In light of all of the things that have been occurring that frustrate life here, Becky and I arranged a group to go to a wine tasting in the village of Wesley last night. Randy's Bar put it on--it's a charming little place run by a Dominican who used to work as a Chippendale dancer in the states, and as a cook on a cruise ship. Randy has a super charming little bar.
We got there right on time, and Randy was mingling with everyone. He took special care to compliment Becky and me for arranging our group and making is as painless as possible for him. Now, the thing about it is Randy made the process painless for me. I think it's his experience with American business, but no matter the reason, he simply handled the business parts of everything in a manner I was used to. That made it very painless for me.
But, the best part was, it was amazing! The wines were really good, and we found this super charming german white that tasted like it had dill in it. It was really delicious, and went well with the fish that Randy had prepared to go with the wines. Afterward, Randy arranged some locals to dance with him. He warmed up the crowd with the Electric Slide, and then one other line dance. After that the party started. We stayed until about 9 p.m. and then headed back to Portsmouth to go to sleep.
But, things are never that simple, are they? One of the students with us adopted a puppy from the bar, and Becky was holding the puppy on the way back. As some of you know, the road from the airport to Portsmouth is, well, curvy. Very curvy. The puppy made an editorial comment on the roads by barfing on Becky. For the next 12 hours after that, Kody has been playing Grand Inquisitor to Becky. It's really charming.
It was good to go somewhere that we could forget our troubles for a few hours. We really like Randy and his charming little establishment. We apologize to everyone who visited that we never took to Randy's bar. It ranks up there with Purple Turtle and Heaven's Best. It's a reason to visit Dominica.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
25 July 2008 One month til changes
Today has been a long time coming. In several ways, actually. The first and biggest way is that today marks one month until I leave Dominica to finish my schooling in the States. However, there are other small victories that occurred yesterday that should be mentioned, too. For the first time, Becky and I had a package come to campus, i.e. we didn't have to arrange for customs, etc clearance in Roseau, one hour away. It's a small victory for customer service, but one we've been lacking for months. Also, I got news that the site I want to do my clinical rotations at, Greeley, CO, now has surgery, and all of the electives that I need. So, I can do all of my cores, and all of my electives at the same site--provided they accept me. That is also quite a weight off of my mind.
Otherwise, interesting things have been happening in my classes. Fourth semesters have a class called ICM, Introduction to Clinical Medicine. In this class, we have a set of practical exams that must be passed. I don't think they're exactly the toughest thing in the world, when I see what we're to do. Yet, every group of fourth semester students has been paralyzed by fear of these practicals, and I didn't understand why.
Well, now I do. It's a matter of presentation from our instructors and proctors. You see, every ICM lecture or lab we have had this semester, we get bludgeoned over the head about our practical. The practical is worth 20% of our final grade, so it's significant, but not overly. However, the presentation of the material is such that we are led to believe that if a student does something slightly out of turn, or isn't exactly speedy (we have a 6 minute time limit) the student will FAIL. Even beyond that, some of the things they bludgeon us about are worthy of ridicule, to be kind. We are instructed to never approach, or examine the patient from the left side. We are also instructed to never examine the patient with our left hand.
Now, as a lefty, this gets me a little bit lathered. You see, this is a school that accepts federal funds. As such, they have non-discrimination rules, and other things. They can't give you crap for being white, black, blue, yellow, green, red, Italian, Huegoenot, Polish, Chinese, Pastafarian, Catholic, Hindu, Muslim, gay, straight, bi, confuse, or dumb. But, if you're a lefty, God help you. The problem is, every group I've heard make an argument about left being gauche is religious. So, they're just completing a circle. And, because it's about handedness, I don't have a leg to stand on with a complaint. And, I and my patients suffer because I can't perform my skills in the manner in which I am most dextrous.
Honestly, it's 2008. Homosexuals can marry now in California. When will lefties be accepted? We're people too.
Otherwise, interesting things have been happening in my classes. Fourth semesters have a class called ICM, Introduction to Clinical Medicine. In this class, we have a set of practical exams that must be passed. I don't think they're exactly the toughest thing in the world, when I see what we're to do. Yet, every group of fourth semester students has been paralyzed by fear of these practicals, and I didn't understand why.
Well, now I do. It's a matter of presentation from our instructors and proctors. You see, every ICM lecture or lab we have had this semester, we get bludgeoned over the head about our practical. The practical is worth 20% of our final grade, so it's significant, but not overly. However, the presentation of the material is such that we are led to believe that if a student does something slightly out of turn, or isn't exactly speedy (we have a 6 minute time limit) the student will FAIL. Even beyond that, some of the things they bludgeon us about are worthy of ridicule, to be kind. We are instructed to never approach, or examine the patient from the left side. We are also instructed to never examine the patient with our left hand.
