First set of exams = success

Woo hoo! I’ve got a triple dose of “confidence boosting” my way and I am enjoying it!!!

We just had our first set of exams and it went pretty well 🙂

I think that I’ll be taking a slightly different approach to studying and after-exam prep. For certain classes (neuroscience, in my case) I am going to set up an appointment with the professor to go over the questions that I missed. I want to be certain that I have the concepts down so that I don’t stumble later on in the course.

Ok.. that was just a quick update. I’ve got work to do!

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Definitely the right thing to do!

Last term I wondered if choosing the Decompression Program was the right thing to do or not. My gut instinct yelled, Yes! Oh goodness, yes! but my pride belted out, Are you crazy?!?! In the end, it was about doing what was right for me (ie, maintaining my sanity, happiness, and positive outlook on what was to come).

I currently have half the course load that my full M1 counterparts have and so have much more time to study the material more thoroughly. I find that I am more relaxed (not lazy) and that I am able to truly appreciate the material at a level I couldn’t before. I can revisit lectures more than once, I can actually pour through my textbooks (wow, they’re unbelievably good!), find time to ask questions, and generally just have a chance to go, Oh!

I’m fairly confident that I’ll do well on my upcoming exams in Anatomy and Neuroscience. At least, that is the goal I have in mind.

Other things that I’ve had a chance to do as a decompressed student:

– Sleep semi-normal hours (6 hours instead of 4 per night)

– Shadow physicians at least weekly (I don’t know where I would have found the time or energy beforehand)

– Participate in professional groups at a leadership level

– Work on improving my health and diet

I’d say this was definitely the right path (for me!) to take.

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Med Day 1-23-10

The LMSA Chapter at UIUC-COM held their first (hopefully annual) “Med Day” today!

For those who don’t know, LMSA = Latino Medical Student Association.

Anyhow, today consisted of the following:

830 AM – 9 AM = Registration

9AM-10AM = UHP Presentation

12 PM = Medical Student Panel

12:45PM – 1PM = Kaplan MCAT Prep Auction

1PM = MSB Tour & Anatomy Cadaver Demo

2PM = MENTOR MATCH PROGRAM

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It was great fun finally getting to be “on the other side.” After all, it wasn’t too long ago when I was an applicant who wondered if she would ever get to be in medical school. I love doing what I can to help encourage others! I also now have a mentee to mentor. I hope that she will be able to confide in me and to trust me enough to ask for help or to ask about any questions she might have throughout the process.

Right… so that was just a quick and short entry. I need to get back to learning about the blood supply to the abdomen and to neuroscience. Those two exams are… in a week! Yipes!

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CPP Visit #2

I don’t have much time to write, but here is what I wrote as a summary for my evaluation form.

1) Ear infections: About five or six patients were seen today with complaint of ear aches. I was able to see what a normal and healthy ear looks like versus an ear that is slightly swollen and red vs an ear that has a full-blown infection and is filled with pus.

2) Well Baby/Child & Physical Exams: Five children, who spanned in age from as young as 12 months to as old as 5 years, were given well baby/child and physical exams. I noted that an important part of the visit was the completion of the “Ages and Stages Questionnaires,” a parent-completed, child-monitoring system that allows for the early identification of developmental, social, and emotional delays in early life.

One of the things I noted during this visit was the range of “worrying” that parents displayed.

I also noted that there still appears to be much fear/apprehension about the H1N1 vaccine. This was offered to all children receiving their kindergarten physicals or exams and was rejected by every single parent (even the most educated ones).

Oh! I was also able to review an X-ray that had been done for a patient earlier this week (the newborn). This is the patient that was diagnosed with bilateral hip displacement – a very rare congenital affliction! I mean.. this child doesn’t even have hip sockets formed! My mentor told me that this was the first time in her career that she had ever seen such a case (and she’s been in the business a long time). I certainly won’t forget this patient! My best wishes to the baby and to her family…

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Moscow Festival Ballet

One of the things that I like about the Urban Health Program at school is that various organizations and centers tend to offer a number of free tickets to the department for its minority medical students or UHP members (you don’t have to be a minority) for them to take advantage of. It allows students a chance to (#1) get out and enjoy life a little bit and (#2) be exposed to things they otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to.

I’ve always watched ballet on PBS or other educational channels. I love it. Yesterday we got an email from the UHP saying that it had 10 free tickets and that it was a first come, first serve thing. The catch? It was for that night at 7pm.

