Adventures of the bB

Oh how time flies when.....

2011-02-16T19:35:00.003-06:00

Time seems to be flying by rather quickly these days. One minute you are starting medical school and the next minute you are over halfway done! Third year of medical school is really what medicine is all about. I feel like this is my job - like I get up everyday to come to my place of work and work really hard all day and then get home and work really hard when I get home.

I started my 3rd year of medical school with my internal medicine rotation. It is 10 weeks long. I spent the first 4 weeks doing hospital inpatient care. We took care of many sick patients. As students, we had to take overnight in house call. I would get to the hospital by 7am one day and not leave until the next day at 1 pm! Talk about a long time to be up and trying function like a normal person. On my second call, I saw a patient code and another patient need a rapid response. Basically, both are really bad. Luckily, both patients survived. However, at this point, I realized how real this whole situation is and how serious caring for patients while the are in the hospital is. During the 10 weeks I also spend 2 weeks at an outpatient medicine clinic and 2 weeks doing nephrology. At the end of each rotation, we have a big standardized exam and then move on to the next rotation.

Next, I spent 10 weeks in surgery. I got 1 week in colorectal, trauma, orthopedics, ENT, cardiothoracic, and urology. Then we had 2 weeks on general surgery. It was an amazing experience to be involved in the care of patients before, during, and after surgery. I had fun getting to know the rules of the OR, how to scrub, and how to suture. I saw a lot of variety of things including: open heart surgery, knee replacements, bowel resections, burn victims, tonsillectomies, rhinoplasty, prostate removal, lumpectomy, appendectomy, and gallbladder removal (to name a few!). I enjoyed my time on surgery, however, it was extremely tiring and there were very long hours. I usually arrived to the hospital between 5 and 5:30am and often would not leave until after 6pm. Many many many days passed where I did not see the sun at all!!!! Overall, it was a rewarding experience.

My next rotation was Ob/Gyn. I spent 3 week on obstetrics watching/assisting with babies being born and C-sections. This was a crazy experience! Then I spent 3 weeks on gynecology where we did a lot of annual exams, hysterectomies, and urogyne surgeries. This was a very interesting experience, however, I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

Now, to present day. I sit here now in my on-call room during my peds rotation. Today is our 3rd day on inpatient service. So far it has been a lot of fun. I get to spend 3 weeks on inpatient service and 3 weeks on outpatient/clinic service. I am busy studying everything peds, trying to keep up "House", "American Idol", and "The Bachelor" between busy days and studying and also try to make it to the gym as much as possible.

Third year of medical school is very hands on training. It has been an experience to realize what life as a resident/attending will be like someday and trying to learn as much as possible until I get to that point. Somedays are hard - I fell tired, overworked, sleep deprived, stressed out, sad that patients get sick and die.....and I wonder why I ever decided to become a doctor. Other days days are fun - I feel like I have learned so much, like I can help people, like I made a difference in the care they received, and feel satisfied with the mental and physical challenges come along with this year and that this occupation bring.....and I know I made the right decision. As Dr. Constance says, you must "find your tribe." Each day I feel like I am coming closer to finding my tribe and deciding what kind of a physician I want to be in the future. Each day I use the motivation and excellent example that my dad and Bill have set and am motivated to work harder and rise to meet the challenges that are before me. I feel really lucky to have them as inspirations and also have the love and support of my mom and wonderful friends.

My Hubby the M.D.

2010-05-11T11:41:00.003-05:00

Congrats to my wonderful husband who is now officially a medical doctor!!!!!!! So proud of all of the hard work he put in to get to where he is today. What an inspiration! YAY for Dr. Bill!

Bill's Match Day

2010-04-22T10:16:00.002-05:00

Match Day is a foreign concept to a lot of people and it is actually really confusing for those of us who go through it also! This is my best explanation of what it is. Crazy people like Bill and myself decide we want to be doctors and set off on this journey that starts with 4 years of medical school. The first 2 years are mostly book learning and the second 2 years are more clinical experiences. During your 3rd year you rotate through some of the different areas of medicine and try to see what you like and what you don't like. Sometime around the end of your 3rd year and the beginning part of 4th year you have to pick what area of medicine you want to go into. Bill decided that he wanted to be a radiologist. So, the next step is to fill out an online application (ERAS or Electronic Residency Application Service). Here you put all sorts of information about yourself, your grades and scores in medical school, write a personal statement, provide your letters of recommendation, and select all of the residency programs that you would like to apply to. And people generally apply to a ton of programs!!! I have heard of people applying to over 50 places!!!!

Oh, so residency, I didn't really explain that yet. A resident is a doctor that has completed medical school and is now getting more specialized training in their area of interest. How long it lasts depends on what residency you choose. A radiology residency is 5 years. The best thing about residency is that you are finally getting paid, although it is not a lot of money, especially since you are putting in about 80 hours per week. Just a side note because this used to confuse me after watching Grey's Anatomy. An intern is just a special word for a first year resident. It took me a long time to figure that out! After you finish your residency, you can go out into the world and become an attending physician or you can pick to get even more training in a particular area and do a fellowship. Bill is thinking he wants to do a fellowship in interventional radiology. This would be an additional year of training.

