Strategies for the Fall semester

Fall semester begins in 2 days. Holy crap. I decided to put in writing some of the strategies I've been thinking about for the past week that may help me survive the new semester. Since it seems noone really reads this blog anyway, I don't mind rambling on about my own minutia.

#1. Get reading glasses so I don't get a headache daily. CHECK. Got 'em. I'm off to a good start with my whole turning over a new leaf thing.

#2. Haircut. CHECK. ok, this isn't really a strategy, but I figure having shorter hair will mean less time wasted in the bathroom in the morning.

#3. Bring my own lunch and snacks. I gained 4 lbs since the beginning of the summer semester, probably from my newfound LOVE for Chick-fil-A and Zaxby's. I'm such a sucker for fried chicken and tasty dipping sauces.

#4. EXERCISE. Gawd the thought of sitting in the same chair from 8 a.m. til 5 p.m. seems awful, but I used to do it when i had a desk job. So, I figure I'll survive. But I don't want to get fat. So, I'll need to squeeze in a few workouts during the week. Realistic goal#1 is to get up on time in the morning, and walk Lucy for 30 mins. No more of this waking up at the last minute crap. BUT, I would love to squeeze in a workout at the gym. So, i'm thinking that I'll go to the free early morning spin class once a week, then try to lift at least 2x/week in the morning. I have to figure out what to do with my poor little LuLu though... :-(

#5. Read lecture powerpoints before class. Take notes by hand. Read assigned reading as it is assigned and not right before the test!!!!

So my TO DO list for Sunday (day before new semester) is as follows:

1. inventory closet. pick out what to wear for the week.

2. grocery store. plan lunches and snacks for the week.

3. call doggy daycare and see if they can keep Lucy until 5:30 pm even though they technically close at 5 pm. ughghghghhghg

4. get new ink cartidge for printer. print out powerpoints for the week.

5. set up new notebooks for the semester.

Oh yeah, and if I don't get to campus early, i'll never find decent parking because med students start on Monday too. So I may be scooting to school more than I had planned.

Summer semester.... COMPLETE!!!

WOW!! Summer semester of PA school is over my friends.

How was it, you may ask? Well...it was sort of like the best ass-whoopin' my momma ever gave me as a child.... repeated daily for 3 months.

Here's a break down of what I learned this summer:

Anatomy

• Dissected a human cadaver, Jim, a 79 y/o truck driver who died of lung cancer. What did I learn? I don't like working in groups, you can get high off the fumes of a preserved body, how to use a bone saw to removed a skull (eww! watch out Jeffery Dahmer... I got skills!), and oh yeah, pretty much every part of the human body and how they work minus the facial structures.

Intro to Clinical Medicine

• Death by powerpoint. Death by scantron multiple choice tests. Nah, it wasn't too bad. I learned a little about disease, pathology, and how to read an EKG, very poorly might I add. I plan on studying EKG over the break. Also, we learned how to identify pathologies on clinical radiology procedures... mainly when something is really wrong, like a pneumothorax or widespread metastatic bone cancer. I guess learning the subtleties will come with time.

Genetics/Applied Physiology/Physiology

• These were 2 separate courses but taught by the same professor, who tended to overlap the info. Genetics concepts were pretty much a review - the new material reviewed genetic diseases/disorders. Applied physiology was tough for me... the inner workings of the respiratory system, renal system, reproductive system... lot of enzymes, formulas, graphs, etc. Exams were fairly tricky, so kudos to Prof. Martin for making me think!!
• Online physiology taught by Dr. Cannon (not PA faculty): challenging course for me (self-taught course basically) that will extend into the Fall semester.

Ethics/Cultural Competency

• Again, 2 separate courses, with several different guest speakers. A BRIEF overview of issues we'll encounter dealing with insurance companies, billing, patients of different ethnic/cultural origins, non-English speakers, etc. We hit a lot of the hot topics but it really felt like such a hodgepodge of important info that we'll just have to learn more about along the way. We had to write a final paper for ethics... I discussed prenatal genetic testing for Autism.... and we created a final powerpoint presentation with recorded audio for cultural competency.... my topic was Jehovah's Witnesses and blood transfusions.

Medical Communications

• Basically learned how to take a patient history and how to document the history. A series of pop quizzes, lectures, and our final learning exercise was a videotaped interview of myself taking a HPI (history of present illness) from an actor in the actual exam room. This was my favorite activity so far!! Too bad the video didn't turn out (I went first in my class) but I did get the audio and I think I did pretty well.

I feel like I've forgotten something... but if something profound hits me later, I'll add it to the list.

Physically, I feel tired. I've gained probably 5 lbs from the fast food and lack of exercise. Fall is supposed to be much worse, since we'll be in class all day (as opposed to half-days during the summer) and just as many tests.