn't have the money, they would replace it with mine. I said he could have it.
Our current physiology professor said, "To be a sword swallower, you have to have a strong desire to make a living without being productive." So true, so true.
I found a new appreciation for Matthew 6:34 - Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
I bought some t-shirts celebrating Movember, my new favorite time of the year. If you're unfamiliar, apparently November is the month for men to grow a mustache in support of men's health awareness. This has brought so much joy to my life. Watching my classmates grow mustaches is hilarious and a little surreal, because it suddenly feels like I'm at school in the 1910s. Some of them look more mature, like I should take them seriously, and others look more like creepers. So far none of them look like Tom Selleck, though, which is a shame, a dang shame. I genuinely enjoy the 'staches, though. They make me happy. Plus, they're raising money for prostate cancer research, which is awesome (and the M1's are kicking tail, which is even more awesome). I'm hoping they all look like this:
A girl can dream...
On a completely unrelated note, today was one of my favorite days in med school so far. This afternoon I went on a visit to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU, pronounced "knee-cue"). It was awesome. A) We got to scrub in, which made me feel like a real doctor; B) I hadn't forgotten everything the geneticist had taught us and was able to have an intelligent conversation with the man; and C) the babies are super-duper, make-your-ovaries-hurt cute. Between this afternoon and hearing a family physician speak earlier today about his work in Honduras and during Katrina, I had a day full of reminders about why I'm doing this to myself. I got to talk to a couple M3s about life on the other side, and I was overwhelmed with how blessed I am to be able to do what I'm doing. Sometimes you just need a little perspective.
I promise I will blog again sooner, but it will probably be next week because I'll be living at the classroom wing with my study buddies, and the UMMC wireless won't let me use blogger. I hate being held down by the man.
Until then, peace, love, and prostates. Happy Movember, everybody.
On Monday we had four tests again: a light histology test, developmental anatomy, and gross written and practicals. All the grades are in, and it was a complete victory! Getting a 100 on that histo test was the best reward for a week of studying, even if that particular test only counted for about 4% of my grade in a class worth not much more than that of my whole year. I take what I can get. That, combined with B's on developmental and gross written and an A on gross practical, equals a win.
Coming up on Monday are some biggies. Biochemistry and physiology, together covering about 30 lectures (more than a college midterm). If I can survive until Tuesday, I'll be home free. I'll have time to do things like shop for groceries, buy a dining room table, and maybe even spend time with friends that doesn't involve lying on the floor dramatically like on "Grey's Anatomy" because you think you're going to fail and don't know anything I'm talking to you Savannah.
Here are some things that have happened recently:
I got a skull to study now that we've moved on to head and neck in gross. It would cost me $3900 to replace should anything happen to it. Ken the lab master said that if I didn't have the money, they would replace it with mine. I said he could have it.
Our current physiology professor said, "To be a sword swallower, you have to have a strong desire to make a living without being productive." So true, so true.
I found a new appreciation for Matthew 6:34 - Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
I bought some t-shirts celebrating Movember, my new favorite time of the year. If you're unfamiliar, apparently November is the month for men to grow a mustache in support of men's health awareness. This has brought so much joy to my life. Watching my classmates grow mustaches is hilarious and a little surreal, because it suddenly feels like I'm at school in the 1910s. Some of them look more mature, like I should take them seriously, and others look more like creepers. So far none of them look like Tom Selleck, though, which is a shame, a dang shame. I genuinely enjoy the 'staches, though. They make me happy. Plus, they're raising money for prostate cancer research, which is awesome (and the M1's are kicking tail, which is even more awesome). I'm hoping they all look like this:
On a completely unrelated note, today was one of my favorite days in med school so far. This afternoon I went on a visit to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU, pronounced "knee-cue"). It was awesome. A) We got to scrub in, which made me feel like a real doctor; B) I hadn't forgotten everything the geneticist had taught us and was able to have an intelligent conversation with the man; and C) the babies are super-duper, make-your-ovaries-hurt cute. Between this afternoon and hearing a family physician speak earlier today about his work in Honduras and during Katrina, I had a day full of reminders about why I'm doing this to myself. I got to talk to a couple M3s about life on the other side, and I was overwhelmed with how blessed I am to be able to do what I'm doing. Sometimes you just need a little perspective.
