BYU vs UTAH

Believe it or not, despite being in Iowa and having a ridiculus school schedule, I actually managed to watch a few games of both BYU and Utah. Its no secret that I bleed blue. But I'm actually more of a fan of Utah teams in general. I cheer for Utah, BYU, Utah State, Weber state whenever they are playing out of state schools. But there is a pecking order when in-state play each other. So I've decided to finally put in ink for all to see my pecking order of Utah teams. In most years*, Utah State is who I will cheer for againt any team in any sport since that is where I did my undergrad. BYU is next on the list and I will cheer for them against anybody but USU*. Weber State is next, followed by Utah. I really like to watch Utes and like to see them win against out of state foes. This year was no different and I'm glad they are 11-0.

Now to explain the asteriks. USU has fallen on hard times in the football world which makes it hard to cheer for them against anybody, so I don't care much for there football program anymore. So in the years that BYU football is really good, I will cheer for them to beat USU so they will still have a shot to make it to the BCS. So what does this all mean why am I posting this now? It means that starting tomorrow I will not wear red this week. It's rivalry week and the holy war is on the horizon! It will have the two highest ranked teams the rivalry has ever seen! Only one loss between the two and a combined 21 victories. Lots of storylines, passions, opinions and emotions! Instead of comparing wins and stats and guessing who will win, I will do a simple calculation in the Seanulator...and the outcome is=BYU by 3! :) Actually its a win-win situation for me this year. If BYU wins, then they spoil the Utes perfect season and get a chance to make it to a BCS bowl(if Boise state somehow loses), which would be awesome(but a long shot). But if Utah wins, they go to the BCS bowl which is great for the conference and will also be fun to watch. My only request is if Utah goes to the Sugar bowl and plays Florida or Alabama, that they don't pull a Hawaii. Deal?

No Shave November

Its become the tradition ever since Brad and I were roommates at USU to go the month of November without shaving until Thanksgiving, and even though we aren't roommates anymore this year is no different. It's sort of a contest to see whose beard grows more thick. Perhaps we should add a few more categories like who has the most red hairs, or gray hairs(I found one last year), or whose flavor saver retains more flavor! ;) Anyone is welcome to join in! My roommate Mike along with some other guys from school are participating and Brad has some guys in Wisconsin doing it. Its our way of contributing to the economic crisis by cutting back on our electricity usage, contributing to the environment by not filling up as many garbage bags, and keeping ourselves warm during the transition into the cold weather season! Ok, mostly its an excuse not to shave. Who do you think is winning so far?

In other November news, it has been the busiest month in the history of my medical school experience! The end of october was also very busy and I'm reaching the point of burn out. Only 3 more exams to go until thanksgiving, I think I can make it(although I might be limping mentally when I get home to Utah!) We finished the Cardio block in october and went light speed ahead through the respiratory block. We start the Hematology/Oncology block next week. The highlights of the month have been my healthy cooking elective class (Its hard to believe with 30 credit hours I have time for an extra class, but I get to eat dinner during the class...so it works out:), and the neonatology lab. The lab was at mercy hospital and we actually spent a couple of hours in the newborn nursery learning how to conduct a new baby exam on real newborns! I never realized how durable newborns are. We poked and prodded, checking reflexes, making sure no broken bones, searching for birthmarks or other abnormalities, and these babies hardly gave a yawn. They never cried once! It almost made me want one of my own...but I quickly remembered that most babies don't stay like that for long. If examining newborns were all neonatalogists or OB-GYN Drs. did, it would be a fantastic job...but with the obvious unpredictability of when the babies are coming it doesn't make for a great lifestyle. So I don't think I'll be going into it...but it was a great lab!

