omg, I'm still alive. It's true. Anyway, I've just completed my first rotation for my 3rd year of medical school, and I thought it would be a good time to update. For those on the outside of the med school world, the 3rd year involves 6 core rotations including 6 weeks each of Ob/Gyn, family medicine, pediatrics, and psychiatry, and 12 weeks each of internal medicine and surgery. That's the order I'm going in, so I started Ob/Gyn on September 6 and finished Friday with the dreaded shelf exam. Now this post is dedicated to what I've learned.
I'll start off with the best part: I got to deliver 3 babies. :) I saw like 12 new people come into the world, but those 3 I actually got to deliver/help deliver.
Ok, so during my 2 weeks in gynecological surgery I saw/learned about:
-dilation & curettage & endometrial ablation (getting rid of the endometrial layer of the uterus)
-hysteroscopy (a camera that looks inside the uterus)
-total abdominal hysterectomy
-robotic laparoscopic hysterectomy
-vaginal hysterectomy (didn't even know that was possible 6 weeks ago)
-repair of cystocele (cystocele = the bladder losing support & bulging backwards)
yeah, sadly surgery was the most boring part
2 weeks on labor floor, including 1 week of nights:
-preeclampsia (high blood pressure, protein in urine, & swelling)
-HELLP syndrome (Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes, & Low Platelets)
-postpartum hemorrhage
-Cesarean sections (both low transverse & an inverted T-shape)
-twin delivery (apparently most of the time twins are delivered by C-section, but this was a natural birth & the 2nd baby came out butt first/breech)
-ectopic pregnancy
-non-stress tests (to check on how the baby is doing before it is born - when the baby moves its heart rate increases, just like exercise makes your heart rate increase)
-fetal heart tone monitor
-AFI (amniotic fluid index to make sure the baby has enough fluid in there)
-how to tell if a woman is actually in labor or if her water has broken
-aaaand, something NON-related to the Ob/Gyn field: the effects of smoking bath salts (no, it's not really bath salt, it's like cocaine & causes hallucinations, racing heart, paranoia, and suicidal thoughts, among other things)
and during clinic, I did a whole lot of measuring pregnant bellies (fundal height) & using a Doptone to listen to fetal hearts. Also did a few speculum exams, pap smears, bimanual exams, and breast exams. And I learned about colposcopy and got to play with an ultrasound machine a little - much harder than you'd think.
Ok, sorry if that was boring. I'll try to throw in an interesting post about my summer soon. Or something.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Do you believe me?
I recently read a book about a boy with Asperger's (House Rules by Jodi Picoult) that I thought was pretty profound, but also a little disconcerting because I couldn't help but relate to the boy. I marked a passage that actually sums up how I feel sometimes. This boy is being tried for murder and his attorney asks him why he doesn't show that he misses the victim. This is his response:
"If I know I feel it, that's what counts. Don't you ever look at someone who's hysterical in public and wonder if it's because they really feel miserable or because they want others to know they're miserable? It kind of dilutes the emotion if you display it for the whole world to see. Makes it less pure."
While I don't conform to this quite as strongly as an autistic person, I often feel that blatant expressions of emotion can be construed as insincere. A person should not have to prove or insist how he or she is feeling - trying harder makes me wonder if they are trying to convince me. I feel the same way about compliments. Compliments are nice, but when it is emphasized repeatedly I wonder if they mean it or just want me to believe it.
Alright, that's enough of that. It's hard for me to articulate all of my thoughts on this topic. Anyway, good book - I'd recommend it.
"If I know I feel it, that's what counts. Don't you ever look at someone who's hysterical in public and wonder if it's because they really feel miserable or because they want others to know they're miserable? It kind of dilutes the emotion if you display it for the whole world to see. Makes it less pure."
While I don't conform to this quite as strongly as an autistic person, I often feel that blatant expressions of emotion can be construed as insincere. A person should not have to prove or insist how he or she is feeling - trying harder makes me wonder if they are trying to convince me. I feel the same way about compliments. Compliments are nice, but when it is emphasized repeatedly I wonder if they mean it or just want me to believe it.
