January. OMS II.
Hi again Readers/Robert,
Apologies for the long span of time between today and the last blog post. I suppose I've been busy, but I've been inspired by another blogger to get back into the game! Thanks, Cannalawblog!
Last when we arrived on the scene, I was in OMS I year and had nothing to freak out about. No impending Board exam, no big move back to Seattle to look forward to, and pretty much a low stakes semester. This year is different and, like so many times in my life (within the span of attempting to become a doctor), slightly stressful, and I feel tired the majority of the time.
OMS II 1st Semester was a miserable transition and a slap in the face for me. Transitioning from being happy, relaxed, and doing very little in Seattle into starting Systems-based courses was really difficult. We started out with Cardiology, then worked through Respiratory, Renal, Heme/Onc, and wrapped up the semester with Poop (GI). I think my favorite course was Renal, but I learned the most in Hem/Onc. Luckily the semester was spiced w/ many in-house disagreements between Faculty and Students, Site Selection, and the annual D.O.lympics (and other fun Ophthalmology events)!
I will make a comment about Site Selection this year. Though I knew my site was secure from the start, given that students were granted the site of choice based on how many Priority Points they could accrue, I really hated the system. Students that were from out of state were really at a disadvantage as they didn't have these heavily prized "Priority Points" and lost complete agency for deciding how to spend 3rd and 4th year rotations. It was a mess, there were some tears, and there were a lot of not-so-fun interactions with other students. I think the best way to circumvent these challenges is to have students sign a document stating that they agree to go to a specific site the day that they accept admittance to the program. It would put a lot of minds at ease throughout the 1st and 2nd years. I know that life can be unpredictable and for those that can afford that luxury, they can just agree to be sent to Bozeman, MT, if that ever becomes a site.
In other fun news, I made some great discoveries:
Serial Podcast: http://serialpodcast.org/
- this was easily the most entertaining discovery of my Fall Semester. Not that I'm obsessed w/ murder mysteries, but I think challenging the justice system on a different level is a wonderful mental exercise and reminds me of 12 Angry Men. Maybe you've heard of it and your husband encouraged you to watch it. There was another great documentary Robert showed me that actually resulted in releasing the accused from prison and clearing his name.
Kindle Paperwhite:
- Robert got me this for Xmas and I love it. So easy to read and enjoy my books when siting on the toilet, waiting for the tires to get rotated, or taking a ferry ride out to Bremerton.
- I don't do advertising, but I will mention that I love it because it's super light weight, the screen light is adjustable, and the battery lasts for centuries.
-(sorry all you Nooks out there)
The Gym: YAC Fitness.
- Despite having had my cell phone, head phones, and Trader Joe's gym bag stolen & falling off the treadmill giving myself a 2nd degree burn on the Right shin (over the surface of the Tibia) I have been a pretty steady-going gym person. One of my ultra-fit classmates invited me, thinking I would pass out after the warm-up, and I've been hooked since. We attend Body Pump, and though it's a nationally commercialized pseudo weight-lifting activity, I love it. I love feeling strong and being able to see improvements in my strength training. It has also helped with my long distance running! I'm able to run faster, but not necessarily farther, but still, this is good news! Though over Xmas break there was some indulgence in near-daily Chai Tea Lattes from Starbucks, I feel like going to these classes helps stimulate the GLUT receptors to bring the glucose into my skeletal muscles while working out. (ha, see, sugar is good for you! - not really. Dr. Robert Lustig would despise me for that statement.
-Robert Lustig MD, article on Sugar: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=all
- don't feel bad if you love sugar like I do, just try to consume it in moderation. We all have our vices (except for Victoria Beckham/Posh Spice)
-See, no vices: http://video.vogue.com/watch/73-questions-ever-wonder-why-victoria-beckham-never-smiles
- If I were a better blogger I'd have the links attached to highlighted words. One day. Don't expect that much from me.
Some other fun events and life happenings:
Andrea turned 21! (holy bejeezus).
Gramma is turning 90 in 2 weeks!
Clinton is still living on his own and donating plasma!
Robert didn't puke at Xmas Eve dinner this year!
Other exciting events happen on the daily, hard to keep track.
Oh! Yakima Health Equity Forum successfully staged and provided a LGBTQ & Transgender Discussion last night. For those that attended, all 30, it was a hit! I was tremendously surprised by the email support I received later on from faculty that would've liked to attend and from those that really learned a lot at this event. It couldn't had been at a better time as President Obama, our 44th President, integrated the word "Transgender" in his State of the Union address last night. So powerful.
Now that we've caught up, I'm going to go on a sleep adventure. Until the next time... Happy 2015! More to come.. and I will leave you with this article:
http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/08/power-of-29-an-ode-to-being-almost-30.html
If you read it, you'll know how I feel (but I'm turning 29 this year, not 30).
