Dr. Katie goes to Med School

Flight of Ideas

2009-10-11T16:30:00.003-04:00

I saw the first image below as my friend's phone backdrop. I was intrigued and asked. Then I started exploring... and just found it all so interesting.

So, now I'll ask you all, how are they all related?

It takes 3 cups to become family

2009-10-04T16:50:00.005-04:00

I finished another book! Aren't you all impressed?! How, you ask, did I have time to read another book in the craziness of 3rd year?

Well.... I started "reading" it a month ago. And I haven't as much been reading it as I have been listening to it. But it still counts, right?

So, what book?

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson.

"The inspiring account of one man's campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and anti-American reaches of Asia."

I thought the book did a wonderful job firstly of describing the difference one person can make in the lives of so many, even when the effort seems like one small thing to begin with (although, I wouldn't necessarily say building a school is a small thing). However, I also thought it did a wonderful job talking about that unique experience of interacting and becoming part of a foreign culture.

It took me awhile to get through the book since I listened to it in 15 minute segments on the way to and from work, so my experience wasn't as cohesive as it could have been, but overall I enjoyed the book. It did a great job of walking through the path Mortenson took to fight terrorism in a very tangible way and implemented a very effective model of change (turning the project over to the local community, allowing them to take control of where and what happens, with continued guidance).

Even if you don't agree with everything Mortenson did or how he approached different situations, I would recommend the book, as it gives hope at the difference we all can make in such a changing and volatile world.

2009-10-01T19:29:00.001-04:00

Had to share this... cause it's funny.

I'd like to dedicate it to all my sad little friends in basic science years. You'll be in clinical year in no time. Promise. And then you can all look back on the 1st and 2nd years in self-righteous pity. ;)

found on MedSchoolHell.com

I love "switch weekend"

2009-09-28T11:46:00.006-04:00

Switch weekend is the glorious weekend that would be almost the equivalent of the "golden weekend" of residency. The Golden weekend is that weekend that residents get about once a month... a weekend that is 2 days, instead of the usual 1 day off per week.

Now I've been lucky through my year thus far (but I have a feeling that luck will be spent come November) and have only had to work 1 weekend per month (gasp! I know! how does that happen?!)... Last month I got even to go to Texas for a wedding. But the difference is that even though we may have the weekend off, we're still required to catch up on all the studying we didn't have time to do during the week (meaning studying in airports/on planes/in the random down moments).

But we have this great thing called "switch weekend." Switch weekend is the weekend at occurs at the end of each rotation, which means that it comes once every 1 to 2 months. It is a guilt-free, no study, do whatever you want weekend, and if it's the right rotation, it can actually be a 3 day weekend. Glorious right?!

Well, I just finished my second rotation, neurology, and took my test on Friday. After turning in my exam and running around the school trying to accomplish a very random errand, it started: Switch Weekend.

I went home and did those things that I don't do during the rest of the month (because it means feeling guilty for not studying): projects for Aesculapians, putting away the laundry that's been sitting in a basket for the last 3 weeks, doing the laundry that's accumulated over the past month. And then I left... and went home-home to spend time with my family.

Going home means a few things: 1) hanging out on my mom's bed watching TV and playing with my dog, 2) getting my hair done , 3) going to see some theatre with my mom (who judges and directs local theatre... and is AMAZING!), 4) catching up on sleep, etc.

This weekend I did a few other things as well... I read a book (Match Day) and mom, a family friend, and I went to a fall festival.

The Book:

Match Day is a quick and informative read about 3 women going through the process of getting into residency. Most people outside medicine might not realize it but applying for residency is not as straight forward as just applying for a job. Matching involves submitting an application and then getting interviews (pretty straight forward)... but after that the 4th year student makes a list of their favorite programs, places they want to go. At the same time the programs make a list of which people they want to work with them. Both parties submit their lists to the NRMP and then on the 3rd Thursday in March everyone finds out where they'll be for the next 3-7 years.

The whole thing is fraught with tension and anxiety... what happens if your first choice doesn't want you? What if you match at a place isn't ideal for whatever reason? What happens if you don't match?

Match Day did a great job of explaining the anxiety that all 4th year students experience, as well as following the 3 individuals through their intern year... reflecting on how the match had served them.

