Well you have bullied me into an update, I guess. Something semi-exciting happened tonight so that was a change. My group of friends has weekly tv nights which include Top Chef on Wednesdays with wine and Lost and 30 Rock on Thursday with chips and cheese or popcorn. At this point it is a tradition that is not to be missed. Also, it is great to look forward to a break during the evening so you feel better about studying earlier. Well anyway, the excitement happened in the middle of Top Chef when there was a huge bang outside our apartment and the power went out. We gathered outside and saw that all of phi rho and 4 other houses on the block were dark. So we were forced to go to Applebees for a couple of hours to kill time while the power was fixed. Let's be honest though, we go to Applebees almost every Wednesday night for half price appetizers so it wasn't really that exciting.
So since I last wrote, we finished spring semester with many finals and started summer term. Supposedly summer term is easier than spring but we have 6 weeks to complete 5 classes so I am doubtful. We are taking Pathology, Pharmocology, Human Behavior, Human Sexuality, and Embryology. We had a "midterm" this week for human behavior which was unexpected but I did really well on it after minimal studying so it was fine. Also human sexuality has been interesting and awkward. They scheduled 2 full days of only human sexuality where we supposedly got comfortable talking to patients about sex though I'm not sure I did. We also had a number of panels and speakers and even educational videos. Other than that path and pharm are a bit boring thus far. I guess this is just the start of drug lists that I have to memorize since we have pharm all next year. Also path is just advanced histology which sucks a little. I can cross pathologist off the list I guess.
Although I've been busy with school, I've still been reading a lot which is a nice break. I also watch way too much tv but that isnt anything new. I am looking forward to summer where I dont have so many obligations and I can read and get a tan at the same time. And go swimming at the lake! Only a couple of weeks left so I better get my stuff together. That should be slightly difficult with my family coming this weekend but I wouldnt have it any other way. Hope everyone has a great week!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Phew!
Well once again I have neglected my blog for quite awhile. I always think about writing entries and then decide that nothing exciting enough has happened to warrant one. That is the case today but I thought this reasoning had gone on long enough. I just got back from spring break where I got to see basically everyone in my family so that was fun. I'm sure Elliott and Connor really benefited from some older cousin mentoring (cool star wars lunch box included). Actually I think they have already learned to ignore everything Mallory and I say, so that's something anyway.
It has been rough to come back to school after a week off. I realized that I have a lot of stuff to do in a very short time which is not good. Basically every monday from now till the end of our semester we have a "quiz" which means test. Then we have finals, a number of papers, and some really stupid essay tests (3) that are all due in the next couple weeks. I had a neuro quiz today and I'm not sure how I did on it. I studied all weekend but took Sioux Hockey breaks. You know it is bad when you are studying at a coffee shop going, "Where is everyone? Oh yeah, it's a Friday night!" I did that Saturday night too but then I spotted some law students who were also hard at work for many hours doing what appeared to be more boring stuff (property law?) and then I didn't feel as bad. Since I studied so much I didn't feel as bad about taking three hours to go to a bar on a Sunday night and watch this:
It has been rough to come back to school after a week off. I realized that I have a lot of stuff to do in a very short time which is not good. Basically every monday from now till the end of our semester we have a "quiz" which means test. Then we have finals, a number of papers, and some really stupid essay tests (3) that are all due in the next couple weeks. I had a neuro quiz today and I'm not sure how I did on it. I studied all weekend but took Sioux Hockey breaks. You know it is bad when you are studying at a coffee shop going, "Where is everyone? Oh yeah, it's a Friday night!" I did that Saturday night too but then I spotted some law students who were also hard at work for many hours doing what appeared to be more boring stuff (property law?) and then I didn't feel as bad. Since I studied so much I didn't feel as bad about taking three hours to go to a bar on a Sunday night and watch this:
It was AMAZING! Of course I was trying to study during the period breaks but I was freaking out so much that I couldn't concentrate. It is also very distracting because whenever they interview a guy I just end up staring at his ridiculous mustache. So funny! I also love that TJ Oshie looks recently shaven with no discernable hair even though he has been trying to grow a mustache for how many weeks now? I'm sure the frozen four will only lead me to neglect my studies even more so I should probably get on top of things this week.
