I lost control of bowel movement this morning. Squeeze your external anal sphincter tight and take a look at this article from CNN.com. That is one GIANT wave. Something I never want to see in real life.
And here I was, dreading my upcoming exams as if they were giant waves about to crash upon me. Chil' please! People are losing their homes, their businesses, their schools, their communities, their lives.
I will continue to work hard over the next two days and will gladly take the fourth set of second year medical school examinations. It's a privilege, not a natural disaster.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Dr. E
Erotic. From the moment she walked onto the stage, you knew that Dr. E was going to have some fun. She was all smiles and had a bounce in her step.
"Good morning, y'all!"
[Students half awake] Good morning.
"How many of you know about spoken-word? . . . Well, I'm a poet -- Oh, you want to hear one of my poems before we begin? OK, we're all adults here, so I can share."
Clearly, Dr. E wanted to share one of her poems with us. And, as soon as we heard the "we're all adults" line, we knew it was going to be good.
Dr. E proceeded to share with us one of her poems. I don't remember the words exactly (and I'm not about to go back to the audio), but she mentioned heat, desire, seduction, biceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius, a king and a queen -- and I think there was something about crawling on all fours. Dr. E needs some sexual healing -- stat! (Stat. Is that word ever really used?)
The poem was hot! OK, so it really wasn't that hot -- I mean, who wants to know about their professors sexual fantasies? But, she got our attention and gave a good lecture.
And besides, nerds need love too.
"Good morning, y'all!"
[Students half awake] Good morning.
"How many of you know about spoken-word? . . . Well, I'm a poet -- Oh, you want to hear one of my poems before we begin? OK, we're all adults here, so I can share."
Clearly, Dr. E wanted to share one of her poems with us. And, as soon as we heard the "we're all adults" line, we knew it was going to be good.
Dr. E proceeded to share with us one of her poems. I don't remember the words exactly (and I'm not about to go back to the audio), but she mentioned heat, desire, seduction, biceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius, a king and a queen -- and I think there was something about crawling on all fours. Dr. E needs some sexual healing -- stat! (Stat. Is that word ever really used?)
The poem was hot! OK, so it really wasn't that hot -- I mean, who wants to know about their professors sexual fantasies? But, she got our attention and gave a good lecture.
And besides, nerds need love too.
Friday, October 5, 2007
NBME
The acronym has been thrown around a lot during my second year of medical school: "You have to study hard for your NBMEs," "Forget about the LCME, it's the NBME you should worry about."
So, what is the NBME?
The NBME is the National Board of Medical Examiners. Founded in 1915, it's the independent, not-for-profit organization that provides nationwide examinations so that medical licensing authorities have a standard they can use to judge candidates for, well, medical licensure. They're the nice folks that make second year hell. How? With administration of the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) Step 1 at the end of the second year of medical school. This sole exam determines whether you have the option of going into competitive specialties such as Plastic Surgery, Dermatology and Radiology, or are limited to a primary care specialty such as Family Medicine, Pediatrics, and Internal Medicine. Believe me, I'll be writing about Step 1 hell come April.
So, why am I bringing up the NBME now?
On Tuesday, I will be taking the first of six "Customized NBME Examinations." Beginning this school year, the NBME is offering 40 medical schools the opportunity to administer these web-based examinations to their students. My medical school choose to participate, making each Customized NBME Exam count for roughly 40% of my grade each unit. Since this has never been done before, I'm a bit nervous.
The process is as follows: (1) faculty sends NBME list of topics, (2) NBME sends faculty pool of questions related to topics, (3) faculty selects questions from pool, (4) NBME produces examination, (5) faculty reviews examination and makes any changes, (6) final examination produced. About a week later, students take the examination either in the computer lab or a lecture hall (a program has been installed on our laptops). Each student will get the same 100 or so questions, but in a unique, random order.
I'm looking at these new exams as a positive change. Clearly, the major benefit is that I will be very familiar with the format of Step 1 by the time June rolls around. I'll also be familiar with the style of questions asked on Step 1. Another clear benefit is that I won't have to deal with poorly worded questions written by faculty, or questions with multiple answers that are subsequently dropped. Also, I think it will be good for the faculty because they'll actually see what topics they should be focusing on in lecture. The pool of questions sent by the NBME will make it evident. If there are a lot of questions on Topic A and few on Topic B, but Dr. B spent most of his time on Topic B, then maybe he'll change that next year. (One can dream, can't they?)