So, once you have filled our your ERAS and submitted it, you wait VERY patiently for interview offers. The one thing I have learned about this process if you have to do A LOT of waiting. I think you submit your application in September and usually don't hear about any interviews until December or later. So, once you hear back from programs you schedule your interviews with them. You then interview at the schools and you check out the program as the program is checking you out. Now comes the crazy part. At the end of the interview season, each medical student and each program must compose a match list. For the student, you put down the order of which you liked the programs. Number one is the place you want to go the most and the last number is the place you want to go the least out of the programs you ranked. Only rank the programs that you would be okay going to, because it is possible to end up at any program that is on your list, or it is possible to not even match into a program at all!!! The programs then make a list of the candidates that interviewed with them, number one being the person they most want to have at their program and on down the list. Then, several months later, the Match takes place.

The Match, from what I understand, uses some sort of crazy computer program using both the student's match list and the programs match list and MATCHES each person to a program. On Match Day, which is at the same time and day all over the US, you open an envelop that tells you where you will be spending the next several years of your life. Let me tell you, this is one of the most nerve wracking days I can ever imagine. If you do not match into any program, you are notified 2 days prior to the match unveiling and you must try to "scramble" into any programs that have vacant spots. This does not seem like fun.

To make a long story short, Bill matched into the radiology program at UIC in Chicago. He really liked the program there and is excited about being in the big city in the future and closer to his family. Radiology programs are 5 years and the first year is called a transitional year and for Bill it is a preliminary internship in internal medicine. You normally go to a totally different program for this prelim year. Bill got matched to SIU!!! That means he will be with me in Springfield from June 2010 to around June 2011! We finally get to live together like a real married couple :) I am really excited about that. Then, he will leave and head to Chicago for his radiology training and I will have one year of medical school left in Springfield. Luckily, it will be during my 4th year when you can do "away rotations" at different schools to see if you like their program and you get to travel to do your different residency interviews.

All in all, we are very happy with the results and excited to see where our future takes us!!!!!

Too Much For One Post!

2010-03-16T20:27:00.005-05:00

Okay, so it's been WAY too long since I have even thought about this blog!! About a million exciting things have happened in my life since the last post. Since there is too much to talk about, I will start with the most important thing that has happened and the most recent news.

JULY 4TH 2009 - THE WEDDING!
What an amazing day! Bill and I got married on a beautiful but rainy day in Champaign/Urbana. It was full of excitement, nervousness, friends, family, and tons of fun! It was everything I had hoped for and more. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. The morning started out amazing as my bridesmaids surprised me with a early morning massage at the I Hotel. I had been so stressed out leading up to that day that I really needed some relaxing. Thanks girls! Then we went to Hair Design to get our hair done. Mine took a long time. I actually didn't really like the final result very much. It just wasn't how I had pictured my hair turning out, but looking back it did look ok. I also got my makeup done there. I liked it a lot and it was nice not to have to worry about doing it myself. My mom brought bagels and yummies to snack on, which was nice. Then we headed to the church in the limo bus and all got ready there. There were lots of fun snacks and fun times while we were getting ready. It was fun to see all of the bridesmaids get dressed. They all looked so pretty!!! Then it was finally time for me to get on my dress. This was exciting! After I was in my dress, my dad stopped by to get a sneak peak. Kenny Kim got some awesome pictures of my dad seeing me for the first time with my dress on and giving me a big hug and kiss. So cute!

Then it was time for the ceremony. I had to run under an umbrella from the room we got changed in to a little room in the back of the church. I could see out a window into the church and saw all the people coming in. It was kind of peaceful being in there by myself for the minutes leading up to the wedding. I reflected on how lucky I was to be marrying the man of my dreams and also how lucky I am to have so much support and love from family and friends on this day, and also everyday. Finally it was time to start the ceremony. It was fun to walk with my dad down the isle. I will never forget it. Seeing Bill at the end of the isle made me really happy. We took each others hands and the rest was history. Father Joe was really funny and made us feel calm during the ceremony. At one point I winked to Bill and Kenny Kim caught an awesome picture of it. I forget a lot of the details of the ceremony, but luckily we have it all on video. I should watch it again soon!

A funny thing happened as Bill and I were headed out of the church. He was a little bit behind me somehow he walked right into a glass door and got a big red mark on his forehead!!! I also had a little slip up about an hour later as we were taking pictures in between the ceremony and reception. We were getting out of the limo bus to take pictures at the Assembly Hall and I somehow managed to slip down the steps of the bus and fall right on my butt down the steps and onto the ground. It really hurt! Luckily, my dress didn't get dirty at all and we got some AMAZING pictures! Kenny was able to display some of the pictures he took from the ceremony and after on video screens outside of the reception hall. It was fun to see all of the pictures. I think people really enjoyed that part.

