The Nature of Medicine

 As seems to be my pattern, I shall continue to write at transitions. :)

I have finished my fourth year. It was another challenge and the end has been bittersweet, with many of the classmates I started school with graduating. I have one more year of school left, then I will be off into the unknown.

My partner will be in Russia from August until May, which will be so sad for us, but I get to visit in December during winter break. That will be exciting!!

Next year will be a big time of change and transition, no doubt, but I have hope that it will also be a good year and I find myself looking forward to it.

Medical school thus far has been the single most challenging things I've done in my life. Living in Portland has also changed my life significantly. I appreciate all of the ups and downs I have experienced over the last four years, even though they have felt overwhelming at times.

This summer will include a lot of clinic time, a vacation to Monterey, CA  (one of the places where we are considering settling down), and a conference in San Francisco. I think it will be a lovely summer. :) The weather is finally sunny, though chilly and if it stays this way, I'll be a happy camper. My only wish is that I could see my family this year, as it will probably be next summer before we have the opportunity to do so again. :(

I need to go now. More in a few months. :)

I got to attend my second birth on Wednesday, December 28th. A baby girl was born at home at 8:17pm, right before it turned to 8:18pm. The birth itself was relatively quick and that mama was a warrior! She had the baby standing up, which was so amazing. Afterwards she did not look like she had just given birth too, which was incredible! The baby is gorgeous and the whole family is so excited to have her in the world. Within two hours of her birth, Both sets of grandparents and most of the aunts and uncles were there (each parent has 5 siblings). It was a party!

It was such a different experience from the first birth I attended, which was very full of drama and craziness. None of that for this one!

We are still waiting for 2 more babies to arrive. School starts Monday, so I hope that they arrive before then, but babies do not follow our time tables do they?? I am resting as much as I can in these last few days. Trying to get a few things done, but not stressing out prematurely! :)

In other news, I finished the term handily passing everything (ok, it took a lot of work as it does every term), and even managed two honors! This term will be much less stressful with only 11.5 credits, but I have other things happening as well, so certainly my time will be full! 

So, everything is moving along really well. School definitely has it's ups and downs, but I'll be graduating in less than two years (finally). Oh for anyone who didn't know, I moved my graduation date to June 2012 to better be able to do the Midwifery program.

Off to get some more rest before the craziness begins!!

This is what I have been spending the last 3+ years studying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h8OxUb6afU

It occured to me last year that we get training in two complete medical systems (conventional and naturopathic) - three if you are in the Chinese medicine program too. If any of you would like to spread this around, I would be very happy to see it go viral. :)

This video is from Southwest College of Naturopahtic Medicine, but there are 4 other schools in the US. Yes, FIVE total schools that teach a doctoral level degree for Naturopathic Medicine. This needs to change. We are the only ones who can change it.

 All done with my third year of Medical School! 

Before I know it, I will be done entirely!

Apparently, I am most likely to update this particular journal at the end of terms. It is likely just a form of procrastination during finals. :)

We are in the midst of "study week". I put this in quotes because my study week has four finals in it and my actual finals week only has one! (two others were taken last week and the week before) I'm officially finished with four classes so far, provided I passed all of my exams, and I feel pretty good about them all so far.

I've completed one term of Minor Surgery and am almost done with a minor surgery shift. I'm enjoying it a lot, though I still have not had a chance to do any practice on real people, only suturing on pig feet. I'm definitely feeling more comfortable with my suturing though! I also got to help out with a really interesting cyst removal the other day. It turned out to be a much longer surgery than we had initially thought, but it was interesting and the patient did really well.

I also am done with my term of gynecology lab. It has been interesting, including two biopsies and many many speculum exams. I've heard that the other schools only have a gynecoloy day, one day to do all of the stuff we did in 10 weeks. I can't imagine. Some of it was a bit outdated, but still done periodically, such as fitting for diaphrams and cervical caps, however, most of it will be so applicable to my future practice. I will be having to go outside of school to be trained to insert an IUD, though it may not be something I do terribly often due to cost. I think it is important to be able to do though, especially in a population that is likely to want to have control over their family planning between babies.

Both of my shifts this term have provided me with a variety of experiences that have allowed me to grow as a budding physician. Both attending doctors have been amazing and I'm actually seeing one as a patient now.

School has gotten more tolerable, particularly compared to last term when it seemed impossible. Everyone tells you how difficult medical school is, but it is imposible to understand how difficult it is until you are in the midst of it. I imagine it is much like being a parent!

Home continues to be a safe and comfortable place. We are working with a guy in the neighborhood on our garden. It is...interesting, and I hope it works out how we planned it. We got a bunch of plants weekend before last that need to get into the ground. I had thought that I had figured out that we could get enough soil and compost for around $80, but when I redid the calculations, it turns out to be a bit more. I need to measure the area again to make sure, but it may not be too bad between soil we are getting elsewhere and what we are going to buy.

We had an early spring here and everything is blooming. There is some Daphne outside my office window and when the weather is nice, I can open my window and am surrounded by it's wonderful scent. We've had dafodils and tulips in the house for a couple of weeks and I can't wait for our irises to bloom!

Well, I'm finishing this the next morning. I find it difficult to concentrate for too long lately. Just burned out. :)

Hope all is well with those who are still reading this. :)

This week is Thanksgiving break, and I am thankful that it is here. The rest of my summer was good, busy, and not nearly restful enough, so I started out with a bit of a deficit. Ok, a lot of one. The beginning of this term it felt like I hit a wall and nothing had really prepared me to jump over it. I can definitely see this in many aspects of my life, but I've been working hard and feel a bit more pulled together. The last couple of days have been beautiful and sunny, which is so helpful. :)

Let's see, I started out the year as the Student Government Association (SGA) vice president. I was surprisingly nominated and elected (though no one ran against me) at the end of the spring term. It has been interesting, particularly since the president is an interesting and challenging person. I think that our combination will help the school a lot, though our styles are rather different. I don't feel like I'm doing a great job thus far, mainly because of the incredible apathy I've felt the past three months. Right now, I'm feeling like I'm coming back to life, which is really good considering finals is right around the corner and they will end up being my "hail mary" play in a class or two. Not too worried yet.

