Well, it's been just a few days shy of one year since I got back my Step 1 score and also since I updated. It isn't because I haven't meant to. I'm sure you understand that. But, life intervened. As of now, I'm just a few weeks away from starting my fourth year of medical school. I'm currently on track to be done with my coursework and clinical work well before graduation. The last time I spoke with my advisor, I was on track to be finished the end of October, 2010. Graduation is in June 2011. That's a pretty significant stretch of time that has questionable productivity. Of course, all of this has been a long way of saying that I've tried to keep myself occupied with the past year.
The first major thing that happened after that was I went on to Belize for a clinical rotation in wilderness and expedition medicine. We spent about a month doing village clinics, learning how to be a good member of a wilderness rescue team, and learning how to be a good member of an expedition. We spent a lot of hours in the jungle and going through caves. It was quite an experience. Based on that, I am looking pretty seriously at a Family Practice residency that has a significant wilderness medicine component.
After that, I went to Norfolk, NE to do 2 weeks of Family Medicine/Urgent Care with the doctor that led the Belize rotation. It was quite a change seeing Dr. Brown in his "natural setting" versus in the jungle. He's a character, and if I could be half the doctor he is, I'll be doing well for myself and my education... not to mention my patients.
A couple weeks after that, I started my rotations in Scottsbluff, and I've been doing them here ever since. I did another 6 weeks of Family Medicine, 12 weeks of Internal Medicine/Critical Care, 6 weeks of Psychiatry, and I'm 8 weeks into my Surgery rotation. For the most part, my experience here has been nothing short of amazing. The people I've seen and the physicians I've worked with have treated me very well. I've been able to learn and experience a lot of things that have been pretty impressive. I won't try to bore you with a list or anything. Suffice it to say that I'm pretty happy with things so far.
Becky and I have also had a few unexpected turns in our lives. The biggest one is that we've moved back to Nebraska. We weren't planning on it. We were happy with our place in Torrington. But, we'd made some friends in the area. These friends apparently spend lots of time thinking about how they can help people. So, they bought a house that was a good price in Morrill, NE and are renting it to us for much cheaper than we were renting in Torrington. We moved to Morrill in October, and it worked well for me because it cut my commute in half. Also, Becky has started a new job at Regional West, so now we're both commuting to the same place, even if our hours are different.
Where that leaves things right now is in the next year, I have several very large things on my plate. As well as my clinicals, I have 2 board exams, my application for residency, choosing a specialty, and choosing locations for a residency. Once I do all that, I list my residencies in order of preference to "The Match". The residencies that choose to interview me also list the people they interviewed in order of preference. These lists get chewed up by a Very Well Kept Secret Program, and it spits out a match list of residencies and students. Then, July 1, 2011, I start residency. No big, difficult, life-changing decisions I need to worry about or anything.
To help blow off stress, and find ways to clear our minds, Becky and I have started running seriously again. One of the things we're trying to do is to run marathons in all 50 states by the time each of us is 50. Where that leaves us right now, is 4-5 marathons a year, each year. All in different states, too. So, we're training to run marathons in April, June, August, and October this year. Our locations are Abilene, KS, Des Moines, IA, Deadwood, SD, and Ashton, ID. Currently, one of the best side-effects of running is that Kubby, our Dominican puppy is much more calm after we take him on a run. So, it helps us not have a little chewer destroying things in the house as well as having a good night's sleep. I'm sure you can all understand the benefit of that!.
Beyond that, I've started some work for Medscape's Facebook presence. So, if you are a member of Facebook on the internet, look up Medscape Students, and you can see my work for them. It is nothing too impressive, and I pull down painfully little money. But, something is better than nothing, and they don't expect lots of difficult work. It helps us, and we're happy for the work.
Be well!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Thursday, February 5, 2009
5 Feb 2009 I got my scores back!
Well, the title pretty much tells you why I am writing this today. I got my Step 1 scores back! As a quick review, the USMLE Step 1 is the first board exam that I must take on my way to being a licensed physician in the US. For those wondering how I did, I got within 2 points of what was predicted by my Comprehensive Shelf Exam score. So, I did well enough to not worry about getting into the specialties that I am currently interested in. I certainly won't be accepted into an Orthopedic Surgery residency, but I'm not interested in that. I also have NEVER heard of a Caribbean student accepted into an American Ortho residency. Moral: realistic goals, and realistic scores. Life is moving.