Next was the reception. The room was decorated really beautifully and the food was great. I was for some reason really nervous for this part of the day. I just wanted everything to go perfectly. My dad gave a really cute and funny speech. It made me cry. Then Will, the best man, prepared a sideshow for Bill that FINALLY played after some technical difficulty. Then Isabel, the matron of honor, and Mooshy (Kim), a bridesmaid, gave a beautiful speech that once again made me cry. Then, out of no where, Bill got up and gave a speech that he had prepared. It was so sweet and wonderful and unexpected. I cried AGAIN! Then it was time for the dancing. Bill and I had practiced our first dance a couple of times and we had a blast out there dancing to "When I See You Smile" by Bad English. Then my dad and I did the dad-daughter dance that we had practiced many times to "Butterfly Kisses". It was extra special because in the background we played an old video of my dad and I dancing when I was just a young girl. It was my idea to incorporate this and it turned out great. There were a lot of teary faces in the audience for this one. Then Bill and his mom danced to Elton John. It was so cute :) Then the dancing and fun began!!!!!

Overall, it was an amazing day that I will never forget. There were so many good memories. My family and I have talked about writing them all down so we wouldn't forget them, but we haven't done that yet!!! That is on the "to do" list.

Okay, the most recent news is that Bill is almost done with medical school and in just 2 days he finds out where he matches for residency. He applied to radiology and found out on Monday that he for sure did match somewhere (some people sadly don't match into a program at all!). Thursday is "Match Day" and he will open an enevelop which tells him where he will be spending the next 5 years of his life. It is nerve wracking but also exciting. I will let you know what happens!

BYE FOR NOW.....but hopefully not for too long!

Almost Wedding Day!

2009-06-28T23:44:00.002-05:00

Wow - so much has happened since my last post. Some highlights include the "inland hurricane" in Carbondale that shut down the whole town for several days, finishing ERG with flying colors, completing my first year of med school, and moving all my stuff from Carbondale to Springfield in anticipation of the next 3 years of school there.

The biggest thing occupying all of my time right now is wedding stuff. I have been nonstop wedding planning since getting back in Champaign and it has been rough! So many decisions, phone calls, things and people to organize, and other irritating things. I have been up every night until about 2 am just trying to get stuff done before the big day. Now we are 6 days out (well its almost midnight, so I'll just say 5) and I am starting to get really excited. It is going to be such a fun day and spending it with family and friends is going to be awesome. Of course the best part is getting to marry the love of my life :) I can't wait!

Ok, gotta go. Maybe someday I'll be good at updating this thing!!

Wedding Invitations

2009-04-30T13:44:00.003-05:00

It is the season of weddings! I love seeing all the wedding invitations as they come. Each one is so unique and also very reflective of the individuals getting married and the overall feel of the wedding. Several days ago, I sent in 4 RSVPs! That means there are a lot of weddings coming up. I still have one more I have to send back soon as well! In addition to those weddings, I have two save the dates hanging on my fridge! The first wedding of the bunch is my cousin Matt's wedding in Chicago on the 16th. I am really excited for this one because I am always happy when my family gets to get together :)

On a related note, my wedding invitations finally arrived in the mail this week. I have yet to see them, since they were delivered to my mom's house, but I am excited to see them tomorrow when I head to Champaign for the weekend. Now there will be the long process of addressing all of the inner and outer envelopes and getting postage. Luckily, my mom and her friend Sherry are taking care of my side of the guest list while Bill's mom Kathy is taking care of his side. I hope they go out in the mail soon because the RSVP date is May 30th! That is really soon. We decided to get them back in a little early because I know people always send them back late, so hopefully in this case they will all be accounted for before 4 weeks before the wedding.

YAY for weddings :):)

Engagement Photos

2009-04-23T22:33:00.007-05:00

Several weeks ago, Bill and I had our engagement photos taken in Champaign by our good friend and photographer Kenny Kim. He sent the final product back to us today and I am very happy with the result. It is getting me really excited for the wedding and wedding pictures! Here are a couple of my favorite images :) Enjoy!

Birthdays and Bridal Showers and Easter, oh my!

2009-04-14T22:21:00.002-05:00

This last weekend was definitely a weekend to remember. On Friday, Eliza and I took the train to Champaign. Bill picked us up at the train station and we had a yummy dinner at Outback. It was so great to see Bill. I really miss him! My dad's flight in from Georgia got cancelled, so it was sad that he didn't make it in on Friday night. We then went to the nursing home to visit my grandma who is very sick. It was good to be able to see her and to know that there are many family members there to be with her.