Grades may dip on this first Customized NBME Exam because of the new online format and vignette-style questions with images and lab reports -- not to mention possible problems with computers and the internet connection -- but my hope is that overall we'll do well. And come June, when I break 240 on Step 1, I think I'll be grateful for these NBMEs.
So, what is the NBME?
The NBME is the National Board of Medical Examiners. Founded in 1915, it's the independent, not-for-profit organization that provides nationwide examinations so that medical licensing authorities have a standard they can use to judge candidates for, well, medical licensure. They're the nice folks that make second year hell. How? With administration of the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) Step 1 at the end of the second year of medical school. This sole exam determines whether you have the option of going into competitive specialties such as Plastic Surgery, Dermatology and Radiology, or are limited to a primary care specialty such as Family Medicine, Pediatrics, and Internal Medicine. Believe me, I'll be writing about Step 1 hell come April.
So, why am I bringing up the NBME now?
On Tuesday, I will be taking the first of six "Customized NBME Examinations." Beginning this school year, the NBME is offering 40 medical schools the opportunity to administer these web-based examinations to their students. My medical school choose to participate, making each Customized NBME Exam count for roughly 40% of my grade each unit. Since this has never been done before, I'm a bit nervous.
The process is as follows: (1) faculty sends NBME list of topics, (2) NBME sends faculty pool of questions related to topics, (3) faculty selects questions from pool, (4) NBME produces examination, (5) faculty reviews examination and makes any changes, (6) final examination produced. About a week later, students take the examination either in the computer lab or a lecture hall (a program has been installed on our laptops). Each student will get the same 100 or so questions, but in a unique, random order.
I'm looking at these new exams as a positive change. Clearly, the major benefit is that I will be very familiar with the format of Step 1 by the time June rolls around. I'll also be familiar with the style of questions asked on Step 1. Another clear benefit is that I won't have to deal with poorly worded questions written by faculty, or questions with multiple answers that are subsequently dropped. Also, I think it will be good for the faculty because they'll actually see what topics they should be focusing on in lecture. The pool of questions sent by the NBME will make it evident. If there are a lot of questions on Topic A and few on Topic B, but Dr. B spent most of his time on Topic B, then maybe he'll change that next year. (One can dream, can't they?)
Grades may dip on this first Customized NBME Exam because of the new online format and vignette-style questions with images and lab reports -- not to mention possible problems with computers and the internet connection -- but my hope is that overall we'll do well. And come June, when I break 240 on Step 1, I think I'll be grateful for these NBMEs.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Stay
One week from today, I have my second exam for the unit. Since I failed the first exam, I've been working my butt off, not just to pass this exam, but to get honors.
Around midnight last night, I decided to take a break and treat myself to some television (a.k.a abc.com episode player). I could have used some sleep, but I knew that watching the season premiers of Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty and the series premier of Private Practice would lift my spirits. And, for the most part, my shows didn't let me down.
[Warning: spoilers follow.] Grey's Anatomy had the weakest episode. What was up with Izzie and the deer? Stupid. Disappointing. Ugly Betty got me, though. I was like, "What? Santos didn't die at the end of last season?" But alas, at the end of the episode we find Hilda alone in her bedroom. Sadness. Private Practice was the winner. That cast is so easy on the eyes! And I just love Addison. Overall, a good TV fix.
I love the drama of the relationships on these shows. (Probably due to the lack of a relationship here.) Whenever there's a "Pick me! Choose me! Love me!" scene I always hear Bette Midler singing "Stay With Me" in my head. Throughout the seasons it could have been Izzie singing to George; Callie to George; Meredith to McDreamy; Addison to McDreamy; McSteamy to Addison; Preston to Christina; Christina to Preston; Betty to Henry; Hilda to Santos...
In case you don't know the song, I give you the Divine Miss M, Bette Midler, performing "Stay With Me." If you aren't feeling Miss M in this performance, check your pulse.
Around midnight last night, I decided to take a break and treat myself to some television (a.k.a abc.com episode player). I could have used some sleep, but I knew that watching the season premiers of Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty and the series premier of Private Practice would lift my spirits. And, for the most part, my shows didn't let me down.