Alright, that's enough of that. It's hard for me to articulate all of my thoughts on this topic. Anyway, good book - I'd recommend it.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
My Life in the Future
Hey there, miss me? Ok so I haven't had a whole lot of inspiration to entertain you with. Sorry about that. But since one of my faithful readers has requested my return I figured I'd better not disappoint!
Aaaand today my mother & I worked on cleaning out the terrifying office. If you saw this room you would understand that statement. To put it mildly, the office is/was very messy. Among the deep-cleaning we shredded 1.5 giant garbage bags full of old documents, and then my mom pulled out some of my old school papers. I decided to share with you what I had predicted for my future when I was in 5th grade. I'll bold the words that I filled in & will leave the blanks in so you know what I had not decided, and I'll leave the spelling as it was back in 1996. Enjoy.
Aaaand today my mother & I worked on cleaning out the terrifying office. If you saw this room you would understand that statement. To put it mildly, the office is/was very messy. Among the deep-cleaning we shredded 1.5 giant garbage bags full of old documents, and then my mom pulled out some of my old school papers. I decided to share with you what I had predicted for my future when I was in 5th grade. I'll bold the words that I filled in & will leave the blanks in so you know what I had not decided, and I'll leave the spelling as it was back in 1996. Enjoy.
"My Life in the Future"
"In a few years I will attend Northern High School. I will be the star of the Basket-ball team. I will join the Drama club, and graduate with an A average. I will drive a Corvet and work after school at Burger King. My best friend will be ___.
After I graduate from high school I will go to Michigan State University. I will become a famous Author. I will build a ___ house in the state of California. It will have 8 rooms, and the best part is that it will have a swimming pool. I will drive a Mustang Convertable. My hobbies will be roller-blading and bicycling. For vacations I will get in my ___ and take off for ___. Once a week I'll go out to dinner at the ___. I will get married when I am 21 years old and have 2 children. My husband and I will make sure they always have fun and I'll be sure and tell them ___. I will retire when I am 50 years old and spend my old age visiting all my good old friends from ---* Elementary School and doing ___."
Please note that at some point I erased "Burger King" and "Mustang Convertable" and crossed out "State" from MSU. Now at the ripe old age of 26 I can tell you that so far the only true predictions are that I did indeed attend Northern and I still enjoy rollerblading. (I recently bought myself a new bike too.) I can also tell you that I laughed hysterically at the idea of driving a corvette in high school and retiring at age 50 (my mom, who is past 50 also got quite the kick out of that one). As for my other predictions, I didn't play basketball beyond that 5th grade team, and I never joined drama. I spent several years writing stories and loved it, but I only finished the short ones. My inability to write a full-length novel sort of killed that dream of being an author I think. Some days I still think I'll go back and finish some of those long stories I started.
I guess this just goes to show that life doesn't always work out quite the way you planned.
*I removed the name of my elementary school so that you cannot travel back in time & kidnap me.
After I graduate from high school I will go to Michigan State University. I will become a famous Author. I will build a ___ house in the state of California. It will have 8 rooms, and the best part is that it will have a swimming pool. I will drive a Mustang Convertable. My hobbies will be roller-blading and bicycling. For vacations I will get in my ___ and take off for ___. Once a week I'll go out to dinner at the ___. I will get married when I am 21 years old and have 2 children. My husband and I will make sure they always have fun and I'll be sure and tell them ___. I will retire when I am 50 years old and spend my old age visiting all my good old friends from ---* Elementary School and doing ___."
Please note that at some point I erased "Burger King" and "Mustang Convertable" and crossed out "State" from MSU. Now at the ripe old age of 26 I can tell you that so far the only true predictions are that I did indeed attend Northern and I still enjoy rollerblading. (I recently bought myself a new bike too.) I can also tell you that I laughed hysterically at the idea of driving a corvette in high school and retiring at age 50 (my mom, who is past 50 also got quite the kick out of that one). As for my other predictions, I didn't play basketball beyond that 5th grade team, and I never joined drama. I spent several years writing stories and loved it, but I only finished the short ones. My inability to write a full-length novel sort of killed that dream of being an author I think. Some days I still think I'll go back and finish some of those long stories I started.