Saturday was a big day! First off, it was my birthday! Bill and I headed to St. Patrick's Church to meet with Father Joe for our second of 3 required visits with him before the wedding. Things went well and everything seems to be on track. Then we went to pick up my dad at the airport and once we got home Bill's parents had just pulled up to my house. We all visited for a while. Then we went to my aunt's house for my bridal shower. It was so great to have family and friends together! Seeing some of my closest friends from the span of my life was really fun. There were friends from doing gymnastics growing up, high school, college, and med school. There also were many family members and some close friends of the family. My matron of honor Isabel did such a great job of planning everything - thanks! Next it was off to a birthday dinner at Biaggis. It was really yummy!!!!!! Then we went home and my mom surprised me with a yummy angel food confetti cake! It was so good! Next we went to the I Hotel to check it out since my dad and Bill's dad hadn't seen it yet since it had been completed. There was a guy there that looked totally bored and was more than happy to show us around. It was also fun to show the I Hotel (and other places in Champaign) to Eliza. I think she had fun! A memorable moment was when my dad did his egret dance. I did not know he has an egret dance (or what an egret even was), but lets just say it was a very funny movement along with an even funnier noise! Eliza and I will be laughing about that for years to come!

On Sunday a group of us went to Easter Mass at St. Patricks and then to Starbucks for some coffee. We came home to find the dining room table decorated and a wonderful Easter brunch waiting for us. I was very impressed with this, especially since my mom does not do very much cooking these days. It was very yummy! The rest of the day was spend working on some wedding stuff, going on a crazy run with Bill, my dad, and Eliza and a quick dinner at Atlanta Bread Co. before Eliza and I were back on the train heading back to Carbondale. We attempted to get some studying done on the train. I ended up taking a nap! After the train, we headed straight to a coffee shop to do some studying.

All in all, the weekend was one to remember! I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful family, friends, and fiance. Now it is time to get back to studying and trying to fill my brain with all sorts of information on the gastrointestinal system. Yay for med school!

Illinois Gymnastics to NCAA Championships!

2009-04-05T00:54:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to show my excitement over Illinois qualifying to nationals for the first time EVER! I was able to watch the regional meet online tonight. The girls had such a great meet and earned their spot at Nationals. I am so so proud of them and proud to be an Illini! Best of luck to them in 2 weeks!

Another development is that my laptop that I got for Christmas is BROKEN! Yes, broken! It just decided a couple of days ago that it didn't want to work anymore. It is really mad at me I guess. So, trying to get it fixed has been a major pain and it looks like I am going to have to send it back to Apple so they can repair it. I miss it already!

I am really looking forward to the coming weekend. It is not only my birthday, but also my bridal shower and Easter! It is going to fun to see lots of family and friends! I can't wait!

Okay, off to bed for me after an evening of much gymnastics watching and little studying.....oops!

End of SSB, Spring Break, and ERG

2009-03-29T19:01:00.004-05:00

YAY for surviving SSB! So, I finished exam week with the histology, gross anatomy, and neuroanatomy practicals on Thursday followed by the written exam on Friday. Then it was off to El Bajio for yummy Mexican food. We had a great turn out - we just kept adding more and more tables! After that, I drove up to Champaign for my week long spring break!

My first spring break activity was going to Chicago for a bridal shower that Bill's grandma hosted for me. It was so much fun and actually pretty overwhelming to think that all of those people were there because of me (and Bill!). It was great to see family, friends, and get to meet more of Bill's side of the family. After that, my family went to Bill's parents house where we looked through the pile of gifts and ate a nice dinner. I am glad that our families get along together so well!

The next day we headed back to Champaign for a week of working on wedding plans. We met with the flower lady from the U of I twice to pick out centerpieces, bouquets, and other flowers. We met with 2 different cake ladies in hopes of finding the perfect cake. We went to Michelle's bridal shop twice, once to pick out a flower girl dress for my little cousin and to try on my wedding dress and the other time with Bill to pick out the tuxes. We also met with the I Hotel to start discussing plans for the reception. This one was a little bit shocking. We found out that the ballroom that they built ended up fitting less people than they had planned on. So, when we told the woman from the I Hotel that we had invited 460 people, she had a look of terror on her face. We finally figured out a way we could SQUEEZE that many tables in the ballroom, but it is not pretty. I realize that not everyone is going to be able to come, so getting rid of several tables will be nice! Right now the bars and buffet food/lines are all outside of the ballroom! YIKES! All in all, it was nice having this week to focus on wedding stuff without having to worry about studying. I really enjoyed spending the week with my parents and some of it with Bill! I also got to meet up with some friends, which was really fun!

Getting back into the swing of school was rough. This is out last unit (ERG = endocrine, reproductive, gastrointestinal). The first week back started out with beautiful weather! I like my new tutor group. Everyone seems nice and is working together well. The hardest part is to adjust to your new tutor's style. This is only my tutor's second time doing this, so I think she is still getting used to the whole thing. After my first week back, I headed back to Champaign again for an amazing weekend! It was the U of I woman's gymnastics alumni weekend/Big Ten Championships! On Friday I was able to meet former teammates Jess, Karen, Jana, and their significant others at Kamakura. It is always fun to go back this restaurant in Champaign since their food is so good and because I used to work there!! Then I went to visit with Mina, Mooshy and her daughter Ava (whom I have never met!) and their mom. It was so much fun to hang out with them at their hotel. It was just like old times. At one point during college I have been roommates with both of these sisters!! Then we went out to Guido's for an alumni gathering, which was fun. The next day was the day of the meet! I got decked out in my orange and blue and met lots of old teammates out for lunch at Legend's. Then we headed to the meet. The girls started off slow on bars and beam. However, floor and vault were the most amazing performances I have ever seen! The girls set school records in each event. I have never cheered so loud and been so proud in all my life ;) It was amazing to see those girls STICK their vaults! In the end, the team got second (so close to the title!) and had 2 individual champions! After the meet we had a banquet at Biefeldt. There were lots of old pictures out from over the years and this was a great time to mingle with old teammates once again. Plus, we had Papa Dels Pizza - YUM! After this, I met up with Bill since he finally made it into Champaign. Then we went to hang out with what I like to call the "older" alums who were at Murphy's. The "younger" alums were at Joe's! It was fun to be out with Coach Bob and hear stories of the old days.

