STILL MEDICINE-ING AND MOVING

Howdy from Texas! I have done a poor job of keeping up this blog and keeping in touch but to be honest, I didn’t see much fun or adventure in updating everyone on my day to day events. To fill you in, I am now in my fourth and FINAL YEAR of medical school- yippee!

At the end of my first year I relocated to Tucson for the remainder of my education (I know I am sending greetings from Texas, I’ll explain soon). Steven moved down from Portland and we found a cute little house to live in with some friendly neighbors who make fantastic tamales and invite us over every Christmas.

Most of the second year of medical school was spent with my nose in books and at the computer taking exams every week (those all went well) as well as spending one day each week in the clinic. During third year I spent long days in the clinic or hospital rotating through all the specialties, taking out gall bladders in surgery (actually I pretty much held the laparoscopic camera in most of the cases), delivering babies or managing chronic illnesses in clinic. Third year was pretty exciting, thinking about all the permutations about what kind of doctor I want to become.

Fourth year is the most thrilling. I am currently in the process of applying to residency programs, traveling around the country to interview and spend time “auditioning” at various programs and exploring new areas, which is why I am in Texas.

I am in Conroe, north of Houston for 2 weeks and then from here I will be heading to Jacksonville, Florida for 2 more weeks. On the way to Conroe, Steven and I stopped in Austin for a couple of days and did all things Austin: ate at food trucks, swam at Barton Springs pool, walked along the riverfront, and heard some live music.

All things Texas continues today in Conroe with heavy rains with flash flood warnings and tornado warnings. I had plans to visit the space center in Houston or go the lake nearby and eat some Thai food but that instead I went to the lavanderia (laundromat) and got back to my hotel room before the rains were too heavy.

I hope to fill you in more about life in Tucson and some of the exploring we have done in Southern Arizona over the past few years and keep you updated in blogs to come.

Oh yeah. . . the plan is to go into Family Medicine. I hope that you are all well. Drop me a line when you have time.

Public Cool Springs

Austin Riverfront Skyline

With turtles in the river!

Austin Party Central on 6th
Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday!

Up for air

Hello! I am finally coming up for air. The past twelve weeks have been rigorous. Following Labor Day weekend began six weeks of musculoskeletal classes followed by six weeks of neuroanatomy classes. In the custom of the curriculum of my school we learned the basic sciences using those systems as the model. For instance, while studying the musculoskeletal system I learned the muscles, their actions and innervations, what makes a muscle contract, some of the pathologies that afflict the muscles and bones (bugs), how to diagnose and treatment options (drugs). Concurrently in one of my practical classes, Medical Skills, I learned how to perform physical exams of the shoulder, elbow, wrist, knee, hip, etc. In the other practical class, Osteopathic Manual Treatment, I learned some techniques and treatment for relieving certain physical conditions. At times it has been difficult to see the connections between the classes but the material is clearly intertwined. One disappointment was the loss of cadaveric dissection due to some ventilation problems. The anatomy faculty developed other tools for learning but I think everyone hopes that there will be a solution to the lab soon. The high temperatures of late summer are over and most days it ranges between 70 and 80 degrees. There is no physical sign of fall or winter approaching except for a few brisk nights and the lights that glitter on homes and cacti. Oh – and the ten day vacation for Thanksgiving (well deserved, I might add!). Steven has joined me here and we plan to have a few southwest adventures. Yesterday we hiked up Camelback Mountain and we plan to visit Tucson for a couple of days. I hope that everyone reading this is well. Send me a note or message when you have time. I am busy, but it is always nice to hear from friends.

Resident Scorpion Eater

View from my Kitchen window

Camelback Mountain View

Final Exam preparations

With Dad at the White Coat Ceremony, it's official!

HABOOB

Hawk and Scorpion on the lawn (zoom in)

entry

Hello! It looks like I am finally getting this off the ground thought I cannot promise any sort of schedule of posts. All is well in Arizona and I am adjusting to medical school. This first year is broken down into blocks, each with a different focus in the sciences and for different lengths of time. The first block finished just before Labor Day weekend. In the first block, a basic science bootcamp, we covered immunology, microbiology and labs, introduction to radiographs, physiology, anatomy, pharmacology and more as it pertains to health and then more focused topics such as fever and sore throat. For instance we studied the various causes of sore throat , let’s say a bacteria – to learn about the characteristics of the bacteria, the types of lab tests used to confirm it, transmission, treatment or the outcomes if it is left untreated. The focus of the current block is Neuro/Muscular/Skeletal and includes dissection lab twice a week. In addition to the science classes, one day a week is dedicated to learning more about the osteopathic philosophy and manual manipulation as well as certain medical skills such as taking a history and performing physical exams. Does it sound busy? It is! But it is also exciting. I think the school did a good job of easing me and my classmates into the program. With the start of this new block it feels how I imagined medical school to feel – a mix of overwhelming (the amount of material with respect to the number of hours in a day) and exciting (from all the learning of course!). In addition to surviving the first ten or so weeks (and performing well on exams) I have survived multiple days of 110+ degree days, wild dust and wind storms called haboobs, thunderstorms and torrential downpour that results in flash floods in some places. I am slowly exploring the area, mostly locally, and am able to get out on my bike from time to time. I wish I had time to write more, I will . . . in the future. Jenn