I guess this just goes to show that life doesn't always work out quite the way you planned.
*I removed the name of my elementary school so that you cannot travel back in time & kidnap me.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Things my cat will eat...
I've come to the realization that this whole blog thing is really just for my own entertainment anyway, so if I get the whim to post something insignificant.. whatev...
My recent life (ie the past month) has been 90% (ish) dedicated to studying for this silly little test. You may have heard of it: USMLE Step 1. In any case, this severely limits my opportunities for experiencing truly post-worthy events. However, in my days on end that I spent locked in my apartment with my cat at least the cat does things to lighten the mood. Although, often times his activities are incredibly irritating.
For example, Storm has taken to chasing his tail while standing on the window sill, which makes the vertical blinds bang around insanely. During daylight hours this is an immensely hilarious show. Why he picks narrow spaces to perform his feats is beyond me, but he's also attempted to chase his tail while standing on the back of my office chair... he has fallen off of that a few times. Anyway, the unfortunate thing is that sometimes he gets the burning desire to perform for me quite early in the morning, say 5:09am. Yeah, don't ask which day that was, but I definitely looked at the clock & groaned. Yesterday he waited a little later to play at 5:30, quite generous of him.
One of his other favorite activities is investigating my desk.
He has learned that I impede this process in my waking hours, so he has decided that said early morning hours are the best time for this as well. Much less noisy, but I still feel compelled to turn on the lamp & try to stop him from tearing things up. I've had to relocate my necklaces because they are far too awesome of a toy for him to ignore no matter how many times I squirt him with the water bottle from my nice warm bed. Exhibit A:
Aside from the early morning shenanigans, my precious little monster has many adventures that simply make me laugh because I'm awake. His recent favorite hobby involves attacking the ball that hangs from the ceiling of his little cube bed (which is pink because it was a hand-me-down from my cousin's girl cats. He doesn't mind). He gets soooo into this that there's no telling where the cube will end up or in what position. He flips it all around & sometimes gets trapped inside with the opening to the floor. Most impressive though is this precariously balanced moment:
And throughout his hardcore play sessions, I've discovered that without careful monitoring he will sometimes ingest things that just aren't meant to be eaten. If I drop burger on the floor when I'm cooking he ignores it, but these are the things I've noticed the little weirdo has eaten:
Note to concerned animal lovers: Yes, I take away things or stop him from eating things that are not food, and watch him closely for any signs of distress when he does manage to ingest something like that half a ponytail holder that could cause an intestinal blockage.
My recent life (ie the past month) has been 90% (ish) dedicated to studying for this silly little test. You may have heard of it: USMLE Step 1. In any case, this severely limits my opportunities for experiencing truly post-worthy events. However, in my days on end that I spent locked in my apartment with my cat at least the cat does things to lighten the mood. Although, often times his activities are incredibly irritating.
For example, Storm has taken to chasing his tail while standing on the window sill, which makes the vertical blinds bang around insanely. During daylight hours this is an immensely hilarious show. Why he picks narrow spaces to perform his feats is beyond me, but he's also attempted to chase his tail while standing on the back of my office chair... he has fallen off of that a few times. Anyway, the unfortunate thing is that sometimes he gets the burning desire to perform for me quite early in the morning, say 5:09am. Yeah, don't ask which day that was, but I definitely looked at the clock & groaned. Yesterday he waited a little later to play at 5:30, quite generous of him.
One of his other favorite activities is investigating my desk.