The next day, Bill and I met up with our friend and wedding photographer Kenny Kim for our engagement photo shoot. This was really fun! We went around campus and took pictures of the two of us. I can't wait to see them!!!

This past week at school has been ERG Fun Week. We have had all sorts of fun activities planned all week. On Monday night we went bowling. It was fun (although I did not bowl well!). Tuesday it was off to the driving range, which was nice since it had been a while since I had swung the clubs. Wednesday was Quatro's for pizza night. We had such a great crowd turn out for this one! Sadly, the restaurant couldn't seat everyone, so some people had to eat elsewhere. After that we head to Sidetracks, which was fun! Thursday was movie night. This even yielded a sad showing, but it was still a good time. We saw "I Love You Man." It was quite entertaining. Then on Friday it was barcrawl! Fun times in ERG!

Okay, now fun week is over and it's time to get back to studying metabolism. Only a few more months here in Carbondale!!!

First Picture!

2009-03-03T19:55:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I just posted a couple of minutes ago, but then decided it would be fun to try and post a picture to my blog. I just had to try it! Here is picture of me and some of my closest med school friends. A couple of weekends ago we had Winter Ball, which is basically SIU med school formal. It was in Springfield where all of the 2nd-4th year students are. The 5 of us road tripped it up to Springfield and had an amazing time together! We stayed at Eliza's parents house and this is a picture from our first night there. Earlier that night I got to try Springfield's famous horseshoe. It is an open face hamburger on texas toast covered in fries and cheese. YUM!

Almost 2/3 done with M1 year!

2009-03-03T19:29:00.004-06:00

I can't believe that I am almost done with my second unit out of three of the first year of medical school! It has been a crazy ride thus far. I have really enjoy the neurology unit! Today we had the first part of our EOU (end of unit) exam. It was for the doctoring portion of our grade. We had 40 minutes to conduct a full history and neurological examination on a standardized patient (patient who is trained to "fake" a certain disease). There is a one-way mirror where a doctor or nurse watches us and they grade us based on the amount of findings we are able to get from the history and our technique during the physical examination. Then we have 10 minutes to organize our notes and formulate hypotheses. We then proceed to a computer station where we enter in the patient's chief complain, pertinent positive and negative findings, and a list of possible differential diagnoses. Then we are allowed to "run tests" on our patients. You can pick from almost any test imaginable and have to state which hypothesis you are testing. You immediately get the results of the tests. From there, you decide on your final diagnosis and have to write a paragraph of diagnostic justification explaining why you picked what you picked. It is pretty intense! I am still trying to get a grasp on the vast amount of disease processes that can occur with neurological symptoms! In two days we have our histology, gross anatomy, and neuroanatomy practical exams. Then on Friday we have a written test. Friday afternoon I will join a group of friends at our after exam lunch spot El Bajio for yummy Mexican food.

Following the test, it is finally SPRING BREAK! We get the whole week off and the best part is that we just finished the unit so there will be NO STUDYING! YAY! Saturday Bill's mom and grandma are throwing me a bridal shower in Chicago which I am so excited for. Then the rest of the week I will be in Champaign working on wedding stuff and hanging out with my parents. My mom already has a list of appointments set up! We are going to the Michelle's to try on my wedding dress and pick out a flower girl dress. Then we are meeting with Father Joe from St. Patrick's to discuss what we have to do in preparation for the upcoming wedding (thank goodness we already have pre-cana out of the way!). Then we are meeting with the I Hotel to talk about the reception. We also have an appointment to pick out a transportation for the bridal party to and from the wedding and are in the process of trying to set up an appointment to meet with Rosie (who makes cakes and made the most amazing cupcakes for my friend Kristy's wedding reception!). So, it looks like it is going to be a busy but fun week!

Okay, it is seriously time to get back to studying. Just 3 more days!!!!!!!!! It's time for the final sprint!!! I can do it!!!!!!

Studying....