I promise I will blog again sooner, but it will probably be next week because I'll be living at the classroom wing with my study buddies, and the UMMC wireless won't let me use blogger. I hate being held down by the man.
Until then, peace, love, and prostates. Happy Movember, everybody.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
my life in the mediterranean
Where were we? Ah, yes. Genitalia.
The day after last week's little trip through the nether regions, we split open the pelvis. Using a hacksaw. And a power saw. It was awesome and terrifying. One professor, who happens to be Egyptian and brilliant and very funny, was wielding his bonesaw like a machine gun, scowl and all. He also walked around with it held in the air, as if to say, "Bring me more spines! Arghh!"
Saturday was spent studying, which involved lots of reading, writing on a dry erase board, and eating Savannah's clementines. Seriously, she brought a dozen of them. There were still some in her backpack today so we could eat them at Bible study. Clementines up to our ears. But hey, we won't have scurvy (which is caused by a deficiency in Vitamin C, a key enzymatic cofactor in the hydroxylation of lysine and proline residues in collagen synthesis, synthesis of catecholamines, protection against free radical damage, and uptake of iron).
Speaking of Savannah and food, she brought lunch for both of us today (Bible study is at noon on Wednesdays and everyone brings their lunch). She got super excited about bringing food, so I said okay. Hummus was involved. Now, I have mentioned hummus before, but I don't think it came across how much I love the stuff. I eat it like it comes from a tap. It is for mealtime, snack-time, and in-between-time. I buy it at Fancy Kroger. We ate it at Aladdin's this weekend. I eat it with pita or Italian bread or, today, tortilla chips. Aside from the tortilla chips, I live the culinary life of a Mediterranean toddler. Vegetables? Pssh. Meat? Unnecessary. Fruit? Just clementines. Hummus and carbohydrates? YES.
I do occasionally eat other things, like the aforementioned vegetables, meat, and fruit. I even cook. For instance, I'm going to try my hand at making tabbouleh next week. They had really good tabbouleh at Aladdin's, and there's an awesome song about it here (same guy has a hummus song too; these were the theme songs of my apartment last year because one of my roommates had been to Lebanon and was a hummus junkie like me). But for the most part, I eat hummus.
Back to school. We had biochemistry and histology (written and practical) tests on Monday. They were hard and no fun at all. And again with the 8 to 5 testing? Come on, people. How am I supposed to get any therapeutic shopping done in five o'clock traffic?
I went to school at home yesterday. This is the best thing ever. I watched the podcasts of the lectures, but I could stop them to do a load of laundry or eat some more hummus. Apparently most M2s don't go to class but rather study this way. It has its appeal. The Nap Time portion of my school day was the best part. Surprisingly, they do not work that into the master schedule.
Today we had a few lectures, just like every day. We had an OB lecture scheduled, but the doctor was unavailable. Probably delivering a baby or something important like that. That just meant we could start our dissection early. Today was the gluteal region. Turns out, there is a lot of fat in that particular region. Not on me, of course, but I've heard other people call it a "problem area."
Oh, and speaking of fat! Zumba is way fun. I'm not as good at it as I thought, but I like the music and the dancing and the joy and laughter that it brings. Zumba is the sunshine and rainbows and unicorns of exercise. I will never try to force myself to run ever again. I can only DANCE!
I think that's all the exciting news for today. I'm going home (HOME!) this weekend, so I probably won't write again before next week. So until then, live life beautifully, because that's how God made it!
The day after last week's little trip through the nether regions, we split open the pelvis. Using a hacksaw. And a power saw. It was awesome and terrifying. One professor, who happens to be Egyptian and brilliant and very funny, was wielding his bonesaw like a machine gun, scowl and all. He also walked around with it held in the air, as if to say, "Bring me more spines! Arghh!"