I went for it! I got my ticket (normally about $50), sat by myself in my assigned seat, and watched a gorgeous display of human creativity. It was so beautiful!

The Moscow Festival Ballet offered a show at the Krannert Center for Performing Arts. The piece was called, “Coppelia.” I found it astonishing at how well a story could be portrayed only through the means of dance and expression. Wow!

Anyhow. The message here is to look out for and take advantage of opportunities that might happen to come your way!

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“This is our medical student…”

One of the programs that I chose to participate in while here is the Clinical Practice Preceptorship (CPP) program. The goal is to (at minimum) spend four half-days with our assigned preceptor so that we can get an even better idea of the kinds of things that we’ll encounter as future physicians. In the interest of privacy and out of respect for HIPPA (you know… because that’s the legal part), I won’t be revealing the name of the physician I work with (other than that it is a female) or the place where I shadow (other than that it is with the pediatric population). Again, if I speak of any cases that I saw today, any identifying information will be changed but still kept as close as possible to be realistic. Oh yeah, I’m also not an official/licensed/real/whatever you want to call it doctor yet, so don’t base any of your medical decisions on what you read here. Feel free to use it as a guideline on which to start conversations with your own physician though (if you’re in that position).

I’ve worked very hard to get to where I am today. Many times I was discouraged from pursuing the medical career and many times I was rejected from enrolling in institutions of medical education. The fact that I have finally been given an opportunity to pursue my dream and to give back to my community is indeed humbling on every level. So although this may seem insignificant to some individuals out there, the following words spoken over and over by my preceptor made me burst with pride and happiness:

“Hi, My name is Dr. So and So and this is Susy, our medical student. She is working with me today and will be observing this visit.”

Did you read that? She said medical student. I’m no longer just a volunteer, a translator, an interpreter, a research coordinator, or any other title – I am finally a medical student. I am finally here. This is real.

I’ve waited years to hear those words!

Anyhow… patients and cases. We saw about six pediatric patients during my time there.

The first was a young male with obstructive sleep apnea, likely caused by enlarged tonsils and adenoids. He was here for a pre-operative check-up. This patient presented an excellent opportunity for discussion about respiratory physiology with my preceptor.

The second patient was a young female who presented with common warts on her hands. Did you know that a commonly prescribed treatment for this is using duct tape? No joke. It’s apparently been researched and peer-reviewed. It’s also been announced in everyday news stories such as this one. I guess duct tape really does fix everything! This patient, however, was getting cryosurgery (freezing of the wart using liquid nitrogen). It was pretty fascinating to watch.

The third and fourth patients (a boy and a girl) presented with complaints of ear aches. One of those cases turned out to be a case of otitis externa, or swimmer’s ear, likely caused by the fact that the patient almost never dried her hair and instead left it hanging soaking wet in front of her ears. The other patient ended up having otitis media, or a mid-ear infection. Turns out that this second patient had recently had a flu, so her upper respiratory infection may have been the most likely cause. These two cases presented were perfect for discussing the anatomy of the ear and other possible diagnoses/treatment.

Finally, there were two well-baby exams. One was a four-day old newborn and the other was a month-old infant.

The main concern for the newborn was the bilirubin level. High levels can result in jaundice (most notable by the yellow in the “whites” of their eyes) or, if at a sufficiently high and dangerous level, brain damage. The treatment is pretty easy – admit them to the hospital and stick them under a special UV type of light. These well-baby checks are important! The parents/caretakers can also bring up any concerns they may have. In this case, the parents were worried about the baby’s inability to lay completely horizontally. Imagine always having your legs propped up against the wall while lying down – that’s how this baby was. An X-ray was ordered and, wouldn’t you know it, a congenital bilateral hip displacement was discovered. Again: Well-Baby Check-Ups are important! Because this child’s problem was caught so early, the likelihood of having any problems with her hips (after successful treatment) is almost non-existent. I found a post on another parent’s blog describing what treatment for his two children was like, if you’d like an idea.

The other month-old baby was there to make sure that the baby was growing and developing properly. Thankfully, this was a very healthy child 🙂

It’s been a very educational day. Tune in Thursday (or thereabouts) for an update on the next visit!

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Currently Reading: “The Real Life of a Pediatrician”

There is a running joke among all medical students….

You know you are a medical student when you spend every free moment studying… and that includes while you’re in the shower or on the toilet!!!!

