What an Upset

Most medical students can't wait to see patients.  We feel like having those experiences and interactions make studying 5 million hours, neglecting your family and friends, and failing to accomplish any household duties worth all the hassle.  Plus, you get to feel like a doctor regardless of the fact that we don't know much LOL!!!!  To my fellow M1's doesn't that seem ridiculous? To date we've studied so much material, yet we haven't SEEN, let alone hit, the tip of the iceberg. (Side bar: Titanic was a great movie.) 

Today I was scheduled to volunteer at a local clinic.  I was feeling all types of emotions when I was getting ready.  I was scared, nervous, excited, and if you can think of any more emotions then add those to the list too.  Nevertheless, I threw on my professional attire, grabbed my medical bag (as if I'd need it), and headed out of the door.  I felt so doctorish J!

While on the way I wondered what types of things would myself and the other volunteers be doing?  Would we be shadowing, taking histories, doing blood pressures, and/or other simple procedures?  Along with these thoughts I wondered if I would even be capable of doing them or would I embarrass myself?  My background is in research, and while I have interacted with patients before I am quite inexperienced with doing simple medical techniques, such as getting blood glucose and cholesterol samples.  This is why I'd like to get more practice.  I’m sure I’m expecting too much of myself.  I mean we just recently learned how to take a patient’s history, and let me tell you that was quite the experience.  One big LOL I tell you.  But I want to be as prepared as I should be.  That’s not abnormal, right?

Ok, so I’m driving and I finally pull up to the place.  As I am pulling up I see some other students, which makes me happy because that meant I wouldn’t actually be alone.  See, before I got to the clinic I assumed I wouldn’t be alone.  But seeing those fresh white coats confirmed my thoughts.  As I am putting on my coat (I don’t wear it when I’m driving because I don’t want it to get wrinkled and messed up) a man, who I thought was the attending physician, comes out and says, “It’s closed.” (Errrrrrr).  Closed?  How is this place closed and I was all ready to play doctor, practice the new skills we’ve been learning all semester? LOL

So I had to hop back into my car with the sad face L.  I guess I’ll have to wait for the next opportunity.  All the better because then I’ll have learned more skills!       

Lessons Learned Thus Far: The Importance of Self-evaluation

With every week I am learning a new lesson, which is expected because this is a new academic environment and we are learning new material at the speed of light [c=3.0x10^8 m/s (Remember those units)].  Documenting the rights and wrongs of every week or after every exam might help with exposing one’s weak areas, all the while, making it possible to implement methods for improvement. Two weeks ago during our Osteopathic Patient Care course we discussed the importance of self-evaluation, and last week our leader mentioned that one ought to establish both quantitative and qualitative goals.  This means that one should set goals that are observable and are measureable.  For example, let’s say you set a goal of improving your exam scores.  This goal can be quantified by comparing your first exam grades to those that follow.  If your grades improve then great, keep up the good work.  If they stay stagnant or decrease you may need to make some adjustments.    

Self-evaluation or reflection will allow one to assess whether they were effective at achieving their goals or not.  Furthermore, self-evaluation will also show whether some changes need to be made in order to increase efficacy or if some methods should be completed removed and starting anew.  You should give it a try and see if things become more manageable for you. 

It isn’t a complex concept that is only applicable to students.  In fact, it’s often applied to various aspects, and in some cases people aren’t even aware that they are doing it.  For instance, utilizing the Nike+ application to increase distance running.  Currently, I am using this application to keep track of the distance ran, pace, and time.  As such, my goal is quantifiable and I can look back to see what things helped me increase my distance or what prevented me from going farther.  For my lovelies that are on their hair journey you too can apply this method.  It would require that you document your hair growth and what you’ve been doing to you hair.  After the time frame that was set, check to see your progress or lack there of, and self-evaluate.  I bet you’d be able to pinpoint where you need to make changes with much more ease.

On a more academic and personal note, I want to increase the effectiveness of my study time.  As such, I will allot a certain amount of time to study by creating a schedule and committing to it (oh, this will take some work and a separate blog will be dedicated to this topic).  But I should be able to evaluate how much material I am able to get through during the time frames set.  I’m hoping (prayers said, knocking on wood, and fingers crossed) that this will reflect in me being more prepared for exams in advance, having more time to relax, and less stress.  If these things don’t happen then I’ll reassess my techniques.  We’ll see how this goes O_o.

Here’s a link to a website that provides a basic discernment between quantitative and qualitative.  http://regentsprep.org/Regents/math/ALGEBRA/AD1/qualquant.htm.   Also, given that we’re talking about evaluations and such…here’s my bit of science humor ;)

I'm not endorsing this website.  I just thought this was a good joke!

-V

James 1:19-25 (Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak, and Slow to Get Angry)

Now I know I said I wouldn't mix and mingle the topics on my blog, but I had to share these bible verses.  They apply to any person whether you are Christian or have any other belief system. 