2009-01-30T20:54:00.003-06:00

It's Friday night almost 9 pm and I am doing my usual Friday night activity - studying! I find comfort in studying at places that are cheerful, full of people, and that have some background noise. This helps me to feel like I am a normal person who actually gets out in public and helps me to focus my attention to my studies since I have to block out background noise. So far this year, my favorite place to study is Panera. I sit in one of the 5 booths and make a little home for myself. I usually enjoy some coffee or a chi latte. I eat here a lot too. A new place I have been going to is the coffee shop called Common Grounds. I like their hot chocolate and it is good as long at it is not too crowded since it isn't very big inside. I like it best when I get a booth in the corner somewhere. My friends and I were there last night for several hours doing SAQs. These are self assessment questions that we get at the end of each case. They are a good way to monitor if you are actually learning the things that are important and going to be tested.
Well, I better get back to studying the cerebellum and basal ganglia. I really have to take advantage of the extra study time this weekend since the mid-unit exam was postponed to Monday. Yay for a fun study weekend........

5 Months Later

2009-01-28T22:54:00.004-06:00

So I have decided that once one enters into medical school a great deal of time and energy is spent concentrating on that one part of ones life. Learning new things, studying the body, researching topics, going to class, going to histo/anatomy lab, trying to not feel guilty whenever you are not studying....etc, etc. So, medical school is really consuming. I try to have balance in my life and to continue to do things that make me happy. So far I have been pretty going at doing that. I am keeping a pretty good workout schedule, I am for sure keeping up with my love of food, I have been able to visit family and friends and attend several events and weddings also. I have really cut down on the amount of time that I watch tv. I let myself watch one show per week. During the first unit, CRR, I was watching House. Now I have switched over to my favorite show EVER Lost and have stopped watching House. Tonight, for the first time in a long time, I have let myself have the tv on in the background while doing work. It is kind of nice.

Okay, on to what I have been up to for the past 5 MONTHS!

CRR unit went pretty well. It was hard to get adjusted to the curriculum, but about half way through I was getting used to it. I found this unit to be hard because the lung, heart, and especially the kidneys are just so darn complex! I did enjoy everything I learned though. I made it through the mid-unit exam fine (which was a big relief) and also conquered the end-of-unit exam. The end of unit was really hard though and I thought that I did horrible. The day the test was over I headed home for Thanksgiving break which was such a great week off from school! I was relieved to find out that I got an "S" for the first unit (Satisfactory).

Then SSB started. SSB is like a foreign language to all of us. We hear of terms like superior colliculus, inferior colliculus, tectum, midbrain, and brainstem (to name 5 out of about a billion). Later we realize that the tectum is the superior colliculus plus the inferior colliculus and they are part of the midbrain (which looks like Mickey Mouse on a CT scan) and the midbrain is part of the brainstem! This unit has been more interesting to me than the last unit. I like learning about the cranial nerves and the spinal cord and brainstem is pretty cool too. The amount we have to learn for anatomy this unit is really out of control and I am worried about not being able to learn all of it. I have been having thoughts that I think I might really like to follow in my dad's footsteps and do ENT. I like the head and neck anatomy, CNs, anatomy and physiology of the ear, nose, etc. also.

A couple of weeks into the unit we had Christmas break, which was awesome! Bill, mom and I got to go to Augusta to visit my dad. That was really fun. New Years was good too! I did have to study over break, which kinda made it not quite so much fun. Since we have been back in school, we have been going full speed ahead. We were supposed to have our mid-unit exam on Friday, however, 2 snow days have forced us to change the schedule and now we will have the test on Monday. I can't wait for it to be over with so I can take a mini-study break! I ran out of gas today while studying, so I decided to update this journal!

Wedding stuff has been going slowly. It is really hard to plan a wedding in a place where you don't live while you are really busy focusing all of your efforts on different things. I would love to be able to devote more time to wedding stuff, and I really want to, but it is just not going to happen. I will have to do a lot over our spring break. We have the wedding party finalized, the bridesmaid dresses picked out (and most all of them ordered), a DJ picked out, and in the process of finding a videographer and working on the wedding registry.

Okay, I am getting tired and not sure if my sentences are making sense anymore. I must now get back to finishing going through the cranial nerves and then start my plan for what to study tomorrow. BYE!

First Week of Med School

2008-08-22T13:17:00.004-05:00

Yes, I survived my first week! So far it has been great getting to know my classmates and teachers. The class is bonding really well and the staff says overall we seem very relaxed and excited to be here. The curriculum is problem based, which is very interesting. Basically each student is a part of a tutor group that meets M, W, F from 8-11. Each week we get a new "case" that we get to explore, research, try to diagnose and learn all of the underlying anatomy, physiology, histo, biochem, immuno, etc, etc, etc..... It really incorporates teamwork and cooperative learning. So far my whole group is nervous about what we should and should not be trying to learn. It is hard to know exactly what to study. We also have resource sessions that supplement each case we get. They start next week with some biochem, molecular bio, child development, immunology, and genetics. We also have histology labs in there too. We will be starting gross anatomy on Sep. 12th. Another cool thing is the clinical focus here at SIU. Every Tuesday we have clinical sessions. Our first session was to take a complete history on a classmate. We did this in a "fake" doctor's office. There is one-way glass and someone is watching and listening in on us and critiques what we do. This Tuesday I have to do it on a standardized patient. We must get the following info: patients chief complaint, history of present illness, past medical history, social history, family medical history, and do a review of systems. It's a lot of questions to ask and info to collect! It is really good practice for 3rd year and beyond when we are out seeing pateints!!! In a couple of weeks we will be paired with mentors and go out in the hospitals and clinics to shadow them and to take histories ourselves (and maybe other fun stuff).

