Today marked my second, and last exam in Internal Medicine. I had my oral exam with the Director of the program. We only see him once.....for 15 minutes....for the oral. And its worth 20% of our grade. So, I studied extremely hard because I really wanted to impress him. Did I impress??? Not to sure. But I did get a "you did a good job" at the end and a handshake to go with it, so hopefully he was impressed!
Last week we had the written exam. I didn't even try to impress on that one. In fact, I didn't study at all. I figured if this exam was like any of the others from our school, it would be full of grammatical mistakes with questions written in one language and translated into english and answer choices that range from obscure....to maybe this fits....to none of these are even correct! I was not disappointed in my assumptions. I always seem to walk out of an SGU test thinking "I hope to god that the adminstration of another medical school never sees this test".
I did get some good news from our current residents. They love me!!! They said I was one of the hardest working students they have had, I always seem prepared, and I have been a tremendous help to them. They both gave me an excellent evaluation.
Well, I only have 2 weeks left....actually I have exactly 8 days. I found out today that we have next Tuesday off. Apparently voting in NYC is a holiday. I'll be voting for my favorite beer on that day!!
I hope everyone has a great night. :)
Monday, October 26, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Happy Tyrant Day!!
Today was kind of nice. I had a day off due to Columbus Day, although I have to admit, I hate this holiday. In fact, I don't think it should be a holiday at all in the United States considering Columbus didn't even set foot in North America. I will give him credit for setting out across a vast ocean to "explore". But we all know he wasn't the first to find the new land. Leif Erikson did it years before him.....and the Native Americans hundreds of years before both of them. I remember growing up and being told in school that Christopher Columbus was this great explorer who was told the world was flat and therefore he could not get to the Asian continent but persisted in his dream. Funny thing is.....it is all crap!!! Search wikipedia about Christopher Columbus and you will find that he was not a great explorer at all. He was ruthless, mean-spirited, and incredibly selfish. At that time, many scholars, explorers, and mapmakers did not believe the world was flat...in fact, they knew it to be round. What they disputed was Columbus' calculations of how far he had to travel west to reach Asia (he was about 20,000km off!) and if not for his dumb luck in running into another land he would have perished at sea. His discovery led to thousands of people being killed, raped, or sold into slavery. He was even arrested for his crimes against humanity by the Spanish government (but later pardoned).
Of course, then I wondered why we are called "America". Turns out we are named after Amerigo Vespucci, another explorer of sorts. Although, he didn't really find anything new. A german mapmaker named Martin Waldseemuller was the first to create a map in 1507 with the new lands. For some strange reason he picked Amerigo to honor. Funny thing is that about 5 years later, this mapmaker had second thoughts about the naming and tried desperately to change it with no luck.
Now why do we celebrate Columbus Day anyway?? Leave that up to FDR. During the depression he wanted to create a national holiday in October in order to give workers a day off. He came up with this one. Of course today, many states don't celebrate this holiday. And some have changed it to suit there needs. Hawaii celebrates "Explorer Day" to kind of honor all. South Dakota calls it "Native American Day". Tennesee moves the day to the friday after thanksgiving to give all an extended vacation (I like this one :) In Illinois, school districts move the holiday to December 23rd.
And here in New York, well we have the day off. And apparently there was a huge parade down 5th avenue today to celebrate Columbus (i missed that one). Instead, I spent the day doing a little studying, some laundry, grocery shopping, and relaxing :)
Everyone have a great day!
Of course, then I wondered why we are called "America". Turns out we are named after Amerigo Vespucci, another explorer of sorts. Although, he didn't really find anything new. A german mapmaker named Martin Waldseemuller was the first to create a map in 1507 with the new lands. For some strange reason he picked Amerigo to honor. Funny thing is that about 5 years later, this mapmaker had second thoughts about the naming and tried desperately to change it with no luck.
Now why do we celebrate Columbus Day anyway?? Leave that up to FDR. During the depression he wanted to create a national holiday in October in order to give workers a day off. He came up with this one. Of course today, many states don't celebrate this holiday. And some have changed it to suit there needs. Hawaii celebrates "Explorer Day" to kind of honor all. South Dakota calls it "Native American Day". Tennesee moves the day to the friday after thanksgiving to give all an extended vacation (I like this one :) In Illinois, school districts move the holiday to December 23rd.
And here in New York, well we have the day off. And apparently there was a huge parade down 5th avenue today to celebrate Columbus (i missed that one). Instead, I spent the day doing a little studying, some laundry, grocery shopping, and relaxing :)
Everyone have a great day!
Sunday, October 04, 2009
A very amazing end to the week!
Wow, the past few days have been amazing....and interesting. Its really sad to know it is ending. Hopefully next week brings more excitement. Lets recap:
On Thursday we were assigned to our new floor, new residents, and new attending. The new floor is the same old sick patients. My new residents are great. I have one PGY-3 and one PGY-1 (intern). The intern is still learning and seems a bit overwhelmed so far. But our PGY-3 knows his shit. Very smart guy and loves to teach. He is so interactive which is great for me. In addition, our attending is AWESOME!!! We get to spend the whole morning with her, almost 3-4 hours. She loves students.....loves teaching more. And in 2 days, I have learned more on the floors with her than at any other time during this rotation. She requires alot from us: we have to divide patients up, know their history in the hospital, know the current problems, devise a plan of management, and continue our follow-up until their discharge. In addition, we have daily reading assignments on important medical topics (we covered pericarditis and pericardial effusions on friday). I feel like part of a team and its a great feeling. The only downside....being at the hospital at 6am to accomplish all of the above. But it is okay....I have the pleasure of being with this attending for the next 4 weeks and I am going to take full advantage.
