Genital Herpes and a Crystal Ball

Oh, dear. Where to begin? Well for the 5th Saturday in a row I have worked at the student-run free clinic. And I've seen some interesting stuff. Tonsils the size of golf-balls, goiters, "Surprise you're pregnant!", gout, abscesses, etc. But today I diagnosed a 70 year old woman with genital herpes. She'd had it for 4o (F-O-U-R-T-Y!!!) years thinking it was a yeast infection and trying to treat it with Monistat.

Just so happened on my way home my mom and dad called (they always call as a speaker-phone "unit"). When they asked what I was doing, I told them about my patient.

My Mom's reaction was stellar.

MOM: You mean? You? You. Do THAT? They LET you do THAT? I mean, you? Wow. Oh. oh. OK. You just... you just really... you know... you... LOOKED?

ME: No Mom. Nowadays we have these cool doctor crystal balls. You just ask it for the diagnosis... and poof! It says "genital herpes"

MOM: Smart Ass

DAD: (in the background) I think I'd ask that crystal ball again until I got a different answer.

ME: Smart Ass.

One Caveat

Thanks everybody for the congrats.

One thing that sucks though is that although I am officially a 2nd year now, I have to complete one month of 2nd year classes before summer starts. Then we have about 2 months off for summer. Then back to 2nd year. Kinda lame.

Back to school on Monday. But it's cool cause the newness hasn't worn off and all the professors keep coming up and saying "Congrats on being an MS2"

Yay!

As Of Today

I am officially

1/4 of an M.D.

AND a

SECOND YEAR MED STUDENT!!!

Say What?

Today we had an SP session (standardized patient) for neuro cases. Our SP was a little out there. Actually a lot out there. Like a 45+ year old woman in a belly shirt in a med school. Ok, whatever. When my turn came around, I was the only one who had to do the full run down... like the H&P, plus the neurological exam, etc. We can "time-in" to the scenario and "time-out" to get help or ask a question whenever we like. Which I did... since it was a specific case and not just a simple full CN exam.

At the end she is supposed to give us feedback. Like, "good job" or "you suck" etc. But she got all touchy feely on me.

HER: "So how did that feel for you?"

ME: "Fine thanks"

HER: "But how did you FEEL?"

ME: "Um fine. Normal. It was easy."

HER: "It's ok to admit you were nervous. This was your first time"

ME: "Well this wasn't my first time doing this, and I really didn't feel nervous"

HER: "Well, I FELT your nervousness"

ME(outloud): Sigh. and oops... I rolled my eyes.

ME: (silently):You're irritating. And showing 9 inches of your stomach is not cool past the age of 11. Put a shirt on.

Now, I may be a lot of things. Probably too talkative, lacking prefrontal cortex impulse control, ADD, too excitable, over confidant, no sense of my own limitations, loud, etc. But folks, NERVOUS is something I'm not. Unless I'm actually doing a life or death procedure on a real patient. Or if I'm around Mr. Stupidly Gorgeous. And he's in Boston or Italy or somewhere equally exotic.

ME! NERVOUS! Hmmph!

It makes it difficult...

To remain president of annoying Neuro prof's UN-FAN club upon discovering that this professor really is a great physician. Like a REALLY great physician. Damn.

I GOT PICKED

For the Nike Women's Marathon!!!!!

Haiti

So I have a GREAT opportunity to go to Haiti this summer with a group of Docs and med students to set up field clinics. All I have to buy is a plane ticket and $200 to pay for our lodging/food/etc. from the camp. AND I'll get about $600 funding from various academic travel grant sources. So all in all I would only need like $400.

Which isn't so much. Unless you consider the fact that I still have a $5000 deficit. This SUCKS!

Boo!

Can We Discuss This??

There is a phenomenon among highly educated women that I have noticed over and over... and I don't really understand it. I have discussed it with a few people... so I know it's not all in my imagination. I have seen it among my friends, colleagues, classmates, and even in my own life on occasion. Of course these are going to be broad generalizations.... but I'm curious if anyone else has noticed it.

That is that highly educated women are often in relationships with men who aren't. Often I've seen women with MD/PhD's/JD's etc. in relationships with men who have never stepped foot into a University... for anything. Not to say that there is anything wrong with this. But I find it interesting.

I've also noticed that highly educated men are usually paired with women who have at least some form of higher education. In fact, off the top of my head I can't think of one male physician I know whose wife or girlfriend didn't at least finish college (whether she USES her degree is something else entirely). But tons of female physicians/attorneys/etc. are invested with men who are firefighters, mechanics, paramedics, enlisted military, etc.