Now it is Friday and I am done with class and unsure of what to do! It is nice to know I can relax for a little bit and still have the whole weekend to do more studying before Monday rolls along. I hope to go to my new Gold's Gym (I miss Layne and Isabel!), get my Direct TV set up today, figure out how to use my printer, and I guess maybe some studying at Panera. I have been doing most of my studying in my living room so it is about time for a nice change of pace.

Return of the bB

2008-08-17T00:57:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post! So much has happened since then. The main reason it has been so long is the extended amount of time it took me to recover from surgery. The surgery was more complicated than they first expected and ended up taking about 4 hours. I slept in a recliner for the first 5 days. I had several visitors which really cheered me up! It was so great to have my dad home for the surgery and several days after. I must say my mom did an amazing job taking care of me - everything from changing my cold compress every 30 minutes for the first several days (even in the middle of the night), making sure I was getting enough fluids and calories, encouraging me to walk and get some exercise, and reassuring me that everything would be okay. I had some major trouble sleeping and had a case of night hot flashes, but thankfully that went away about 2 weeks post surgery. I am well into the road to recovery and feeling much better!

Wedding dress shopping was a blast. To make a long story short, I found the perfect dress and am so happy with my selection. Thanks to all who gave their input!

Now onto the most important thing in my life right now - medical school. My parents and I packed up all my stuff in a Uhaul and drove 3 hours south to Carbondale, IL. My apartment is so cute and nice. I am so thankful my parents were here to help me. They did such a great job with putting things together, cleaning, and decorating. We had so much fun sharing this "den" together for 5 days. Today I sent them off on the train back to Champaign. I will get to try it in several weeks to come home over Labor Day.

On Thursday I had my first day of orientation. It was more boring than I thought it would be. Mostly housekeeping type of stuff and CPR training. It was a long day. We started bright and early at 7 am and got done around 4 pm. It was nice to meet more of my classmates and see more of the school. Friday was much more fun. It consisted of some intros to our PBL curriculum (which is going to be AWESOME), talks from the staff, class pictures, personality/learning style test, and an opportunity to buy some medical supplies. My favorite purchase was my plum colored Littman Cardiology III stethescope. It is so cool! Can't wait to start using it. First day of class starts on Monday where we will jump right in learning clinical stuff - YAY! I can't believe I am finally here!

I will try to update as often as possible to let you all know about this exciting time in my life!!

Procrastination 101

2008-07-15T00:05:00.005-05:00

Has it really been a week since my last entry? Procrastination? Maybe a little bit!

My mom has really been on my case about not procrastinating. I completely understand where she is coming from, but it is much easier said than done. I am coming to the realization that I am indeed moving to Carbondale in less than a month!! In between now and then I have about a million things to get done. Here are the 4 basic categories:

Category 1 is thesis. I believe I have already touched on that one. I have already ran 1 plate of PCR and am going to go another one tomorrow, so I would say that is progress! Too bad there is still lots of writing to do once the data is analyzed :(

Category 2 is med school stuff. This includes things such as completing all proper vaccinations (I need a tetanus booster and TB test), finishing filling out financial aid forms and budget sheets, setting up utilities for my apartment, going through stuff in my house and either tossing, saving at home, or packing it (which is by far my least favorite part) and many other activities related to moving. I think the move is a really big stressor for me and my whole family right now. Can't wait until it is over! Did I mention I hate packing?

Category 3 is wedding stuff. I am trying to pick out save the date cards and have them ordered ASAP. Since the wedding is on a holiday and lots of people are from out of town, getting these done sooner than later will be key. My problem is that there are so many choices and possibilities.....it makes my brain go crazy just thinking about it right now. Also, my soon to be mother-in-law, Kathy, is coming into town this Friday to go wedding dress shopping. This is one "to do" that I am actually really looking forward to. We have one appointment on Friday and 2 on Saturday and I can't wait! We are also hoping to check out the I Hotel which is where the reception is going to be, so I have to call and try and set that up. Other than that I want to try and finalize the wedding party soon and at least look for bridesmaid dresses. Once I start school I will have dramatically less time to work on wedding stuff. Better try and get as much in now as I can!

Category 4 is "other". The main other that I have coming up is I am having surgery on Thursday, July 24th. I have a deviated septum that has long hampered my breathing and I am finally going to get it fixed here before I leave for school. Although I am really excited about this, I am also very nervous. After all, it is MY FACE!!! Recovery will be about a week, so that will limit the amount of stuff I get done from the other categories. Luckily my dad will come up from Georgia to be here to help out :)

Overall, I am feeling really good about all of the stuff going on in my life. Each one of the things listed above is really wonderful and exciting even though each can bring on lots of stress. I think I am learning how to deal with all of these different things and find a good balance. I am just trying to do a little bit each day and I know that sooner or later it will all get done. I do have to thank my parents because without their encouragement, a little bit of pushing, and many lists I don't think I would be able to do it all. THANKS!