Well I guess that is all. Except can I say that it has been snowing here all morning and afternoon and I do not appreciate it! Spring, please!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Midterms
So since my last entry, I've taken a couple of quizzes, had my interviewing final, went to a phi rho hot tub party, and attended med school prom. It has been a good couple of weeks. Of course I've been studying a lot. For a while there we had a quiz every monday which basically meant a test so every weekend was study time. I did however find time to attend the traditional phi rho hot tub party. Apparently every winter phi rho rents hot tubs and puts them in our parking lot. It was interesting. I guess i don't really understand the appeal of being really warm from the waist down and really cold from the waist up all at the same time. So basically I went for an hour or so and got bored and watched 30 Rock with my friend Erica.
Last friday was the Medical School Winter Ball but we called it med school prom. It was a cool event because all four years of med students attend and it was held at the radisson downtown. They had open bar and people walking around with trays of appetizers and a live band. It was a lot of fun to see everyone all dressed up. Even some of the professors came and I noticed they were in the drink line pretty much the entire time. I went to eat sushi before prom with some friends so that was good. Though I had to carry my soy sauce in my coat pocket for the rest of the night so that was slightly awkward. I also saw a girl I went to high school with and hadn't seen since graduation. She apparently is married to a 3rd year med student and is finishing up some other sort of medical program. It was great to see her though it was extremely random.
The big news for the next 2 weeks is that we have midterms. So yesterday we had an interviewing final which was a bit scary since we haven't had any practice for 3 weeks and before that we basically only did 4 interviews total. I like to be prepared for these things and I didn't really feel that I was because more practice would have helped. But apparently all second year we interview different people every week so I should get lots of practice then. But anyway, I still passed the interview final and did pretty well though I still have things I need to work on. Next we start learning the physical exam which should be even more awkward but we practice on our fellow students instead of fake patients so maybe it won't be that bad.
As I said we have 3 big tests next week with Microbiology on Monday, Physiology on Wednesday, and Neuroscience on Friday. I've been studying a lot already going to coffee shops for many hours for the past two nights since I realized that our micro test is on 330 pages of material while the last quiz only covered about 90 pages so I need to memorize over 200 pages in the next week. We are getting into some gross stuff too. We have started learning about individual bacteria and what diseases they cause which are often accompanied by really disturbing pictures. So that is fun and also scary. The only good thing about midterms is that we don't have micro lab anymore so I get some of my afternoons back! Also, Mallory made me promise to come home after midterms are over so that should be nice. I feel like we should get a long weekend since midterms are so stressful but we have class on monday. I think I might still hang out in fargo until monday afternoon since they tape all of our lectures and I can watch them later and at a faster speed. Okay well, back to work I guess until I get a project runway break tonight. yay!
Last friday was the Medical School Winter Ball but we called it med school prom. It was a cool event because all four years of med students attend and it was held at the radisson downtown. They had open bar and people walking around with trays of appetizers and a live band. It was a lot of fun to see everyone all dressed up. Even some of the professors came and I noticed they were in the drink line pretty much the entire time. I went to eat sushi before prom with some friends so that was good. Though I had to carry my soy sauce in my coat pocket for the rest of the night so that was slightly awkward. I also saw a girl I went to high school with and hadn't seen since graduation. She apparently is married to a 3rd year med student and is finishing up some other sort of medical program. It was great to see her though it was extremely random.