All in all, I thought it was a good book, and definitely spoke to some of the anxiety that is starting to build in 3rd year students as we watch our 4th year friends start the process. I recommend that any one thinking about going to medical school pick it up and give it a read... it explains a little more about what to expect.

The Festival:

Fall is one of my favorite seasons... so I was super excited when my mom said we'd be able to go to the Fallasburg Fall Festival. It was a quaint little fall craft festival complete with live folk music. Mom and I both walked away with some fun new jewelry (which I might be wearing right now). We all had a great time... but then again, how could we not.

Anyways, it's time for me to get to my 2nd orientation of the day... Hope you all are enjoying the wonderful fall weather!

Please Pray for Grace

2009-09-19T19:01:00.002-04:00

Below is an urgent update from the school that I worked at in Thailand... Please read... and Please pray!

Grace International School in Chiang Mai, Thailand, offers affordable, high quality education to the children of Christian workers in Southeast Asia. One-third of the world’s population, more than two billion people, live within a three hour plane flight from Chiang Mai, making it a strategic location. Grace has been in existence for 10 years and has served more than 1,500 students from more than 20 countries. The ministry of GIS enables hundreds of missionaries to minister in SE Asia.
A recent lawsuit brought against Grace International School has jeopardized the future use of the current school facilities. This suit was filed by the Nittibukon, a neighborhood association legally recognized by the government, charging that GIS had purchased the current property and facilities illegally.

When Grace purchased the property, all papers were properly filed in government offices and the title deeds were legally transferred to the school. All proper due diligence was taken to ensure the legality of the purchase. Due to the enactment of a recent law regarding consumer protection, the Nittibukon claimed what they believe is their right to have the property given to them.

In August, 2009, the court ruled against Grace International School, requiring the school to:

Abandon the facility and turn the land deeds over to them
Restore the facilities to their original condition
Pay a fine in excess of $140,000

Grace will appeal this decision and is working to pursue a just resolution in this case. Should the appeals courts not rule in our favor, GIS will be forced to vacate the facilities in the next year. It is therefore vitally urgent that the school acquire/obtain a new facility. However, regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, it is clear that GIS needs to relocate in order to continue to grow in the coming years. The current facility is bursting at the seams and admittance of new students has been limited/restricted.

We ask for your prayers! Please pray for God’s provision for GIS, as well as wisdom for school administrators as they guide the school during this challenging time. GIS must raise $10 million dollars to purchase property and build a new campus. But we serve a GREAT GOD who goes before us! We are thankful for God’s provision these last ten years, and we look forward to seeing how God will provide for the coming years.

And here's a little video for you all to check out:

Maybe...

2009-09-18T20:28:00.000-04:00

Just bought some new music from some of my favorite artists... Thought I'd share this from the new Ingrid Michaelson CD...

Social Commentary

2009-09-17T15:04:00.003-04:00

I have had many stories over the past few months that have left me shocked, sad or laughing but I thought I'd take time to at least share 2 that have really stuck with me... one because it was completely awkward... and the other because of the sadness of it all. I'll start with the sad one... cause the awkward one will at least have you leaving laughing in disbelief. ;)

Story #1
The other day we had a little old lady (LOL) admitted for stroke (which is the most common neurology admission by far). It quickly became apparent that she would need a good family support upon leaving, besides the fact that we needed to notify her family of her admission. When we asked who to contact she basically told us the only person in her life was her grown son, who she supported. We asked her how we could contact him, she said that we wouldn't be able to, since he never answered the phone at their house.

Eventually we told her we needed to admit her for a little while, at which point she said she had to leave to give her son money for food. She said he wouldn't be able to get food if she didn't give him his $2.52. We all quickly looked at each other. She went on saying that he's daily meal cost $2.52 from Taco Bell and described some sort of burrito. She then added that her daily meal cost $2.42 and was a salad and hamburger.We all left the room and looked at each other and comment on how sad it is that this lady was living on one small meal a day from a fast food restaurant.

Story #2 (warning, somewhat graphic in nature)
About 1/2 way through my Ob rotation I was helping out with triage and admissions histories. My resident sent me down to one of the rooms to take an admission history of a lady that presented to triage in active labor. I went down and started taking the history. About half way through taking the history and trying to calm the lady down something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I looked over to where the lady's finance was sitting and was a little shocked to say the least. The guy was laying down on the window bench with a blanket over his head. That's not what caught my attention... what caught my attention was the way he was moving... and the fact that his hand was down his pants. When I realized what was going on I quickly turned my back on the guy and finished the history as fast as I could.