Thoughts

The election is only 18 days away and looking at my exam schedule for the next few weeks reveals that all the research I planned to do on the candidates may never come to pass. I've read some things here and there in between my studies but don't feel like I know enough about either candidate to make a decision on who to vote for. I'm more of a conservative by principle but living out in Iowa and having a grandpa who is staunch democrat has led me to be more open to the left. Is there such thing as a religious left? Can a person who holds strong values and beliefs about pro-life, the sanctity of marriage and other social issues but sees "the need for change" be apart of this religious left? Those are some questions I'm thinking about as the election nears. Also a very important issue to me is obviously healthcare. I do not feel socialized medicine is healthy for America. In fact, France(who supposedly is #1 in healthcare in the world and is on a socialized system) is starting to take ideas from our current healthcare system to improve upon what they have. But I admit our system does need an overhaul and maybe someday i'll blog about what I think should be done but today is not that day. My one sour grape is all the bickering that goes on between Democrats and Republicans. There is way too much emotion between the parties(and not enough parties). What is wrong with having an intellectual conversation with someone who has completely different veiwpoints and seek to understand where they are coming from? I know there is alot at stake, with the supreme court turnover that is due in the next few years and other issues, but aren't we a civilized nation? Can't we live next door to someone who may not believe exactly as we do and still get along? Why does the media and other wealthy people with an agenda have to spread half truths about the candidates? Anyway, enough about my little soap box. In the final analysis on the little information that I've gleened, I don't feel like I can trust John Mccain and don't know if I can vote for Obama and feel morally ok about it. "Indecision is like a dull knife...it hacks away and leaves ragged edges behind it." Well, good luck to everyone as they research and make their final decision on Nov. 4th!

And here is a random question that was spawned from a conversation I had with a friend last week: Who has a harder time growing up in the gospel, those who grow up in Utah or those living everywhere else?

Well I better get back to studying cardiology...mitral regurgitation here I come!

Random Pictures

Here are some random Pictures that i've never gotten around to posting... This is the rock wall on the side of my apartment building...I decided I needed to climb it shortly after moving out here to remind me of home. It was kinda funny when the man next door who didn't have any teeth and looked as though he hadn't taken care of himself in quite a long time started yelling at me to get down because I would break my neck...I haven't been spoken to like that since 3rd grade...good times.
I finished my surgery class on friday and feel confident that I could suture up any laceration and take care of any minor surgery...so if any of ya'll need something done and don't want to pay the high medical bills, i'll do it for free!*
This is one of the entrances to DMU.

This was at a YSA conference dance at Fort Dodge Iowa...Just getting a water break before hitting the dance floor.

The life size butter Cow at the state fair...made purely out of butter.
The 1259 lbs boar at the fair...it was so big we couldn't even fit his whole body in one frame!
This is my dream someday! Anybody want to try it with me?
The Harry Potter butter statue at the fair last year.

*The only catch is that since I don't have a licence I can't prescribe or use any medications so if you can deal with that then you have a deal!

Hospital Day and Surgical Skills!

I'm pretty stoked to finally write about a part of medical school that doesn't involve books and long hours of studying! Most of the first year was simply reading, studying and taking exam after exam after exam. Not a whole lot of excitement to post on a blog. The 2nd year still has lots of exams and lots of studying but we have other more clinically applicable activities going on as well. The first happened on tuesday. We had hospital day where residency directors came from their hospitals from all parts of the country to recruit us to consider their program for residency and rotations. As you can see I was dressed up in my nice white coat along with the snazzy outfit that was given to me to wear for Jami's wedding reception. I gotta give a shout out to Jami because I got more compliments on how I looked with the tie and outfit than I can ever remember getting on a single occasion. One director(it was a lady) even asked me if I dressed myself that morning or if someone else helped me put it together! haha. Anyway, we had over 100 representatives from hospitals in several states including Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, South dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and South Carolina. It was cool to see so many respected hospitals there hoping that we would consider their residency program or do a rotation with them. It also provided alot of valuable information and about these programs and good advice on how to prepare. But it was also a poignant reminder to me that in about a year and a half I will have to choose a specialty and make a decision as to where I will be doing residency! Crazy! I don't know what I like or do not like yet! Even more crazy is the fact that in 4 months I have to decide where to do my 3rd and 4th year rotations. I can choose to stay in Des Moines or I can go elsewhere and commit to a hospital for the third year and the following year rotate at potential places I want to do my residency. If I had to decide today, I would choose to go to the Doctor's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. I've been itching to move to a bigger city, there is a temple in columbus, a couple of singles wards, college football, not to mention that the hospital is top notch. A close second choice would be to the Henry Ford hospital just outside of Detroit. I will be finding out in January where I'm headed after the school holds it's lottery, where each student gives their top 3 choices and then a lottery is done to see who goes where. I don't know all the details yet but will find out more in November.