The big news for the next 2 weeks is that we have midterms. So yesterday we had an interviewing final which was a bit scary since we haven't had any practice for 3 weeks and before that we basically only did 4 interviews total. I like to be prepared for these things and I didn't really feel that I was because more practice would have helped. But apparently all second year we interview different people every week so I should get lots of practice then. But anyway, I still passed the interview final and did pretty well though I still have things I need to work on. Next we start learning the physical exam which should be even more awkward but we practice on our fellow students instead of fake patients so maybe it won't be that bad.
As I said we have 3 big tests next week with Microbiology on Monday, Physiology on Wednesday, and Neuroscience on Friday. I've been studying a lot already going to coffee shops for many hours for the past two nights since I realized that our micro test is on 330 pages of material while the last quiz only covered about 90 pages so I need to memorize over 200 pages in the next week. We are getting into some gross stuff too. We have started learning about individual bacteria and what diseases they cause which are often accompanied by really disturbing pictures. So that is fun and also scary. The only good thing about midterms is that we don't have micro lab anymore so I get some of my afternoons back! Also, Mallory made me promise to come home after midterms are over so that should be nice. I feel like we should get a long weekend since midterms are so stressful but we have class on monday. I think I might still hang out in fargo until monday afternoon since they tape all of our lectures and I can watch them later and at a faster speed. Okay well, back to work I guess until I get a project runway break tonight. yay!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Sickly me
Well it is the end of another exciting week of med school here. Mostly this week has been marked by me blowing my nose incessantly and generally feeling like crap. Good times! It seems a lot of people are similarly afflicted in my class so it must be a bug that's going around. We had our first quiz on monday in microbiology. It was pretty easy. We just had a lot of questions where they said the patient had gram positive, catalase negative, optochin sensitive cocci in their blood. What bacteria is it??? It sounds complicated but they gave us a list with all these bacteria on it so we just had to memorize their characteristics. I did well on the quiz so no bad grades yet.
Also this week we had our first videotaped interviews with fake patients. The U has a bunch of exam rooms with cameras in them where we will be spending a lot of time for the next two years apparently. So this was our first time on our own with a patient for 20 minutes where we had to go through the whole interview process. We were assigned a second year "buddy" who will watch our videos and critique them. Also we have groups of 12 classmates plus two doctors who will watch them. All of this sounds a little scary to me. Mostly because I don't want to watch myself on video in front of my peers. But overall, I thought I did okay with the interview and wasn't as awkward as I could have been. I get to tape another one next week so that should be double the fun.
This weekend is going to be long and cold. We get Monday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day or something. Public school is great for getting days off. But mostly I need to catch up with my studies, since I spent most of this week resting and not studying. We have a neuro quiz in a week which should be fun and an extra credit thing due on wednesday that is worth a whole 4 points. They warned us though that in the past 4 points have made the difference between passing and failing so I suppose I should do it. One thing that was cool this week was we had a demonstration of an electrocardiogram. So one of my classmates we got to see his heart through an ultrasound type thing. I didn't think we would be able to see much but we could see the heart valves and the muscle and the aorta and everything. It was very cool. They could also add color so you could see which way the blood was flowing to make sure everything was normal. Sometimes it's nice to have a reminder of all the cool stuff we will get to do in the future. Gives me more motivation to study hard now. Anyway, I'm going to eat sushi and then watch a movie with my friends tonight so that should be fun. A break before the studying begins!
Also this week we had our first videotaped interviews with fake patients. The U has a bunch of exam rooms with cameras in them where we will be spending a lot of time for the next two years apparently. So this was our first time on our own with a patient for 20 minutes where we had to go through the whole interview process. We were assigned a second year "buddy" who will watch our videos and critique them. Also we have groups of 12 classmates plus two doctors who will watch them. All of this sounds a little scary to me. Mostly because I don't want to watch myself on video in front of my peers. But overall, I thought I did okay with the interview and wasn't as awkward as I could have been. I get to tape another one next week so that should be double the fun.