When I told the nurses what had happened one of the nurses said if it happened again she'd be sure to "set the boy straight." Needless to say, we had a laugh at my completely awkward situation.

My friends are kinda a big deal

2009-09-17T14:34:00.003-04:00

Firstly, thank you too all you who commented on the blog. I was worried I'd lost all my blog-friends and followers in my almost 2 month absence. So... thanks for still reading. And watch out, cause here's one of two posts from today (SURPRISE! 3 posts in 2 days!)
____
I've been very lucky to have some very talented friends throughout the years. I can't get into my best friend (Simple Fair), but let's just leave it at she's awesome and a pretty big deal. But when it comes to other friends from childhood.... Well, more than 1 of my high school friends are either acting in NYC and/or have been on Broadway. 1 kid I did theatre with in high school had a small cameo role on Gossip Girl a few seasons back. And another 1 of my HS friends is pretty much a celebrity blogger in the theatre blogosphere. And while these are all pretty awesome, I'm going to have to put in a plug for one of my other friends at this point.

During my senior year one of my friends and I lived in the only off-campus apartments (yes, my school was super small... and no one lived off campus until senior year... that's why the Taylor Community is so strong and so amazing, but I digress...). We lived next to an apartment of 3 guys. I didn't know them at the beginning of the year, but over the year we hung out at their apartment quite a bit... having dinner parties, watching Sunday football (Go Colts!), and breaking the school rules a little bit. Well... one of these guys is making a name for himself in the music world.

A few weeks ago he won VMA Breakout Artist of the Year in Chicago! And he's starting a tour soon... so I thought I'd drop one of the rehearsal videos for you all to watch, leave you his websites, and of course share the tour dates. If you are around any of these locations, I HIGHLY recommend checking it out. Cause Drew is pretty talented.

Here's the video:

The Ten out of Tenn Tour Dates:
Sept 17 - Square Room - Knoxville, TN
Sept 18 - Workplay - Birmingham, AL
Sept 19 - Chelsea's - Baton Rouge, LA
Sept 20 - House of Blues - New Orleans, LA
Sept 22 - Orange Peel - Asheville, NC
Sept 23 - Eddie's Attic - Atlanta, GA
Sept 24 - Visulite - Charlotte, NC
Sept 25 - The Hat Factory - Richmond, VA
Sept 26 - Iota - Arlington, VA
Sept 27 - World Cafe - Philadelphia, PA
Sept 29 - Cafe 939 - Boston, MA
Sept 30 - Canal Room - New York, NY
Oct 2 - Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH
Oct 3 - The Basement - Columbus, OH
Oct 4 - Schubas - Chicago, IL
Oct 5 - Radio Radio - Indianapolis, IN
Oct 6 - Southgate House - Cincinnati, OH
Oct 7 - Cannery Ballroom - Nashville, TN

The Websites (to check out more):
Youtube
Ten out of Tenn
Myspace
Twitter

Anyways... that's enough shameless promotion of my friend... Listen and enjoy!

Clearly I'm Failing at Blogging

2009-09-15T17:51:00.002-04:00

My mom pointed out to me about 3 weeks ago that I hadn't updated my blog in awhile. My response: I don't have time. Her response: Yes you do, just find it. So here I am trying to invent time in an effort to at least send out a little update for those of you who are interested.

OB/GYN ended about 3 weeks ago and my thoughts this far are that I liked it, which I was completely NOT expecting. I thought I'd die having to look at vag all day and was pretty sure I was going to drop a baby at some point. But, it wasn't bad... I think I was just intimidated by what I'd be expected to do. I really liked the team I was on and enjoyed being able to help with deliveries. But what I really enjoyed the most was being able to scrub in on surgeries. I learned how to suture and tie knots, got to see some sweet laparoscopic surgeries (including the removal of bilateral mature teratomas) and during one sterilization I got to cut one of the fallopian tubes.

Before starting OB/GYN I was pretty sure that I would be quickly crossing it off my list of potential career options. But as of right now it's at least still on the list. We'll see how surgery goes... but I'm thinking I'm going to like it a lot. At least I'm hoping to.

