2 down

I have now completed 2 full rotations. Psychiatry finished up this morning when I placed that bubbled-in shelf exam scantron into the wanting hands of the psychiatry secretary.

Psychiatry was a very interesting rotation. I met some peculiar people, some with strange stories and others with very sad ones. In the end, it opened my eyes to the fact that we all handle stress and emotions in different ways. Sometimes we can handle it by talking with friends, and other times we need medication to help us... and that's okay. Psychiatry isn't a bunch of voodoo, full of patients who need to suck it up and deal with it. Don't get me wrong--sometimes that could be the case (in my personal opinion), but in the end, we never know exactly what someone is going through.

I saw several patients who not only didn't have a social life outside of family time, but they couldn't even name one friend they had. This broke me heart for these patients because sometimes that was the very thing they needed. I found myself saying small prayers for different patients throughout the day because I honestly didn't know what else to do. I guess more than anything, this rotation really helped me appreciate the balanced life God has given me.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Holla Hiatus

I am back... for the time being. I've learned that when I have plenty of time to update my blog, I don't do it, yet when I have no time to update it, I somehow use my procrastination abilities to find time. Ridiculous. Sounds like most people, right? Let's hope.

Anyway, a few things of note:
1. I PASSED MY STEP EXAM!
2. I started my third year on June 6 and have already completed one full rotation.
3. Third year is 10,934,823 times better than second year (which was still better than first year).
4. I have already fallen in love with pediatrics.

So, I finished one rotation, peds, and I am now halfway through my psychiatry rotation. Specialties ruled in: peds. I learned that I actually really do like kids, and dadgummit I'm fulfilling the stereotype by saying that I want to do peds. You know what? I don't even care! I like kids and I don't care who knows it! I'm a girl! I can't help it! The biggest draw (besides helping kids, of course) is all the people who I worked alongside in the peds department here at UMC. I really enjoy how kind people seemed to be. Two thumbs way up!

Psychiatry is a really interesting field. I'll get back to ya more on it when I'm finished with it all. I sure do have some interesting stories and quotes from patients.

Irony

So I'm studying my rear off for my upcoming Step 1 test and thought I'd share a fun bit of information.

There is a disease called hemochromatosis, where you basically have too much iron in your body. Doesn't really seem too bad, right? Yeah, right. Minus all the really terrible things that can come along with it (i.e. liver cirrhosis, congestive heart failure, risk of liver cancer....) the weirdest side effect of it is this: you can have so much iron in you that you could set off a metal detector in an airport.

Could you imagine that? How would one go about explaining that to the fine folks in security? "Uh, well you see, I don't have any metal on me.. it's actually IN me.." Saying that would probably stick you on the no-fly list. Talk about worst airport stories. I thought it was bad enough having to take off my shoes. Guess I won't be complaining (as much?) anymore!

Hope everyone is doing well. I'm officially taking my test on June 1st. I appreciate all the prayers.. I surely need all the help I can get!

Tornado Alley

Today, Tuscaloosa, AL, among many other cities in Alabama and Mississippi, was hit by a mile-wide tornado. It ripped through the town, destroying much of the city and harming anyone in its path. My sister lives over there, and she is safe. She said that she watched as the tornado headed her direction from only a mile away. It didn't make its way to her complex, thank the Lord. All my friends in Tuscaloosa are safe (thank you facebook statuses). Many families have lost loved ones, lost houses, lost businesses...

Please keep the families of Mississippi and Alabama in your prayers. A long road of recovery is ahead of them.

To see a video of the tornado, click here

To see a video of what the city of Tuscaloosa looks like after the tornado, click here

Edit: Please keep Georgia in your prayers as well. Looks like the tornadoes made their way all the way across the heart of the south.

A,B,C... Easy as 1,2,3..

I like to avoid studying, and my friend Lauren had this post on her blog. Hooray for procrastination!

