...it depends on who payed for my pizza this week

This is an old entry that I hadn't posted, so here it is now:

Today I attended an ophthalmology interest group. I didn't attend because I was interested in the specialty, but rather because I woke up late and was not able to make a lunch. They served pizza. Having said that, I found myself really interested in the field. Apparently it is easy to make half a million a year and if you wanna work as much as 70 hours a week, it is pretty easy to make over a million. And then as an ophthalmologist you restore people's sight. The field is not very demanding in terms of getting a residency or workload.

Then as I walked away from the meeting, I realized what is happening to me. All these interest groups talk up their professions, and my weekly specialty aspirations are directly related to the weekly interest group I attend. So, yeah, my medical ambition is directly tied to who pays for my pizza on any given week.

Connections

From Fall Colors a...

Yeah, I should totally by studying right now, but I have been neglecting my blog lately, so I thought I would punch out a little entry. Things have been good lately. Granted, I have been studying like mad, but I have been doing it during the day so I can relax with Haley when I get home in the evenings (which is usually around 6:00). On non-test weeks, medical school seems fairly doable. Of course when test weeks roll around, I quickly remember why med school gets such a bad rap for being difficult.

There are lots of different styles and people in medical school...Those that don't go to class and don't study until the week before the test. Some do quite well and others suffer. Then there are those students who go to class in the morning, then go home, take a nap, run errands and study in the evening and on weekends. There are those who don't go to class, use the "notetakers" service and do all independent study and do phenomenally well. I'm rather jealous of them, not because they are more intelligent than I am (which they probably are) but because they seem to put in less work and get more done...it is almost like cheating.

Before these past two weeks, class seemed to be rather useless. I would follow the lectures on my handout and highlight anything that looked as though it could be important. I didn't learn much and when I later would study the handouts, it was as though I was looking at it for the first time. I have now changed gears and try to take extensive notes on my laptop. Not only is lecture now useful, but I am learning the information much faster (and maybe even better).

Anyway, I wasn't going to write so much about school in this entry as I was going to talk about making connections. A military brat, I have moved all my life. I don't usually keep up with my friends as I move from place to place, but I am finding that the internet is making it much easier to do. I recently discovered something that every other college-aged person in America already knows about: www.facebook.com. It is a cool website that allows you to keep up with friends from school. I have found a couple high school friends (who I haven't talked to in over 10 years, partly because my high school no longer exists). Recently, a college friend found me and it randomly turns out that she ended up marrying one of my wife's really good friends growing up. And then it turn out they they are really good friends (again, randomly) with one of my good friends growing up. Yeah, it's a strange and sometimes very small world we live in.

From Fall Colors a...

As long as the title of this entry is "connections" I thought I would complain about how I am going to have to start making connections as I think about why type of medicine I would like to practice. I am trying to focus on getting good grades right now, but I also need to be thinking about meeting people in different fields that interest me so I can figure out how to land a competitive residency spot. It is kind of scary when I think of how little I know about getting into a residency, let along which residency I want to get into. It's kind of frustrating, but hopefully I can learn a thing or two next semester.

The above picture is one of Haley and I this past Sunday.

So I asked myself, "self...

From Volcan Maderas

There I was driving home when I saw this person next to me driving while doing a number of things. We all get a little peeved when some idiot is driving while talking on the cell phone. Yeah yeah, we've all seen that. Well, this person was not only talking on the phone, he was also working his iPod. Yeah, that's right, while talking on the phone. But what more, you ask? He was also fidgeting around with what looked like a GPS unit. The funny thing about this story is that it was me that was doing all those things. While this was going on, I asked myself "self, is this the best idea?" I figured it wasn't, but then again I did want to chart my way home so I could determine my average speed, change in elevation, and total trip time. And then, of course, I had to make sure that the iPod wasn't just playing any old Jack Johnson songs, but rather ones that I had previously labeled with four or five stars. And finally, I had to call my baby to let her know I was on my way home. It was a good thing I told her I loved her because that could have very well been the last time I spoke to her, with the way I was driving and all. Retrospectively, I don't think I'll do that again. Gadgets will probably be my downfall.

