What to do when you have the studying blues...

1. Choose your study buddy wisely- being able to make you laugh is a must
2. Make sure you have plenty of natural light
3. Look for a space with a great view
4. Remember, coffee is your friend :)

Marathons

I have never trained for a marathon before, not a real one anyway. I have a hard time forcing myself to run more than 2 miles unless I am outside and distracted.

But this year I have slowly been training for a different kind of marathon. Slowly but surely I have spent my days and nights engrossed in CT scans, practiced my percussion skills, learned how to take an accurate patient history, performed back to school physicals on kids, drawn up shots, given shots. I have honed my clinical suspicion so that I now know when to be suspect a brain tumor and what is a classic presentation of a subarachnoid hemorrhage.

I have read, learned, practiced, taught, read and practiced more and more....and now in 2 1/2 months I will go out and be with real people with real problems. Not standardized patients but real humans who will not fit into my neat diagnoses boxes. Who may -gasp- have more than one problem and who have husbands, wives, children and lives. It is terrifying but at the same time I am so humbled at the opportunity to be able to be a part of people's lives in such a personal way. I pray that I am able to go beyond just treating my patient's medical problems and help shine the light of Christ in their life through my interactions with them.

Things I have learned.....

1. You can throw frozen bell peppers, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes into regular jar marinara sauce and make it something special
2. Home made bread is always better than store bought
3. Spaggetti actually tastes better in a taco shell
4. A whole wheat tortilla and extra sharp cheddar cheese makes a mean quesadilla
5. Dinner is always better when you have someone to share it with