He has learned that I impede this process in my waking hours, so he has decided that said early morning hours are the best time for this as well. Much less noisy, but I still feel compelled to turn on the lamp & try to stop him from tearing things up. I've had to relocate my necklaces because they are far too awesome of a toy for him to ignore no matter how many times I squirt him with the water bottle from my nice warm bed. Exhibit A:
Aside from the early morning shenanigans, my precious little monster has many adventures that simply make me laugh because I'm awake. His recent favorite hobby involves attacking the ball that hangs from the ceiling of his little cube bed (which is pink because it was a hand-me-down from my cousin's girl cats. He doesn't mind). He gets soooo into this that there's no telling where the cube will end up or in what position. He flips it all around & sometimes gets trapped inside with the opening to the floor. Most impressive though is this precariously balanced moment:
And throughout his hardcore play sessions, I've discovered that without careful monitoring he will sometimes ingest things that just aren't meant to be eaten. If I drop burger on the floor when I'm cooking he ignores it, but these are the things I've noticed the little weirdo has eaten:
- the cotton off of Q-tips that he steals from my bathroom trash (I don't throw them in there anymore)
- Kleenex
- random small pieces of paper: ie 1/3 of a post-it note attached to my window sill
- ponytail holders - he plays with them until they break & then before I know it half is missing...
- bits of feathers & fur off of his toys
- tiny carpet fibers that he pulls off of his condo
- and as I typed this blog he bit off some plastic from another toy... which is now going in the trash before more disappears
Note to concerned animal lovers: Yes, I take away things or stop him from eating things that are not food, and watch him closely for any signs of distress when he does manage to ingest something like that half a ponytail holder that could cause an intestinal blockage.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Reflections & Resolutions
So I've been in a rut for a long time. Anyone close to me has to have been able to see that. I've turned into a mean & bitter person, and mostly secluded myself from others. I've pushed away people that I love. And I haven't been taking great care of myself anymore either - physically or spiritually.
It's time to change. Who says resolutions have to be on January 1?
Sounds like a good start, right?
It's time to change. Who says resolutions have to be on January 1?
- be nicer - I'm not outwardly malicious, but my anger can tend to flare up. I'm going to try not to get so angry at little things, like drivers that cut me off & don't signal or my neighbor's bulldog howling ALL the time. I'm still not going to accept loud music in the middle of the night, but that's just inconsiderate & actually interferes with my life.
- forgive & move on - I hold on to a lot of negative feelings when I think people have mistreated me. I know that I'm not perfect & would appreciate a second chance & forgiveness from those that I've wronger in some way or another. On this same note, I'm apologizing to people that I know I have not treated fairly. There is one that will be a huge step for me. I may have my reasons for my behavior, but that doesn't make it less rotten.
- exercise - aside from the fact that I've packed on some weight since returning from the island (yeah, I don't walk up hill both ways to school every day anymore, and I don't get my salsa lessons every Friday [sad!]), physical activity is just GOOD for you. I'm starting with baby steps & plan to play my Dance Praise at least 30 minutes a day 4 days a week (or substitute another activity).
- get closer to God - I've been reading The Purpose Driven Life, and that's helping some, but my Bible has been neglected for a while, and I haven't had a home church since I lived in Marion, IN and graduated in 2007.
Sounds like a good start, right?
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Rambles
I'm sort of feeling like I'm in a weird place lately. I have lots to say, but nothing that is really blog-worthy/appropriate. So again I find myself keeping it in. I will confess that I've been feeling sort of lonely & lost. And I've started reading "The Purpose-Driven Life", which I think was more of a subconscious decision than anything. You read a chapter a day for 40 days, and I've had this book since someone randomly gave it to me at Kingdom Bound in 2003. I started reading it back then, but only got through about 6 or 7 days. Today is day 5. Hopefully I'll keep it up this time. I will likely write something that the book inspires if I do.
Another thing that has been weighing on me is the realization that I'm going to be alone for CMA fest this year. I really want to go, and I know I'd find friends there, but not real keen on flying solo. I've asked friends to go, but the only ones interested can't seem to make it or they're already going with other people. I've looked for roommates among people that I know are going, but nobody seems to really want me there. There have been offers "hey you can stay with us", but I'm afraid I'd be disappointed that they're only offering a hotel room split rather than a vacay buddy...
