by Stefanie | Nov 26, 2015
My posts always seem to coincide with the end of a sequence: funny coincidence, that. We just finished our neuro sequence and it was EPIC. The one disease process we didn’t discuss is exactly what happens to your brain when you try to shove too many things into it in a short period of time… But hey! I made it through! I don’t mean to sound like I’m hating on neuro – I actually really enjoy the process of fitting all the pieces together to figure out what’s going on. It was just a lot to learn. Conquering the Neuro Beast is not to be taken lightly.
Because I managed to take my neuro exam pretty early (after much strategic planning and studying until I couldn’t see straight), I now find myself in a solid week of Thanksgiving break. It’s awesome to have some time to take care of things I’ve been putting off and also plan ahead for what’s coming next. Some of the stuff I’ve been doing is totally gnarly. Prime example: registering and paying for the Step 1 exam (BOOOOOOOO). On the other side of the spectrum, I’ve got scheduling a flight to go home in December on my to-do list. Going home = seeing my puppy(!!!!!). In addition to being productive, I’m spending copious amounts of time playing Fallout 4 (which stole my heart before it was even officially announced.) Life is pretty darn good right now.
When we start back next week, I’ve got a few shadowing experiences lined up where I’m going to find myself in the OR for the first time. I’m a little nervous. (I’m also a liar: I’m just shy of terrified.) Being the catastrophic thinker that I am, I’m already taking precautions to avoid potential disaster. My Anatomy BFFL Joey took me on a field trip so I could be introduced to the sentient robot that dispenses scrubs (the Creeper 3000) and received a primer on how to not get yelled at. I purchased doofy-looking things to attach to my glasses to prevent them from sliding down my nose (since I won’t be able to push them back up ‘cause sterile field or whatever, duh). I procured some cheap/potentially useless suture practice materials in the hope that I’ll be able to give it the old college try if I’m actually asked to do something as opposed to the alternative of passing out in sheer terror. I’m hopeful that this won’t be traumatic.
They left off (4): Thank your robot overlord.
by Stefanie | Oct 11, 2015
Geez, I thought time passed quickly last year… It’s already mid-October?!? We’ve plowed through three sequences since the beginning of the year: cardiovascular, pulmonary, and renal. Tomorrow we start with the first of two weeks of clinically-focused activities and, while it will be no walk in the park (pretty sure revisiting physical exam techniques is going to prove embarrassing), it will be very nice to have a break from the deluge of powerpoints. I’m particularly excited about the short elective courses we have the opportunity to take during these two weeks. I get to learn how to do some basic procedures (think lumbar puncture type stuff) and see fancy neurosurgery toys. Any sort of fancy toys tend to equal good times, but fancy brain toys? It’s going to be super sweet.
Since last I wrote, I’ve officially started working as a TA for an undergraduate anatomy course run by our own beloved anatomy faculty. So far it’s been tons of fun and nostalgia overload. It’s… also been a little scary in regards to how much we’ve forgotten. Oops? But hey, silver lining: we’re getting paid to remember! It’s nice to be able to utilize all the skills I picked up last year while working with my classmates and, as always, to be teaching. (Teacher nerd to the max.) It’s pretty much the only teaching experience I’ve found that blends in well with the demands of being a medical student and I’m really grateful to have received the offer.
I, uh... I know most of this? Some of this. ...I've seen this before. I think.
I’ve been trying (and I do mean trying, as opposed to actually doing) to spend some time with Step 1 (hissssssss) resources in conjunction with our regular course materials. Time is tight and it makes things really tough. I’m well aware that this test is still several months away, but I know that time is going to fly by every bit as quickly as it has the first part of this year. I want to at least familiarize myself with the books that I’m going to be surgically attached to come March and April. I’ve finally made some progress this past week and I already feel immeasurably better about the whole thing. This is further proof that I need to continue working to find time to make this happen. Booger.
One other thing that’s been lurking on my to-do list is the final requirement from my summer research experience. There’s a poster presentation for all students who received funding through SBRP in the very beginning of November. This is my first time ever creating a scientific poster and I kind of (by which I mean absolutely and completely) have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve got a pretty good narrative going and a solid idea of the images I’ll need to include, but putting it all together is going to be interesting. If all else fails, I have faith that I can make it look pretty. That counts for something, right? …Right?
