Happy Halloween!

Aaron and I distributed our Halloween activities throughout this past week.
I baked Halloween Funfetti cupcakes for a pumpkin carving I coordinated at the school on Wednesday. Shaped sprinkles are always fun!

 Aaron took a carving break to play with Miss Aubrey. She was dressed in her Halloween best - and really wanted one of those cupcakes!

 

Andrew and Janelle brought Miss Hadley and each carved a pumpkin

 

 Jon showing off his finished product

 The Student Advocate's Association is a group of wives and significant others of medical students. They do amazing things for us and the kiddos throughout the year, including an annual Halloween party for the kids. Aaron and I took a study break to see all the little munchkins in their costumes and visit. Miss Hadley, above and below, just couldn't quite get into the jump-jump by herself - but she tried so hard! Isn't she an adorable little bumblebee?

Aaron and I have yet to light our pumpkins. Oops! I'm sure we'll remember tonight, before we relocate to the school.
Macee and I had another twin moment (sometimes I swear we're the same person) and both separately came up with the idea of dressing up as Little Red Riding Hood. I didn't have time to get my full costume together this year, but I'm prepared for next!
Speaking of costumes, Aaron and I went to Halloween Express to attempt to find the necessary components for our costumes. I have come to the conclusion that it's nearly impossible to purchase a packaged costume that does not look like a stripper's stage outfit. Let's keep it classy, ladies.

Happy Halloween, everybody! Hope you have an evening full of treats, not tricks!

Rx Writing

There are many steps to becoming a doctor that I often don't think about. Today, our Clinical Skills lab was focused on a task that we will all practice daily: writing prescriptions. Although we've begun applying pharmacology in nearly every course, the physical transcription of that information had not yet crossed my mind. It's possible I've been delaying entertaining the thought because it's a huge responsibility - and at this point, I don't feel that I know a tenth of the minimum required to be able to treat patients. It's intimidating!

Our group had a doctor who did a great job of teaching us the basic principles and emphasizing details we should never leave unchecked. The urban legends and personal stories drove those points home...and made class more interesting.
It was a bit surreal to practice calculating dosages and phrasing administration instructions for our paper "patients." Thank God for smartphones, clinical databases, and calculators a mere tap of a finger away.
One thing is definitely on my to-do list: practice that doctor's signature!

Oktoberfest

We successfully survived midterms. It was by far the worst stretch of compressed exams we've had yet. To celebrate and relax, the majority of our class attended Oktoberfest this past Friday night. The festival is only a short walk away from the school and houses German beers, food, and entertainment under several huge tents.

Two of my favorite people in the entire world :)

We did the Chicken Dance, sampled bratwursts, strudels, and snitzels, and got down on the dance floor to some polka hits and classic rock - it was an eclectic mix.

Macee brought two friends from her Speech Pathology program at Stillwater - we had a blast!

It's a nice change of pace to spend time with our classmates outside of school. Sometimes it's as if we're different people without the stress of exams hanging over our heads!

Aaron, Jared, Airika, and Jon

It was amazing to spend some quality time with my sister, meet her friends, and to not think about school for the weekend.
On Saturday evening, we had Matt Wood over for steaks to watch the OU/Texas Tech game as a thank you for helping us move several weeks ago...and for holding my hand during the ring finger trauma. In case you were wondering, it's still swollen - to the point that I can't get my wedding band back on. Not that I'm going to make the mistake of trying too hard.

It was a rough game to watch.
The good news? We have yet another flexible weekend full of the promise of friends, football, and Halloween fun!

Finger Folly

Clinical Skills labs this semester have been much more interesting, as they've been dedicated to more hands-on experiences. Today, we spent time at each of three stations - stomach pump tubing, removing fishing hooks from pigs feet and rings from fingers, and placing someone on a backboard - all of which we will likely encounter in the ER someday.
The demonstrations by the doctors are extremely helpful and I always enjoy watching them, until today. Because today, I became the demonstration. At the pig feet/ring station, I became a little overzealous in practicing removing a ring on myself. I repeated the wrapping technique one too many times (word to the wise: do NOT repeat), and my finger become so swollen that I could not remove my wedding ring - for real.

After placing it in a cup of ice for several minutes and being asked to stay for the next group's demonstration, Dr. Lamberson performed the technique on me, twice, to get the ring off. It's actually a pretty painful experience, and today my husband switched lab groups and wasn't there for support. Instead, Matt Wood was kind enough to be his proxy and hold my hand through the ordeal. I do not have a high pain tolerance and felt a bit like I was in labor and delivery, squeezing Matt's hand as the ring was twisted and Matt telling me I was fine and doing good. The only thing that kept me from outwardly expressing how much of a baby I am was the crowd of my peers watching the process.
After the ring popped off and the onlookers applauded, Dr. Lamberson breathed a sigh of relief. He would have been really embarrassed if he would've had to send a student to the emergency room from today's clinic.