Saturday was spent studying, which involved lots of reading, writing on a dry erase board, and eating Savannah's clementines. Seriously, she brought a dozen of them. There were still some in her backpack today so we could eat them at Bible study. Clementines up to our ears. But hey, we won't have scurvy (which is caused by a deficiency in Vitamin C, a key enzymatic cofactor in the hydroxylation of lysine and proline residues in collagen synthesis, synthesis of catecholamines, protection against free radical damage, and uptake of iron).
Speaking of Savannah and food, she brought lunch for both of us today (Bible study is at noon on Wednesdays and everyone brings their lunch). She got super excited about bringing food, so I said okay. Hummus was involved. Now, I have mentioned hummus before, but I don't think it came across how much I love the stuff. I eat it like it comes from a tap. It is for mealtime, snack-time, and in-between-time. I buy it at Fancy Kroger. We ate it at Aladdin's this weekend. I eat it with pita or Italian bread or, today, tortilla chips. Aside from the tortilla chips, I live the culinary life of a Mediterranean toddler. Vegetables? Pssh. Meat? Unnecessary. Fruit? Just clementines. Hummus and carbohydrates? YES.
I do occasionally eat other things, like the aforementioned vegetables, meat, and fruit. I even cook. For instance, I'm going to try my hand at making tabbouleh next week. They had really good tabbouleh at Aladdin's, and there's an awesome song about it here (same guy has a hummus song too; these were the theme songs of my apartment last year because one of my roommates had been to Lebanon and was a hummus junkie like me). But for the most part, I eat hummus.
Back to school. We had biochemistry and histology (written and practical) tests on Monday. They were hard and no fun at all. And again with the 8 to 5 testing? Come on, people. How am I supposed to get any therapeutic shopping done in five o'clock traffic?
I went to school at home yesterday. This is the best thing ever. I watched the podcasts of the lectures, but I could stop them to do a load of laundry or eat some more hummus. Apparently most M2s don't go to class but rather study this way. It has its appeal. The Nap Time portion of my school day was the best part. Surprisingly, they do not work that into the master schedule.
Today we had a few lectures, just like every day. We had an OB lecture scheduled, but the doctor was unavailable. Probably delivering a baby or something important like that. That just meant we could start our dissection early. Today was the gluteal region. Turns out, there is a lot of fat in that particular region. Not on me, of course, but I've heard other people call it a "problem area."
Oh, and speaking of fat! Zumba is way fun. I'm not as good at it as I thought, but I like the music and the dancing and the joy and laughter that it brings. Zumba is the sunshine and rainbows and unicorns of exercise. I will never try to force myself to run ever again. I can only DANCE!
I think that's all the exciting news for today. I'm going home (HOME!) this weekend, so I probably won't write again before next week. So until then, live life beautifully, because that's how God made it!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
this week..
Oh, this week. So many things have happened.
Monday was Test Day. Hard core. Physiology at 8, developmental anatomy at 10, gross written at 1, and gross practical at 3. Testing from 8-5 is no good. That morning between developmental and gross, I was sitting around with several people in the atrium between the hospital and Methodist Rehab eating lunch and "studying." Our conversations went mostly like this:
"Is the suprarenal gland innervated by preganglionic or postganglionic nerve fibers?"
"I have no idea."
*hysterical laughter*
Apparently delirium is not good for group studying. There was a sense of doom about the whole thing.
Tuesday we had a Gross lecture (I feel Gross needs to be capitalized so you don't think I mean the lecture was actually disgusting, although sometimes the two are interchangeable) that was really good. This was our first class with this professor and he turned out to be a great lecturer, but, unfortunately, it was about the pelvis and the perineum. Do not Google perineum at work.
It turns out that talking about genitalia can still elicit giggles from most of us, at least in the beginning. I managed to be all serious and professional for a little while, but then the professor decided to orient us on picture we were seeing. He proceeded to lie on the table and tell us, "Just imagine you're lying on this table and a naked person is standing over you with their legs spread." I was a goner. At least he didn't spread his legs for us like we all thought he was about to. I don't think I would have bounced back from that as quickly.
Today was filled with many interesting moments. First, I was studying in the atrium again, but there were multiple screaming children. I mean, screaming. It was awful. Then, I went up to histology lab and had an surreal pseudo-encounter.