Poster, Plan B
by Stefanie | Aug 30, 2015
Holy cannoli… We’re two weeks into M2 year and I already find myself pretty much exhausted. The expectations were much greater right from the get-go: there’s a ton of information that we need to learn and relatively little time in which to learn it. There’s not really any good way to circumvent that basic dilemma. (I’ve tried.) In other words, we’re going to be working our butts off. Even so, the learning process itself is much more rewarding than ever before. There’s a complete absence of “squint and you might see it” clinical relevance here. The stuff we’re learning now is pretty stinkin’ obvious in regards to why we should know about it. (Because we’ll be taking care of sick people, duh.)
Our first sequence is cardiovascular and let me go ahead and share some profound and hard-earned knowledge with you: EKGs are the worst. The. WORST. I mean, once you get a handle on the basics of how they work (which is no small feat in and of itself), it seems like they’re not going to be that bad. But then little discrepancies in your understanding start popping out of the woodwork. More and more instances of ideal vs. real life rear their ugly head. One professor refers to the interpretation of EKGs as “squiggleology” which makes it sound like it’s actually super cute! I’m not fooled.
Does this look cute to you?
Alright, enough complaining. (In case you haven’t picked up on it by now, whining is how I cope. Don’t be alarmed.) One thing that really took me by surprise is how different it feels to be an M2 as opposed to an M1. I’m constantly reminded of how much I don’t know (see above EKG rant), but hearing about and seeing all the experiences that the M1s are having for the first time makes me realize how much my classmates and I have accomplished over the past year nonetheless. It’s awesome to be in a position now where I can offer advice to new students and actually kind of know what I’m talking about. My anatomy BFF Joey and I (Hi, Joey!!!) are going to be helping out with an Intro to Anatomy lecture for the M1s. That’s 100% bananas, and yet I actually have some stuff to say that (hopefully) won’t be totally useless. When did this happen?!?
On another positive note, I’m excited to get to work on a new project (new to me, at least; just got on board this summer) with my classmate Amy that will provide review sessions for the Step 1 exam. My preferred method of dealing with Step 1 would be to punch it in the face, but I have really bad aim and lack upper extremity strength so intense study efforts will have to suffice. I’m hoping that this project will serve both as another way to be involved/support my class and as motivation to do some studying of my own (in addition to all the other studying I do… yuckers).
Oh man, I almost forgot! I have to make a fuss over the new Taubman library because it is the bestest. (I may or may not have referred to it as my boyfriend/fiancé at various points in time. Don’t judge me.) There is so much space – no matter what your preferred study environment may be, you’re going to find some hidey hole that works for you. There are windows EVERYWHERE (hooray for sunlight without actually being exposed to sunlight!) as well as shiny Sharp TVs (with easily accessible HDMI inputs; of course I checked, what do you take me for?!?). The grand opening was such a short time ago that we still discover random surprises from time to time. I walked into the student lounge yesterday evening to discover new couches! Wahoo! (It’s the little things in life.) I’m going to be spending a loooooot of time in this place, so I’m grateful for each and every discovery.
One day, I will game from this couch. It will be glorious.
by Stefanie | Jul 19, 2015
As the title suggests, I still find it hard to believe that it even is summer (Floridian, what can I say). The truth is that summer is not only here, but officially passing by waaaaay too quickly. There were so many things that I wanted to accomplish that I’m now realizing are definitely not going to happen. I wanted to start practicing piano regularly again. (I used to actually be sort-of kind-of ok; now I’m just bad. Really bad.) I wanted to finish up several craft projects that have been in a half-finished state since before I arrived in Michigan, which was a year ago now. I wanted to veg out on my couch and play oodles of video games. Nope, nope, and nope. (Though I do feel like staying up past my bedtime to watch the live E3 presentation of Fallout 4 counts a smidge towards that last one.)
Anyway, now that I’ve gotten the depressing part out of the way, I can talk about all of the awesome things that have been going down this summer.