Now, as a lefty, this gets me a little bit lathered. You see, this is a school that accepts federal funds. As such, they have non-discrimination rules, and other things. They can't give you crap for being white, black, blue, yellow, green, red, Italian, Huegoenot, Polish, Chinese, Pastafarian, Catholic, Hindu, Muslim, gay, straight, bi, confuse, or dumb. But, if you're a lefty, God help you. The problem is, every group I've heard make an argument about left being gauche is religious. So, they're just completing a circle. And, because it's about handedness, I don't have a leg to stand on with a complaint. And, I and my patients suffer because I can't perform my skills in the manner in which I am most dextrous.
Honestly, it's 2008. Homosexuals can marry now in California. When will lefties be accepted? We're people too.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
20 July 2008, Daddy needs a new pair of shoes
Hmm, well I had a frustrating experience today. Becky and I were headed back from our normal beach engagement on Sunday mornings and my thong strap broke, less than halfway home. The terrible part about it is at 1 p.m. on a sunny day, you simply need foot protection. If it's not the road burning your feet, it's broken bottles, scrap metal, centipedes, and razor grass attacking you from the shoulder. There's no way to win. And, keeping a broken thong on your foot just doesn't make for effective walking.
If you count it up, that makes 6 pairs of shoes Dominica has now eaten. A pair of combat boots that the anatomy lab partially dissolved, 3 pairs of sandals that have had the soles walked off, one pair of good shoes, and now my beach thongs. 6 pairs of shoes in 16 months, 4 of which were new.
In good news, I got my mini 2 grades back. I scored much better than I had expected. Actually, I scored pretty well. But, I still have 10 solid days of exams coming up within the next 32 days. I'm certain that I can expect similar grades through this whole set of exams, but I'm simply ready for a change. Especially since Becky and I are starting to pack things up in preparation to come back. Our place is getting bare, and less homey. There's also a large element of expectation, too. It's similar to waiting for Christmas to come so you can see what Santa left because you KNOW you were just the best-behaved little child the past year and darn it, you DESERVE something good.
Okay, that may be over the top, but Becky and I do feel we really need a change of scenery and society.
I suppose I just need to find an umbrella drink stirrer and start hollowing out a pineapple and work on changing my perspective. I'll work on that.
Cheers,
-j
If you count it up, that makes 6 pairs of shoes Dominica has now eaten. A pair of combat boots that the anatomy lab partially dissolved, 3 pairs of sandals that have had the soles walked off, one pair of good shoes, and now my beach thongs. 6 pairs of shoes in 16 months, 4 of which were new.
In good news, I got my mini 2 grades back. I scored much better than I had expected. Actually, I scored pretty well. But, I still have 10 solid days of exams coming up within the next 32 days. I'm certain that I can expect similar grades through this whole set of exams, but I'm simply ready for a change. Especially since Becky and I are starting to pack things up in preparation to come back. Our place is getting bare, and less homey. There's also a large element of expectation, too. It's similar to waiting for Christmas to come so you can see what Santa left because you KNOW you were just the best-behaved little child the past year and darn it, you DESERVE something good.
Okay, that may be over the top, but Becky and I do feel we really need a change of scenery and society.
I suppose I just need to find an umbrella drink stirrer and start hollowing out a pineapple and work on changing my perspective. I'll work on that.
Cheers,
-j
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
15 July 2008
Well... it's certainly been a long time since I've posted an update. I apologize for it being so long, but I assure you that I've been busy attempting to navigate med school with its clear, and not-so-clear obstacles.
I'm sure no one reading this really needs much more of an explanation of the classroom things that have been going on, but some of the outside-of-lecture things have been interesting this semester. First off, in fourth semester, you spend a lot more time trying to get experience making decisions with how to manage patients, and you also spend a lot more time examining paid patients. This has brought up a couple of interesting goings-on with Yours Truly.
The first one that comes to mind is a thing called Stan. Stan is a patient simulator and is short for STandardized mAN. Basically what happens with a Stan session is me and 8 of my fourth semester classmates are turned loose on a scenario that is basically "this person presented to the emergency room with X". It's a good concept, and I applaud Ross for giving us this kind of educational experience. But... how they designed the experience runs almost exactly counter to the strengths of their simulator. Their simulator is designed to provide an experience like you'd see George Clooney doing on E.R. You know, pushing drugs on someone who came in with a heart attack, stroke, or vehicle accident, and needs serious resuscitation RIGHT NOW.
Unfortunately, we were given much less emergent scenarios, and with the first one, the proctor had the patient monitor up. It's basically the thing that goes "beep" with every heartbeat, but current ones show the heart rhythm, oxygen content of the blood, respiratory rate, and several other things depending on how many bells and whistles you've attached to the patient. Well, my critical mistake was to actually bother to look at this monitor and ask questions to the patient based on what I saw on the monitor. I was told in no uncertain terms that this was something We Were Not To See. I was rather disappointed in that experience because I have always believed that more information in a clinical setting is better by default. One more hidden lesson here, I guess. Never point out the weaknesses in a simulation.
There are several other things that have been less than rewarding this semester, but I'll try not to bother anyone with them. I am happy to say that with my other Stan session, my proctor praised me and gave me top marks for the exercise. I was remarkably surprised by this because I'm a critic of this instructor. She is not a very good lecturer, and before this session, her only redeeming qualities were her amazingly fair and straightforward exam questions. Were I in the administration here, I'd "promote" her out of her lecture position and make her a second-in-command of the simulation group. She was that redeeming.