Some of those students may deny it, but don’t be fooled! I guarantee you that some of them have study sheets or note cards posted to the wall that they can read while “on the john” 🙂

I tend to, ahem, use that time to read a few pages of different kinds of reading material. A magazine, a scholarly article, a review of my notes, or a book. Right now, I am reading through one called, “The Real Life of a Pediatrician.” See the excerpt below!

Book Overview:

The first time you have to deliver bad news to a parent.  The tenth screaming baby you’ve seen today.  The thousandth time you’ve stayed just a bit later than your shift, helping one more sick child.  Every one of these kids has a story, and so does each doctor who treats them.

Unusual diagnoses.  Heartbreaking losses.  Triumphant healing.  From med student to intern to practicing specialist, The Real Life of a Pediatrician traces the careers of these family practitioners.  When children are the patients, so much can be at stake, and emotions often run high.  How do you tell a mother that her child has a terminal illness?  What do you do when your patient is too young to tell you what’s wrong with him?  This anthology features first-person narratives from the students and doctors who have devoted their careers to this path, and offers an unblinking look at daily life in the field.

Other books in the Kaplan Voices: Doctors series will focus on internal medicine, psychiatry, anesthesiology, oncology, geriatrics, and surgery, the most prominent specialties today.

If you’re curious enough, go ahead and read a few of the pages they have listed on preview at the Google Books website. Follow this link. It’s definitely well worth the read…wherever you may be!

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From Home to home

Last late Saturday night/incredibly early Sunday morning, I made the four hour flight and then three hour car ride back to Urbana. I was able to travel with two other friends (and cat). The music and the conversation was very entertaining!

I wish I had been able to snap a photo of what the area looked like, but my camera was packed away. Still, if you can imagine hundreds of miles of a dark, starless night with snow abounding on each side of the two-lane-per-side highway, you can imagine what we drove through to get back. In fact, I’d venture on saying that the night was quite eerie.

Ah, Chicago, you welcome me into the night…

The next morning, this is what I saw at home:

Mind you, while it was very beautiful, I was still in shock at having gone from 75 degree weather to -22 degree weather. Brrrrrr….

Read that again: Do you realize that signifies a 97 degree drop in warmth?

Remember the miles and miles of corn fields? They are no more.

At any rate, a week has passed and I’ve returned to school. It has been pretty difficult to get back into the study mode. This term, I am taking Neuroscience, Behavioral Science, Anatomy, and Histology. This means that by May, I’ll have completed half of the first year curriculum!

I don’t have much else to say about this first week. Well, maybe one thing: Foggy mornings in a snowy town look beautiful.

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Christmas Morning (after Santa’s visit):

This is what happens when you let Santa into your house to drop off the presents… Leaves a pretty little presentation around the tree but leaves a trail of crumbs leading into the chimney too! By the way, this photo was taken at about 4:45AM. My brother had the hardest time falling asleep. He would wake up every 15 minutes just to ask, “Has Santa come yet? Can I go open my presents? Is it Christmas morning yet?!?!”

No, Michael, no… for the love of all that is good, go to sleep! 🙂

I could barely keep him in bed until the first lights of dawn began to show. Oh, childhood magic! 🙂

Being home this winter was invigorating. I’d say that I am fairly accustomed to being away from home for large chunks of the year, but this time around was incredibly difficult for me. I am grateful to have been home with my family and my friends, to have helped whenever/however I could, to have enjoyed their company, to have shared wonderful and non-wonderful moments with them all. To anyone out there reading this: Never ever take them for granted! Cherish and love them all you can!

Finally, my parting gift of photo of Liesl (waiting to depart Los Angeles)

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¡Feliz Navidad!

A great Christmas Eve dinner and enjoyable evening with my boyfriend and his family, followed by an even more enjoyable evening and Christmas morning with my own family. What more could a girl ask for???

Merry Christmas, everyone!

🙂

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Home again!

It’s been four and a half months since I was home, but guess what? I’m home now!

Here’s the good news: I passed all the courses I took this semester as a decompressed student. I did well on the finals. I feel like I truly understood the material. I’m happy!

I also surprised my dad and brother tonight – they weren’t expecting me to come home until the 19th. My brother let out a few crocodile tears when he saw me and then turned his tears into laughter. It was so good to see him! I saw my mom again too 🙂  Also had a great dinner date with my sister. Now? I’m waiting for dad to get home. I called him earlier on my sister’s phone and he was so surprised to find out I was home. Mission accomplished!

Anyhow… four hours of sleep in the last two days is awful – I’m going to bed until dad gets home!

Ah, home…. how good it is to be back 🙂

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