The vast majority of my time has been occupied by my research. I whine and complain about the lack of free time, but I’m seriously having an incredible experience in the lab. I feel competent in a way I never quite achieved while involved in research as an undergraduate. I’m much more independent (though I still ask questions by the dozen) and having a project of my own is a very cool feeling. I STILL haven’t blown anything up, though there was recently a less-than-flattering episode that shall henceforth be known as The TBS Incident. No harm done, though! Just, um, humbling. And that’s all I’ll say on that. I’ve grown quite attached to my lab mates and I’m not at all looking forward to having to peace out in just a few weeks’ time. There’s a little nook just outside of the actual lab area that has a couple of tables (and a conveniently located electrical outlet) that I suspect I may start haunting when classes start again.
I made a super spontaneous decision to fly home for the 4th of July weekend to surprise my mommy. To the best of her knowledge (and to the best of mine until about a couple days prior, for that matter), I wasn’t going to be back in Florida until Christmas. It was a little bit nuts making all the arrangements at the last minute, but I’m so glad I went for it. There was lots of giggling, lots of tasty food, and lots of blissful laziness. I’m pretty sure we watched more television in the three days that I was at home than I’ve watched in the past three years. Also: PUPPY.
My precious Baileybooboo, in hot pursuit of tummy rubs.
I was given the opportunity to become involved in a new pre-matriculation program for incoming M1s that is currently on-going. Two of my classmates and I are serving as TAs for the histology component of the program; we had a great time helping out with the first lab this past Tuesday. If the students we’ve met are a true representative sample of the incoming class, they are going to be super smarties who are tons of fun. Can’t beat that! I’m looking forward to working with them again this coming week and, of course, throughout the rest of our time here at Michigan.
by Stefanie | Jun 10, 2015
M1 year is officially over!! I’m not ready to consider myself an M2 just yet, but I’m willing to respond to ‘M1.5.’ It’s a step in the right direction, at least.
Our two CFM (Clinical Foundations of Medicine) weeks really revealed how far we’ve come. Practicing for our full history and physical exam started out… kind of rough. There were parts of the physical exam that I know I hadn’t touched essentially since we first learned them, in some cases several months prior. Many details had been entirely forgotten. The idea of coordinating everything together and trying to prevent the patient from having to change position every 5 seconds were things I’d never even considered. Having dedicated time to practice made all the difference in the world, and more quickly than I’d anticipated! Several classmates were kind enough to spend a great deal of time with me figuring things out and, in some cases, practicing the same thing over and over and over. (There were some pretty epic Youtube scavenger hunts trying to figure out the fine details of musculoskeletal maneuvers. The names of the tests more often than not reveal NOTHING.) I by no means achieved perfection in two weeks, but I made serious progress.
We also had a rather unique event during the first of the two weeks where we shared art projects (yes, art projects) created in response to the Family-Centered Experience (FCE; yet another acronym). The FCE program assigns pairs of medical students to families who have been impacted by some sort of illness. We meet up with our families several times throughout the year and learn from the experiences that they share with us. It’s a window into the patient’s view of illness when so much of our learning is focused on the healthcare provider’s view. The projects that my classmates and I created spanned a wide variety of mediums. There were live performances that included dances, original music, and poetry reading. Students created drawings, paintings, and 3D objects out of any number of different materials. My group’s project was pottery (hence my “playing with broken pottery” comment some months ago) that we decorated and then very carefully (and with much trepidation) broke. We reassembled the pieces and garnished the seams with gold paint. Without going into excessive detail, the basic idea is that illness can change people in dramatic ways, but these changes don’t have to be all negative. For example, the experience of illness can impact one in such a way that they actually emerge with a newfound appreciation for life, or newfound resilience.
One of our pieces, for your viewing pleasure
Our final sequence, Human Growth and Development, was over in a flash and many of us now find ourselves immersed in research through the Summer Biomedical Research Program (SBRP; last acronym, promise). I had an awesome first week in my new lab and am sooooo(!) appreciative of my mentor. It’s like she read my personality in an instant: she’s super open to me asking for clarification pertaining to the same procedure ad infinitum and doesn’t make me feel at all awkward for doing so, but she also makes sure to leave me to my own devices to try things for myself. I’m the baby bird who needs to be gently nudged (read: hurled headfirst) out of the nest or I will never ever give this flying thing a shot. It’s scary, geez! I’ve already done a couple of basic experiments practically all on my own and I haven’t totally wrecked anything yet! Wahoo! I’m really psyched for what the rest of the summer holds.
