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.