But, now that I have my scores, I had to get busy with some work to ensure that I had my rotation paperwork in to the administration so I can go to both Belize and Scottsbluff with everyones' blessings. In doing that, I ran into an oddity that really struck me as odd. I applied for a loan to pay for the extra cost of tuition and travel to Belize for the Wilderness Emergency Medicine-Professional program. But, I was told that I have already received my student loans for the first 3 weeks of my next rotation, so they couldn't process the loan.
This confused me in two ways. First is that I am applying for a private loan, so I don't really understand what business they have telling me this. I don't know if there are Federal requirements that cause this or not. I tend to doubt there are, though. Second is that I don't understand how I can have a semester with an undefined end date and still get loans for it. This is certainly an odd way of accounting for class time.
Of course, if that were the only problem, things would be grand. But, the person who logged in my loan application logged it in as a loan deferment request. Straightening that out took 5 calls, and usually talking to multiple people on each call. My clinical advisor seems to be on top of things. But, my financial aid counselor is not nearly to that caliber.
But, aside from the Ross end of paperwork, most things seem positive for going to Belize. I have paid the downpayment. I received their packing list, and am going through that, prioritizing my purchases, and finding out what things of ours are sufficient for the trip. I could definitely go hog wild with some of the gear they recommend, but I will likely not have a use for much of the new purchases in Wyoming. That means I should plan light pay special attention to learning. I can always get other gear later when it will see more often use.
After I was finished with sending paperwork yesterday afternoon--people at paying jobs quit around 5 p.m., so I figured it was senseless to wait by the computer--I ran some errands around Torrington. When I got out to the highway, I saw a very odd site. There was a team of 3 draft horses pulling 2 covered wagons. On the back of the trail wagon was a sign: leehorselogger.com and "Montana 2006, California 2007, Alaska 2011?" I checked out that website a little. I won't spoil it for anyone. Suffice it to say, I like this guy's drive and outlook. If you have the opportunity, poke around his site.
On the pet side of things, many of you were interested in how Gabby is doing. She is now over her pyometria and hysterectomy. I removed her stitches on Tuesday this week. Gabby wasn't real thrilled with that process, but Becky held her well while I did my work. Now, she's spunky as ever again. With her happiness to have that over and be recovered, as well as the past couple of days of 50+ degree weather, Gabby has enoyed going outside and exploring the area. Apparently, those are good days to be a dog.
But, now that I have my scores, I had to get busy with some work to ensure that I had my rotation paperwork in to the administration so I can go to both Belize and Scottsbluff with everyones' blessings. In doing that, I ran into an oddity that really struck me as odd. I applied for a loan to pay for the extra cost of tuition and travel to Belize for the Wilderness Emergency Medicine-Professional program. But, I was told that I have already received my student loans for the first 3 weeks of my next rotation, so they couldn't process the loan.
This confused me in two ways. First is that I am applying for a private loan, so I don't really understand what business they have telling me this. I don't know if there are Federal requirements that cause this or not. I tend to doubt there are, though. Second is that I don't understand how I can have a semester with an undefined end date and still get loans for it. This is certainly an odd way of accounting for class time.
Of course, if that were the only problem, things would be grand. But, the person who logged in my loan application logged it in as a loan deferment request. Straightening that out took 5 calls, and usually talking to multiple people on each call. My clinical advisor seems to be on top of things. But, my financial aid counselor is not nearly to that caliber.
But, aside from the Ross end of paperwork, most things seem positive for going to Belize. I have paid the downpayment. I received their packing list, and am going through that, prioritizing my purchases, and finding out what things of ours are sufficient for the trip. I could definitely go hog wild with some of the gear they recommend, but I will likely not have a use for much of the new purchases in Wyoming. That means I should plan light pay special attention to learning. I can always get other gear later when it will see more often use.
After I was finished with sending paperwork yesterday afternoon--people at paying jobs quit around 5 p.m., so I figured it was senseless to wait by the computer--I ran some errands around Torrington. When I got out to the highway, I saw a very odd site. There was a team of 3 draft horses pulling 2 covered wagons. On the back of the trail wagon was a sign: leehorselogger.com and "Montana 2006, California 2007, Alaska 2011?" I checked out that website a little. I won't spoil it for anyone. Suffice it to say, I like this guy's drive and outlook. If you have the opportunity, poke around his site.
