I finished! It was a tough 28 hours, but definitely worth it. I'm even considering doing it again next year.
All it took was:
- 3 bananas
- 2 apples
- 1/2 bottle of powerade
- 10 bottles of water
- 1 emergen-C
- 5 cliff bars
- 3 cliff shots (that gooey carb stuff)
- 1 PB&J sandwich
- 1 1/2 hours of sleep
- 1 bloody toe
- 2 blisters on my feet
Looking back, that isn't bad at all! My legs aren't too sore at the moment (I just biked to Powell's bookstore to use the internet since the neighbors haven't been home for a couple days and they seriously need to reset their router), but my foot got hurt somehow I need to rest it. So no more running for a couple days! I just have to start swimming again.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Orientation Week
Boy, this week was just a waste of time.
The school taught us how to check our e-mail, use the library, and we discussed professionalism and our hopes and fears of going into medicine. I can see how this provides support for us, but did it really need to take 4 days?! At least they gave us pretty decent food for lunch. I would have said good, but it was always really salty.
This week everybody has been going out at night, since I suppose this is the time for socialization. I, on the other hand, have not had a single drink and therefore not gone out. I've actually gotten comments during orientation about how I'm being antisocial. One girl thought I snapped at her while "defending" myself, when I simply stated that I didn't think I needed to provide them with a reason. Anyway, I don't particularly care if these people don't like me - friends will be made eventually.
Instead of partying I've been mentally and physically preparing for this:
http://www.hoodtocoast.com/
I'll be running legs 4, 14, and 27 - a total of 19 miles. They're all labeled moderate in difficulty. Once I finish this, I will be ready to party. The descriptions of these can be seen at:
http://www.hoodtocoast.com/map.php
I wish classes would just start already so I'd actually have a reason not to go out instead of saying, "I don't want to." Oh! I discovered that PSU has a badminton club, so I went on Tuesday to play with them. I think it'll be reinstated into my life as a weekly activity, which I'm very excited about.
The school taught us how to check our e-mail, use the library, and we discussed professionalism and our hopes and fears of going into medicine. I can see how this provides support for us, but did it really need to take 4 days?! At least they gave us pretty decent food for lunch. I would have said good, but it was always really salty.
This week everybody has been going out at night, since I suppose this is the time for socialization. I, on the other hand, have not had a single drink and therefore not gone out. I've actually gotten comments during orientation about how I'm being antisocial. One girl thought I snapped at her while "defending" myself, when I simply stated that I didn't think I needed to provide them with a reason. Anyway, I don't particularly care if these people don't like me - friends will be made eventually.
Instead of partying I've been mentally and physically preparing for this:
http://www.hoodtocoast.com/
I'll be running legs 4, 14, and 27 - a total of 19 miles. They're all labeled moderate in difficulty. Once I finish this, I will be ready to party. The descriptions of these can be seen at:
http://www.hoodtocoast.com/map.php
I wish classes would just start already so I'd actually have a reason not to go out instead of saying, "I don't want to." Oh! I discovered that PSU has a badminton club, so I went on Tuesday to play with them. I think it'll be reinstated into my life as a weekly activity, which I'm very excited about.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Last weekend of freedom!
I woke up to my sunrise clock today:
I bought it from www.biobrite.com (but not really, I got it on sale from amazon)
I must say, this is quite the invention! The person who thought of this much be from somewhere in the north where there isn't very much sun because without this I don't know if I'll be able to wake up during winter.
it felt refreshing to not be woken up by an obnoxious alarm (granted I went back to sleep afterwards... I was just testing it to see if would wake me up).
Tomorrow we're having an incoming class BBQ at our house.. I hope that not everybody decides to show up or else it will be mayhem. I'll try to start taking photos, I'm sure you are all aching to see what my room looks like and the view from my apartment.
I bought it from www.biobrite.com (but not really, I got it on sale from amazon)
I must say, this is quite the invention! The person who thought of this much be from somewhere in the north where there isn't very much sun because without this I don't know if I'll be able to wake up during winter.
it felt refreshing to not be woken up by an obnoxious alarm (granted I went back to sleep afterwards... I was just testing it to see if would wake me up).
Tomorrow we're having an incoming class BBQ at our house.. I hope that not everybody decides to show up or else it will be mayhem. I'll try to start taking photos, I'm sure you are all aching to see what my room looks like and the view from my apartment.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
the end of shadowing week
man, this past week was brutal but I'm glad I stayed awake through the whole thing.
After a 4 month long summer vacation, going to 10-11 hour work days was just a bit hectic. I learned a lot though, and I'm looking forward to my medical education much more now.
The doctor gave me a lot to digest and think about, but my frustration about primary care became reignited after this week and something has to be seriously done in that respect.
well, here's to embarking on new journeys!
After a 4 month long summer vacation, going to 10-11 hour work days was just a bit hectic. I learned a lot though, and I'm looking forward to my medical education much more now.
The doctor gave me a lot to digest and think about, but my frustration about primary care became reignited after this week and something has to be seriously done in that respect.
well, here's to embarking on new journeys!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
My first Surgery
Yesterday evening, after already working in the clinic for 10 hours, I began my first surgery with the help of my doctor.
It was a basic surgery to move skin tags and keratoacanthomas from some guy's upper body. I learned how to inject numbing liquid, cut off the skin growths, and also suture the wounds (stitches) to stop the bleeding. It was so awesome and so much fun. I thought I might have some sort of fainting spell because I don't like the sight of blood, but it was a rush.
other things have happened too, but I don't have much time to write.
peace
It was a basic surgery to move skin tags and keratoacanthomas from some guy's upper body. I learned how to inject numbing liquid, cut off the skin growths, and also suture the wounds (stitches) to stop the bleeding. It was so awesome and so much fun. I thought I might have some sort of fainting spell because I don't like the sight of blood, but it was a rush.
other things have happened too, but I don't have much time to write.
peace
Saturday, August 9, 2008
My first day in a Family Practice Clinic
Yes, I have been in clinical environments before but they had been very focused on one sub-population (the uninsured). Today was my first day working with folks who had insurance. Boy was it a long day. My Dr. has also been opening my eyes up to the reality of it all - not just for his patients but for what toll it takes on his life.
Today I mostly shadowed the doctor (with my white coat and stethoscope) and just talked to the patients. I got to do some physical exams, such as looking in people's ears and mouths, feeling for lymph nodes, feeling for arthritis, dermal problems, etc. but most of it was just talking to the patients and understanding where they were coming from.
Out of the 29 patients that I met with the Dr., at least 5 had some sort of cancer and it really looked like their outcome was not so good. Luckily each of them was positive about the life that he or she had lived and was doing whatever they could why still possible.
Some things I did not expect to see/hear/experience today:
- pulling out a folley cathader from a 78 year old male with severe lung cancer.
- looking into the bloody vagina of an obese 20 something year old woman.
- a male physical.
- listening to the heart of a woman who didn't have a pulmonary valve
- a little girl with Hep. A
- I removed a wart from some guy's hand, and also saw photos of his colon.
- cleaning up some old lady's abscess wound (btw, Silver Sulfadiazine is amazing)
- pink eye
- people addicted to opiates, in the clinic just trying to get a high
- people with chronic pain, it sucks.
- a lady who was losing the ability to move her limbs because the nerves between the L2L3, and L3L4 region were being pinched, and even though the doctor knew how to resolve the issue, he couldn't get the right procedures done because the lady didn't have a good enough insurance plan.
man, there was so much more too, but I think I just overloaded my brain.
I get to look forward to Monday's clinic because then I will removing about 15 warts of some super-obese guy's back and underarms. go medicine!!
Today I mostly shadowed the doctor (with my white coat and stethoscope) and just talked to the patients. I got to do some physical exams, such as looking in people's ears and mouths, feeling for lymph nodes, feeling for arthritis, dermal problems, etc. but most of it was just talking to the patients and understanding where they were coming from.
Out of the 29 patients that I met with the Dr., at least 5 had some sort of cancer and it really looked like their outcome was not so good. Luckily each of them was positive about the life that he or she had lived and was doing whatever they could why still possible.