Thanks, Dr. Lamberson!

I learned two things today: I prefer to be the (student) doctor rather than the patient, and that when I'm pregnant I will not be postponing taking my ring off.
Well, maybe three things. Practice lab techniques on someone else.

Blacktovember

Blacktovember - the name several of us have assigned to the remainder of this month and the first two weeks of November. In the next 8 days, we have 5 exams, 1 practical, and 2 quizzes. That cycle will be repeated several times before we can breathe again for an extended period of time.
In college, the same calendar view would have been deemed doable. In medical school, where every major exam feels equivalent to the MCAT, it's a nightmare.
So for the next month, I will be sustained late into the night by 5-Hour Energies, 100-calorie popcorn, and the occasional glance at Facebook to remind myself that life exists outside of these library walls.

That, my friends, is what focus looks like ;)

My consolation? As a classmate wisely stated, "The only thing worse than being in medical school is not being in medical school." I'm privileged to be here, and I need to be reminded of that every so often. Especially during Blacktovember.

Intimidating Intubation

Today was the most enjoyable time I've had to date in Clinical Skills lab. Our regular classroom is under construction for expansion, so we met in the OMM lab, which was divided into three stations. The entire lab was devoted to oxygen delivery. We covered tube placement and appropriate amounts of oxygen administration, respiratory treatments, and the kicker - intubation.
Intubation is always a last resort, but we will all inevitably be required to perform them on rotations - especially in rural locations. After a brief lecture and demonstration, we tried our luck on the models.

 Aaron hoping he's inserting the tube into the trachea rather than the esophagus. Vocal folds are hard to see!

Brooke and Jennifer receiving instruction from one of the physicians at the station. The hands-on experience and guidance we have is amazing.

 Did he get it right? One way to tell - inflate those lungs!

John and Ahmad were really excited about the experience.

The aspect I had the most difficulty with was obtaining an adequate line of sight of the vocal folds without hitting the teeth with the instrument. We were told that each broken tooth costs the doctor $2000 and our models teeth "clicked" if they were hit with too much force. Let me just say that by the sound of my model's mouth, I racked up quite a bill. Be happy we get to practice on the models before we practice on the general population...

I'm hoping we have more hands-on labs similar to this one in the near future. It reminds us that the clinical setting is not too far away!

Free Time Fun and Shortest Meeting Ever

The second year of medical school is amazing...but only when you compare it to the first year of medical school.
Compared to the average person, we still have virtually no free time. However, this semester the frequency with which we can spend time with friends and family has drastically increased.
Aaron and I were able to eat lunch with my Aunt Carol (an OSU-COM graduate) and Grandma Phyllis a couple of weeks ago while they were in town, and I had the pleasure of spending the rest of the afternoon antiquing and perusing T.J. Maxx with them. My aunt completely spoiled me and I came home with some amazing finds. I'll have to share pics when I have them arranged in our new place. It was wonderfully special to spend quality time, just me and them.
Saturday evening we went to a friend's home for some football and fellowship, and I got my much needed baby fix!

 Jon serenaded Miss Hadley (the toddler) on the Sponge Bob guitar. It was an amazing performance.

 Aaron made a new friend!

 Baby Hadley loved him :) 

Watching him with kids always reassures me of the wonderful father he'll someday be!

 Airika with Miss Aubrey. This baby is precious, and a chunk! I felt so bad because the group noise kept waking her up. Eventually she just joined the party ;)

 Baby Hadley learned to walk this past week and has already mastered the new skill. This girl is nothing but smiles and laughs and was a trooper all night. And yes, she is rocking jeggings. They were so cute! Her mom bought them in enough sizes to take her to kindergarten (or at least until she's 3) lol.

 The Normans are fellow Razorback fans - way to represent the Hogs!

I found some Razorback face tattoos during the moving process and gave them to the Normans for Hadley. She suited up for game day in her Arkansas cheerleader uniform and proudly sported the hog on her cheek. She's quite the performer. My favorite of the night? "Twinkle, twinkle, little star."

Today, we stayed after class for a "meeting" about scheduling our upcoming third and fourth year rotations...or so we thought. It went something like this: "Hi, we're (introductions). You'll be hearing from us through emails this semester, so make sure to check them. Any questions? Ok, thanks!" 

I'm still confused, and a little disappointed that we didn't learn more. I'm ready to begin applying what I do know and learning what I don't!