Is there some explanation for this? Is it related to dominance, intimidation, what? Or do these women just think firefighters and mechanics are manly and sexy (fair enough!). I have no clue.

In my own experience I can say that I have (in my past life) dated many men who fit into this category. Firefighters, police officers, computer techs, etc. And while I always started the relationship not caring a hoot about their level of education, it inevitably became an issue between us. Either because we didn't have enough in common, or because of a mutual lack of respect for the other's opinion.

Anyway, I'd like to hear what you guys think. It's interesting to say the least.

A Nice Note

From a 3rd year (the one who I said rocks!)

"You did a really superb job on Sat. Your interviewing skills are quite relaxed and fluid and your thinking is right on. You will have a very easy transition into your clinical years."

YAY!

Family Medicine

Is swiftly falling off my list. Today I worked with a family med doctor who was young and seemed pretty cool. But I was so bored I wanted to DIE. First of all, the patients I saw were less than exciting. Sinus problems, hypertension, diabetes, allergies, etc. But, hey, that's ok.... these things are important too. So in clinic myself and a 3rd year (who pretty much was a kick-ass rockstar) did the entire H and P on the patient. So the attending just had to come in and confirm our findings. With every other doc this takes just a few minutes.

Not today however. It took this guy 30 minutes. 30 MINUTES!!!! 30 minutes to tell the patient to get Zyrtec OTC at Walgreens. There were 3 med students, a patient and an attending crammed into a tiny little room with inadequate air-conditioning for 30 minutes. I was cursing family medicine the ENTIRE TIME. I could have rounded on 40+ patients in the ED in that amount of time.

Sorry Dr. D. I still think you rock, though. :)

Top 10 Mistakes Pre-Meds Make

1. Not majoring in something you ENJOY, are GOOD AT, and you can get GOOD GRADES in.

2. Not listening to what an admissions officer tells you. Really listening. If they say, "I think you should consider the Carribean", don't waste your time applying there. If they say "I think you need 3 more points on your MCAT", don't apply to THEIR school until you have 3 more points. They aren't lying to you.

3. Asking people for letters of recommendation who suck at writing. Better to have a fabulous letter from some yahoo than 2 generic lines from a Nobel laureate.

4. Not taking full length practice MCATS. Timed. Lots of them.

5. LISTENING to pre-med advisors. Bleh.

6. Spending tons of money on high profile PBPM programs. Go to state school. It's cheap and adequate. Also, don't go to community college unless they have a VERY reputable science/pre-med department. Most admissions committees are not too keen on CC's unless they know their curriculum.

7. Focusing too much on "volunteer" work. No admissions committee gives a crap about you having a billion volunteer hours. They want to see that you are involved and committed to your community, that you are altruistic, and that you have clinical experience. If you are able to demonstrate these things in your application, racking up hundreds of hours of volunteer work is totally unnecessary.

8. Being too passive. American culture tells us that we shouldn't be pushy, that we shouldn't ask for favors, etc. That's fine if you have a stellar application with a 3.8 and a 40 on the MCAT and you've singlehandedly revamped the water system in Djibouti. For the rest of us, get assertive. Note: I am NOT advocating that you be obnoxious, pushy or annoying. But contact the Deans, make appointments, write letters, have a faculty member call on your behalf, etc. I lost out on an entire year because I didn't want to be "pushy" and the Dean simply forgot about me.

9. Stressing. About everything. But you can't avoid it. You're a pre-med.

10.Letting the MCAT and the application process affect your feelings of self-worth. I can honestly say that I do not know even one medical student that breezed through every single aspect of this process. There is a huge disconnect between a pre-meds perception of themselves and their perception of the ease to which everyone else supposedly gets into med school. And if you're going to be in the medical field, get used to going up against adversity. Because now its the MCAT and the application. But in med school you have to beat the USMLE. Then its residency application. Then competition for fellowships. Then competition for faculty, and tenure, and on and on. It will never be over. Get some perspective and enjoy the journey.

GOOD LUCK !!!!

Lo Lo

One of my best friends has decided to go to med school. Well, I think she's pretty much convinced. I met her because we were getting our Masters degrees at the same time, back in 2006, and we've been friends ever since. We even worked together as epidemiologists for the state.

So even though I'm probably going to get my ass kicked for it, I want to put her story on here. First because she needs a team cheering for her, and second because I think her story is a good one.... (probably 'cause its a lot like mine). My friend, let's call her Lo-Lo... has been back and forth on this idea for a while. She says she's oscillating because she isn't sure if she's up to entering the world of tough academics and doctor stress... I say she's being chicken. She actually handles academics beautifully, is a resourceful student and I think she'd be a great doctor.

