Med school keeps me busy - let's just get that out there right now. I barely have time to vacuum my immaculately spotless rug (spotless because I am barely in my apartment long enough to step on it) because every waking minute is about gross anatomy. Our 2nd exam is tomorrow, and I look forward to getting through it. I have spent 30 of the past 48 hours studying, so I am feeling a little punchy... and too tired to really be creative -- so, I am once again augmenting for this space the semi-monthly email update I send to family and friends on my progress thus far. Enjoy.
Things are going well – I did fine on my first exam 2 weeks ago, and have another this coming Monday. It covers the thorax and abdomen, and all their constituent parts (heart, lungs, stomach, etc.). Last Friday I got to cut the heart out of my cadaver – that was a cool experience. We also had some interesting findings while exploring his abdomen -- let’s just say this guy hadn’t been “regular” for a LONG time. Even the pathologist said he had never seen an impacted sigmoid colon that big before. My lab partners and I were very cautious to keep all shiny, sharp objects at a safe distance.
Last week I also had my first OSCE exam, which is an assessment of how well I interview patients and take their medical history. For my 3 practice sessions leading up to this, I received excellent feedback from the standardized patients we work with, so I was not at all worried. The SPs are actors, and when we interview them, they can take on any role from hostile (and I mean hostile!) patient to someone who is upset/scared/withdrawn. Fortunately, I spent 15 yrs as a journalist, so interviewing people is a no-brainer. However, it’s an entirely different experience – and definitely challenging -- trying to coax very personal info out of someone while simultaneously being compassionate, especially when you’re nervous and being videotaped by your profs. All in all, it went very well.
I do enjoy that class -- I am discovering all those things that my docs (and me!) have been doing right and wrong over the years, and also learning to become a better listener. Hopefully, that will carry over to my personal life.
Speaking of personal life, or the lack thereof, I have finally gotten tired of eating Quiznos subs, cereal, etc. (but hey, so far I have lost 7lbs!) so last week I went out and bought a steak, chicken breasts, and potatoes – I am going to make an attempt to cook them this week, and avoid ordering take-out or doing the frozen pizza thing again. For those of you who know me well enough, that will be almost as challenging as med school itself.
Well, that's it for now. Back to the intricacies of the biliary tree and the Sphincter of Oddi. Speaking of... I'd like to give a shout out to Peri ... Yes, you, Periwinkle Blue. You can thank me for the public acknowledgement of your existence with the purchase of a beverage after the exam manana -- but please, not the caffeine enema.
And to Michael, Eric, Wendy, Peri and Arriel -- remember, it's all about TBPPS.