The other exciting happening at med school is that I started my surgical skills class two weeks ago! The picture above is the device they gave us to learn how to tie the surgeon's knot and other important knots necessary for suturing. We started off with a nice big rope to get the hang of it and then progressed the next week to the real stuff!

What you see here is a needle holder, forceps, cutting needle, and a nylon non-absorbable suture. The pad is a represtation of skin with the epidermis, dermis and sub cutaneous layers all there. I'm practicing as much as time will allow between studying for my other classes so I'll be ready for rotations(which isn't as much as i'd like sadly). During the lab, we practiced cutting incisions on pig's feet and learned different techniques for how to do sutures on various parts of the body. It was really cool! We also learned how to put in a catheter and a nasogastric tube.

The previous week we learned how to start an IV, and practiced putting one in another student and had them practice on us. I was very nervous to have someone poke me for their first time ever and was worried that I might pass out! Luckily it went just fine...although as my partner gave me the shot to numb up my hand before putting in the IV, he was shaking like crazy and as he stuck my hand he dropped the syringe as he tried to push in the plunger which caused the needle to push up into my skin...but other than that it was no big deal! There were others who passed out but I was not one of them!

Chicago for labor day weekend

Over labor day weekend I travelled up to Chicago to spend time with Brad and Jacob Priest and see the city for the first time. It worked out that I didn't have any exams until friday of the following week so it turned out to be a perfectly relaxing weekend void of studying! Brad travelled from Milwaukee and met me there and Jacob is doing a Ph.D program at Purdue-chicago extention and lives in a small safe zone in the south side Chicago called Hyde Park that is surrounded by some very shady and scary areas. So scary in fact that the guys that I caught a ride with to Chicago who are from there would not drop me off at Jacob's house but had us meet Jacob and Brad near the freeway. The guys I rode with were from India and Pakistan and devout Muslims. We had an excellent 5 1/2 hour trip and the bulk of our conversation was about religion which was very interesting! I was very glad for the skills I learned on my mission(although a bit rusty) when they sort of attacked my beliefs by saying there was no need for prophets today and that Christ was merely a prophet and nothing more. I kept my cool and was able turn a potentially hostile argument into something much better by agreeing on what we had in common and respecting there beliefs and teaching why a prophet and the Savior was necessary. They asked if I thought my religion was better than all other religions and after feeling trapped and not wanting to appear arrogant said that "I believed all religions were good and taught truth but ours enhanced and added upon those truths and that is why I served a mission to help enhance others beliefs" (thank you President Hinckley for verbalizing our mission as a church) it went over very well! Now back to the Chicago trip. After Brad and Jacob picked us up we drove around downtown and saw how gorgeous Chicago is at night. We drove by Obama's house but didn't get to go too close because of all the barricades and fences that were set up and the 5 police cars that were assigned to protect his house. We made it back to Jacobs nice condo around 11:30 pm and caught up til the early morning hours. On Saturday with Jacob as our guide we walked around downtown after beginning the day at the original pancake house. I had some delicious pinapple pancakes with a tropical syrup. We walked around Millenium and Grant park where a Jazz festival was going on, saw the beautiful Navy pier on lake Michigan, and walked along the streets of downtown looking up at the skyscrapers. Jacob learned really fast how cheap Brad and I are. Whenever we passed by something to do whether it was a boat or building tour, a show, a museum or something else Jacob would ask if we wanted to do it and our first question would be "does it cost money?" and if the answer was yes, our answer was always "No." I think you can have lots of fun in Chicago and not spend any money, hopefully Jacob feels the same way! We did spend money on two things. First we had to try the famous deep dish pizza at Giordano's. It was so good! I tried not to think of the recent nutrition class I just finished as I put into my mouth the 3 inches thick of cheese, pepperoni, black olives, canadian bacon and sauce. I was full after two slices! We enjoyed watching the Utes beat Michigan as we ate and stayed at the restaurant for a long time after our pizza was done because it was such a good game. The other thing we spent money on was wicked. I mean the broadway musical Wicked! We chose not to buy tickets online and try our luck in the drawing they hold at the borders bookstore across the street from the theatre that I heard about on Tyler Squires blog. I thought for sure Brad would have the first year of med school luck that I had and get his name drawn out(my first year luck included winning a golf bag, golf balls, scrubs and a 20 dollar gift certificate to the old chicago pizza factory for getting closest to the hole during an alumni golf tournament...anyone who has seen me golf would know it had to be luck!). Sadly we didn't get drawn out which would have allowed us to get tickets for 25 dollars. Brad convinced me it was a once in a lifetime experience and that we should go anyway and since we were going we should do it right by getting the best seats still available. So I spent 95 dollars for a 5th row seat. I had a little bit of remorse after seeing the reciept and realizing how much I had spent, but it didn't last long. It was so amazing! The music was fantastic, the actors amazing, the set unbelievable and the story extremely entertaining! I felt like I got my moneys worth! Thanks Brad for convincing me to go! Sunday we went to church with Jacob and afterward he drove us around and we saw the Bahai temple, several universities and drove by wrigley field! It really was a great trip and one of the best weekends i've had since moving to Iowa! Thanks Jacob for letting us stay and your condo and being our guide, and thanks Brad for coming down it was fun spending time with both of you!