Some things I did not expect to see/hear/experience today:
- pulling out a folley cathader from a 78 year old male with severe lung cancer.
- looking into the bloody vagina of an obese 20 something year old woman.
- a male physical.
- listening to the heart of a woman who didn't have a pulmonary valve
- a little girl with Hep. A
- I removed a wart from some guy's hand, and also saw photos of his colon.
- cleaning up some old lady's abscess wound (btw, Silver Sulfadiazine is amazing)
- pink eye
- people addicted to opiates, in the clinic just trying to get a high
- people with chronic pain, it sucks.
- a lady who was losing the ability to move her limbs because the nerves between the L2L3, and L3L4 region were being pinched, and even though the doctor knew how to resolve the issue, he couldn't get the right procedures done because the lady didn't have a good enough insurance plan.
man, there was so much more too, but I think I just overloaded my brain.
I get to look forward to Monday's clinic because then I will removing about 15 warts of some super-obese guy's back and underarms. go medicine!!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Eastside
Portland is split into quadrants with Burnside Ave splitting the city into North and South, and the Willamette river splitting the city into East and West.
I finally made it out to the east-side today and it's a pretty quaint area. I went to visit my friend living in NE Portland, and there's a street there called NE Flanders. Apparently somebody got the brilliant idea to sharpie a D into the street sign and renamed the street NED Flanders.
Mt. Tabor Park is there too, where you get a view of Portland valley from the East. Lots of people hiking up and down, biking around - theme of the city.
I had to take the freeway to get to my friend's house, and I averaged about 40 mph, even though there wasn't much traffic. Everybody was moving smoothly at this lower speed, in fact I do not even remember seeing any speed limit signs and I usually do because they're much larger than the ones in CA.
I didn't get directions for the way home in homes of getting lost and having to learn the streets better, and I succeeded in doing that. I don't think I took the most efficient route back to my house, but it definitely worked. I just kept looking up towards Marquam Hill so I could determine how close I am to home.
I need to go out and get lost more often.
I finally made it out to the east-side today and it's a pretty quaint area. I went to visit my friend living in NE Portland, and there's a street there called NE Flanders. Apparently somebody got the brilliant idea to sharpie a D into the street sign and renamed the street NED Flanders.
Mt. Tabor Park is there too, where you get a view of Portland valley from the East. Lots of people hiking up and down, biking around - theme of the city.
I had to take the freeway to get to my friend's house, and I averaged about 40 mph, even though there wasn't much traffic. Everybody was moving smoothly at this lower speed, in fact I do not even remember seeing any speed limit signs and I usually do because they're much larger than the ones in CA.
I didn't get directions for the way home in homes of getting lost and having to learn the streets better, and I succeeded in doing that. I don't think I took the most efficient route back to my house, but it definitely worked. I just kept looking up towards Marquam Hill so I could determine how close I am to home.
I need to go out and get lost more often.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Blackberrys!
No, not the hand-held device, the berry!
Blackberries is an invasive plant species that has begin to take over parts of Portland, and though it sucks ecologically - I get free blackberries!
When I went running today, I saw a couple people with bags and bowls picking them along the road, and I must say that the scent of Portland when running is pretty delicious.
I picked some on the way back home from OHSU yesterday and I haven't gotten any sort of poisoning yet, so they're tasty and safe!
Blackberries is an invasive plant species that has begin to take over parts of Portland, and though it sucks ecologically - I get free blackberries!
When I went running today, I saw a couple people with bags and bowls picking them along the road, and I must say that the scent of Portland when running is pretty delicious.
I picked some on the way back home from OHSU yesterday and I haven't gotten any sort of poisoning yet, so they're tasty and safe!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Family Medicine Orientation
Today I took a crash course on how to be a doctor.
Starting Saturday, I will be seeing my own patients - meaning I will take their medical histories and do the physical examination - and presenting them to my doctor/mentor. I'm really scared, but also really excited.
