Choosing My Fate and a Weekend of Rest

Just wanted to do a quick weekend update because I'm not ready to start studying again for my next course which is Reproductive and Genitourinary Systems. AKA MY LAST SYSTEM COURSE OF THE SEMESTER! Yipee! 

So on Friday I had my Endocrine final and well as an Endocrine group exam. Soon afterwards I had a group Simulation lab where we get to play with SIM man (like on Grey's Anatomy) and pretend to be a team of doctors (who don't know how to push meds or insert IVs...help, I need my nurses!)

. SIM man is pretty cool - he is hooked up to real monitors, you can infuse fluids and medications, pull up lab and imaging results, and more. His belly distends with air, he becomes diaphoretic (sweats), he can turn blue, and you can detect a pulse and hear heart/lung/bowel sounds! Pretty sweet - we even have a woman SIM person who can be pregnant and simulate delivering a baby.  

Even though the SIMs aren't really that accurate compared to "real life" (no nurses, techs, ancillary staff), it's still nice to practice going through the history/physical plus patient care plan in a more emergent, yet controlled situation. As you might remember, we also have one-on-one standardized patients that simulate more of a primary care atmosphere.

I was pleased at how well our team worked together -- we diagnosed and managed our patient appropriately! A couple of people I know had their SIM man code/die on them so it was a good feeling to know that we didn't lose ours!

The latest in studying chic

After a very long Friday, I was FREE!  No new material to study, no further obligations, just a free weekend!  We had tickets to the Pacers game through Nick's work so we rounded up a few friends and met downtown for some fun.

We had great seats! I'm not very interested in pro sports (I much prefer college basketball) but it was still fun to get out for the night.  Sadly, I feel that old granny Heather is starting to take over because I was very happy to get home, put on some pajama pants, and go to sleep when we got home. No going out and getting crazy for this girl!

On Saturday, we spent most of the day relaxing. By we, I mean me, because Nick has been studying hard for his upcoming licensing exams. I have to admit I took some enjoyment from not being the one locked away in our guest bedroom all day. I happily watched 6 weeks worth of Scandal that I was behind in and leisurely folded laundry. Magnificent.

Later in the day, I worked on a project for Emergency Medicine club with some of my fellow club officiers. We are making "busy blankets" to donate to local emergency rooms. Often when patients with dementia/confusion come in, they start fiddling with things - including pulling out their IVs and messing with their monitors. Busy blankets are a great way to focus their energy in an unfamiliar environment and also provide some much needed comfort.

These are a little more elaborate than what we were able to put together...still lots of activities and objects to fiddle with. I hope they will be useful!

Saturday night was a little date night. One thing I love about our little town is the cute little restuarants and shops on the main street in town. We went to a place we've been to before - most notably for brunch - but this time we went for a hearty dinner. We shared an appetizer & then Nick got a burger and I got a shrimp flatbread. Yummy!

My favorite part? A chocolate milk stout!  N and I both enjoy trying new craft beers -- I love how flavorful they can be. Nothing like that crappy college beer. With craft beers, you tend to savor the flavors more and one is just enough to enjoy with dinner.

  

Sunday was a pretty chill day as well. Nothing too exciting, just meal prepped a bit and got organized for my next exam for Intro to Clinical Medicine which is this Thursday. Then I'll have my first Repro exam the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and it will be time for another break.  After Thanksgiving is when the real "fun" starts -- TONS of practicals, exams, and the impending doom of constructing my board study plan!

One more thing! This Friday we get to participate in a lottery to choose our 3rd year clerkship rotation groups. I'm starting to think about how I want to organize my third year schedule. Basically we all have to do nearly the same rotations 3rd year - our CORE rotations- just at different hospitals.

These include:

2 months Family Medicine

2 months Internal Medicine

2 months of Emergency Medicine

1 month Pediatrics

1 month OB-Gyn

1 month Psych

1 month Ortho/Sports Medicine

1 month Radiology/Vacation

1 month Elective 

**1 month of FM or EM carries over to your fourth year, which ever you don't get to. For fourth year, we have a lot more control over our schedule - lots of electives and time for sub-internships.

I've heard a lot of different theories on how to create your schedule: start with specialties that you don't want first, start with family or internal med to get your feet wet, etc. For instance, I'm 90% sure I won't be entering a surgical specialty so I'd like to get it out of the way if possible. I want to save my Pediatrics/Emergency Medicine/OB-Gyn rotations for the middle of my 3rd year after I have a little more experience in the hospital.  I would also like to have a FM or IM rotation near the end of my 3rd year as a good review for boards. Ah so stressful!!!

Regardless of all the upcoming craziness, I'm happy to say I'm feeling rested and ready to conquer the last month of school!