It's Been a While...

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while...   Finals are rapidly approaching, and it is really hard to stay focused.  I keep dreaming about Thanksgiving and Christmas break...  Our last final is on Dec. 12th (Friday), and we have a Holiday Ball that night - I can't wait!  They say it's like med school prom...   Our school has an adopted elementary.  The kids are part of the underserved, who we (the college) are trying so hard to help.  They have a mentor program, and are trying to get a mentor for every child.  They ask that you spend 30 minutes a week with your child (bring them lunch, or play with them at recess).  I just started last week (I got sucked in when I helped with an ice cream social we hosted for some of the kids) - they are all so cute!!  I am mentoring a 7 year old boy.  He is very sweet, and smart.  The hardest part is that all the kids who don't have mentors, yet, all want to play and talk to the mentors (they all want their own mentor).  Some of them will grab your arm, and try to pull you away to play with them - it's heartbreaking.  When I was leaving last week, a girl followed me and asked if she could go with me...she had never even met me.  Some of these kids are in really tough situations; they may be abused, neglected, exposed to drugs or gangs...  :-(   Today in anatomy lab our profs hemisected the cadver heads (cut them in half, from top to bottom - the brains have already been removed; that's a whole other course).  Brett asked me why they do that...my response was "to make the test harder".  The truth is that they want us to be able to identify the structures in cross-section.  Still, there is something very wrong with seeing a band saw used on a human head (or any part of the body, for that matter)...plus, it smells a little like Fritos...but I refuse to let it ruin Fritos for me...  I am getting used to the "normal" cadver smell, which is much worse than it was at the beginning of the semester; now, I only notice the particularly offensive odors.    I hope you are all doing well!!   Jen

Eeeewwwww!!!

We're dissecting the legs and feet in anatomy right now.  Every time we have to skin another part of the cadaver - I can't help but think of Silence of the Lambs...    This afternoon I was working on cleaning the structures in the lower leg, when a piece of fat landed on my lower lip.  Completely disgusted, I think I let out some sort of shriek as I headed straight for the sink (while quickly peeling my gloves off).  My dissecting partners showed immediate concern - asking if I had cut myself and if I was bleeding.  I was too frightened to speak, for fear of the fat ending up in my mouth...  They were equally appalled and entertained when they realized what had happened.    Jen

Trying to be Positive

There's only about 5 weeks left in the semester.  It's hard to believe it's already November...    Few things from "the outside world" manage to penetrate my protected world...but I made a little time to vote and watch some of the reports on the election results.  I planned to vote when the poles opened, but there was already a really long line when I got there at 6:50; so, I went back after class (at 6:00) and there was no line - it was great.  As many of you know, I was hoping McCain would win...but I'm trying to be positive...I'm sure Obama has good intentions...I'll just hold onto that for now.   I'm still trying to adjust to the demands of med school.  A few things I wish I had known before classes started: the first anatomy and biochem test are (by far) the easiest - bank some points here (cause you'll need them later), they weren't exaggerating when they (everyone) said that there is nothing that can prepare you for what is coming, and that the rules for remediation might actually apply to me (I remember thinking "I don't need to know any of this", when they covered this during orientation).  A few of us are already worried that we might have to remediate anatomy over the summer...  I'm trying to look at the positive side of that, too...it means I'll really know my anatomy (which I'll need later, anyway), and I'd much rather repeat one class over the summer, than repeat the entire first year (I think that's what happens if you fail 2 classes - see, I told you I wasn't really paying attention).    The really frustrating part is thinking about how much I am actually learning, and knowing that isn't good enough.  I can tell you where a structure is and what it does, and still miss the test question or tag in lab.  Histo is similar; I can ID a cell or organ on one slide, but not necessarily on the test slide (it doesn't help when he changes the colors - yes, they actually try to trick us).  Brett came home after seeing Dr. N yesterday (I think that was yesterday - it feels more like last week), and he said she stretched some muscle from "here" to "here", and he couldn't remember what it was called.  Without thinking, I said "the psoas (pronounced: so - as)?  I told him it's actually the psoas major and he may, or may not, have a psoas minor (as his eyes glazed over).  It's weird how much variation we all have - that some people have muscles, arteries, nerves and/or veins that most people don't have.    I'm learning lots of really cool stuff...I wonder if I'll ever have time to enjoy it...   Jen