There is a very unique thing that occurred to me the other day. I've grown used to Dominica, but I haven't grown into a Dominican. I was walking to Eddo's, our other corner store here, and for some reason, I had a Garrison Keillor monologue going on in my head. It isn't that I was drawing a connection between them. But, the normal things here are normal enough that I can separate myself so much I can daydream daydreams I would have in Nebraska and it's not weird, not off-putting, and not something that would make me homesick. It's a different normal, a here normal. Yet, it's not a normal-normal.
But, the end is in sight. 68 hours of lecture left, starting with 8 hours tomorrow. Then 2 solid weeks of exams. 40 days and a few hours on Dominica left. Becky and I have an apartment in Miami already. And, a visit to Nebraska planned. However, there's a hitch. Ross requires that everyone pass the USMLE Comprehensive Exam before we are allowed to sit for the required Step 1 exam. The Comp is the Tuesday of my first week of fifth semester in Miami, September 16. It's four hours long, and comprehensive, as the name would suggest. So, I'll get to enjoy significant amounts of time looking at a book, when that's the last thing I want to do. What's a body to do, though, right?
In other news, it looks like another tropical storm may or may not be headed our way. The last reports have said that it was weakening, but no matter what happens, it'll be here this weekend. We're expecting to lose both power and water for several hours. Such fun, such fun. I guess that's life's way of urging me to practice for my practical exams.
As the Dominicans say, be cool mon.
-j
I'm sure no one reading this really needs much more of an explanation of the classroom things that have been going on, but some of the outside-of-lecture things have been interesting this semester. First off, in fourth semester, you spend a lot more time trying to get experience making decisions with how to manage patients, and you also spend a lot more time examining paid patients. This has brought up a couple of interesting goings-on with Yours Truly.
The first one that comes to mind is a thing called Stan. Stan is a patient simulator and is short for STandardized mAN. Basically what happens with a Stan session is me and 8 of my fourth semester classmates are turned loose on a scenario that is basically "this person presented to the emergency room with X". It's a good concept, and I applaud Ross for giving us this kind of educational experience. But... how they designed the experience runs almost exactly counter to the strengths of their simulator. Their simulator is designed to provide an experience like you'd see George Clooney doing on E.R. You know, pushing drugs on someone who came in with a heart attack, stroke, or vehicle accident, and needs serious resuscitation RIGHT NOW.
Unfortunately, we were given much less emergent scenarios, and with the first one, the proctor had the patient monitor up. It's basically the thing that goes "beep" with every heartbeat, but current ones show the heart rhythm, oxygen content of the blood, respiratory rate, and several other things depending on how many bells and whistles you've attached to the patient. Well, my critical mistake was to actually bother to look at this monitor and ask questions to the patient based on what I saw on the monitor. I was told in no uncertain terms that this was something We Were Not To See. I was rather disappointed in that experience because I have always believed that more information in a clinical setting is better by default. One more hidden lesson here, I guess. Never point out the weaknesses in a simulation.
There are several other things that have been less than rewarding this semester, but I'll try not to bother anyone with them. I am happy to say that with my other Stan session, my proctor praised me and gave me top marks for the exercise. I was remarkably surprised by this because I'm a critic of this instructor. She is not a very good lecturer, and before this session, her only redeeming qualities were her amazingly fair and straightforward exam questions. Were I in the administration here, I'd "promote" her out of her lecture position and make her a second-in-command of the simulation group. She was that redeeming.
There is a very unique thing that occurred to me the other day. I've grown used to Dominica, but I haven't grown into a Dominican. I was walking to Eddo's, our other corner store here, and for some reason, I had a Garrison Keillor monologue going on in my head. It isn't that I was drawing a connection between them. But, the normal things here are normal enough that I can separate myself so much I can daydream daydreams I would have in Nebraska and it's not weird, not off-putting, and not something that would make me homesick. It's a different normal, a here normal. Yet, it's not a normal-normal.
But, the end is in sight. 68 hours of lecture left, starting with 8 hours tomorrow. Then 2 solid weeks of exams. 40 days and a few hours on Dominica left. Becky and I have an apartment in Miami already. And, a visit to Nebraska planned. However, there's a hitch. Ross requires that everyone pass the USMLE Comprehensive Exam before we are allowed to sit for the required Step 1 exam. The Comp is the Tuesday of my first week of fifth semester in Miami, September 16. It's four hours long, and comprehensive, as the name would suggest. So, I'll get to enjoy significant amounts of time looking at a book, when that's the last thing I want to do. What's a body to do, though, right?
In other news, it looks like another tropical storm may or may not be headed our way. The last reports have said that it was weakening, but no matter what happens, it'll be here this weekend. We're expecting to lose both power and water for several hours. Such fun, such fun. I guess that's life's way of urging me to practice for my practical exams.
As the Dominicans say, be cool mon.
-j
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)