This weekend is going to be long and cold. We get Monday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day or something. Public school is great for getting days off. But mostly I need to catch up with my studies, since I spent most of this week resting and not studying. We have a neuro quiz in a week which should be fun and an extra credit thing due on wednesday that is worth a whole 4 points. They warned us though that in the past 4 points have made the difference between passing and failing so I suppose I should do it. One thing that was cool this week was we had a demonstration of an electrocardiogram. So one of my classmates we got to see his heart through an ultrasound type thing. I didn't think we would be able to see much but we could see the heart valves and the muscle and the aorta and everything. It was very cool. They could also add color so you could see which way the blood was flowing to make sure everything was normal. Sometimes it's nice to have a reminder of all the cool stuff we will get to do in the future. Gives me more motivation to study hard now. Anyway, I'm going to eat sushi and then watch a movie with my friends tonight so that should be fun. A break before the studying begins!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
New year, New semester
Hello, all. I'm back finally. Since I last wrote I have been through my first finals week in med school which was predictably hellish and then proceeded to do absolutely nothing for the approximately three weeks of Christmas break. It was wonderful. Mostly it was nice to be home and see everyone including Toby.
School started again last week on Jan. 2 which is just cruel. Only a day to recover from New Year's Eve and then they expect us to be up at 8 and actually be awake. So what I've learned about this semester so far is that these folks are no longer messing around. Instead of a leisurely 4 hours of class a day and 1 lab twice a week, we get at least 3 days a week of class from 8-5:30. We have two labs twice a week which takes up the 1:30 to 5:30. Then we have a new class called physician and patient once a week for 4 hours. In this class we will learn how to conduct a patient interview and do a physical exam. So the second day of class this semester we were introduced to our first fake patient and asked to interview him in front of 12 people for 4 minutes. It was pretty awkward since none of us knew what we were doing. But I guess we better learn fast because we have an interviewing final in a month after 6 teaching sessions on it.
The fake patients that we interview are kind of amazing actually. They get a really in depth script of what their story is and you really have to dig to find it all out. We are starting with the patient-centered interview where we figure out the chief complaint and hear the patient's story and find out more about what their concerns are and how they might be feeling. This is pretty complicated usually because the stories often include a recent divorce or a child with cancer or a friend who died and had the same symptoms as the patient etc. So we have to find out all of these things and deal with them which is hard. This past time, our focus for the day was on dealing with emotions so our fake patient cried three times and got really angry and whatnot. It was kind of crazy but nice to practice because we know that those things are going to happen in real life. In the next couple weeks we have 2 or 3 taped interviews that we have to review with a second year buddy they assigned to us. It should be freaky to have to watch myself on tape and analyze my body language and everything. I can't say I'm looking forward to it.
Anyway, the other classes that we have started this semester are neuroscience, physiology, and microbiology. I think these classes will be much better than histology and biochemistry. (blah!) But of course it is much harder to keep on track with my studying when I don't get done with school until 5 and then am tired and don't feel like doing anything. Mom and Dad keep saying it is like a regular job but I believe that is unfair since I am expected to study like crazy in all of my time off and I don't get paid a dime.
In more positive news, we will be having the med school winter ball in february! It's like prom but with an open bar. The only problem is that last year supposedly they only had open bar for the first hour so everyone drank as much free booze as possible in that one hour and misbehaved from then on out. I feel like that is a bad idea but what can you do? It has been nice to be back here so far and hang out with all my phi rho friends and my body buddies. I'm sure school will get in the way soon enough considering I have a micro quiz on monday which of course I am supposed to study for like it is a test. But perhaps I will go shopping while I can and spend the rest of my christmas money. Hope everyone is doing well!
School started again last week on Jan. 2 which is just cruel. Only a day to recover from New Year's Eve and then they expect us to be up at 8 and actually be awake. So what I've learned about this semester so far is that these folks are no longer messing around. Instead of a leisurely 4 hours of class a day and 1 lab twice a week, we get at least 3 days a week of class from 8-5:30. We have two labs twice a week which takes up the 1:30 to 5:30. Then we have a new class called physician and patient once a week for 4 hours. In this class we will learn how to conduct a patient interview and do a physical exam. So the second day of class this semester we were introduced to our first fake patient and asked to interview him in front of 12 people for 4 minutes. It was pretty awkward since none of us knew what we were doing. But I guess we better learn fast because we have an interviewing final in a month after 6 teaching sessions on it.
The fake patients that we interview are kind of amazing actually. They get a really in depth script of what their story is and you really have to dig to find it all out. We are starting with the patient-centered interview where we figure out the chief complaint and hear the patient's story and find out more about what their concerns are and how they might be feeling. This is pretty complicated usually because the stories often include a recent divorce or a child with cancer or a friend who died and had the same symptoms as the patient etc. So we have to find out all of these things and deal with them which is hard. This past time, our focus for the day was on dealing with emotions so our fake patient cried three times and got really angry and whatnot. It was kind of crazy but nice to practice because we know that those things are going to happen in real life. In the next couple weeks we have 2 or 3 taped interviews that we have to review with a second year buddy they assigned to us. It should be freaky to have to watch myself on tape and analyze my body language and everything. I can't say I'm looking forward to it.
Anyway, the other classes that we have started this semester are neuroscience, physiology, and microbiology. I think these classes will be much better than histology and biochemistry. (blah!) But of course it is much harder to keep on track with my studying when I don't get done with school until 5 and then am tired and don't feel like doing anything. Mom and Dad keep saying it is like a regular job but I believe that is unfair since I am expected to study like crazy in all of my time off and I don't get paid a dime.
In more positive news, we will be having the med school winter ball in february! It's like prom but with an open bar. The only problem is that last year supposedly they only had open bar for the first hour so everyone drank as much free booze as possible in that one hour and misbehaved from then on out. I feel like that is a bad idea but what can you do? It has been nice to be back here so far and hang out with all my phi rho friends and my body buddies. I'm sure school will get in the way soon enough considering I have a micro quiz on monday which of course I am supposed to study for like it is a test. But perhaps I will go shopping while I can and spend the rest of my christmas money. Hope everyone is doing well!
Monday, November 26, 2007
3 weeks left!
Well, It's been awhile huh? The past few weeks have been busy. Let's see. I went to Vegas, turned 22, got white-coated complete with cool reflex hammer, won fantasy nascar (which is both my greatest shame and my greatest triumph), barely passed a biochem test which I studied all week for, went home finally! to see my floppy-eared dog and assorted other family members, finally got to watch some live hockey, and returned home to a full schedule with a quiz and two tests this week. That was a run-on sentence if there ever was one.
So Las Vegas. It was great! It was my first time flying by myself but everything worked out fine. The trip was a little short but I had fun. I got to see many of the casinos which were all pretty crazy. And I got to have the best meal of my life. Filet mignon with foie gras and a red wine reduction. Seriously, Michael Mina is the best chef ever. He made vegetables taste good to me and that is a feat! The only bad thing is that now all other steaks pale in comparison. I'm sure I'll get over that one soon though. Also, I must say that the Bellagio fountain is possibly the greatest thing in the world and I will no longer make fun of mom for saying so.
After I got back from Vegas, I basically spent an entire week studying for my second biochem test which was on every energetic pathway known to man. I was familiar with glycolysis and TCA cycle but when it got down to the pentose monophosphate shunt and the like I was pretty lost. So pretty much the 40 hours of studying was worthless because I got to the test and the question would just pick one molecule out of all the pathways and I had no idea which pathway they were talking about since they were all mixed up in my head. But. I still passed and that is all that I need to do. The studying for the test was made more stressful by a quiz, a paper, and a presentation, but also by the white coat ceremony which was right before the test. I felt like I would have enjoyed it so much more if I could have actually spent some time with my family rather than kicking them out so I could study. It was nice to get the white coat though. I think I look pretty snazzy in it. Mallory was kind enough to point out that when I get the longer real doctor coat it will go past my knees and make me look like a midget. So that is something to look forward to.
After the test, it was excellent to go home for a while. I skipped some class I will admit and went home on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. Don't worry! They tape the lectures and put them on the internet so I can watch whenever I please. I tried to study a little at home but that didn't work out so well. Fortunately the two tests we have this week should be pretty easy: Genetics and Nutrition. The only thing that makes me slightly nervous about them is that we only have one test in each of these subjects so we really have to pass them. But it should be fine. Anyway, at home I saw all of you guys at Thanksgiving which was great. I saw Enchanted with Mallory which I think is the first movie I've seen in months. And finally, I watched the sioux play good ole fashioned, old-time, saturday night, rip roaring, head banging, puck shootin', crowd roarin', etc etc Sioux Hockey. Seriously how many adjectives are they going to put in front of Sioux hockey? Really they should add an adjective every night as the season goes on. Also this power play was brought to you by Rydell Chevrolet. Anyway, they won and played great Friday, and lost and played crappy Saturday. Sort of the way the season has been going so far. But at least I'm not a gopher fan!
Okay that is enough. But in closing I am posting this video. It makes me happy. But don't click on it at work because the music is loud and the video is nothing without the music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBIOpFwBgNM
So Las Vegas. It was great! It was my first time flying by myself but everything worked out fine. The trip was a little short but I had fun. I got to see many of the casinos which were all pretty crazy. And I got to have the best meal of my life. Filet mignon with foie gras and a red wine reduction. Seriously, Michael Mina is the best chef ever. He made vegetables taste good to me and that is a feat! The only bad thing is that now all other steaks pale in comparison. I'm sure I'll get over that one soon though. Also, I must say that the Bellagio fountain is possibly the greatest thing in the world and I will no longer make fun of mom for saying so.
After I got back from Vegas, I basically spent an entire week studying for my second biochem test which was on every energetic pathway known to man. I was familiar with glycolysis and TCA cycle but when it got down to the pentose monophosphate shunt and the like I was pretty lost. So pretty much the 40 hours of studying was worthless because I got to the test and the question would just pick one molecule out of all the pathways and I had no idea which pathway they were talking about since they were all mixed up in my head. But. I still passed and that is all that I need to do. The studying for the test was made more stressful by a quiz, a paper, and a presentation, but also by the white coat ceremony which was right before the test. I felt like I would have enjoyed it so much more if I could have actually spent some time with my family rather than kicking them out so I could study. It was nice to get the white coat though. I think I look pretty snazzy in it. Mallory was kind enough to point out that when I get the longer real doctor coat it will go past my knees and make me look like a midget. So that is something to look forward to.
After the test, it was excellent to go home for a while. I skipped some class I will admit and went home on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. Don't worry! They tape the lectures and put them on the internet so I can watch whenever I please. I tried to study a little at home but that didn't work out so well. Fortunately the two tests we have this week should be pretty easy: Genetics and Nutrition. The only thing that makes me slightly nervous about them is that we only have one test in each of these subjects so we really have to pass them. But it should be fine. Anyway, at home I saw all of you guys at Thanksgiving which was great. I saw Enchanted with Mallory which I think is the first movie I've seen in months. And finally, I watched the sioux play good ole fashioned, old-time, saturday night, rip roaring, head banging, puck shootin', crowd roarin', etc etc Sioux Hockey. Seriously how many adjectives are they going to put in front of Sioux hockey? Really they should add an adjective every night as the season goes on. Also this power play was brought to you by Rydell Chevrolet. Anyway, they won and played great Friday, and lost and played crappy Saturday. Sort of the way the season has been going so far. But at least I'm not a gopher fan!
Okay that is enough. But in closing I am posting this video. It makes me happy. But don't click on it at work because the music is loud and the video is nothing without the music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBIOpFwBgNM
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