After the rotation I went up north camping with my mom, dad and dog. It rained all weekend, and our campsite got flooded. But mom and I did get a chance to do the Winery Tour on the Leelanau Pennisula and spent some nice time hiding from the rain while shopping in Traverse City (I finally got the Wellies my mom promised me, they're pink!). I also got a few nice bottles of wine to add to my collection. It was a great break before neurology started.

Since the beginning of the month I've been doing neurology, which I really thought was going to be depressing (and can be, but not as much as I thought). At my location we get to choose our own schedule for the month, so during my first week I chose neurosurgery... and LOVED IT! I got to see a living brain, touch a spinal cord, and see the pulsations of CSF underneath the meninges. It was awesome! I want to consider neurosurgery at this point but I'm not sure if I have the necessary scores or the endurance for a 7 year residency. We'll see.

Last week I spent in the neuro-ICU. The high point of my week was Friday, when one of the patient's I saw in the ER during neurosurgery (who came in comatose due to an interventricular hemorrhage) started talking! However, it wasn't all kicks and giggles... I also performed my first brain death exam and saw a few other patients that would not make it through the next week.

The sadness of last week was GREATLY contrasted by this weekend, which was spent in San Antonio for the wedding of one of my good friends from Thailand. I got in late on Friday, spent Saturday morning running around seeing the sites (The Alamo, the Riverfront, and the San Jose Mission), and went to Staci's wedding in the afternoon. While there, I got to see my roommate from Thailand, who was the maid of honor, and stayed with 2 other close friends that I worked with at Grace. Pictures to come....

This week has already been busy... I'm on the inpatient side of neurology and was "on call" yesterday till 9, after which I had to prepare a presentation for today. A few things about neurology:

Neurologist are on the few specialties where it is common to take a VERY LONG time interviewing a patient... The histories are super detailed, and so are the physical exams.
Rounds can last all day... no joke. Yesterday we rounded on patients from 8 till 5. Today was a little better, I think they were done around 2 or 3 (I had lectures to attend/present so I got to skip out).
Aspirin and CT/MRI are the answer to everything.

For the most part it's been okay so far... I'm just starting to stress out a bit because I've not had anytime to study yet and my test is next week (and word of mouth says it's a pretty difficult exam). That being said, time for me to get back to studying.

Hope you all are doing well!

A Day in the Life... thus far

2009-07-20T11:25:00.002-04:00

We're 2 weeks into 3rd year and it's been a great experience so far. Surprisingly, obstetrics and gynecology is going well. I've been able to help deliver a few babies and have been in one a lot of c-sections (including being the 1st assistant on a tubal ligation).

The hours are long, but I'm surprisingly okay with that as well. So, what does a typical day look like?

3:45 am - alarm starts going off
4:15 am - actually manage to get out of bed and start getting ready
5:00 am - check the traffic/news and eat breakfast
5:20 am - head to work
5:35 am - arrive at work
5:45 am - check in with postpartum patients
7:00 am - attending rounds
7:30 am - morning board turn-over in L&D ("labor and delivery")
8:30 am - check in with all the pregnant ladies/triage
this lasts all day... along with the delivering of babies and c-sections
lunch may or may not happen, which means carrying snack foods in my back pack are essential
7:00 pm - night board turn over
7:30 pm - leave for home
7:45 pm - arrive at home
8:00 pm - eat dinner/relax
9:30 pm - crash into my bed

Starting this week I'm on nights... which means I'm at the hospital from 6:45 pm to 8:30 am. There's a few days with lectures/meetings before or after call, which means this is going to be a rough week.

And also starting this week I have to somehow manage to find time to study. Hmm.

Almost officially a 3rd year!

2009-06-28T18:21:00.003-04:00

I'm done with Step 1 (as of Thursday)!!! I won't say much, just that I'm glad that it's done and that the studying is over for at least a little while. I won't find out how I did for 3-6 weeks, but right now I think that it went okay (really hard to tell though). At the end of this post I've included my schedule, for anyone interested.

So, what have I been up to since then? Mostly doing nothing while pretending to pack up the last 2 years into some boxes and suitcases (I'm moving tomorrow). Other than that, I had a meeting the day after my exam... ran home to take my brother to the hospital (everything is okay)... and went to IKEA with my mom and her best friend (who came back to town for some speaking engagements). That and watching an absurd amount of TV online.... oops.