Pictures from the Narrows and keyhole canyon

These pictures were taken with a waterproof, disposable camera so the quality is lacking but they're still fun to look at. We had a fantastic time enjoying the majesty and beauty of the narrows in Zions National Park, these pictures don't do it justice. Some of the more fun times were taking our packs off and jumping into the river when we found deep pools of water...I'm still amazed that I jumped into the FREEZING cold water and will always remember dad slipping as he jumped in, the struggle of Sam and I to get Trent to the top of the rock and Brad having no problem climbing whatever was in his way. Keyhole canyon was a quick climb through a beautiful slot canyon. We wanted a longer trail but the good climbs require permits and fill up fast. Nonetheless, keyhole had a couple of fun 30ft and 20 ft repels along with some narrow hallways we had to shimmy through. It ended with a bone chilling cold water swim that was about thirty feet long...my guess is the water temp was around 40 degrees! I was the only one with a wet suit and boy was I grateful I had it!

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

I got a wake up call this week with my first exam in Nutrition class on friday. It was one of the most challenging exams i've had in med school thus far! I've had classes in Biochemistry, NeuroAnatomy, Cell Biology, and Pathology but this Nutrition exam was almost more challenging then any of the exams in any of those classes. The info is quite interesting, and just so you all stay safe...don't eat the polar bear's liver the next time you go polar bear hunting...it is loaded with Vitamin A such that it would be so toxic to your body it could kill you! Ok, now that I have that little rant out of the way here is the real reason for this post: I went to the Iowa State Fair this weekend! I had a wonderful surprise when Brad and Dad came and visited me for a day on friday as they were passing through to move Brad to Wisconsin to start med school at the Medical College of Wisconsin on Monday. Of course I had to take them to the greatest fair in the nation! Besides the field of dreams, what else is there in Iowa anyway? I laugh when I think that the musical we did my senior year of high school was based on this fair and its kind of ironic that I ended up here in Iowa. Everybody should go to this fair once in their lifetime, its quite the extravaganza. We saw the life size cow statue completely made out of butter along with the life size butter statue of Shawn Johnson, the olympic gymnast from Iowa. We witnessed the first full view escape out of a water torture cell by a woman that was made famous by houdini. We sampled the famous deep fried twinkie and snickers on a stick...they were delicious but I could feel my arteries clogging later that night! You can find anything on a stick deep fried at the fair. We were wowed at the sheer size of the 1259 lbs pig that took first place and saw more lifestock than most see in a lifetime. We sampled heavenly flavors of homeade jam, honey and cheese. My Dad pointed out how important Iowa is to our country because its one of the few states that focuses on agriculture, and plays such a big role in picking the presidential nominees. Thanks Brad and Dad for enjoying a day with me and being the first to come visit me since being in Iowa! Thanks for allowing me to show off my school and take you to my favorite places in Des Moines. I'd love to host anyone else interested in visiting the heartland of America and spending time with me. I would probably turn on the A.C. for you if you came...if I was feeling generous that day! :)