I took my first class in Natural Childbirth this term. I have really enjoyed it so far. In fact, I am going to be switching to the five year program so that I can do the Midwifery track. One of the many things I have to do this week is figure out my schedule for the next two and an a half years. So, my graduation date seems to be changing from 2011 to 2012, twenty years exactly after my graduation from high school....and what a crazy twenty years it has been! I'm very excited about doing midwifery, though I will admit to some trepidation as to whether I am really capapble (read good enough) to do it. I feel this way about medicine in general. Some things about me are so perfect for this medicine, but often I feel like I do not make good connections in my head. In reality, I probably do, but it is scary to wonder.

This winter should be a bit better, what with windows that let in what little light we get, a couple less classes, and a great support system at home. I'm taking my vitamin D, which is a wonder. :) Just trying to care for myself in general. Part of me is wanting to get this all done as soon as possible, but the practical part of me is reminding me that I'm not superwoman, no matter how much I'd like to be. :)

Ok, now to get started on some stuff. Toodles!

So, I have officially passed my second year of medical school and am now an ND3. I am doing two secondary shifts this summer (which means we help out the primary student doctors who are fourth and fifth year students). My first shift is at one of our community clinics, Outside In, which is focused on helping mainly homeless youth. It has been interesting so far and I'm certain I will learn a lot there! My second shift is at our First Avenue clinic and is focused on Homeopathy. It has been a very intellectual and discussion based shift so far, which is something I am really enjoying.

Al and I have moved into a new rental house not far from where El and I lived. It is amazing and quiet. It reminds me of my grandparent's house in Baytown in some ways, which makes it feel like home almost immediately. :) I'm including photos on this entry, mainly so that Mom and my best friend A can see! It is so pretty.

( Here we go! )

So, that completes the tour of the house. We have so many people visiting this summer and I'm so excited about it. I've been having a difficult time studying (yes, this is a really big "break"). I hope to be able to get more focused now that everything is put away. Speaking of which, I should end this long entry and get back to the books. My test is August 4th if anyone wants to send me calming and smart energy for the day!

Love to everyone reading this.

Still doing alright.

We have two and a half weeks of school left, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The fact that we have boards this summer may mean it's actually a train, but I'm hoping not. :)

I've barely had time to keep up on my email, so this journal, and my other are getting sorely neglected. At least I've trained you all to be used to that.

Now, I have to run get stuff ready for class today!

More later.

Well, it has been a couple of months since my last installment. Life right now is like the downward slope of a rollercoaster, barely have time to breathe, much less admire the scenery and chat with your neighbor! Even my other journal and my paper journal are getting very little (read no) attention.

I struggled through Winter term and emerged to the other side scathed and exhausted. People keep asking how school is and I can honestly say I've been hating it for a few months now. When I say that, it sounds horrible, but it is true. I still love the medicine, I still know I can do a great job as a doctor (most days anyway), I still am excited to be able to help people, but this is the tough part and tough is really an understatment. A wringer...a rack...a medieval torture device were any of these things used on the brain, would be a better analogy! There is a lot of information and ideas that are brand new, plus tests weekly and shifts and homework and classes and, occassionally, a social life. It makes for a very full, exhausting plate!

This term I am in clinic finally, doing my hydrotherapy shift. This has made a big difference in my attitude because, though it is hard timewise, I can see where I'm going...finally. Where I am going scares and excites me all at once. I just pray that I will be ready for it when it arrives. I have to trust that I will be ready. I got to see a mole excised (cut out) on Saturday. It ws incredible! I also got to make a real difference to a woman who was having a really difficult time. That was amazing. My observation shift today (we have 48 hours as hydrotherapy techs and 20 hours of observation shifts) was much less thrilling, but it was fascinating to watch the process that the primaries (4&5th years) go through as they take a case and figure out what to do with it. Our resident on the hydro shift also went over various herbal formulas and their dosing with us, which helped resolidify some stuff in my head (I hope!).

I started walking about two miles a day on Sunday. Ok, that means I've done it twice now, but go me! My body has been feeling about 80 years old this winter and I'm sick of it. I figure if I get out and moving again (the cold weather and all the studying and school doesn't leave much time for other stuff) I will feel better. Of course right now I feel tired and sore, but that should go away...eventually. :)

Speaking of getting out, I should end this quick update to finish a few things before bedtime. Got to get the zzzz's!!

I will try to update again before the end of the month. Starting to wonder who even reads this anymore! Maybe the folks and A. :)

Officially passed Pathology II.

Also, just took my first Pathology III exam and felt pretty darn good about it! I've been using a new idea software, Inspiration, which was developed by Don Helfgott, who was the major donor for NCNM's research institute, aptly named, The Helfgott Institute. :)

We started using it for Homeopathy projects, but I've also been using it to study for Pathology and Botanical Medicine. It is so helpful for someone who is as much a visual learner as I am!

He also has a website, Mywebspiration, which is in beta testing. For you teaching types, if you have the technology, this might be some really great stuff for you!!

So, I'm doing well so far and we are almost done with week 3. This is typically about when I start to fall apart and get behind, so I'm going to sign off and start working on some Botanical Medicine!