What's next? Well... as mentioned I'm moving tomorrow into my first house. Super excited! I am also meeting with some doctors about research opportunities for next year (tomorrow at 7 am... yikes!). Everything else is gearing up for 3rd year. Getting hospital IDs, getting oriented, etc.

So, short summer (hmmm 5 days maybe) and then the 4th of July weekend before I hit the hospitals and begin doing something resembling real work and real life. It's going to be quite a transition... (I'm trying to cram 250 Biggest Mistakes 3rd Year Medical Student Make within the next few days, we'll see how that goes... but from what I've read, I think it will help). For a bigger picture on what I'll be facing, MedZag had a nice post about the transition: here.

Orientation starts on Wednesday. Hospital Orientation is a week from tomorrow... and we officially start that next Tuesday. Getting excited, but also kinda nervous. Should be fun though... I've heard that Ob is actually really good to start on, so I'm getting a little more excited about that...

Anyways.... still have lots of packing to do (hence the procrastination here). See you all soon.

Study Aids for the Med Student

2009-05-20T10:19:00.005-04:00

Before I go into hibernation I thought I would share a few study tools (as it is study season)... both of which I've at least reference before if not shared before. Here goes...

1. Evernote

"Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere." - evernote.com

Evernote is a free program that I mentioned earlier in the year with a video link to the 5 ways a medical student was using the program. I also mentioned that I hadn't really figured out how I wanted to use it.

Since then I've become enlightened. Besides using it for saving funny pictures I find on the web and clipping articles/quotes to read later, I've found my new favorite way to use the program for board studying.

I've been typing in the First Aid and Step Up mneumonics... and since it's searchable it means that I can easily find what I'm looking for... and fast.

2. iFlash

"iFlash is a virtual flash-card program built for Mac OS X. If you want to learn almost anything, from a foreign language to the ten-codes police officers use, iFlash is for you.

iFlash includes many great features to help you study. You can record audio and attach images directly into any flash card, create an infinite number of card sides, use categories, print your cards, quickly search, and more." - loopware.com

Yes, the program is still as good as it was before... but in my opinion it got even better! The new updated version has an export to iPhone and iTouch option!!!!! (The free app is available through iTunes Apps Store)

When you click the "export" button it opens a window that searches for the open app on your iPhone/iTouch wirelessly*. It connects and you got the deck ready to go!

For more images go check out the website or apps store.

*A little story about wireless updates: I had to mess around in order to first get this to work because I was on my school's internet which has firewalls, etc. We tried a few different things before determining that if you make a "computer-to-computer" network (go to your airport and "create a network") you can connect through your iPhone/iTouch. This makes the network only your computer and device.... and Viola, updated!

The One in Which Katie is a Meanie..

2009-05-20T09:46:00.004-04:00

The rest of my class finished 2nd year yesterday. Please note the qualifier of "rest" in the last sentence... Me? I don't finish until tomorrow morning.

Jury duty has officially served it's purposed... I've served, done my civic duty, and an now punished for doing good.... with an exam and a shortened board study time.

Last night I felt kind of bad, but every one was happy (mind you I did nothing last night but work on a website for a school group and finish Arrested Development) and talking about the end of second year. Right before going to bed my roommate and I were talking and she says, "So, I'm starting board study tomorrow." My reply, "I'm not and can't." I just wanted to say, please throw the dagger in a little further... yes, you get an extra few days and don't have meetings every other Friday all summer.... But that's okay...

I felt even worse when she asked me where I was studying today... at which point I just replied that from here on out I'm going to rooms/places where I WON'T run into other medical students. I know, mean... But I just need to get away... from everyone... and everything... and be in my own little world.

For the next few weeks I'm SERIOUSLY going into hibernation... I'm deactivating Facebook tomorrow after my exam, removing my "procrastination" tab from the toolbar and removing Tweetie from my applications bar. Even further, I'm turning my phone to off unless it's lunch or dinner.
So, I might show up randomly here or on Twitter... But for the most part (minus one more study aids post), I'll see you at the end of June just in time for Ob/Gyn.

Etiology of Cardiac Tamponade?

2009-05-18T17:56:00.003-04:00

Hahaha..... This is what med school does to you. BTW, my friends are awesome.