Apologies for the long span of time between today and the last blog post. I suppose I've been busy, but I've been inspired by another blogger to get back into the game! Thanks, Cannalawblog!
Last when we arrived on the scene, I was in OMS I year and had nothing to freak out about. No impending Board exam, no big move back to Seattle to look forward to, and pretty much a low stakes semester. This year is different and, like so many times in my life (within the span of attempting to become a doctor), slightly stressful, and I feel tired the majority of the time.
OMS II 1st Semester was a miserable transition and a slap in the face for me. Transitioning from being happy, relaxed, and doing very little in Seattle into starting Systems-based courses was really difficult. We started out with Cardiology, then worked through Respiratory, Renal, Heme/Onc, and wrapped up the semester with Poop (GI). I think my favorite course was Renal, but I learned the most in Hem/Onc. Luckily the semester was spiced w/ many in-house disagreements between Faculty and Students, Site Selection, and the annual D.O.lympics (and other fun Ophthalmology events)!
I will make a comment about Site Selection this year. Though I knew my site was secure from the start, given that students were granted the site of choice based on how many Priority Points they could accrue, I really hated the system. Students that were from out of state were really at a disadvantage as they didn't have these heavily prized "Priority Points" and lost complete agency for deciding how to spend 3rd and 4th year rotations. It was a mess, there were some tears, and there were a lot of not-so-fun interactions with other students. I think the best way to circumvent these challenges is to have students sign a document stating that they agree to go to a specific site the day that they accept admittance to the program. It would put a lot of minds at ease throughout the 1st and 2nd years. I know that life can be unpredictable and for those that can afford that luxury, they can just agree to be sent to Bozeman, MT, if that ever becomes a site.
In other fun news, I made some great discoveries:
Serial Podcast: http://serialpodcast.org/
- this was easily the most entertaining discovery of my Fall Semester. Not that I'm obsessed w/ murder mysteries, but I think challenging the justice system on a different level is a wonderful mental exercise and reminds me of 12 Angry Men. Maybe you've heard of it and your husband encouraged you to watch it. There was another great documentary Robert showed me that actually resulted in releasing the accused from prison and clearing his name.
Kindle Paperwhite:
- Robert got me this for Xmas and I love it. So easy to read and enjoy my books when siting on the toilet, waiting for the tires to get rotated, or taking a ferry ride out to Bremerton.
- I don't do advertising, but I will mention that I love it because it's super light weight, the screen light is adjustable, and the battery lasts for centuries.
-(sorry all you Nooks out there)
The Gym: YAC Fitness.
- Despite having had my cell phone, head phones, and Trader Joe's gym bag stolen & falling off the treadmill giving myself a 2nd degree burn on the Right shin (over the surface of the Tibia) I have been a pretty steady-going gym person. One of my ultra-fit classmates invited me, thinking I would pass out after the warm-up, and I've been hooked since. We attend Body Pump, and though it's a nationally commercialized pseudo weight-lifting activity, I love it. I love feeling strong and being able to see improvements in my strength training. It has also helped with my long distance running! I'm able to run faster, but not necessarily farther, but still, this is good news! Though over Xmas break there was some indulgence in near-daily Chai Tea Lattes from Starbucks, I feel like going to these classes helps stimulate the GLUT receptors to bring the glucose into my skeletal muscles while working out. (ha, see, sugar is good for you! - not really. Dr. Robert Lustig would despise me for that statement.
-Robert Lustig MD, article on Sugar: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=all
- don't feel bad if you love sugar like I do, just try to consume it in moderation. We all have our vices (except for Victoria Beckham/Posh Spice)
-See, no vices: http://video.vogue.com/watch/73-questions-ever-wonder-why-victoria-beckham-never-smiles
- If I were a better blogger I'd have the links attached to highlighted words. One day. Don't expect that much from me.
Some other fun events and life happenings:
Andrea turned 21! (holy bejeezus).
Gramma is turning 90 in 2 weeks!
Clinton is still living on his own and donating plasma!
Robert didn't puke at Xmas Eve dinner this year!
Other exciting events happen on the daily, hard to keep track.
Oh! Yakima Health Equity Forum successfully staged and provided a LGBTQ & Transgender Discussion last night. For those that attended, all 30, it was a hit! I was tremendously surprised by the email support I received later on from faculty that would've liked to attend and from those that really learned a lot at this event. It couldn't had been at a better time as President Obama, our 44th President, integrated the word "Transgender" in his State of the Union address last night. So powerful.
Now that we've caught up, I'm going to go on a sleep adventure. Until the next time... Happy 2015! More to come.. and I will leave you with this article:
http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/08/power-of-29-an-ode-to-being-almost-30.html
If you read it, you'll know how I feel (but I'm turning 29 this year, not 30).
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