PS, the picture has nothing to do with my blog entry, I just like this one of Haley.

Headless Horseman

From Pumpkin carvi...

Yeah, lots to say. First off, yesterday I had a huge, boring, long test day. It started by me waking up at 5:30am to study a little more before my test at 8:00. That test lasted until 10:00 or so. Then I go to my histology lab practical which lasts another two hours. Then I get screwed and have to go in the last out of four groups to take our anatomy lab practical just after 4:00pm. So, I study the remainder of the afternoon in the library. I was tired, probably in a bad mood, and sick of school by the time that anatomy test started. We had planned to go visit Garrett and Hannah to carve some pumpkins, but around 3:00 or so, that was the last thing I wanted to do. I just wanted to go home and crash. The only reason I share this long and relatively uneventful story is to share the feelings of joyous elation I felt as I left the anatomy lab after that test. I was in the best mood for the rest of the evening and ended up making the coolest pumpkin of all time (see picture above).

Oh, and this story does have a good ending: I got a nice grade on the test.

My Brother's Wedding Video

Brought to you by Haley (I did the pictures and she put the video together).

No, I'm not going to get you caught up

Jon and Shana

Way too much has been going on to update the world on me. Instead, I'll give the low down on the current events in my life. Med school is awesome, though very time consuming. When I mention to my preceptors that they are keeping me busy, they only respond by telling me that I have no idea. I don't know what that means, but I imagine it refers to my third and fourth year, not to mention residency and then, of course, my career as a physician. I'm hanging in there and even enjoying myself a little along the way.

Our good friends Jon and Shana came into town this weekend and we went up to Atlanta to see them. We had fun visiting with each other, visiting Amicolola Falls, Burt's pumpkin patch, and then the N. Georgia Premium outlets (Haley and I had a first in that we didn't spend a dime--of course that's easy to do when you don't have any money).

Click on the Picture to see more.

Barry and Levonne 240 dollars worth of puddin

From MTV's the State. One of my favorite clips of all time. Thanks to my old IT buddy, barry for originally showing this to me.

So, apparently I am famous

White coats confer trust, responsibility on students

by Kim Miller

Family and friends of first-year medical students at the Medical College of Georgia learned at the 2006 Family Day that a physician’s white coat is more than a garment.

“The purpose of this is symbolism,” said MCG President Daniel W. Rahn at the 11th annual White Coat Ceremony held Sept. 9 at Warren Baptist Church.

“I would suggest that once I put on a white coat and stand in front of you, it’s difficult to view me in the same way, that there really is symbolic significance that is associated with our professional dress,” he said as he left the podium to exchange his suit coat for his white one.

The White Coat Ceremony was initiated in 1993 by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation at Columbia University. It serves as a rite of passage for medical students who, under close faculty supervision, will begin interacting with patients as part of their coursework.

“The white coat symbolizes the trust and the respect our society places in us as physicians,” explained Dr. Ruth-Marie E. Fincher, MCG vice dean for academic affairs. “It symbolizes the relationship between physicians and their patients, that the physician cares and has the right and the responsibility to cross social norms and invade the personal life of the patient through probing questions and probing hands.”

The coat symbolizes a great responsibility and if not worn correctly can impede communication and suggest entitlement or superiority, she added.

“My hope for all of you today is that you will receive and wear proudly your white coat bearing two things in mind,” Dr. Fincher said. “First, please keep your coat clean. It will wash well and I do not want to see you in a white coat with a ring around the collar or dirt around the cuffs… and secondly, wear your white coat as a symbol of your heartfelt compassion and professional commitment in all you do.”

Andy Nagar, a fourth-year medical student and president of his class, gave several examples of how the white coat invited him into the lives of his patients. He was particularly touched by a 24-year-old patient with AIDS.