Summer...blink...Iowa?

Summer came and went so fast I can hardly believe that I am already back in Iowa. I had 6 weeks of bliss and serenity and now its gone forever. Here is a recap of how I did with my top ten. See my previous post for the top ten list.
1) I only picked up one for about twenty min...it was USMLE first aid but I got bored really fast and moved on to something else

2)I went three times in six weeks so about once every other week. Even with loans the gas prices were too much to overcome to stomaching going more than that.

3)This I did do and it was absolutely amazing. I have pictures to post as soon as I can figure out how to transer picts from my Zune player to my Laptop. Sam did pretty well but would have done better if only he would have taken the ski pole we offered him for stability!:)

4)This one didn't go so well. No classes were being offered while I was home. I did spend one day with Emily learning some signs on our own but for some reason we never got back to it.

5)I actually did great with this until we took our trip to the narrows. I never got back into the habit after that. But I did learn how to play Canon in D, Come follow me, Just can't wait to be king and the Prayer. Eventually it'll all come together:)

6)see #1

7) I did a great job with this one. I don't have any exciting news to report but I certainly didn't shirk my manly duty and asked out lots of chicka's, Elder Oaks would be proud! :) I rekindled lots of old friendships and met alot of new, wonderful people!

8)Did great with this one too! We had a wonderful family reunion around July fourth with all the Burtenshaw family and had a great time waterskiing, roller blading and spending time catching up. I visited with my Grandma Lula in Logan and Papa Claude in Layton which I loved...they are both 90 and I hope they'll be around for a long time but you never know so i'm glad I got to see them. I Spent lots of time playing games, watching movies, chatting and golfing with Brad, Jami and Sam, Emily, Taylee and Mom and Dad. They still are the coolest family ever! How many of your Mom's can score higher than you in bowling, eh? Thanks for putting up with me and helping my summer be as relaxing and meaningful as possible!

9)I got to do this alot also, but can you ever really get tired of spoiling and playing with such fun, creative and downright almost scary smart nieces and nephews? Lichelle and Trent were also fun. We enjoyed a great day at the Dinosaur Park in Ogden and on another day swimming in their backyard. It's always hard to leave them. And they are still the coolest kids! Trent...I will own you in basketball someday! LOL

10)We didn't play hardly at all, mostly because Brad was worried his reign of ping pong champ would soon be over. He is coming to Des Moines on friday to visit on his way out to wisconsin so we will surely have a match!

Now I am back in Des Moines trying to convince myself school has started and I need to study. I've already taken a trip to Nauvoo and gone to a YSA conference at Camp Dodge. I'm avoiding the humidity as much as possible. Its hard to be in school during July and wrong also. But such is life!

Year One...........DONE!