A: Age, 25
B: Bed size: Queen
C: Chore I dislike most: Vacuuming (when you live in a house holding 3 girls--lots of hair gets shed)
D: Dogs: I don't have one, but I puppy sit some for my brother and sister-in-law and even sometimes my sister, and I love love looooooooove their doggies (especiallly Bowzer because he's still a puppy :D see previous posts for pictures)
E: Essential start to my day: COFFEE and some good TV show to distract me and make me late for wherever I'm going
F: Favorite color: Green
G: Gold or silver: silver or white gold :)
H: Height: 5' 7 3/4"
I: Instruments I play: Piano--I can claim this if i know how but don't utilize the ability, right?
J: Job: Professional student
K: Kids: well, I'd prefer to do things in the proper order and get married before having any of these
L: Live: Madison, MS
M: Mom's name: Laura
N: Nickname: Daybird, Dayders, Dayday, Daytona, Daytime, Daisy, Day-Z, Day-O, HeyDay, (i'm going to stop because this could take several DAYS.... hahaha see what I did there?)
O: Overnight hospital stays: Zero (praise Jesus!)
P: Pet peeves: Most grammatical errors/misspellings that happen because people are lazy. Biggest of them all: thinking a lot is ONE WORD
Q: Quote from a movie: "It's Dr. Evil. I didn't spend six years in Evil Medical School to be called 'mister,' thank you very much."
R: Right/Left: Right
S: Siblings: Two bros and a seesy
T: Time I wake up: my current sleep schedule is from 2-10, unless a mandatory class is involved. I kiiiinda like sleeping in.
U: Underwear: What?
V: Vegetables I dislike: Beets
W: What makes me run late: What doesn't make me run late is probably a better question.
X: X-rays I've had: bones of steel = no x-rays
Y: Yummy food I make: Chicken pesto pasta... But most of my specialty dishes are sweets. cookies and cupcakes mostly
Z: Zoo animal: umm, I guess penguins?

Rely on Him

Times are getting pretty rough for the UMMC med school class of 2013. We're finishing up class, which is a plus, but we're also less than 2 months away from the USMLE Step 1 test. It's a nasty test, but as a patient, you would definitely want your doctor to be able to pass this test. It covers our first two years of school in excruciating detail and is a huge marker for how well we will do when getting placed for our residency. OK, now that I've succeeded in scaring myself again, I think now would be a good time to ask everyone for prayers for my classmates and I. We need motivation, wisdom, strength.... but most importantly we need a reminder that God is in control of this all, and that even when this seems unbearable, we can make it through. I'd like to share a verse that my friend Wesley posted on his facebook last week:

"For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead."
2 Corinthians 1:8-9

Here's to knowing someone much wiser and more powerful is in charge.

San Fran

So last week, for the final spring break, Mom, Caitlyn, and I all went to Napa/San Francisco for about 6 days. It was absolutely gorgeous! I haven't edited any pictures, but here are a few I took while I was out there--it rained several days on us, but it was still a great trip!

Wine Tasting

A decanter being put to use

Not time for grapes!

Hot Trolley

FULL HOUSE!!!!!

Down at the Fisherman's Wharf

I've finally seen the Golden Gate in real life!

Well Hey Bridge.

Baby Ketchum

Thomas Edward Ketchum has finally arrived! I'm sorry I'm late putting this up, MB, but you know how busy life gets--and I know yours just got even busier (but in a good way :D).

This precious baby boy was born to one of my best friends, and I just want everyone I know to see his smiling face! I stole this picture off of her facebook. I'm so happy for you and Michael. Yay for new life!



You two are going to make wonderful parents. I'm so glad that this little boy will be raised in an environment where Christ guides all decisons. He is already so blessed.

Rushed

So I won't go another 2 months without posting, I'm going to post some pics of the last few weeks. I have my first test of 6 starting tomorrow so words aren't really on my mind (but procrastination is :D)

My beautiful family posing for our annual Christmas pic!

Several of my classmates and I at a family medicine interest group banquet

My friend Bronwyn and I celebrating New Year's Eve at the IP watching the Molly Ringwald's

Only the cutest puppy in the world, Bowzer. He's my sister's new long-haired chihuahua

Bowzer one more time :)

AHHH! Rabies!

Medical tidbit of the day:

Currently in microbiology we are studying virology. Yesterday, we covered rabies, and naturally, what comes to mind? Cujo... and Old Yeller. As our teacher was going through her slides, she shared some interesting statistics with us. I thought I would share them with anyone who wants to read. Also, credit goes to our micro teacher Donna Sullivan.

There was a total of 48 cases of human rabies in the United States between 1990 and 2007. Of those 48, only TWO were contracted from dogs/coyotes here in the U.S. That's right... two... in all those years. The rest were mostly from bats or from dog bites while outside the U.S. Weird, right? I made sure to tell my friend Amanda, who is in vet school, that her very expensive rabies vaccine might have been in vain (except for the fact that vet school requires it). I might have found that more interesting than most, but there ya have it! No need in being worried about getting rabies.

I will say.. if I see a dog like this, I'll still probably run like the wind: