Huh. Maybe now that I'm a fourth year with a little time on my hands, I'll try posting again. But maybe in a more minimalist way. I obviously can't handle meaningful writing on a regular basis. 

http://www.muzzleofbees.com/

This is a really great music blog about Midwest music and shows written by a friend of mine. Check it out.

I dedicate this song to my interviews, past and future, and all those wandering around the interview trail with me.

Or maybe I should be dedicating this instead:

If you replace "yellow brick road" with "interview trail" it seems fairly fitting, and an equally logical method to determine my future.

Happy trails!

The Nadas - Goodnight Girl

A great farewell to my favorite bar in Ames, IA. People's, you may be gone, but we'll never forget you!

Superhero

Your Superhero Profile

Your Superhero Name is The Omega Punisher Your Superpower is Psychic Your Weakness is Snakes Your Weapon is Your Golden Catapult Your Mode of Transportation is Llama

What's" your Superhero Name?

I am a superhero! I did a triathlon today! It might not have been fast, and it might not have been pretty, but I did it.

Only a sprint distance- 500 yard swim, 13.7 mile bike, 5K run, but a challenge for me! I finished in 1 hour, 31 minutes, and some number of seconds my "runner's dumb" brain can't remember anymore. And I was pretty surprised at how challenging it was. I've been training, doing much longer distances for all three events, but it is all much more difficult all in a row.

And I only flashed people once during the transitions, so I figure that's pretty good too.

Sexily Dressed Doctors May Be Dangerous!

Beware world! Health care in the US is a shambles!! Is it the new Schwarzenegger universal health care plan for California? Is it avian flu? Is Medicare finally going bankrupt??

NO!! It's the rebellion of young doctors.

"In step with their media counterparts, upcoming medical students and residents are rebelling against the traditional Norman Rockwell white-coat doctor's image by wearing mini skirts, rumpled oxford shirts without ties, unshaven chops, high heels, and other things that may be considered medically inappropriate," states a hilarious expose of how slutty clothes undermine the patient-doctor relationship by ABC News: Health. (This is under the sub-heading, "Young Doctors Gone Wild")

Check it out. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2670386&page=1

My favorite part:
"Some Doctors Welcome the Change

One well-respected and long-practicing doctor agreed that hospital dress was becoming more casual.
But he doesn't necessarily object to that change.
"I have not seen the plunging neckline," he said. 'I would like to, though!' "

So watch out. Forget their skills, years of education, intelligence, and problem-solving, your health care is being degraded by five o'clock shadows, V-necks, and kitten heels.

The 12 Days of Christmas?

On the twelfth day of Christmas, med school gave to me. . .
12 hours of studying*
11 respiratory small groups
10 reasons to love the people I study with
9 causes of metabolic acidosis
8 general anesthetics
7 minutes for a glorious shower
6 gabillion reasons not to smoke
5 cups of coffee
4 characterizations of asthma
3 annoying roommates* who are all doing way less work than me for finals
2 interstitial lung diseases
and motivation to really enjoy my holiday vacation!


*12 hours of studying. . . if only, I studied 19 hours straight yesterday and still bombed my exam this morning.

11 respiratory small groups:
(1) Patterns of pulmonary dysfunction, (2) Pathophysiology of gas exchange, (3) Pathophysiology of ventilatory control, (4) Case-based questions, (5) Acid-base disorders, (6) Obtructive disease, (7) Interstitial lung disease, (8) More case-based questions, (9) Pulmonary circulation, (10) Even more case-based questions, (11) ARDS and respiratory failure

10 reasons to love the people I study with:
(1) Micah's mnemonics (I Smell Diarrhea Now- inhaled anesthetics), (2) Julie's hugs, (3) Listening to soothing ocean sounds or choral arrangements, (4) Caramel corn, (5) We rock acid/base disturbances, (6) I taught antibiotics, (7) and Micah taught me basically all of pharm- thank goodness he has asthma, (8) "Hey guys, lets play a game where if quiz eachother and if we get a question wrong, we have to take off an item of clothing."- although I'm not sure strip-studying will ever really catch on, (9) "We can do this, we'll get through it." How we all encourage eachother when we have breakdowns/panic attacks, (10) If I didn't have them, I would be (even more) socially special-ed and a pathetic excuse for a human being

9 causes of metabolic acidosis:
(1) Diarrhea, (2) Sepsis, (3) Cardiopulmonary arrest, (4) Renal failure, (5) Hepatic failure, (6) Diabetes, (7) Carbonic anhydrase inhibitor diuretics, (8) Hypotension, (9) Overdose of ethylene glycol

8 general anesthetics:
IV agents- (1) thiopental, (2) etomidate, (3) propofol, (4) ketamine
Volatile inhaled agents- (5) isoflurane, (6) sevoflurane, (7) desflurane
Anesthetic gas- (8) nitrous oxide

7 minutes in the shower:
(1) Get warm, (2) Shampoo- lather, (3) Rinse, (4) Condition, (5) Soap up, (6) Rinse, (7) Stand and wish I had something else to do in the shower so I wouldn't have to get out of the steam and go study

6 gabillion reasons to not to smoke:
It will kill you.

5 cups of coffee:
(1) Holiday gingerbread spice, (2) Breakfast blend, (3) Hazelnut at Panera, (4) Microwaved after sitting in the pot all day, (5) Consumed all in one gulp of desperation at 2am

4 characterizations of asthma:
(1) Airway obstruction, (2) Hyperresponsiveness, (3) Inflammation, (4) Remodeling

3 annoying roommates*:
(1) Jess, (2) Sarah, (3) Sarah
*But I love them anyway

2 interstitial lung diseases (the 2 most prevalent):
(1) Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, (2) Sarcoidosis

And a relaxed, wonderful, real break.

Merry Christmas!!

Young Female Chronically Behind in Life

My little sister's AIM away message is "Hooray for massages and underwear". Should I be worried?? Probably not. She really isn't so little, turned 20 (OMG!!) in October. Geez, that makes me 23.

Being 23 is alright. What is a slightly disturbing thought for me is that so many of my friends and peers are a much, much older 23 than I am. We all started out even at the starting line after graduating from college, but as I look ahead, I realize that I will fall farther and farther behind in the race to adulthood. One of my good friends got married last July, has a home, a steady income, and is on her way to having a son sometime this spring. My single status is a whole other "mixed bag of worms" (as Mrs. C would say), so, ignoring the fact that marriage and babies are not part of my foreseeable future, it will be a minimum of 7 or 8 more years before I will be looking at a steady income. And that will put me at 30. 30 before I am a financially-independent adult!

Example Case:
S: A.M., a 30 yo female with a past history significant for a BS in biology and 10 years of post-graduate education presents with only one additional degree and a lingering dependence on her parents. While A.M. does not still live at home, she requires significant financial support, her love-life is dismal, and she is still on her family cell phone plan.

O: A.M. appears slightly haggard, but in no acute distress.

A: Patient presents with chronic inability to move forward in life. Given her biology degree and past educational success, medical school is a likely diagnosis. PhD training is possible due to the presentation with some financial difficulty, but the extremely lengthy course makes this less likely. MD-PhD training also possible, but would amazingly show an even lengthier course of lingering life immaturity. It is unlikely that A.M. pays her bills, owns her home, has a job, is part of a stable relationship, or is considered traditionally successful.

People pat you on the back, congratulate you for entering this supposedly elite medical field, tell you how proud they are, but what they don't realize is that you are sentenced to be 10 years behind your peers. No wonder physicians are well paid-- besides the extra years of very expensive schooling and accumulation of debt, they also are that many years behind in bringing in money. Our black (should be red really) hole is twice as deep.

P: Remind A.M. that she was (and still is) not ready for marriage, family, and "Honey, I'm home," and that was one of the reasons she chose medical school in the first place. Ensure her that she will love her job when she finally gets there someday.

(*S= Subjective; O= Objective; A= Assessment; P= Plan-- the traditional way to write up a clinical case)

Unite for Sight - Hyderabad, India

My friend Yasir made a video of my trip to Hyderabad, India, this summer. It's a fun recap, and it makes me miss our crazy month together!