“After spending several days with her and earning her trust, she shared with me the story of three unplanned pregnancies beginning at the age of 12,” he said. “In the last days of her stay, she shared her memories of a difficult life, in part because I took the time and in part because she identified my white coat as a sign I was there to care for her rather than to judge her.”

School of Medicine Dean D. Douglas Miller gave a brief history of the white coat before introducing the ceremony’s keynote speaker, Dr. Walter Moore, dean of graduate medical education and recipient of the class of 2006’s Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award provided by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.

“Professionalism is the basis of medicine’s contract with society,” Dr. Moore said in his address to the class of 2010. “It demands placing the interest of patients above those of the physician, setting and maintaining standards of competence and integrity, and providing expert advice to society in matters of health.”

Along with the values of partnership and excellence, Dr. Moore encouraged students to embrace the opportunities afforded to them for personal and professional growth.

“There are many individuals who miss opportunities in life,” he said. “Thomas Edison, the most prolific American inventor in our history with over 1,000 patents, opined as to why so many people missed opportunities. I quote, ‘Opportunity is missed by most people because it’s dressed in overalls and it looks like work.’

“I guarantee you have work to do,” said Dr. Moore with a smile.

White Coat Ceremony

Okay, no laughing. But you can laugh at the very funny looking dude directly behind me to the right of the photo. He is my class president. Yes, he looks really funny here. That is Dr. Ruth Marie Fincher helping me with my jacket. She ran a marathon last year.
Medical school is going well, keeping me busy. My second test rocked (especially when compared to the first one). I was kind of sad that I could only do average after what I felt was a good deal of work and studying on that first test. On the second one, I did just as much, if not slightly less studying and happened to score a full 10 percentage points over the average (don't worry, Dr. H., there is hope for me yet). I was very happy of hear of the difference in my grade vs. the average, but was confused as to why I did so well on this one versus the last test. Then I remembered that I am an econ major, graduated two years ago, and the first test was on cell biology. Seeing as everybody else in my class was a bio major, they had distinct advantage over me. Sorry if that sounds a little cocky, as it is, but after not getting in to med school until the third try you start to doubt yourself a little. Rocking that test gave me some welcomed vindication. 

So, maybe I don't have to become a plumber…

So, no new entries in a while. I simply don't have the time. Yesterday I finally told Haley about a hilarious thing that happened to me a week ago. I couldn't believe that I hadn't already told her, and then I realized how much time I have been spending with my notes and textbooks.

So, here's the hilarious story that I had forgotten to share with Haley. In class, they give us practice at becoming doctors (this is only a small part of the course load, and to be honest, it only seems to take precious anatomy study time away from me). Anyway, I am practicing with a fellow MALE classmate in front of two observers, one another classmate and the other my preceptor. As the patient, I was given the role of flirtatious. Yeah, I had to act that one out with a male classmate. It was rather odd.

I have been studying non-stop for the past week and a half. Literally, after class until about 12:30 every night (at least the last couple nights). I'm not crazy, its just that today was our first test. It composed of 83 questions, first thing in the morning. Straight after class, We had another two hour lecture, that I have consequentially been studying all day (we have a test on that stuff next Friday). Given how much I studied for that test, you would have thought that I couldn't have possibly missed any questions. Well, it was a tough test that covered a TON of material. I got the average grade, which I will not divulge, which I am really happy with. Considering that I am in a class of geniuses and overachievers, who studied just as hard as I did, I am happy with my average grade. As long as there were geniuses and overachievers who did worse than me, I am happy.

That whole competing against only yourself stuff is such bull. We are all competing for residency positions, for patients, and for money the rest of our lives. Having said that, MCG is great because everyone is out to help each other out. I have met some great people to study with and we all help each other out. Sure we are competing, but at least we are cordial about it. Luckily I didn't get the high grade in the class, otherwise I would have nowhere to move in the class. At least in the middle, I have options.

