I'm eating some goldfish crackers as I type this post. Goldfish crackers always remind me of my childhood, especially when we lived in our old house. I've been thinking a lot about my childhood and growing up lately. I see my nephew and niece (ages 11 and 10) and I'm trying to remember what it was like then. I can't remember as much as I would like...so I guess I'm trying to hold onto the goldfish cracker memories for as long as I can.
Another week of school has flown by. I can't think of anything specific about this week that made it stand out. It was pretty typical, as in similar to college. Except, I had seven classes with no structured schedule. I also had my second patient interview this week and it was with a standardized patient. That experience was pretty cool because the standard patients are trained to give you feedback after you stimulate the interview. Some positive feedback that I'm really proud about is that I (apparently) have really good interpersonal skills when it comes to talking with patients. Some things that I need to work on are organization and verbal empathy.
My standardized patient and I discussed the two forms of empathy that a physician can provide a patient during a visit. Empathy in a clinical setting can be embodied through body language and through words (verbally). My body language empathy was all there but I was encouraged to speak more empathetically with my future patients.
I enjoyed the standardized patient interview greatly because it's a reminder of what I have to look forward to after two years of hitting the books.
Other than school work, my life has been going fairly well. Tomorrow I'm running a 10k!
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Update on Medical School
Hello, I've just finished my fifth week of medical school! That means that anatomy and embryology is all done...and that I've successfully passed the course.
Anatomy itself was very difficult. Emotionally and physically. The first day I met my cadaver, I didn't know what to expect...especially since I didn't realize I'd be meeting my cadaver before school even began. It was kind of a shock.
The first day of school involved a quiz and dissection lab. Over the course of the first week of school, I had two quizzes and my first exam (on the thorax). The pace continued through weeks two and three with head and neck (the most difficult material), and slowed a bit down during the fourth week while we worked on the abdomen. There were countless hours of trying to figure out embryology, dissecting away fat, searching for nerves, and peeking around for arteries and veins in the cadaver. I greatly enjoyed working with my lab mates: E, B, and T. I am really surprised by the strong friendships we formed during our anatomy run.
I feel really fortunate that people donate their bodies to science--especially grateful to those that donate their bodies for anatomy courses. It's something that I've considered, instead of being an organ donor. As an organ donor, you could probably help two or three lives. But as a cadaver donor, you could be teaching four future doctors about the body and who knows how many lives will be saved at their hands.
Since Monday, I've switched over to a somewhat normal academic life. Instead of anatomy and ICM, I'm now taking ICM, SHB, MIDM, histology, biochemistry, medicine as culture (non-clinical selective course), and preceptoring. So far, it's been a little tough to keep my classes organized, but it's coming along and I don't feel quite as stressed as I did in anatomy.
This weekend, I'm back home with my parents. We had a lot of fun shopping and we went out for Chinese food for dinner. It was kind of amazing. I'm glad I came home and I feel really loved (and not just because of the presents my parents gave me.) I also got to catch up with my cousin and we talked out some of our personal lives together. Tomorrow I'm vising my brother and his family. I'm also hoping to catch up with a few friends over the phone. Last night and this morning, I hung out with R and it was amazing. We learned how to dougie and I refined my cat daddy skills :)
I don't know when I'll be able to write again, but I'm hoping that it will be sometime soon. Bye!
Anatomy itself was very difficult. Emotionally and physically. The first day I met my cadaver, I didn't know what to expect...especially since I didn't realize I'd be meeting my cadaver before school even began. It was kind of a shock.
The first day of school involved a quiz and dissection lab. Over the course of the first week of school, I had two quizzes and my first exam (on the thorax). The pace continued through weeks two and three with head and neck (the most difficult material), and slowed a bit down during the fourth week while we worked on the abdomen. There were countless hours of trying to figure out embryology, dissecting away fat, searching for nerves, and peeking around for arteries and veins in the cadaver. I greatly enjoyed working with my lab mates: E, B, and T. I am really surprised by the strong friendships we formed during our anatomy run.
I feel really fortunate that people donate their bodies to science--especially grateful to those that donate their bodies for anatomy courses. It's something that I've considered, instead of being an organ donor. As an organ donor, you could probably help two or three lives. But as a cadaver donor, you could be teaching four future doctors about the body and who knows how many lives will be saved at their hands.
Since Monday, I've switched over to a somewhat normal academic life. Instead of anatomy and ICM, I'm now taking ICM, SHB, MIDM, histology, biochemistry, medicine as culture (non-clinical selective course), and preceptoring. So far, it's been a little tough to keep my classes organized, but it's coming along and I don't feel quite as stressed as I did in anatomy.
This weekend, I'm back home with my parents. We had a lot of fun shopping and we went out for Chinese food for dinner. It was kind of amazing. I'm glad I came home and I feel really loved (and not just because of the presents my parents gave me.) I also got to catch up with my cousin and we talked out some of our personal lives together. Tomorrow I'm vising my brother and his family. I'm also hoping to catch up with a few friends over the phone. Last night and this morning, I hung out with R and it was amazing. We learned how to dougie and I refined my cat daddy skills :)
I don't know when I'll be able to write again, but I'm hoping that it will be sometime soon. Bye!
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