It is finished! I was officially done with the first year of medical school as of 10 am today, after my last physiology exam. I'm .25 Dr! I haven't been able to convince myself that I really don't have anything to study tomorrow. Tyler Suds and I were discussing our plans to come home today and it seemed almost like yesterday that we were driving the moving truck out to Iowa...and yet I feel like I've been here FOREVER. Getting through year 1 definately has a different feel versus finishing the first year of undergrad...I actually feel like i've accomplished something and am closer to finishing. Only 7 more years to go...yeah baby I can almost taste it. But it is a good thing we get all of that training because I certainly don't feel like I could do anybody much good with only a year of school. It looks like i'll be coming home on thursday or friday to Utah and i'll have seven weeks of bliss and serenity before starting year 2. Here are my top 10 things I plan on doing this summer in no particular order:

1) be sure to NOT pick up any book related to medicine.
2) Go waterskiing at least once a week.
3) Go on our annual Males only Anderson trip, this time to the Narrows, with my new brother in law Sam Thacker coming along for the first time...he better be ready for his initiation...haha
4) Learn ASL
5) Take piano lessons...Hopefully I'll practice more often this time around...
6) Double check to make sure I DON'T pick up a medical book
7) Go on LOTS of dates to make up for the too many to count studying on friday and saturday nights this year.
8) Hang out with the coolest family ever, My Family!
9) Chill with Lindee, Zander and Elli...pretty much the coolest kids ever.
10) Beat Brad in Ping Pong!

Facebook

For all you facebookers out there click on this link to watch a funny video about facebook. I had a good laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrlSkU0TFLs

I was forced!!!

It was a sad day on Wednesday. In order to fly home this coming Thursday for my little sister Jami's wedding, I needed current driver's licence. My old one expires tomorrow and since I renewed it last time by mail, I would've had to go in to renew it in person and take an eye exam in order to retain a Utah licence. Despite my flirtations with the clerk over the phone, she said there were no exceptions. So using my only option to be able to fly on thurdsay, I reluctantly drove 20 min to the DMV here in Iowa. It turned out to be more of a hassle than I was expecting. I had to prove that I had lived here in Iowa for at least 30 days, so i brought a letter signed by the dean of the medical school, dated on the 15th of January 2008(I needed a letter back then to show another company I was a current resident), that was on official letterhead, stating my address and that I had been living there since august. You would think that would've been good enough and at least equal to a pay stub from an employer to show my residency. But the good employers of the state of Iowa didn't think so. It was either a rental agreement, utility bill, or pay stub...no exceptions! Knowing I had an intense Physical Diagnosis exam the next day to study for, I tried my best to persuade and even flirt with the clerk to let it slide. Nope, it didn't work. I drove 20 min back to my apartment, got my rental agreement, 20 min back to the DMV, waited another 45 min to get the licence, had to surrender my sweet, old school 1998 Utah license and then drove the 20 min back to the apt. So two and half good study hours later...I am an Iowa resident with a pink drivers licence in my wallet...but at least I can fly home, eh. And the good news is that I am registered to vote! I'll be casting my vote for whomever is againt socialized medicine(I'll be doing my research over the summer when I have more time...but I can tell you hillary won't be getting my vote.) The other funny thing is that my picture doesn't look that much different from my 16 yr old picture, and I only got to add 1 inch to my height and 10 lbs to my weight...and that was being generous! haha I should be grateful that I can't put on weight I guess.

My other exciting event of the week happened yesterday. I volunteered for the first time at an OFL event which stands for Osteopathic Finish Line. This is where first and second year med students give free Osteopathic treatments to participants just finishing a race...this time a 5k that was a fundraiser for AIDS. We treated all lower body muscles, the sacrum and lumbar spine, fixing the structures that were out of alignment which is supposed to lead to better funtion of the whole body. This Osteopathic medicine is different than Chiropractics. We use the muscles by a technique called Muscle Energy to help return the bones to their proper alignment with the idea that body functions are related to structure and that the nerves, blood vessels, and lymphatics related to those muscle groups will have better function as a result. It was fun to actually treat real people and see them leave with a smile on their face. I'm glad we are being taught OMM, but it makes our life busier than our MD Collegues. We are taking all of the same classes because we will do the same thing, but we have the Osteopathic medicine in addition to everything else. But its all good and if anyone wants a free full body treatment when I come home for the summer just leave a comment and i'll get ya set up!