On the pet side of things, many of you were interested in how Gabby is doing. She is now over her pyometria and hysterectomy. I removed her stitches on Tuesday this week. Gabby wasn't real thrilled with that process, but Becky held her well while I did my work. Now, she's spunky as ever again. With her happiness to have that over and be recovered, as well as the past couple of days of 50+ degree weather, Gabby has enoyed going outside and exploring the area. Apparently, those are good days to be a dog.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
28 January 2009 Whew
Yes, another long stretch without updates from me. The nickel version of it is moved to Torrington, Wyoming, and took my first board exam for licensure--USMLE Step 1.
Why Torrington, Wyoming? It's hard to explain, but a card from one of my friends told me that she agrees that moving to Wyoming from Miami is a good step, and one she would take, too. So, here is the reason Becky and I first give when we are asked why we came here from Miami and the Caribbean: when you are cold, you can always put on more clothes. But, when you are hot, there is a limit to how many clothes you can take off. When we were in Dominica, usually that limit wasn't enough to ensure comfort. But, there are other reasons.
The people we were generally around in Dominica and Miami weren't our kind of people. There was a pace to them that Becky and I just didn't fit into, and frankly didn't like very well. Here it's different. Becky and I haven't gone to a place to sit down in that people haven't come up an introduced themselves to us. Bar, Library, Post Office, Court House, Grocery store..., you name it, and we have been met with open arms here. Not only that, Becky and I haven't met a single person here that we don't relate well to and with. It's amazing how different people are. I think it might have something to do with the strength of winter here and it's effect on how you look at people. I shamelessly stole it from Garrison Keillor.
Another thing we like is the weather. Just this past week, we had over a foot of snow, and following the snow storm, the temperature dipped to -20F. While it was cold, we enjoyed it. It's an opportunity to put things on hold because the whole outside world slows down when it's that cold. It also didn't hurt that the snow closed all of the major roads to the west of us, I-80, I-25, and WY-34 were all closed, meaning that there's painfully little traffic to Torrington. But beyond the snow, the weather is dryer here. So, when we shower, we feel fresher longer. No persistent stickiness for hours and days on end.
Don't get me wrong, there are other things to contend with here. The wind almost always blows--we are on the plains less than 80 miles from mountains. And, since it's so dry here, the wind blows dust and sand. Also, it is VERY dry here. I think Torrington gets fewer than 10 inches of rain a year. But, these things can be contended with as long as one is prepared. It also helps that we are of a mind to be willing to contend with these things.
So, now that's done, here's what I've been doing. On January 15th, I took the USMLE Step 1 licensing exam. It is the first in a set of 3 exams, the others being Step 2 CK (clinical knowledge) and Step 2 CS (clinical skills). Those I am eligible to take after I complete my core rotations--the ones I plan on doing in Scottsbluff, NE at Regional West Medical Center.
Step 1 is a long exam. It is a computer-based 8-hour exam. The exam is broken into 8 blocks of 48 questions. You are given 1 hour for each section, but you can complete them earlier if you wish. The exams themselves are given at Prometric testing centers. Since the only one in Wyoming is in Casper, I drove to Casper the day before, spent the night, and took the exam. After the exam I drove back. Three things happened on the way to the exam that I took as good omens. First, it snowed. I know--it was not the best driving conditions. But, Becky and I moved here for snow. So, if the weather decided to greet me with snow as I drove, I took it as a charming good luck. Also, I saw a lone doe elk on the interstate. She made eye contact as I drove past, just standing there in the ditch. Finally, on the morning of the exam, I saw a herd of antelope in Casper on my way to the center, about 2 blocks from it. I'm not going to deny that these good omens likely have no legitimate bearing on my exam score, but they made me feel better anyway.
The terrible part about this process, though is that the scoring process takes 2 months after the date you take the exam. So, I have roughly 6 more weeks to wait before I find out how I did. And, the exams aren't strictly pass/fail. The score on the exam roughly correlates with the prestige of specialty and residency program you can get into. Becky has told me if I get over 240 (a stellar, but not unattainable score) I can do something special. I haven't decided what I want to do yet. The thing to keep in mind is that being a Caribbean student, I have to look better on paper to get a similar position. So legitimately, I think I need to score about 210. 185 is passing for whatever that means.