So my housemates (who are cool) and I hiked to campus today (it took 25 minutes for less than a mile distance) to meet the group of individuals who are going to be participating in this family medicine program. We heard some lectures about being a physician, and then learned how to interview (which isn't too bad thanks to all the experience from Mobile Clinic) and do diagnostic physical exam procedures. I learned how to take a physical from head to toe, although I don't know what bad symptoms mean yet. I know what normal is, so therefore I can tell if something is abnormal.
I'll end with this quote from Dr. Robert B. Taylor:
"When you hear hoof beats, look for horses, not zebras."
Starting Saturday, I will be seeing my own patients - meaning I will take their medical histories and do the physical examination - and presenting them to my doctor/mentor. I'm really scared, but also really excited.
So my housemates (who are cool) and I hiked to campus today (it took 25 minutes for less than a mile distance) to meet the group of individuals who are going to be participating in this family medicine program. We heard some lectures about being a physician, and then learned how to interview (which isn't too bad thanks to all the experience from Mobile Clinic) and do diagnostic physical exam procedures. I learned how to take a physical from head to toe, although I don't know what bad symptoms mean yet. I know what normal is, so therefore I can tell if something is abnormal.
I'll end with this quote from Dr. Robert B. Taylor:
"When you hear hoof beats, look for horses, not zebras."
Day 3 (for lack of better titles...)
So today I discovered that an actual Palomino's restaurant exists, so I can no longer call PCG the substitute Palomino's, it's just another cool place to hang out.
Woke up pretty late (around 9) and decided I wanted wonton soup for lunch so I set about making that. My absence from the kitchen for over 4 months is really showing - gotta get back into Chef mode.
I've really found replacements for everything I needed in L.A. (except my awesome friends of course), such as Trader Joe's, Target, random restaurants that serve diverse food, yep. Pretty much everything. And still, everybody is so ridiculously nice. I wish the rest of America was like this.
I have more to write about later, but it's getting late and i'm getting sleepy.
Peace.
Woke up pretty late (around 9) and decided I wanted wonton soup for lunch so I set about making that. My absence from the kitchen for over 4 months is really showing - gotta get back into Chef mode.
I've really found replacements for everything I needed in L.A. (except my awesome friends of course), such as Trader Joe's, Target, random restaurants that serve diverse food, yep. Pretty much everything. And still, everybody is so ridiculously nice. I wish the rest of America was like this.
I have more to write about later, but it's getting late and i'm getting sleepy.
Peace.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Day 2
Mark and I had the brilliant idea of starting the day off with a run to OHSU and around town. Little did I know that it was ALL steep uphill. I knew it was uphill, but I didn't realize I could have died from a heart attack. People must be in ridiculous shape here.
After that whole fiasco, we went to Target, Fred Meyer (pretty cool everything store - groceries and more! kind of like super wal-mart or k-mart), and some asian store I can't pronounce the name of.
Weird thing of the day: I've been trying to avoid filling my gas tank because I'm afraid of letting other people do it. But today I gave in and got regular gas for 3.93!!! So much cheaper than CA. And when your tank is being filled they clean your windshields! You cannot go wrong. Also, when I was exiting the gas station some random car stopped and waved for me to leave. Why is everybody so nice? Is there connection to how much green is visible? CA, you better start planting more trees.
Had dinner at Portland City Grill, which I will call "The Substitute Palamino's" because it's pretty much the same thing, except food is much cheaper (2-4 bucks!!!! except the burger that's 5) I had cold soba noodles with a peanut sauce and teriyaki chicken spring rolls (more like asian salad spring rolls, there wasn't any chicken in it) and a glass of Stella for 10 bucks. I think I can get used to this.
I'm really excited about school starting. Who are my classmates?
After that whole fiasco, we went to Target, Fred Meyer (pretty cool everything store - groceries and more! kind of like super wal-mart or k-mart), and some asian store I can't pronounce the name of.
Weird thing of the day: I've been trying to avoid filling my gas tank because I'm afraid of letting other people do it. But today I gave in and got regular gas for 3.93!!! So much cheaper than CA. And when your tank is being filled they clean your windshields! You cannot go wrong. Also, when I was exiting the gas station some random car stopped and waved for me to leave. Why is everybody so nice? Is there connection to how much green is visible? CA, you better start planting more trees.