James 1:19-25

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁹ Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
²⁰ For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
²¹ Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
²² But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
²³ For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
²⁴ For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
²⁵ But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

(I got this from BibleGateway.com)

I needed to be reminded of this as I just had a disagreement with someone and didn't follow the rules.  I was all quick to get angry LOL.  However, today, I'm wishing I hadn't of "popped" off so quickly.  We quick-tempered people have to restrain ourselves sometimes.  Who wants to have unnecessary awkward moments the next day when the situation wasn't even a big deal.  Therefore, to prevent such situations I need to work on my personal actions and be less reactive... somebody dial down the activation energy up in here LOL.   

So, now that everything is all awkward, do I apologize? LOL

Organization is Essential

Dear You, you, & YoU, 

If you've taken Organic Chemistry you know what this means!

I'd like to begin by thanking everyone for taking the time out to read my blog and make comments.  I really enjoy reading people's replies, helpful tidbits, and thoughts.  So to YOU, my readers,  (thumb points out of the screen which is what the image to the right represents) I say, you are appreciated :).   

The main goal of this post is to discuss the "construction" that will take place (of course over time) on my page.  I realize not everyone is interested in my random rants about life, daily-to-monthly-to-yearly shopping hauls, makeup trials and errors, hair care journey, or medical school.  So in order to make things more convenient and I will work on the organization of my posts. 

Prior to my matriculation into medical school I would write about anything that came to mind and share it on the main page.  At that time my blog was purely about my hair and weight loss journeys.  However, today is a new day, with new topics, and a diverse audience.  As such, I need to tailor my blog. 

I'll still write about anything and everything.  But I'll make use of the tabs I created a while ago.   It only makes sense...I created them, therefore, I should use them. Right?  (No more being lazy shout's the protestors LOL.)  

Finally, I'll do more editing.  Most of my posts are "quickies" and I post them as soon as I've finished my message.  I'll attempt to work on this as well.   

Adios,
V

Medical Mondays BlogHop Time!

Welcome me to Medical Monday BlogHop Time!  I've been invited and I'm excited to see what it's all about and to read other medical students/professionals blogs.  Be sure to check it out :)  You can easily click on the image up top and be directed to the site. 

Here are the rules:

1.   Follow your co-hosts.
2.   Link up you medical/med life blog. If your blog name does not clearly state how you fit in to the med/med life world, please write a little intro or link up a specific post which clearly demonstrates your connection.
3.   Visit at least 3 other link ups and let them know you stopped by from MM.
4.   Help spread the word by using our button on your post or sidebar, tweet about Medical Monday, or spread the word on Facebook.  The more the merrier for all of us!

-V

Week 1 of Semester 2 Completed

Thank goodness we had a an extended "weekend" due to the holiday.  The "weekend" is placed in quotation marks because in medical school our weekends aren't true weekends.  Let me explain.  During our white coat ceremony a gentleman kindly gave a speech and stated that Saturday and Sunday will no longer be a weekend for us.  It will be filled with studying, studying, and more studying.  Our "weekend" would then be shifted to the evening after an exam and the following day.  For some this isn't even the case.  They immediately begin studying for the next unit.  Those people are a little better than myself, because I most certainly take the time to relax, catch up with my family, and OD on Grey's Anatomy reruns.

This "weekend"I've been logging in hours at school and the local Bucks (Starbucks for those that don't know me) trying to prepare for a Biochem quiz, complete an essay assignment (I can't believe we still have essays to do either), and watch lectures.  It's been rather busy.  But the extended "weekend" helped to make it more manageable...I guess.  

We have an exam coming up on the 10th and I've been spending a lot of time on Biochem.  I'm not sure if that's the best idea since we have several other courses that will also be on the exam.  Let's see, Microbiology, Physiology, and Histology will also be making a grand appearance on the test.  While taking Anatomy this summer was a pain in the _______ I appreciate not having to take it with these other courses.  The stress level would have be increased to the nth degree.  Which, I'm sure, admin was thinking about when they developed our schedule.  

Well, I need to get back to the routine so I'll end this post with a little science humor courtesy Cell Culture Techniques. 

My husband thinks my friends and I are dorks because we find this to be funny.  I'll admit it's a little nerdy but it's still funny.  LOL

School should have started for just about every so let me know how your semester is currently going.  Also, let me know what you'd like me to share about my med school adventures or hair journey.

-V

  

MAC mascara vs. Maybelline

My sassy face just for fun

Side view to show the lashes

You can love MAC Cosmetics for just about everything.  However, I don't fancy their mascara.  The one I purchased would flake, wasn't waterproof, and just wasn't worth the money.  Despite all this I
continued to wear it (I mean I did pay a nice amount of money for it).  That was until I found my new love...Maybelline's One by One Volum' Express Hydrofuge. 