About her. She didn't major in the sciences, but did complete her pre-med requirements. She originally wanted to go to pharmacy school and scored really well on the PCAT (this would be the part of our stories that are clearly not alike). For whatever reason she didn't get accepted at the school she wanted to go to and sort of let the idea go. Then she got her MPH and has been working as an epidemiologist for 3 years. She briefly thought about med school again a few years back and took the MCAT but didn't do so hot. But she's trying again and plans to apply to med school this summer. If she matriculates next year she'll be 29 when she starts.

She's taking the MCAT on May 1st (2 weeks!) and she needs a little encouragement... so write her a message. And tell her to do the damn full-length exams! She's slacking on those!

Well...

I've added the profiles I've been sent to the tab above... but the formatting is totally f*&%$# up. But they are there none-the-less. And yes I know the colors suck. Nothin' doin. Sorry. Thanks for everyone who sent me one. Keep 'em comin!

Whew

Glad that's over. My first neurology exam made my brain hurt. Literally. In the end I was getting super tired and confused. I wonder what type of neural lesion that is?

Your Profiles

I'm thinking of starting a page with profiles of non-trad pre-meds... depending on what type of response I get. If you are one, and you'd like me to post your story, write me a paragraph or two about your journey (and add a name, real or fake, you want me to post it under)... and I'll include you in the post.

Just send it to my email (sidebar).

Ok, fine. I've just been informed that people don't like writing about themselves... (who knew?)... so here's a format you can use interview style... just answer the questions.

1) Name (fake or real)

2) Age (real age please)

3) What's your sign? (curious and contemplating, pre-med, med-student, resident, fellow, god)

4) Briefly describe your career and or academic history. Including your pre-doctor life (if applicable) and bouts of time in between school. What makes you non-trad?

5) What propelled you to switch into the medical field?

6) Family status... married? children? how old are they?

7) What's your experience with the MCAT? If you are a successful applicant will you share your academic stats and application highlights?

8) Biggest hurdle getting to med school

9) Are you going MD or DO? Why?

10) Best advice to other pre-meds (non-trad or not)?

11) Anything else you'd like to say... or something cool about your story you'd like to share?

Spontaneous Combustion

So our Neurology class, in previous years, has been taught over 15 weeks and is a 2nd year class. This year, just for kicks, the curriculum committee got together and decided to change it up. They decided to move it to the end of 1st year, and shorten it. Now one would think that shortening it would mean to 12 weeks. Or maybe 10. Oh, no... they decided to really go for it. Neurology (a full course) is now taught in 5 1/2 weeks. Yes folks, it's true.

The professors keep watching us and eyeing each other with every new topic as if to say "Well, lets see if THIS puts them over the edge? No? Try cranial nerve nuclei. Any luck?"

I'm just telling y'all this in case I abruptly stop writing on this blog you'll know that I spontaneously combusted from Neurology overload.

Pros and Cons of EM

Old MD Girl posted an awesome rundown of the pros and cons of Emergency Medicine... if you are so inclined, take a peek.

Is it Just Me Or....

Ok check this out. I know this girl who is a 4th year med student (not at my school). She's a nice girl but definitely on the weird side. Weird as in she looks a little disheveled most of the time, and has kind of an odd personality. But nice enough. So she wanted to match into anesthesiology... but despite a handful of interviews she didn't match anywhere, and now she's desperately trying to secure a family medicine or peds spot somewhere.

Now here's the kicker. She has Tourette Syndrome. Not super severe, but significantly more than mild. With motor and phonic tics. Now maybe I'm crazy, but isn't it completely possible that she didn't get a spot because of that? I mean, an LP and a motor tick are not friends, folks. So the question is, shouldn't her academic dean or advisor (somewhere along the way) have mentioned this to her... instead of letting her totally sink on match day?

Or am I being a complete insensitive bigot? I don't mean to be. But seriously... a blind guy can't be a fighter pilot. What's the difference?

Fingers

Just found out that the annoying prof's nickname in the department is now "fingers". Ha. ALSO... that same prof found out I was a first year (I guess because they saw me in class)... and told a group of residents that they never would have been "so rude to me if they knew I was a med student". My question is, why be that rude to anyone approximately 30 seconds after meeting them. I mean, we were talking about cooking... it's not like I offended them.

Fingers. I love it.

My deficit

Is down to $5,025. Yay!