Since that process is done, I've started to bring in a painfully small amount of money by getting a paper route with the Scottsbluff Star Herald. I started that this past Tuesday. The day after it snowed. The morning it was -20F. Those together almost make it not worth it. But, there probably won't be too many days with a foot of snow and below zero temperatures, so I'll tough it out til late March when I get ready to go to Belize for a wilderness medicine clinical rotation.
Aside from those things, Becky and I did have one very unique experience here recently. Our older dachshund, Gabby, got an infection in her womb called pyometria. In the process of getting her healthy--which she is again--we met a very interesting veterinarian here. The guy comes up from Cheyenne 3 times a week to work at this practice, but the part that took us back was that he knew Dominica and knew Ross. Since he was wearing a University of Wyoming shirt, I'm pretty sure he isn't a Ross Vet School grad. But, even the vet school is on St. Kitts, which is a much better place than Dominica. And, he knew more about Dominica than I would expect a person who spent a couple of years on St. Kitts would. Becky and I haven't quite got a handle on him yet. I'm not certain if we will try to manufacture a social situation to probe his knowledge a bit more, but we might. It was very odd because we are typically a little cryptic about what we were doing in the Caribbean, and he was also a little cryptic about how he knew of things there. It all made for a very unique experience. We shall see what happens in the future.
Why Torrington, Wyoming? It's hard to explain, but a card from one of my friends told me that she agrees that moving to Wyoming from Miami is a good step, and one she would take, too. So, here is the reason Becky and I first give when we are asked why we came here from Miami and the Caribbean: when you are cold, you can always put on more clothes. But, when you are hot, there is a limit to how many clothes you can take off. When we were in Dominica, usually that limit wasn't enough to ensure comfort. But, there are other reasons.
The people we were generally around in Dominica and Miami weren't our kind of people. There was a pace to them that Becky and I just didn't fit into, and frankly didn't like very well. Here it's different. Becky and I haven't gone to a place to sit down in that people haven't come up an introduced themselves to us. Bar, Library, Post Office, Court House, Grocery store..., you name it, and we have been met with open arms here. Not only that, Becky and I haven't met a single person here that we don't relate well to and with. It's amazing how different people are. I think it might have something to do with the strength of winter here and it's effect on how you look at people. I shamelessly stole it from Garrison Keillor.
Another thing we like is the weather. Just this past week, we had over a foot of snow, and following the snow storm, the temperature dipped to -20F. While it was cold, we enjoyed it. It's an opportunity to put things on hold because the whole outside world slows down when it's that cold. It also didn't hurt that the snow closed all of the major roads to the west of us, I-80, I-25, and WY-34 were all closed, meaning that there's painfully little traffic to Torrington. But beyond the snow, the weather is dryer here. So, when we shower, we feel fresher longer. No persistent stickiness for hours and days on end.
Don't get me wrong, there are other things to contend with here. The wind almost always blows--we are on the plains less than 80 miles from mountains. And, since it's so dry here, the wind blows dust and sand. Also, it is VERY dry here. I think Torrington gets fewer than 10 inches of rain a year. But, these things can be contended with as long as one is prepared. It also helps that we are of a mind to be willing to contend with these things.
So, now that's done, here's what I've been doing. On January 15th, I took the USMLE Step 1 licensing exam. It is the first in a set of 3 exams, the others being Step 2 CK (clinical knowledge) and Step 2 CS (clinical skills). Those I am eligible to take after I complete my core rotations--the ones I plan on doing in Scottsbluff, NE at Regional West Medical Center.
Step 1 is a long exam. It is a computer-based 8-hour exam. The exam is broken into 8 blocks of 48 questions. You are given 1 hour for each section, but you can complete them earlier if you wish. The exams themselves are given at Prometric testing centers. Since the only one in Wyoming is in Casper, I drove to Casper the day before, spent the night, and took the exam. After the exam I drove back. Three things happened on the way to the exam that I took as good omens. First, it snowed. I know--it was not the best driving conditions. But, Becky and I moved here for snow. So, if the weather decided to greet me with snow as I drove, I took it as a charming good luck. Also, I saw a lone doe elk on the interstate. She made eye contact as I drove past, just standing there in the ditch. Finally, on the morning of the exam, I saw a herd of antelope in Casper on my way to the center, about 2 blocks from it. I'm not going to deny that these good omens likely have no legitimate bearing on my exam score, but they made me feel better anyway.
The terrible part about this process, though is that the scoring process takes 2 months after the date you take the exam. So, I have roughly 6 more weeks to wait before I find out how I did. And, the exams aren't strictly pass/fail. The score on the exam roughly correlates with the prestige of specialty and residency program you can get into. Becky has told me if I get over 240 (a stellar, but not unattainable score) I can do something special. I haven't decided what I want to do yet. The thing to keep in mind is that being a Caribbean student, I have to look better on paper to get a similar position. So legitimately, I think I need to score about 210. 185 is passing for whatever that means.
Since that process is done, I've started to bring in a painfully small amount of money by getting a paper route with the Scottsbluff Star Herald. I started that this past Tuesday. The day after it snowed. The morning it was -20F. Those together almost make it not worth it. But, there probably won't be too many days with a foot of snow and below zero temperatures, so I'll tough it out til late March when I get ready to go to Belize for a wilderness medicine clinical rotation.
Aside from those things, Becky and I did have one very unique experience here recently. Our older dachshund, Gabby, got an infection in her womb called pyometria. In the process of getting her healthy--which she is again--we met a very interesting veterinarian here. The guy comes up from Cheyenne 3 times a week to work at this practice, but the part that took us back was that he knew Dominica and knew Ross. Since he was wearing a University of Wyoming shirt, I'm pretty sure he isn't a Ross Vet School grad. But, even the vet school is on St. Kitts, which is a much better place than Dominica. And, he knew more about Dominica than I would expect a person who spent a couple of years on St. Kitts would. Becky and I haven't quite got a handle on him yet. I'm not certain if we will try to manufacture a social situation to probe his knowledge a bit more, but we might. It was very odd because we are typically a little cryptic about what we were doing in the Caribbean, and he was also a little cryptic about how he knew of things there. It all made for a very unique experience. We shall see what happens in the future.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
13 Dec 2008 Long stretch--done.
Whew. Well, the fifth semester is finished. And none too soon. This semester has been quite interesting. My clinical partner ended up having to withdraw from the semester due to some health circumstances. I feel bad for her.
Because of that, I used Becky as a clinical partner for a couple of things. This provided Becky with some extra insight into the Ross process, and I am pretty sure that she has a better feeling of my frustration.
Here is an example: I used Becky as my patient for a physical exam practical examination. On my regularly scheduled time, both of us think I did a good, worthwhile exam. There wasn't anything major I missed. A couple of things could have been more polished. But, it was a good exam.
For reasons neither of us know, I didn't pass. And, I didn't pass because of things that the examiner said happened that didn't happen as the examiner said. So, got to stay an extra week. Take some remedial lessons in physical exams. And, redo the practical.
Becky was there with me at the redo practical. And, to say I didn't do my best is an understatement. I got off on a tangent at one point, and nearly forgot to do a significant part of the exam. It was a far worse exam than my initial one that I didn't pass. And, instead of losing 30 points this time, I lost 8. I guess it goes to show the differences an examiner can make.
Besides that, most things seem to be going well. We are less than a week away from moving out of Miami. We have a place leased in Torrington, Wyoming. I have a date for the USMLE Step 1--Jan 15. I have a location to do my core clinical rotations at--Scottsbluff, Nebraska. I cannot express how reassuring all of this is at this point. It feels that for the first time in about two years, we have some control over the direction in our lives.
Of course, saying we have direction and a place to live is no small task. As of now, we are 4 months shy of having everything packed up for 2 years. We are driving back to Nebraska over the course of 3 days or so with 3 dogs, packing up a trailer, and high-tailing it to Wyoming so I can continue to study for Step 1.
Big changes are ahead.
Because of that, I used Becky as a clinical partner for a couple of things. This provided Becky with some extra insight into the Ross process, and I am pretty sure that she has a better feeling of my frustration.
Here is an example: I used Becky as my patient for a physical exam practical examination. On my regularly scheduled time, both of us think I did a good, worthwhile exam. There wasn't anything major I missed. A couple of things could have been more polished. But, it was a good exam.
For reasons neither of us know, I didn't pass. And, I didn't pass because of things that the examiner said happened that didn't happen as the examiner said. So, got to stay an extra week. Take some remedial lessons in physical exams. And, redo the practical.
Becky was there with me at the redo practical. And, to say I didn't do my best is an understatement. I got off on a tangent at one point, and nearly forgot to do a significant part of the exam. It was a far worse exam than my initial one that I didn't pass. And, instead of losing 30 points this time, I lost 8. I guess it goes to show the differences an examiner can make.
Besides that, most things seem to be going well. We are less than a week away from moving out of Miami. We have a place leased in Torrington, Wyoming. I have a date for the USMLE Step 1--Jan 15. I have a location to do my core clinical rotations at--Scottsbluff, Nebraska. I cannot express how reassuring all of this is at this point. It feels that for the first time in about two years, we have some control over the direction in our lives.
Of course, saying we have direction and a place to live is no small task. As of now, we are 4 months shy of having everything packed up for 2 years. We are driving back to Nebraska over the course of 3 days or so with 3 dogs, packing up a trailer, and high-tailing it to Wyoming so I can continue to study for Step 1.
Big changes are ahead.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
9 Nov 2008, Ruts, ruts, and more ruts
It's been a couple of months since I've written. This isn't because I haven't wanted to. It also isn't because I haven't meant to. But, this fifth semester just makes it so hard to write something that's not negative.
If you follow the New York Times Health section, over the last couple of weeks, there have been stories about burn-out in medical students and residents. That is pretty much how I have been feeling in this semester. We aren't in the classroom learning new things, and we aren't in the clinic working closely with a physician. What we are is somewhere in between with a very convoluted schedule that isn't set, and we are studying under a group that seems to take great pains in making sure that we are off-balance, and unable to figure out how to succeed here.
To compound all of that, I have been working at signing up for the USMLE Step 1 exam, one of the critical exams to pass on my way to licensure. For quite a while, Becky and I had been working with the goal of me taking the exam on 22 December which would give me time to study before we visited family over Christmas, and also allowing us to enjoy our break between the end of fifth semester, and me beginning my clinical rotations.
Unfortunately, part of the process for signing up for a date to take the exam has changed. Before October of this year, the process was, apply for an identification number with USMLE which took about a week. Then, fill out the application. Once you fill out the application, you get an identification verification form which much be routed through your schoool. Once that is completed, and sent to the ECFMG, there is a three week processing period. Well, now the processing period is six weeks. Even after that processing is done, I get yet another identification number which I take to an examination company, Prometric, and then I get to schedule the exam.
I started the application process the first week in October. Now, my application is 3 days into final processing at the ECFMG--which they are now saying takes six weeks. So, if I'm still looking at 22 Dec for the Step 1 exam, I will have about 10 days of prior knowledge that I can actually make that date. Given everything, Becky and I have decided that this essentially makes 22 December an unreasonable goal to shoot for.
So, we are planning on me taking the exam in mid January, 2009. Fortunately, this date is still early enough that it won't change any of my current clinical rotation plans, which are actually quite sparse. But, it does have other ramifications. We're moving up decisions on where we're going to try to settle over the next two years. Unfortunately, I get this exam looming over me for another three weeks. This exam is what the vast majority of my classes have been oriented at since I started medical school, so it's a big milestone. I'm looking forward to getting it done, and behind me.
Beyond that, Becky and I have been staying at home, watching our dogs, and the seasons change. Kubby, our puppy is now our biggest dog, although he's still pretty small. I'd say he's about 25 pounds now. He's been losing teeth like crazy, which makes for interesting fights between Kody and Kubby. It's also nice for Becky and me because being gummed by a puppy is much less damaging than being chewed on by a puppy with sharp puppy teeth and near dog-sized jaws. Kubby is also calming down into quite a charming little guy. It's been well over a month since he's had an accident in the apartment. That is quite a relief for us, because we really don't like to have to spot-treat our rug, and we didn't exactly bring a lot of cleaning supplies to the apartment we plan on leaving before Christmas.
Fall in Florida is much nicer than fall in Dominica, too. Would you believe that once or twice the temperature has dipped to 59 degrees overnight? Becky and I had a good laugh at the weatherman when he said that the next morning was going to be "heavy coat weather" as the temperatures would be in the low 60's. Becky reminisced that when she was in grade school, if the temperature was above 60, they could go to recess without their coats. I don't remember any rules like that, but when I was commuting on my bicycle in Lincoln, I wouldn't worry about the weather until it was 50 or cooler. People in Florida seem to have thin blood when it comes to cold.
Cheers for now!
-j
If you follow the New York Times Health section, over the last couple of weeks, there have been stories about burn-out in medical students and residents. That is pretty much how I have been feeling in this semester. We aren't in the classroom learning new things, and we aren't in the clinic working closely with a physician. What we are is somewhere in between with a very convoluted schedule that isn't set, and we are studying under a group that seems to take great pains in making sure that we are off-balance, and unable to figure out how to succeed here.
To compound all of that, I have been working at signing up for the USMLE Step 1 exam, one of the critical exams to pass on my way to licensure. For quite a while, Becky and I had been working with the goal of me taking the exam on 22 December which would give me time to study before we visited family over Christmas, and also allowing us to enjoy our break between the end of fifth semester, and me beginning my clinical rotations.
Unfortunately, part of the process for signing up for a date to take the exam has changed. Before October of this year, the process was, apply for an identification number with USMLE which took about a week. Then, fill out the application. Once you fill out the application, you get an identification verification form which much be routed through your schoool. Once that is completed, and sent to the ECFMG, there is a three week processing period. Well, now the processing period is six weeks. Even after that processing is done, I get yet another identification number which I take to an examination company, Prometric, and then I get to schedule the exam.
I started the application process the first week in October. Now, my application is 3 days into final processing at the ECFMG--which they are now saying takes six weeks. So, if I'm still looking at 22 Dec for the Step 1 exam, I will have about 10 days of prior knowledge that I can actually make that date. Given everything, Becky and I have decided that this essentially makes 22 December an unreasonable goal to shoot for.
So, we are planning on me taking the exam in mid January, 2009. Fortunately, this date is still early enough that it won't change any of my current clinical rotation plans, which are actually quite sparse. But, it does have other ramifications. We're moving up decisions on where we're going to try to settle over the next two years. Unfortunately, I get this exam looming over me for another three weeks. This exam is what the vast majority of my classes have been oriented at since I started medical school, so it's a big milestone. I'm looking forward to getting it done, and behind me.
Beyond that, Becky and I have been staying at home, watching our dogs, and the seasons change. Kubby, our puppy is now our biggest dog, although he's still pretty small. I'd say he's about 25 pounds now. He's been losing teeth like crazy, which makes for interesting fights between Kody and Kubby. It's also nice for Becky and me because being gummed by a puppy is much less damaging than being chewed on by a puppy with sharp puppy teeth and near dog-sized jaws. Kubby is also calming down into quite a charming little guy. It's been well over a month since he's had an accident in the apartment. That is quite a relief for us, because we really don't like to have to spot-treat our rug, and we didn't exactly bring a lot of cleaning supplies to the apartment we plan on leaving before Christmas.
Fall in Florida is much nicer than fall in Dominica, too. Would you believe that once or twice the temperature has dipped to 59 degrees overnight? Becky and I had a good laugh at the weatherman when he said that the next morning was going to be "heavy coat weather" as the temperatures would be in the low 60's. Becky reminisced that when she was in grade school, if the temperature was above 60, they could go to recess without their coats. I don't remember any rules like that, but when I was commuting on my bicycle in Lincoln, I wouldn't worry about the weather until it was 50 or cooler. People in Florida seem to have thin blood when it comes to cold.
Cheers for now!
-j
Saturday, September 27, 2008
27 Sept 2008, Florida, the land of retirees
I've been out of Dominica for a little over a month. Classes have started, and things are moving on.
It's been interesting running into medical students from the US in my classes now. The students are generally in their clinical years, which are the last two of medical school. However, Ross does things a bit differently. I have a separate semester between my basic sciences and clinicals where I do some clinical work and some class work before I take step 1.
The interesting thing is this actually means that I get one extra semester of medical school beyond American students. It's honestly neither here nor there, just interesting.
This past week, I've been farmed out to a pediatrician in private practice by Hollywood, FL. It's been a good thing to get out of the environment of Ross to see medicine outside of the "Ivory Towers" of academia. It's also been entertaining getting lectures a couple days of the week about how to conduct a proper, thorough physical exam, and then go around with my preceptor and do what he considers a proper, thorough physical exam on a 4 day old child he's never seen before. I'm not saying there are huge differences, but his reasoning for what he doesn't do is sound, and it shows that many things in education are included because of tradition, not reality.
What else is happening? Well, we started the semester by taking the USMLE Comprehensive Shelf exam. I did that and waited for a week for my scores. When I got them back, I was not only happy that I'd done passed, but was really pleased to find out that I did well. For those wondering, no, I didn't get the high score. But I'm happy.
However, there's no rest for the wicked. I must begin to study for the USMLE Step 1 exam soon. That exam is starting to loom large in front of me. And, Becky and Helena are trying to figure out what marathon we want to run in January or February. It's an attempt to find time to lose this spare tire that's trying to grow around my middle. I've also noticed that when I exercise, I can focus on my schoolwork better. So, benefits all around.
Life isn't all peaches and cream, though. Becky and I came here with grand hopes of being able to ride our bikes many places. And, from what I have seen, Miami is a VERY bike-able town compared to Lincoln. Unfortunately, access to and from the Miami airport wasn't created with bicycles in mind, and Becky and I are right at the airport. Yes, occasionally, we could probably throw a rock and hit a plane on the tarmac. So, hopefully we can find some afternoon or weekend times to take our bicycles out. We just need to experience more of Miami to figure this out.
On the subject of Miami transportation, several family and friends have mentioned visiting us in Miami, and Becky and I have said that we would let you know how our availability will be when we know my schedule more. The unfortunate thing is that my schedule comes out week to week. However, the administration has shown that they are understanding that we have been away from family and friends for a while. All they ask is that we keep them informed of any social engagements we have before the fact. So, please visit, and let us know when you'll be around and how we can help. I'll get the time off, and my busiest days are Wednesday, when I usually have a whole day of lecture. But, please visit! There's amazing things to do and see here.
Viva la compagnie!
-j
It's been interesting running into medical students from the US in my classes now. The students are generally in their clinical years, which are the last two of medical school. However, Ross does things a bit differently. I have a separate semester between my basic sciences and clinicals where I do some clinical work and some class work before I take step 1.
The interesting thing is this actually means that I get one extra semester of medical school beyond American students. It's honestly neither here nor there, just interesting.
This past week, I've been farmed out to a pediatrician in private practice by Hollywood, FL. It's been a good thing to get out of the environment of Ross to see medicine outside of the "Ivory Towers" of academia. It's also been entertaining getting lectures a couple days of the week about how to conduct a proper, thorough physical exam, and then go around with my preceptor and do what he considers a proper, thorough physical exam on a 4 day old child he's never seen before. I'm not saying there are huge differences, but his reasoning for what he doesn't do is sound, and it shows that many things in education are included because of tradition, not reality.
What else is happening? Well, we started the semester by taking the USMLE Comprehensive Shelf exam. I did that and waited for a week for my scores. When I got them back, I was not only happy that I'd done passed, but was really pleased to find out that I did well. For those wondering, no, I didn't get the high score. But I'm happy.
However, there's no rest for the wicked. I must begin to study for the USMLE Step 1 exam soon. That exam is starting to loom large in front of me. And, Becky and Helena are trying to figure out what marathon we want to run in January or February. It's an attempt to find time to lose this spare tire that's trying to grow around my middle. I've also noticed that when I exercise, I can focus on my schoolwork better. So, benefits all around.
Life isn't all peaches and cream, though. Becky and I came here with grand hopes of being able to ride our bikes many places. And, from what I have seen, Miami is a VERY bike-able town compared to Lincoln. Unfortunately, access to and from the Miami airport wasn't created with bicycles in mind, and Becky and I are right at the airport. Yes, occasionally, we could probably throw a rock and hit a plane on the tarmac. So, hopefully we can find some afternoon or weekend times to take our bicycles out. We just need to experience more of Miami to figure this out.
On the subject of Miami transportation, several family and friends have mentioned visiting us in Miami, and Becky and I have said that we would let you know how our availability will be when we know my schedule more. The unfortunate thing is that my schedule comes out week to week. However, the administration has shown that they are understanding that we have been away from family and friends for a while. All they ask is that we keep them informed of any social engagements we have before the fact. So, please visit, and let us know when you'll be around and how we can help. I'll get the time off, and my busiest days are Wednesday, when I usually have a whole day of lecture. But, please visit! There's amazing things to do and see here.
Viva la compagnie!
-j
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
26 Aug 2008, No more funny money
Yep, you read that right. The Eastern Caribbean Dollar no longer jingles in my pocket. They've all been traded in for real American folding money.
I am back in Miami with Eric and Evan, waiting for Becky and the dogs.
Behave Hurricane Gustav. I have family flying over you.
I am back in Miami with Eric and Evan, waiting for Becky and the dogs.
Behave Hurricane Gustav. I have family flying over you.
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