Another thing that has been weighing on me is the realization that I'm going to be alone for CMA fest this year. I really want to go, and I know I'd find friends there, but not real keen on flying solo. I've asked friends to go, but the only ones interested can't seem to make it or they're already going with other people. I've looked for roommates among people that I know are going, but nobody seems to really want me there. There have been offers "hey you can stay with us", but I'm afraid I'd be disappointed that they're only offering a hotel room split rather than a vacay buddy...
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Oh the weather outside is frightful
As you may know, the midwest (& possibly other places) got hit with a nice little winter storm on Tues/Wed this week. Well yesterday I decided to stay in where it's warm. I did however seek whether my facebook minions would like for me to go out in the cold today & build them a snowman. Either 19 or 20 people decided that I did indeed have to go build a snowman.
SO, I got all bundled up in 2 pairs of pants & 2 shirts, 2 pairs of gloves, and my coat & boots & all and went out to make that snowman. BTW, I put a carrot in my pocket because I was obsessed with trying to figure out what to do about his face. Anyway, I discovered right away that that snow was not packing together. It was all light & fluffy, and I got self conscious because here I am, a 25-year-old woman all by herself going out to play in the snow, and there was a woman standing on her balcony talking on her cell phone. I tried a few times to pack the snow into a ball, which ultimately ended in poofs of powdery snow falling from my hands. I can't lie, I was discouraged. In the mean time I decided I had to do SOMETHING. So I fell back & made a snow angel:
ha, I didn't realize until after I climbed out that my left wing was smaller than my right. My bad.
But I knew that my facebook friends wanted a snowman. I had promised a snowman. So I set to work. I clearly was not going to be able to roll a ball bigger and bigger in the traditional snowman making manner so I started mounding up some snow that I figured I could sculpt after I got it tall enough. It was not an easy feat, but I accomplished a decent sized mound and then managed to lift a sort of solid chunk of snow to the top for a head. It looked freakishly like ET. Got my camera from my pocket to take a picture, and lo & behold "battery is exhausted". Bah! I finished up my little snowman & ran inside to grab my camera... and my stethoscope:
Yeah, one of my fellow students still on the island demanded that I provide medical care for my creation. :D With my mission accomplished I took back my sunglasses to go inside, but I thought it would be too sad to leave him without eyes.
With those eyes we sort of have the same smile. We must be related. ;) ...And I keep peeking out my window to see if anyone has come along & destroyed him yet.
So far so good. :D
SO, I got all bundled up in 2 pairs of pants & 2 shirts, 2 pairs of gloves, and my coat & boots & all and went out to make that snowman. BTW, I put a carrot in my pocket because I was obsessed with trying to figure out what to do about his face. Anyway, I discovered right away that that snow was not packing together. It was all light & fluffy, and I got self conscious because here I am, a 25-year-old woman all by herself going out to play in the snow, and there was a woman standing on her balcony talking on her cell phone. I tried a few times to pack the snow into a ball, which ultimately ended in poofs of powdery snow falling from my hands. I can't lie, I was discouraged. In the mean time I decided I had to do SOMETHING. So I fell back & made a snow angel:
ha, I didn't realize until after I climbed out that my left wing was smaller than my right. My bad.But I knew that my facebook friends wanted a snowman. I had promised a snowman. So I set to work. I clearly was not going to be able to roll a ball bigger and bigger in the traditional snowman making manner so I started mounding up some snow that I figured I could sculpt after I got it tall enough. It was not an easy feat, but I accomplished a decent sized mound and then managed to lift a sort of solid chunk of snow to the top for a head. It looked freakishly like ET. Got my camera from my pocket to take a picture, and lo & behold "battery is exhausted". Bah! I finished up my little snowman & ran inside to grab my camera... and my stethoscope:
Yeah, one of my fellow students still on the island demanded that I provide medical care for my creation. :D With my mission accomplished I took back my sunglasses to go inside, but I thought it would be too sad to leave him without eyes.
With those eyes we sort of have the same smile. We must be related. ;) ...And I keep peeking out my window to see if anyone has come along & destroyed him yet.
So far so good. :D
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