I'll start with the basics: Classes. I know I've probably been over them countless times by now, but I want to make sure you guys are on the same page when I start ranting/venting/praising one. First the favorites. Clinical Medicine, Physical Diagnosis, Anatomy. Clinical Medicine (Clin Med) to me, is the most applicable to what I'll actually be doing once I get into a clinic, so I soak up everything I can. We basically take the body system by system and cover a majority of the diseases/conditions/symptoms associated with each system. Physical Diagnosis (PD), like the title implies, ties into Clin Med but is much more on the "hands on" side of things. We also have a lab with this class, where I'm learning how to do a complete physical exam on a person (239 items to cover!!) and we've already completed the history portion of it. Our lab instructor (who is also the lecture instructor) is awesome, very much of a mother figure, everyone in our lab LOVES her. Last favorite, Anatomy. Everybody knows we do cadavers, and while it still may gross you out (Kayla included), it's really not as bad as you would think. I've gotten to see some pretty cool things: pacemakers, tumors, etc., and we're doing so much learning while we're in lab that you really never stop to think about the weirdness of it. This past week we got to remove the heart and lungs, this week we start on the abdominal cavity.
Now for the not-so-favorites. Clinical lab methods, while sort of interesting, is mostly confusing, and I question how much I'll ever use it. The same can be said for Health Promotion/Disease Prevention (HPDP). While the instructors are very gung-ho about it, I doubt I'll ever have to use ANY of the stuff we've covered thus far.
Pathophysiology: it's not that I don't like this class, it's just that it's difficult for me to understand and grasp the concepts. I really like the professor, he reminds me a lot of some of the "old school" (Wheeler, Watkins, Noelke, Yarborough) ASU profs I had. The issue is that he teaches the class entirely from between his ears, so lots of times the powerpoints and my book are virtually worthless when it comes to studying. Luckily, I've met with him a couple of times and he's aware of what I'm dealing with in his class and seems to be willing to help.
We've had at least 1 test in each class, and I'm doing as well as anybody thus far. A couple of classes it took actually having a test for me to figure out what I should be focusing on. Thankfully, I still have a strong chance at making excellent grades across the board.
Additionally, as part of our Physical Diagnosis lab, we were required to participate in a female breast/pelvic exam, as well as a male genital/prostate exam. Definitely a nerve-racking thought, but once we actually got in the exam rooms (had a classmate as a partner), it was a really neat learning experience. They use standardized patients who have been participating for several years, so it's way more educational than you might think.
Now for a little more exciting stuff
While we're on school, I've gotten the opportunity to get involved in a little bit of extracurricular activities. The main one will be a group called Student Ambassador Society (SAS). SAS is basically a face for the university, acting as a school representative for potential students, alumni, and distinguished guests. It's a good resume builder, and it gives me a chance to possibly bump elbows with some up and ups in the medical profession!!
I think Kayla has already covered it a little bit, but I've managed to work my way into a small study group of students that all live off the Island. We meet every so often, usually before exams, to quiz each other and study together. This study group has also translated into a sort of social group. Last Saturday we got together to watch the OU vs. TX game (embarrassing) at one of the girls' houses, who happens to be an OU alum. We had a good time and actually ended up studying a little bit.
As most of you would expect, I've gotten to do my fair share of fishing since we've been down here. The most exciting up to this point would probably be last Friday. I had walked down behind our apartment complex on a dead end road into a REALLY nice neighborhood. I found access to the lake through a gate to a "community" (there's not any houses inside the gate). It was really windy, so I was trying to keep my back to it or at least across me. I ended up not landing a single fish, but fought with a very LARGE black drum/sheepshead for at least 15 minutes on two different occasions. It was lots of fun, even if I didn't get to touch him. Two things I learned from that fight, 1. ALWAYS be somewhere where you can follow/walk with the fish 2. You WILL lose your fingerprints on your thumb from trying to slow the drag down.
I've also gotten the itch for a kayak (hint, hint!) so that I can get to other places on the lake.
Ok that's enough babbling, I'm gonna try and put some pictures up from school for you guys to see. Love and miss you all, the first time I'll see any of you will be Thanksgiving!
The guys of the class. There's 11 of us! That's 8 more than the last class!!
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