I'm all for feminism

Okay, so this is a little side note. One of my teachers (a staunch feminist) showed us this slide in lecture. She introduced it saying that these things called caspases act as the executioner in the cell, killing everything inside. So, she goes on to explain, she searched for a picture of a hatchet on the internet to portray these executioner caspases. She came across this picture and said the following when she showed it to the class "here we see the woman doing (as in real life) all the work. There you see the man telling the woman what to do, and whether told to or not, we see the woman doing all the work." At this point the class was all laughing riotously. Trying to make a feminist joke, she turned the tables. This picture, of course, shows George Washington's father disapproval of his son's chopping down of his cherry tree. It has nothing to do with a man telling a woman what to do.

That is what the elves call the justice of the unicorns.

...dude

When they say that medical school is like being fed information through a fire hose, they weren't kidding. I have learned more this week than the past two years combined (not counting practical information learned at derm and vein). From embryonic development to muscles of the neck to mitochondria and the electron transport chain to critiquing doctor-patient interactions, the first week of school has been intense. I think my pattern is going to be lecture from 8-12 in the morning, followed by some intense studying from 12:30-6:00pm. That way I can save my evenings to spend with Haley and hopefully limit my study time on the weekends.

I was going to do more studying this weekend than what I ended up doing. What can I say? The garage needed organizing, the cars needed their oil to be changed, and the lawn needed a good mowing. I didn't even crack a book on Saturday and put off all the studying until today. And then Haley and I, in an effort to be social, had people over to the house on Saturday and Sunday. Luckily, I did get in a couple hours of study today.

Back to school. It is a lot of fun, as I am getting to meet tons of new people. I don't know if being married forces you to lose any inhibitions and shyness I had as a single person, but my ability to make new friends has really grown in recent years. I think it is because Haley is the only person I care about impressing any more these days, so I just go all out. I even went a played soccer on Friday with a bunch of MSI's and MSII's (referring to medical school year I and II, respectively). Us MSI's, whooped up on the second years, the final score being 7 to 0. I am sure we hurt their egos. That isn't to say that I did anything of note during the hour and a half of play. In fact, I felt like I was going to die just trying to keep up with the rest of the team. I had the incredible foresight to bring a black shirt to play in the 99 degree weather. Being horribly out of shape didn't help things too much either.

I better shut this one down, seeing as how week two of MSI starts in a meager 6.5 hours. Good night and good luck. May your week involve less thinking than mine will.

Day 1

First day of medical school went off with a bang. I got stuck on the 13th street bridge going into Augusta for about 15 minutes, which made me late for class, and then when I finally got to school, I couldn't find an access road to get into the parking lot, so I parked in the center lot, which I am not supposed to do. So I walk into class 10 minutes after lecture started. Luckily there was a seat on the front row and I could hide in a corner. Then after anatomy lab, I realized I had forgotten my lunch at home. Luckily I didn't get a ticket, I didn't miss anything important at the beginning of class, and there was some cheap pizza in the cafeteria I could eat.

I am definitely starting medical school on the right foot. Actually, today was a really good day, apart from the preceding paragraph. We started off first thing in the morning dissecting our cadavers. It was incredible. I can't believe how much ground we covered in the first few hours of medical school. We observed all the major muscles of the back, many of the nerves, and then we dissected through the vertebrae to reach the spinal cord. From the looks of the cadaver, I don't know if I am cut out for surgery. Oh, and I don't eat red meat any more. I honestly think I am giving up pot roast. From here on out, it is chicken and fish for this sailor.

I am getting to meet a lot of cool people in school. Everybody seems really glad to be there and eager to get to know each other and help one another out. Tonight, Haley and I went bowling with the class. In fact, they have an activity planned for every night of this week. I don't think we will make it out to the rest of them, though. Medical school is going to be tough, but I think I am going to love it.