Spirituality and medicine

Today in medical ethics we discussed religion and spirituality and its role in the healing process. Initially, I believed that my job as a physician would be to present the facts, educate and let the patient find his/her own way in regards to spirituality, almost like a separation between church and state. I am slowy becoming convinced that physicians should have a role in the spirituality of their patients especially during end of life care. I'm currently trying to determine what exactly that role should be in my own practice. Should a physician pray with his patients? Should a physician ask questions during the new patient interview about an individuals religious beliefs? How would you feel if a doctor asked about your faith? In Utah, we almost expect everyone shares our beliefs and think the doctor would know, for example, that we would want a blessing if the situation arose. But nearly everywhere else, that is not the case. I feel that as a patient going to a doctor who asked about my religious beliefs that if he sought understanding, then I would appreciate the inquiry about my faith and what I would want done during an end of life scenario. Some of my collegues disagreed believing that it is personal and should stay personal. I guess it is really up to the patient. Which brings up the issue of when it should be asked, during the new patient visit or after the patient has been diagnosed with cancer? Both have potential pitfalls. Who would be thinking straight after being told they were diagnosed with a life threatening illness and would want a talk about spirituality and religion? Not me. The other issue is time. A doctors schedule is already packed and visits already shortened, would talking about spiritual things take away from other essential interactions of the doctor/patient?
Another interesting thing is to look at what is the difference between spirtuality and religion? Are they different or the same? Do you have any spiritual beliefs outside of your religion? I feel like my religion is inexplicably tied to my spirituality. Again, several of my collegues don't feel the same way, and thats ok.

In other exciting news, I spent four hours this morning calculating the risk of breast cancer for individuals at a breast cancer awareness conference in West Des Moines. Some of those survivors were the most optimistic people I have ever met.

Spring Break!

Boy did I need a break! Thanks to my wonderful family, I had a fantastic time visiting Utah (it still sounds weird to say visiting Utah)! Right off the bat Brad, Dad and I needed to determine who was the best ping pong champion. I've become an avid ping pong player out here since there is a group of us that play in between every class. It was a close tourney and I even won some games(which is saying alot if you saw me play last year) but Brad is still the champ. I mentioned earlier about going to Emily's musical and wherever I went during the week there was always somebody telling me to be sure and tell her how good she performed...so good job Emily! There were so many highlights about going home but to me the little everyday things were the most meaningful and cool. Going on walks w/Dad and philosophizing in the mornings, going to the store with Mom, joking around and hanging with my three beautiful little sisters, getting to know my future bro-in-law Sam better, watching LOTS of NCAA basketball with Brad, Trent, Grandpa and Dad and chilling with Brett, Devin, Todd T and my old roomies up in Logan. I was surprised how much I missed the things I used to take for granted! Thanks for the great week family!

On another note, I observed three interviews of medical school candidates today. I'll be doing the actual interviewing next year. There is a panel of a clinician, professor and a second year medical student who interview the candidates and determine whether or not they should recommend them for admission. I was glad being on this side of the interview and having someone else squirm in the hot seat! Its interesting being on this side of it also. How much can you really get to know about a person in a 1/2 hour interview. Listening to my fellow interviewers pick apart the candidates was both refreshing and alarming. Its good to know how much thought and scrutiny is put into each candidate who, if accepted, will most likely become a doctor. But I couldn't help but wonder what part of my personality was picked apart when I went through the process. Just in case anyone who reads this applies to medical school my advice would be to be prepared for the tough questions and it is better to admit you don't know something than trying to make something up in front of people that actually do know. Also, remember to be yourself because it is very easy to see through someone putting on an act. It was a fun experience overall!

What a week...