I'm sure MAC mascara is fabulous as you get higher up in the price.  But my new love does the trick for a makeup newbie like myself.  It's not clumpy, spreads just fine, is waterproof, and extends my lashes like none other.  Oh and let's not forget that it's the cheaper one as well.  Nothing wrong with abiding by a budget (WINKS!!!)  I got mine from Target for...wait for it...wait for it...

less than 3 dollars because it was on clearance.   It was meant to be or at least I'd like to think it was (LOL).   

For those that like visuals, don't worry I have photos to share :)

So tell me bloggettes, which do you prefer?

BTW I am wearing a MAC lip gloss in these photos.  It's called Galaxy Rose and I LOVE it.

That's my two cents for now.

-V 

Semester 1 Completed

Boy oh boy I'm not sure if I was ready for the amount of information we were expected to learn in such little time.  I can't believe that we covered the anatomy of the entire human body in 10 weeks.  It was rough, but guess what...we did it ya'll!  So to my fellow medical students, especially those wonderful M1's out there, that first semester will take some adjusting but you can and will get through it.   

Just yesterday my classmates and I completed our first semester of medical school and now we are on break.  Ironically, during the term many of us were crying for a break and now that we are on break we don't know what to do.  WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO US??? lol.  Actually, I plan to take care of some business that I wasn't able to do during the term.  Oh, and unfortunately, we are expected to review some things for our upcoming classes (Where they do that at? O_o LOL).

Well I just wanted to share a little update.  I'm tired and need to collect my thoughts on how to share what occurred during the last 10 weeks. 

One last thing though.  My hair has been growing pretty well.  Currently, I can fit all my hair into a ponytail and the back is most definitely on it's way to APL!!!

Share more with you soon,
V

One Last Hurdle

This post won't be long at all.  In fact, I'm going to get straight to the point...NOW! lol.  I have one last hurdle to complete before I am OFFICIALLY a medical student and it's scaring the crap out of me. I've already been accepted but I need to complete my masters program.  Currently, I am working on my practicum and my capstone paper, which are both requirements for my degree.  If I don't finish either of these guess who won't be going to med school.  That's right...this woman (as I point to myself) :(

If you've read some of my previous post you'll see that I tell others to be confident in themselves.  I feel that this will either determine whether you fail or succeed.  It's no secret that I've struggled to to maintain an educational swagger if you will.  I'm always worried about whether I'll fail or if I am even capable.  I couldn't tell you where these feeling stem from.  One would think that I've failed classes or something, but I've done nothing of the sort.  More than likely they originate from my previous battles with doing well on standardized exams.  I'll admit that I can be pretty dramatic when it comes to certain things and taking exams is one of them.  Either I felt I wasn't prepared enough or I'd focus on the fact that failing meant two things.  One, I was a failure.  Two, my life would be over.  See, pretty dramatic right.

Despite the outcome of these exams everything has turned out all right.  I try to remember this as I advance more in my educational career.  But part of me always feels like I am not doing enough or that I'll fail and everyone will know it.  Ugh, I've got to get over these things once and for all.  Well that was my rant for tonight.  Hope everyone is having a great day!

-V   

Can I Get Some Help Please?

The rights to the photo do not belong to me.

Why is it that I always feel like I'm doing things with no help?  It's almost insane to me.  When it came down to me looking for a place to shadow a physician.  Who was there to help me?  Absolutely no one.  I was by myself flipping through a phone book calling any physician's office that would listen to me.  Let's skip to this most recent occasion.  I've been looking for a place to do my practicum experience so that I can complete my masters program.  Well, once again I find myself figuring things out on my own. 

For the first experience my advisor gets a pass.  I didn't seek help from her but I looked to other sources that didn't turn out to be fruitful.  But this time I've been actively calling and emailing my advisor, yet [they who shall remain nameless] haven't called me back or responded to my email.  This part of my program is very important, as it is required for me to graduate, and I must graduate so I can move on the part I've been working for my entire academic career.  So WTFreak, Johnny? 

It's so frustrating to feel like when I ask for some assistance people can't do anything but look around.  Especially when the stuff I am asking about is important.  Ughhhh.  At the end these experiences I feel like God is building me up for something.  Probably trying to break several bad habits that I've developed over the years.  But man oh man while they are happening I just don't understand LOL. 

On a brighter note I was reassigned to my preferred site for medical school.  So I am extremely happy about that.  This also reminds me that things will work out...SOMEHOW O_o...and be okay.  But like I said, it's during the journey that things get rough and you just have to persevere.  I just wish my advisor would contact me back so I can move on with my life.

Advice for Today:
Stay prayerful and be encouraged by the Word of God. 

This definitely takes some work and I too, am working on this.  I hope you like that picture up top.  I thought it was pretty funny.

-V