So on friday, a fellow student was having a b-day extravaganza at a sushi bar called Aishya. For $40 it was all you can eat and drink. The sushi was not limited to cheap rolls. All rolls were included and I took full advantage by ordering some of the expensive ones. For the drinking portion, it was sake bombs. I had never had one before. Basically you are given beer and sake. You pour a little beer into your glass and then place your chopsticks flat on the top of the glass. You pour some sake into a small cup and then balance this cup on your chopsticks. Then, you pound the table....sake falls into beer....and you chug. I had four of these before the food even came and I was SOOOOO DRUNK! Then I ate....had some more to drink (although I just drank sake...no beer)....ate some more and drank some more. 2 hours later we were headed to union square to a bar to continue the celebration. I had one glass of water and decided to head home. It was 11pm! But I couldn't keep my eyes open. And did I mention I was really drunk. So, I was at home and in bed by 11:35pm on a friday. And I did wake up saturday morning with a slight hangover :) Only slight though......
Saturday night was my first ever Brandi Carlile concert at the Beacon Theater. I have listened to her music for a few years now and she has an amazing voice. My good friend Kate has been telling me that she is even more amazing live and she was absolutely correct. Seeing Brandi Carlile live was a great experience. I got to the theater around 7:45 and watched her opening act, Katie Herzig. I had heard the name before but never really heard the music. She was good...just not my style of music....much more happy, peppy country music. But still good. And then Brandi Carlile performed and I was blown away. Not only by her voice, but her entire stage performance. She is a great performer. Her band was equally fun to watch. I am so happy I saw the show and I really can't wait to see her again when she plays in NYC. If you have the opportunity to hear her music please do. You will not be disappointed.
While at the concert, my friend Daniel texted me to see if I wanted to see Lady Gaga. I respectfully declined knowing I was getting the better show :)
So, that is my last 3 days in review. The prior 4 days were not very exciting except for Heroes....very exciting!!! And Grey's is doing a pretty decent job this year too! Today is a major study day because this week I am on call both Monday and Friday. Have to do my write-ups for my preceptor now so I don't get behind.
Which reminds me. Pink is playing tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden. I absolutely love Pink. I really wanted to go but then found out I was on call. I guess it is just as well considering I would have had to pay $150 for a ticket. NYC is just so damn expensive. Hopefully someday in the future I can see her live again. Her shows are fantastic as well.
Take care everyone!!
On Thursday we were assigned to our new floor, new residents, and new attending. The new floor is the same old sick patients. My new residents are great. I have one PGY-3 and one PGY-1 (intern). The intern is still learning and seems a bit overwhelmed so far. But our PGY-3 knows his shit. Very smart guy and loves to teach. He is so interactive which is great for me. In addition, our attending is AWESOME!!! We get to spend the whole morning with her, almost 3-4 hours. She loves students.....loves teaching more. And in 2 days, I have learned more on the floors with her than at any other time during this rotation. She requires alot from us: we have to divide patients up, know their history in the hospital, know the current problems, devise a plan of management, and continue our follow-up until their discharge. In addition, we have daily reading assignments on important medical topics (we covered pericarditis and pericardial effusions on friday). I feel like part of a team and its a great feeling. The only downside....being at the hospital at 6am to accomplish all of the above. But it is okay....I have the pleasure of being with this attending for the next 4 weeks and I am going to take full advantage.
So on friday, a fellow student was having a b-day extravaganza at a sushi bar called Aishya. For $40 it was all you can eat and drink. The sushi was not limited to cheap rolls. All rolls were included and I took full advantage by ordering some of the expensive ones. For the drinking portion, it was sake bombs. I had never had one before. Basically you are given beer and sake. You pour a little beer into your glass and then place your chopsticks flat on the top of the glass. You pour some sake into a small cup and then balance this cup on your chopsticks. Then, you pound the table....sake falls into beer....and you chug. I had four of these before the food even came and I was SOOOOO DRUNK! Then I ate....had some more to drink (although I just drank sake...no beer)....ate some more and drank some more. 2 hours later we were headed to union square to a bar to continue the celebration. I had one glass of water and decided to head home. It was 11pm! But I couldn't keep my eyes open. And did I mention I was really drunk. So, I was at home and in bed by 11:35pm on a friday. And I did wake up saturday morning with a slight hangover :) Only slight though......
Saturday night was my first ever Brandi Carlile concert at the Beacon Theater. I have listened to her music for a few years now and she has an amazing voice. My good friend Kate has been telling me that she is even more amazing live and she was absolutely correct. Seeing Brandi Carlile live was a great experience. I got to the theater around 7:45 and watched her opening act, Katie Herzig. I had heard the name before but never really heard the music. She was good...just not my style of music....much more happy, peppy country music. But still good. And then Brandi Carlile performed and I was blown away. Not only by her voice, but her entire stage performance. She is a great performer. Her band was equally fun to watch. I am so happy I saw the show and I really can't wait to see her again when she plays in NYC. If you have the opportunity to hear her music please do. You will not be disappointed.
While at the concert, my friend Daniel texted me to see if I wanted to see Lady Gaga. I respectfully declined knowing I was getting the better show :)
So, that is my last 3 days in review. The prior 4 days were not very exciting except for Heroes....very exciting!!! And Grey's is doing a pretty decent job this year too! Today is a major study day because this week I am on call both Monday and Friday. Have to do my write-ups for my preceptor now so I don't get behind.
Which reminds me. Pink is playing tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden. I absolutely love Pink. I really wanted to go but then found out I was on call. I guess it is just as well considering I would have had to pay $150 for a ticket. NYC is just so damn expensive. Hopefully someday in the future I can see her live again. Her shows are fantastic as well.
Take care everyone!!
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