Thesis Blues

2008-07-08T15:02:00.000-05:00

In about 5 weeks I am going to be leaving the world of grad school here at U of I and entering the world of medical school at SIU. So, before I leave I figure I need to put together a checklist to make sure I have fulfilled all of the requirements for my masters program. Here it is:

All required coursework = check!
Enough research to almost constitute a PhD project = check!
Too much time in the mouse house feeding, weighing, dissceting, cleaning cages, and watching mice exercise on a treadmill = check!
5 semesters of TAing exercise physiology classes = check!
Completed thesis = NOT FINISHED!

Completing a thesis project and writing a thesis is a huge undertaking. Although I have done about 14 different mouse experiments, I did not happen to even start on my thesis project until earlier this year. In my thesis experiments I am looking to see if 4-weeks of voluntary wheel running in mice is able to attenuate the sickness and depressive-like behaviors that they experience after injection with a bacterial endotoxin. This is prevelent because many chronic diseases and cancer treatments lead to an increase in inflammation and patients develop depressive symptoms. We hope that exericse can have antidepressant and anti-inflammatory effects in the mice we are studying. The actual experiment took 4 weeks and I had to repeat it one time to get enough mice per group to hopefully see significant findings. Since my experiment has been finished, I have been working like a mad women trying to do data analysis. A large part of my results section is looking a gene expression in brain tissue. This is done by doing 3 very boring and long steps. First there is the RNA isolation from the brain tissue, then the reverse transcriptase reaction to make cDNA from the RNA, then the RT-PCR procedure to detect mRNA levels. I have done the first 2 steps on 48 brain samples, now I am trying to do the RT-PCR. If I ever finish this, I will finally be one step closer to finishing my thesis. Lets just say it is hard to collaborate with people from different lab groups and using reagents and equipment that belongs to other people. It is so hard to organize everything and try to finish it on time. Okay, enough with the rant on the impossibility of me finishing data analysis. Please watch this silly video on PCR which probably only nerdy scientist types will laugh at - but it really did cheer me up. http://bio-rad.cnpg.com/lsca/videos/ScientistsForBetterPCR/

I will keep you posted on the status of my thesis!

Fourth of July

2008-07-04T23:37:00.000-05:00

Today was a great fourth of July. First off, it is one year until Bill and I tie the knot :) It is so exciting to know that in one year we will be married. Today there was such nice weather here (in the low 70s) and I can only hope that it will be that way next year and not 95 degrees! Today we had a family pool party at my parent's house. It was fun to eat food, visit, with family, go swimming, and go to the fireworks.

Yesterday was a great day because both my dad and Bill came into town! We are like one big family and had such fun together. Also, we finally got the wedding photographer finalized and I am so happy that our good friend and excellent photographer Kenny Kim is going to be taking our wedding pics. Check out his web site: www.kennykim.com or click here to read his blog.

Hope everyone had a safe and fun fourth of July!

And so it begins

2008-07-02T13:37:00.000-05:00

Ok, here goes nothing. My first blog entry! First off, I love reading blogs. There are some blogs that I will check almost everyday to see if there is a new post. They give insight into people's lives and help us connect to people that we do not get to see or talk to as much as we would like. I have been contemplating starting my own blog for a couple of months, but now seemed as good a time as ever to start one. I am blogging first and foremost for myself, to record my adventures and thoughts like a journal, so I can keep track of everything going on in my life and to recount all of the things that I have done. I also hope others can read my blog to see what is going on in my life and also to seek advice or insight into things that I have done in my life. I am not sure when I will be ready to share my blog with others, so if you are reading this there might be many posts already!

So, some of you might be wondering about the bB (baby Bear) stuff on my blog. It all started from being called Sara Bear by my parents while growing up. It then turned into just Bear or Beara and since I have decided that our entire family is the Bear family. I have named myself bB because I am the youngest (well actually the only) youngester of the family. So, hopefully now you understand the title of my blog!

Now a little bit about myself. I am a graduate student in an Exercise Immunology lab at the University of Illinois attempting to FINALLY get my Masters degree here in the next month. This means I am crazy right now analyzing data for my thesis and trying to finish writing it. I will be starting medical school at Southern Illinois University in August. This will be a very exciting experience for me. I have never lived more than 4 miles from home, so moving to Carbondale (about 200 miles away) will be a big step for me. I am "leaving behind" my mom who will get that empty nest feeling all over again. My dad lives in Augusta, GA where he moved to for work. I recently got engaged (April 2008). My fiance is starting his 3rd year in medical school in Peoria. So, all in all, this means my family is really spread out!

Well, that's it for my first entry. Much more to come soon! Thanks for reading :)