Had dinner at Portland City Grill, which I will call "The Substitute Palamino's" because it's pretty much the same thing, except food is much cheaper (2-4 bucks!!!! except the burger that's 5) I had cold soba noodles with a peanut sauce and teriyaki chicken spring rolls (more like asian salad spring rolls, there wasn't any chicken in it) and a glass of Stella for 10 bucks. I think I can get used to this.
I'm really excited about school starting. Who are my classmates?
First day
Well. Here goes nothing?
The drive to Portland was pretty rough, I left at 4:45 am from San Jose and reached Portland around 6 pm. I stopped twice, once at some random gas station in CA to take a nap, and the second time in Eugene, OR to have lunch with Jeanne Perry. It was a good two hours of chatting to get me back into the spirits of driving.
I reached Portland around 6 p.m. and unpacked. The house I'll be living in is amazing! 3 stories, bottom story is a garage, second is the living room, dining room, and kitchen, and the top floor has the 3 bedrooms AND a launderer and dryer. Finally, no more quarter collecting - though I've been told that dollar coins are becoming popular (just like all those foreign countries... I'm glad Portland is progressive).
For dinner we went to Chinatown and 3 people ate for 16.58 plus a two dollar tip. NO TAX!!!
Went to Powell's bookstore, apparently the largest bookstore in the world. It was pretty damn amazing. I would love to spend the next 4 years of my life in there, unfortunately they will be spent in a hospital. I suppose I'll learn more in the hospital.
And now the kicker... Voodoo's doughnuts. Possibly the weirdest store I have been to. It's a punk-doughnut shop, with the strangest doughnuts. I got a raised doughnut with chocolate, peanut butter, and rice krispies - appropriately called the dirty doughnut because it looks pretty unappetizing. The strangest thing was the bacon doughnut. Now I can't imagine what this would taste like - they had run out before we got there and I do not eat bacon. It could be real bacon, or gummi bacon, it hasn't been clarified for me. I understand if it's sweet, but holy crap if it isn't.
{EDIT} It is real bacon that they put on it... all the fatty and crispy goodness.
Walked around downtown and saw strange people... Looks like I'll be getting a pretty diverse clientèle as a health worker in Portland.
The drive to Portland was pretty rough, I left at 4:45 am from San Jose and reached Portland around 6 pm. I stopped twice, once at some random gas station in CA to take a nap, and the second time in Eugene, OR to have lunch with Jeanne Perry. It was a good two hours of chatting to get me back into the spirits of driving.
I reached Portland around 6 p.m. and unpacked. The house I'll be living in is amazing! 3 stories, bottom story is a garage, second is the living room, dining room, and kitchen, and the top floor has the 3 bedrooms AND a launderer and dryer. Finally, no more quarter collecting - though I've been told that dollar coins are becoming popular (just like all those foreign countries... I'm glad Portland is progressive).
For dinner we went to Chinatown and 3 people ate for 16.58 plus a two dollar tip. NO TAX!!!
Went to Powell's bookstore, apparently the largest bookstore in the world. It was pretty damn amazing. I would love to spend the next 4 years of my life in there, unfortunately they will be spent in a hospital. I suppose I'll learn more in the hospital.
And now the kicker... Voodoo's doughnuts. Possibly the weirdest store I have been to. It's a punk-doughnut shop, with the strangest doughnuts. I got a raised doughnut with chocolate, peanut butter, and rice krispies - appropriately called the dirty doughnut because it looks pretty unappetizing. The strangest thing was the bacon doughnut. Now I can't imagine what this would taste like - they had run out before we got there and I do not eat bacon. It could be real bacon, or gummi bacon, it hasn't been clarified for me. I understand if it's sweet, but holy crap if it isn't.
{EDIT} It is real bacon that they put on it... all the fatty and crispy goodness.
Walked around downtown and saw strange people... Looks like I'll be getting a pretty diverse clientèle as a health worker in Portland.
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