[Warning: spoilers follow.] Grey's Anatomy had the weakest episode. What was up with Izzie and the deer? Stupid. Disappointing. Ugly Betty got me, though. I was like, "What? Santos didn't die at the end of last season?" But alas, at the end of the episode we find Hilda alone in her bedroom. Sadness. Private Practice was the winner. That cast is so easy on the eyes! And I just love Addison. Overall, a good TV fix.
I love the drama of the relationships on these shows. (Probably due to the lack of a relationship here.) Whenever there's a "Pick me! Choose me! Love me!" scene I always hear Bette Midler singing "Stay With Me" in my head. Throughout the seasons it could have been Izzie singing to George; Callie to George; Meredith to McDreamy; Addison to McDreamy; McSteamy to Addison; Preston to Christina; Christina to Preston; Betty to Henry; Hilda to Santos...
In case you don't know the song, I give you the Divine Miss M, Bette Midler, performing "Stay With Me." If you aren't feeling Miss M in this performance, check your pulse.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Reverence
Sometimes you just need to step back and look at your situation from a different perspective.
Last weekend I saw a fantastic film: In the Shadow of the Moon. I highly recommend that you go see it if you haven't already. It's a documentary about the Apollo space missions, launched by NASA between 1968 and 1972. The never-before-seen footage was amazing -- incredible!
Alongside the NASA footage were stories directly from the astronauts. I truly enjoyed watching and listening to them as they described what the experience was like for them. One of my favorite astronauts was the eloquent Jim Lovell. He was able to express with such clarity the epiphany he had in space -- that of connection to everything in existence. We're all just a bunch of atoms, after all. He added:
[Leap]
During this Sunday's sermon, "The Practice of Reverence," Rev. H, defined reverence as "fundamentally, a deep respect; an attitude of awe and wonder and gratitude for something of high or ultimate value." As soon as he said this, I realized that this is partly what lead me to medicine.
The complexities of the body (how it develops, how its organ systems function, how it processes food, how it fights infection and disease, how it can turn against itself, etc.) are fascinating to me. I know I like to complain at times about the lack of sleep and social life during medical school, but when I really dive into the work and I'm "making the connections," I feel fortunate. I get to see and understand a whole other world that allows me to feel connected, on some level, to everyone around me. We're all the same; our bodies are all made up of the same stuff.
Rev. H, closed his sermon with the following quote by Henry David Thoreau: "Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence." I believe that medicine is that path for me.
Last weekend I saw a fantastic film: In the Shadow of the Moon. I highly recommend that you go see it if you haven't already. It's a documentary about the Apollo space missions, launched by NASA between 1968 and 1972. The never-before-seen footage was amazing -- incredible!
Alongside the NASA footage were stories directly from the astronauts. I truly enjoyed watching and listening to them as they described what the experience was like for them. One of my favorite astronauts was the eloquent Jim Lovell. He was able to express with such clarity the epiphany he had in space -- that of connection to everything in existence. We're all just a bunch of atoms, after all. He added:
Just from the distance of the Moon you can hide the Earth behind your thumb, everything that you have ever known; your loved ones, your business, the problems of the Earth itself, all behind your thumb; it makes you consider how insignificant we really are; but then how fortunate we are to have this body and to be able to enjoy living here amongst the beauty of the Earth itself.What Lovell said struck a cord in me because I had a similar experience during college. The more I learned about biochemistry and molecular biology, the more I grew in awe of Life.
[Leap]
During this Sunday's sermon, "The Practice of Reverence," Rev. H, defined reverence as "fundamentally, a deep respect; an attitude of awe and wonder and gratitude for something of high or ultimate value." As soon as he said this, I realized that this is partly what lead me to medicine.
The complexities of the body (how it develops, how its organ systems function, how it processes food, how it fights infection and disease, how it can turn against itself, etc.) are fascinating to me. I know I like to complain at times about the lack of sleep and social life during medical school, but when I really dive into the work and I'm "making the connections," I feel fortunate. I get to see and understand a whole other world that allows me to feel connected, on some level, to everyone around me. We're all the same; our bodies are all made up of the same stuff.
Rev. H, closed his sermon with the following quote by Henry David Thoreau: "Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence." I believe that medicine is that path for me.
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