Twitter as Step 1 Study Aid

2009-05-10T14:50:00.005-04:00

Boards are on their way... and that means it's time to ramp up the questions! During board study I plan on using a Qbank to do the majority of my question-based studying (which is super important)... But I thought I would share some extra resources on Twitter that I found great!

1. First Aid Team
That's right, from the makers of the Bible for Board Exams (First Aid). They put up new questions about twice a day. And as you can see, they reference the book so you can look up the answers.

2. #step1 (which tags a tweet as "step1")

Now, I just recently found these people and started following them... But I really like what they're doing. They are posting random questions tagged as "step 1". They @reply each other with answers occasionally, but at least try to post answers to their own questions later in the day. Lots of questions per day... (I have a search for #step1 saved in my Tweetie for quick reference.)

3. @OslersNode just put up a list of Medical Student Twitters... Some of the other second years are throwing out random comments/mneunomics... It's more of a search... But it is there.

On that note... time to jump back into GI - the last pathophys unit of the year.

Jury Duty... FAIL!

2009-05-10T00:22:00.003-04:00

"Apparently you morons didn’t understand me the first time. I CANNOT take time off from work. I’m not putting my familys wellbeing at stake to participate in this crap. I don’t believe in our “justice” system and I don’t want to have a goddamn thing to do with it. Jury duty is a complete waste of time. I would rather count the wrinkles on my dogs balls than sit on a jury. Get it through your thick skulls. Leave me the f–k alone."

My mom just sent this to me, and I had to share it as it actually relates to a bunch of crap that's been happening lately.

To put it simply, I've gotten called for jury duty 3 TIMES in the last 6 MONTHS!?

Now, it's not really 3 individual times... it's more like 1 got called 1 time... and postponed (cause I'm a student that doesn't currently live in the same city/area as my permanent address). Then they sent me a "new" date that happened to be in the middle of a test week with 3 exams... I postponed again and even had a few emails with the people about being a student and not being in the area.

Well, this past week I got another summons... Mind you, I'm still a student and still not living at my permanent address as I'm still IN SCHOOL!

Needless to say, I'm jumping through hoops at my school to get them to write a letter to the court people from hell while my parents send me the real summons (they technically wouldn't write the letter without the real summons, but seeing as how the court has to have it by Monday and i got the scanned copy on Wednesday... they had to work with me).

This is getting ridiculous though. Why the eff are they calling me?! And why are they stupid to the point that they cannot understand.... out of the area, medical school, exams every two weeks?! I mean, there are enough people with real jobs (or no jobs for that matter) that could do it... why are they so persistent in getting students?

If I cannot get out of jury duty it means that I'll be missing 2 exams. Which means that I will have to take the make-up exams, which means that I won't be able to take my board exams on time... Which means that I won't start 3rd year on time.

We're not talking missing a few days of class... We're talking I'd be starting 3rd year 2 months late... In September.

I'm so pissed right now.

I'm calling them this week to yell at them... but I thought I'd wait until my school has a chance to at least draft the letter to these idiots.

Panda's Follow-Up

2009-05-07T23:33:00.001-04:00

Sorry, couldn't resist... clearly suffering from some ataxia.

Oh Baby Panda, you are TOO cute

2009-05-04T18:34:00.001-04:00

Can't you just imagine the mamma panda saying, "WTF was that?!?!"

Emily and CF Rocks

2009-05-03T13:55:00.002-04:00

Emily is good friends with one of my friends in med school. During 1st year she came and talked to our class with some other CF Rocks/ CF Foundation people.

Go join her cause on FB!

P.S. You should probably change your facebook language to pirate... SO much better. :)

Help Save a Life! Seriously!!!

2009-05-01T19:27:00.001-04:00

Join the National Bone Marrow Registry today!

Karmic FB Status Updates

2009-04-29T12:37:00.001-04:00

Yes, they did all appear in a row... yes, I find it hilarious.

Rotation Schedule!

2009-04-28T20:50:00.003-04:00

Just found out my rotation schedule for next year:
July-August: Ob/Gyn
Sept-Oct: Neuro/Psych
Nov-Dec: Surgery
Jan-Feb: FamMed/Elective
Mar-Apr: Peds
May-Jun: Med

Not my 1st choice (it was my 2nd), but at least it keeps my options for elective somewhat open.

Oh BioRad... Your Commercials are HILarious!