The histo and gross labs are on the seventh floor, which is also home to the attached hospital's psychiatric unit. I can only assume this is so they can drag people who freak out in gross lab down the hall with minimal effort. As I got off the hospital elevators, there was a man sitting in one of the chairs in the hall. He was slouched down like he was asleep, and he had a hat and sunglasses on, so I assumed the very much awake preschooler next to him was unattended. I smile at Preschooler and start walking away. As I pass by him, I hear, quite loudly, "Mommy?" I didn't know what to do, so I just walked by. What was I supposed to say? "Sorry, sweetie, but your Mommy might be in a padded room 20 yards behind that large steel door"? I did not want to have the, No, I'm not your Mommy, conversation in front of this person who might be his father and who may or may not have been awake. The discomfort level was high, so I bailed and let "Dad" handle the situation. I hope I didn't scar that kid for life.
This afternoon we were shown how to do a pelvic exam. We get to practice next year on the models she had today, and I can't say I'm looking forward to doing them on a real person. The guest lecturer was really entertaining, though. You know how when the doctor looks in your ears he might say, "Looks good"? Apparently it is impolite to say, "Feels good," when your hand is inside a person's pelvis.
That is all the exciting news I have for the moment. I'm going to go eat some hummus before Grey's Night at Savannah's. If any other insane, child-related incidents or traumatizing mutilations occur tomorrow, I'll let you know.
Monday was Test Day. Hard core. Physiology at 8, developmental anatomy at 10, gross written at 1, and gross practical at 3. Testing from 8-5 is no good. That morning between developmental and gross, I was sitting around with several people in the atrium between the hospital and Methodist Rehab eating lunch and "studying." Our conversations went mostly like this:
"Is the suprarenal gland innervated by preganglionic or postganglionic nerve fibers?"
"I have no idea."
*hysterical laughter*
Apparently delirium is not good for group studying. There was a sense of doom about the whole thing.
Tuesday we had a Gross lecture (I feel Gross needs to be capitalized so you don't think I mean the lecture was actually disgusting, although sometimes the two are interchangeable) that was really good. This was our first class with this professor and he turned out to be a great lecturer, but, unfortunately, it was about the pelvis and the perineum. Do not Google perineum at work.
It turns out that talking about genitalia can still elicit giggles from most of us, at least in the beginning. I managed to be all serious and professional for a little while, but then the professor decided to orient us on picture we were seeing. He proceeded to lie on the table and tell us, "Just imagine you're lying on this table and a naked person is standing over you with their legs spread." I was a goner. At least he didn't spread his legs for us like we all thought he was about to. I don't think I would have bounced back from that as quickly.
Today was filled with many interesting moments. First, I was studying in the atrium again, but there were multiple screaming children. I mean, screaming. It was awful. Then, I went up to histology lab and had an surreal pseudo-encounter.
The histo and gross labs are on the seventh floor, which is also home to the attached hospital's psychiatric unit. I can only assume this is so they can drag people who freak out in gross lab down the hall with minimal effort. As I got off the hospital elevators, there was a man sitting in one of the chairs in the hall. He was slouched down like he was asleep, and he had a hat and sunglasses on, so I assumed the very much awake preschooler next to him was unattended. I smile at Preschooler and start walking away. As I pass by him, I hear, quite loudly, "Mommy?" I didn't know what to do, so I just walked by. What was I supposed to say? "Sorry, sweetie, but your Mommy might be in a padded room 20 yards behind that large steel door"? I did not want to have the, No, I'm not your Mommy, conversation in front of this person who might be his father and who may or may not have been awake. The discomfort level was high, so I bailed and let "Dad" handle the situation. I hope I didn't scar that kid for life.
This afternoon we were shown how to do a pelvic exam. We get to practice next year on the models she had today, and I can't say I'm looking forward to doing them on a real person. The guest lecturer was really entertaining, though. You know how when the doctor looks in your ears he might say, "Looks good"? Apparently it is impolite to say, "Feels good," when your hand is inside a person's pelvis.
That is all the exciting news I have for the moment. I'm going to go eat some hummus before Grey's Night at Savannah's. If any other insane, child-related incidents or traumatizing mutilations occur tomorrow, I'll let you know.
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