A good way to tell how stressful and busy a week is for my roomate and I is to look at our sink and see how many dishes are done...or not done. Normally we are good at keeping up on it...except during the heavy test weeks. This past week was the most exhausting one I have had so far. I had a physiology exam on Wednesday, a Physical Diagnosis S.P.A.L. (Simulated Patient Assesment Lab) on Thursday, and a Pathology exam on Friday. I spent an average of 10-12 hours studying a day and got about 4 hours of sleep each night( I tried to get 8 hours but my mind kept thinking about the next day's exam which hasn't really happened until this week). Physiology was all about the kidneys and G.I. which is actually quite fascinating, but when there are three exams in a row we turn into memorizing bots rather than being able to take the time to get a solid understanding of it all. But if anyone wants to know the mechanism behind vomiting, digestion or defecation i'll gladly tell you...mmmm. And did you know how much effect our kidney's have on our blood pressure? Anyway, my next exam, the Spal is my opportunity to take a history and perform a physical on a real person. I feel bad for the actors who sign up to let us practice on them as we learn to use tongue blades in their mouths and stick our scopes in their ears and up to their eyes...hopefully they are paid well! :) The history taking isn't too bad but it was a little intimidating to have a doctor in the room grading me on my techniques to inspect the eyes, ears, nose and throat. We are penalized for even the smallest error and are graded on everything from how we greet the patient to how I hold the otoscope and ophthalmoscope(what I use to look into the ear canal and eyes). I have gained an appreciation for how much doctors need to understand to perform a basic physical. But it really is fun to apply the knowledge and be able to put the puzzle pieces together to figure out why someone is sick or why the body is acting the way it is. Pathology was dealing with the basic cell function, inflammation reactions, and blood clotting. I'm excited for the next block when we learn about autopy's...a little morbid I know. But the reward for getting through this week was flying home to Utah! I LOVE seeing my family! I got to see my amazing sister Emily star in her high school musical "Will Rogers Follies" which turned out to be absolutely amazing and Emily stole the show! I also got to party with my nephew Zander for his birthday celebration today...he's a big 4 year old. I'm excited to allow my brain to relax this week and spend time with family, go into the mountains for rock climbing and four wheeling, reading a fun novel called vector by Robin Cook, and then vegging out and watching the NCAA tournament and seeing BYU make a deep run! Spring breaks are heaven sent and it's the perfect remedy for me to stay sane! Life is officially great!

Well, here it goes...

Just in case anyone who cares to read this blog thinks I will be able to keep up with Lichelle in both quantity and quality of posts is dreaming. But I do think it will be fun to share some of my thoughts as I wander through this crazy journey that is called medical school. Everyday we are presented with about one week's worth of material that would be covered in undergrad. The knowledge being presented could be related to trying to get a drink out of a fire hydrant, there is a ton of water and it comes out fast. But it is doable(at least medical school, I haven't tried drinking out of a fire hydrant yet). We were told when we first began that the first year was the worst and it would just get better from there...but that came from alot of second year medical students who had not started the second year. Most 2nd years when asked now would disagree with that statement. I must say that the second semester has been SO much better than the first. I believe there are several reasons for that but won't go into detail now. I would NEVER want to go through the first semester again. It was a huge trial and a test of will. I'm sure i'll have many more tests of will and trials as life keeps going. Hopefully it will be like my mission where I would not want to repeat the first 9 months but would gladly love to repeat the rest. I want to also share about life in Des Moines, Iowa. It has an interesting flavor to it. I have certainly enjoyed being in a state where the presidential campaign took a center stage, where discussions were commonly about politics and religion, and where there is absolutely no such thing as rush hour in the capitol city! I have not particularly enjoyed the commonly below zero temperatures this winter, no mountains to ski on, and living in a place that has been infamously dubbed "the outer darkness for LDS singles." But don't feel sorry for me, all is well and I am happy with life! If you are not enthralled with my exciting life then, well...I'll prescribe something for you in ten years to help you become excited! Ok, probably not.