2009-04-28T19:44:00.001-04:00

via GruntDoc and Musings of a Dinosaur

Pulling a Blog No-No

2009-04-22T21:53:00.002-04:00

Okay, I know it's the death of a blog when you start talking about blogging, but I kind of have to so I don't feel like a complete failure.

If you haven't noticed I've been a little absent as of late. But don't worry, it's not just the blog I'm neglecting: google reader (I know right?! I just checked my google reader and AFTER marking as read 750+ news updates I still had a total of 1000+ unread items... crap...).... twitter.... facebook (kind of)... etc.

The reason? I'll give you one guess...

Did ya take it?

If you guessed school, you're right! Congrats, you've won... absolutely nothing. ;)

School is coming to an end, but we still have like 7 exams in the next month and a half.

For those of you interested:
Tuesday, April 28th = Renal Pathophys Exam
Thursday, April 30th = Physical Diagnosis OSCE (proving I can do a physical)
Thursday, May 7th = Kaplan Diagnostic Exam (to show us how little we really know)
Monday, May 11th (am) = Gastrointestinal Pathophys Exam
Monday, May 11th (pm) = Comprehensive Basic Science Exam (to again scare us about step 1)
Monday, May 18th = Clinical Medicine Written Exam
Tuesday, May 19th = Integrative Pharmacology Exam

And then after all that I have 4 weeks to relearn everything from the past 2 years and learn everything the school conveniently "forgot" to teach us.... for my board exam on June 25th (CRAP!!!!!). (Which for those of you who don't know is the exam that basically determines where and what you can do)

So, until all this craziness is over my online presence may be like the Michigan weather... comes and goes and you never know when or what might happen.

Until next time, may your life be more enjoyable than mine. :)

If you're the praying type...

2009-04-13T20:36:00.003-04:00

During my time in Thailand I lived with an AMAZING girl named Brooke. While there her mom and my mom both came over for Christmas. During that time I got to know Bev, and since then I've been reading her blog.

In her latest entry she told us that she's been diagnosed with breast cancer. I don't know a lot of details but I do know that it is invasive ductal carcinoma (with some areas of ductal carcinoma in situ). Please join me, Bev's friend and the Brandon family in lifting up this amazing woman in prayer!!!!
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For those of you who want some information, here's my cliff notes (more can be found here and here and here):

Breast cancer can be invasive or non-invasive, with invasive meaning that it has the potential to spread, or metastasize. When it comes to non-invasive cancers there are 2 main types: ductal carcinoma in situ and lobular carcinoma in situ (a.k.a. DCIS, LCIS).

DCIS is usually found by screening mammography and can usually be treated with lumpectomy, and depending on the type, with Taxmofien or Herceptin (chemotherapy drugs). It can be low, intermediate or high grade, with high grade meaning the cell transformations are more advanced (thus implying a worse prognosis). LCIS is usually seen in pre-menopausal women, cannot usually be seen clinically or by mammogram, and is incidental; however, LCIS is usually a marker for more extensive cancer elsewhere, meaning that these patients should be put on high risk screening recommendations.

When it comes to invasive cancers, there are 3 different types: invasive ductal carcinoma, invasive lobular carcinoma, and inflammatory breast cancer. Of the 3 invasive ductal carcinoma is the most common (75%); inflammatory breast carcinoma is the most aggressive. However, with all 3 of them, there is invasion into the lymphatic vessels (the vessels that return fluid from your tissues to your blood stream). This means that cancer cells can get into your circulation and spread. The first thing that these cancer cells encounter are your lymph nodes, the small group of tissue that contains your immune cells.

The staging of a cancer is the most important thing that determines the prognosis (or survival). For breast cancer, the staging is made up of whether there is evidence of cancer in the axillary lymph nodes (the ones in your arm pits), how large the tumor is, the grade (which means how advanced the cell changes are), as well as other factors... including whether the cancer is ER+ or Her2+.

Both ER+ and Her2+ are designations as to whether the cell certain factors that can be treated with specific antibody medications; having these means that the cancer is more sensitive to chemotherapy, and thus good things to have.

PLEASE REMEMBER that the best way to prevent breast cancer is monthly self breast exams! Also, please make sure you have yearly appointments with your family doctor or gynecologist, and mammographs if you're over 40 years old.

And as always, please remember that I'm a medical student, NOT a doctor. If you have any concerns please CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR. And if you want any more information, feel free to check out the sites above....