the night before the 1st exam

Tomorrow morning at 7:45 am I will be rolling up to the computer to begin my first medical school exam. I have 2 hours and 10 minutes for the written part and 70 minutes for the practical (45 gross anatomy identification stations, 15 embryology stations, 4 living anatomy stations--my partner also has 4 stations and we have 2 rest stations). So that should be a blast...

Well anyway, I'm taking  a short brain break. Enjoy this photo. I didn't have a caffeine addiction until medical school. But I'm seriously working on one at the moment. I also study-eat like you wouldn't believe. I suppose there are worse ways to cope... :/

Here goes nothing! I'll update further when I'm not cramming embryology (fertilization through the 6th week or so) into my poor mushy, sleepy brain. But for now, I have a hot date with some Starbucks.

HFL football draft

Well, I survived my first week of medical school. It was overwhelming, scary, busy, and so much fun (in a nerdy sort of way). It is also the most difficult thing I've ever done. Yikes, I am seriously drained. I've actually been going to bed between 10:30-11 pm each night, which I didn't ever think I'd do on a consistent basis. I guess that means I'm officially getting old or something.

This weekend was the Heartland Football League (HFL) draft--the football league that my daddy dearest and his friends are in. The HFL is entering it's 23rd season (or 22nd...? I really don't know, but I guess it doesn't matter for the purpose of this blog post) and it's been a huge part of my life over the years. It was great to see some of the guys whom I haven't seen in a few years and, as always, I love the ever-so-mature trashtalk that accompanies the process.

The draft was something that I didn't realize I needed, but ended up being so refreshing. It reminded me so much of my childhood and brought back several great memories. When I was younger, most of "the guys" lived in or near Hastings, so I saw them quite frequently. Since then many of them have moved away with their families and I have only been able to see them once or twice a year at most. Though many of them aren't physically present in my life anymore, they've made such a big impact on me and they will never leave my heart.

Actually the reason I'm so interested in medicine is because of one of my HFL family members. When I was 8 years old or so, my dad's friend's son was diagnosed with Autism. I remember when my dad told me about the diagnosis and I had so many questions. I wanted to know everything there was to know about Autism and the Autism Spectrum of disorders. I remember, as an 8 year old, looking on the internet and reading different articles about the disorder--yes, I truly have been a nerd my entire life. Anyway, I also remember being upset because of his diagnosis. I thought it was unfair that the general population would look down upon him and think that he was "stupid," "weird," "awkward," etc, because I already knew at that point that he was seriously smart. He can quote tv shows and movies like nobody's business (a skill of which I am seriously jealous), he's involved in swimming and bowling and he's just generally awesome. I do not doubt that he faces several obstacles hourly which I've never even considered, but he is all the smarter for being able to overcome them.

It was throughout this whole process of learning about Autism that I had my first thoughts of wanting to be in the medical profession. Although I'm not sure that I want to specialize with Autism specifically anymore, I hold all of the autistic children and adults that I know very close to my heart. I am glad that we are learning more about this spectrum of disorders and I hope that the research will shed light on them to remove the negative stigma associated with them.

That "little boy" is now 16, a junior in high school and towers over both of his parents (although truthfully I'm not sure how hard this is to accomplish ;) ). His smile still melts my heart whenever I see pictures of him. Although I didn't get to see him this weekend, I caught up with his dad. It was so wonderful to hear all about he and his "baby" sister. Not only that, I realized as I looked around, that each of those men have been supporting and cheering me on from the sidelines for my entire life. They have been as integral to my journey as many of my professors and mentors have. I'm not sure this realization could have come at a more perfect time, really.

Medical school is challenging, as it should be, which I was fully expecting. But it's also still something that you deeply question whether you're actually doing the right thing by being here (or if you're even capable of finishing). I am so glad I had a brief re-energizing reminder of why I dreamed about becoming a doctor all those years ago over this first weekend.

Saturday is our first exam. I am utterly terrified for it, but also looking forward to it being over. I'm planning on spending this long weekend relaxing at the lake (no studying, woohoo!) and spending time with family and friends. After this, I won't have another break until Thanksgiving (gulp!) so I plan to fully take advantage of it.

Until I write again, adios!

Eau de Formaldehyde

Well, I survived the first day of medical school. We had gross anatomy lab for three hours and an hour of embryology lecture. My group didn't finish our dissection within the allotted 3 hours so we had to go back for 2 more.

And now, I am studying, studying, studying. Oh, and studying some more. Well I suppose one could argue that right now I'm writing a blog, but it's just because I need a quick brain break from studying.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day...classes and/or meetings from 7:45 am-4 pm. Yikes. I guess there's nothing like just throwing yourself into something head first.

I apologize in advance to everyone I encounter over the next 10 weeks. I will most definitely smell like formaldehyde and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. I suppose you can either enjoy my fragrant company or just avoid me until Thanksgiving(ish) time!

9 days until test days...

White Coat Ceremony

Friday was our white coat ceremony. It sort of made this whole medical school thing real. The ceremony was held at Joslyn Art Museum (which is beautiful and wonderful...if you haven't been, please go the next time you're in Omaha). We got a brief history of the medical school, the president of the alumni association talked, had a few brief remarks from the Dean of the College of Medicine and then, finally, we got our white coats.

I know that you have to be pretty smart to get into medical school, but they gave us this long list of things to do while we were on stage (get coat, shake two hands, place paper in basket, put coat on, shake 3 hands, sign your name, shake one more hand, get two pictures taken) and it was honestly kind of hard to remember all of the steps. I was nervous and got a serious case of stage fright, so my brain went out the window, but apparently I walked through all of the steps without any major hiccups.

After we all were coated (I'm not really sure that "coated" is a word, but I'm going to go with it. It sorta sounds like being knighted, which is pretty awesome, but unfortunately I'm not English and don't get the privilege of being knighted, so I'll settle for being coated), we had to take an oath. Here's the oath:

I dedicate myself to the sciences and the art of medicine.

I promise:

to be humble in my ignorance

to preserve the dignity of those I serve

to respect my colleagues in the health professions

to conduct myself in a professional manner

and to offer support and encouragement to fellow students.

May I fulfill these responsibilities and bring honor to the University, the faculty, and the students of medicine. 

Yikes, bikes and trikes! That seems like such a tall order! I know that my friends, family and classmates will be there to help support me throughout the next four years as I live out the words of this oath. Thank you to everyone who has been there to support me this far...

• to all of you who patiently listened to me complain about my classes and course load at Hastings College
• to those of you who have written letters of recommendation for me over the years for various scholarships, summer programs, medical school, etc
• to all of you who reassured me that I would, in fact, get into medical school
• to my parents for loving me even when I was being neurotic (and for cooking me meals and for allowing me to have a temporary study haven at the house whenever I needed some peace and quiet) and for teaching me to work hard to achieve my goals
• to my fellow classmates for all of the late night study sessions and for explaining basic concepts to me when I was just too dense to understand their simplicity
• to the doctors whom I have shadowed over the years and who have modeled the right ways to become a great physician
• to the staff and members of Church Health Center for challenging me to always remember the humanity in health care and for supporting me in my wacky bi-vocational career goals
• to my beautiful roommate Megan who has been by my side every step of the way as we applied, interviewed, were accepted and prepared for medical school. I know that I wouldn't have survived orientation week without you by my side!
• to the new friends I am making within my M1 class for reminding me to laugh when I am scared to death of the journey we are beginning.

I'm quite sure that I've missed far too many people on my list, but please know that each of you have made an impact on my journey. One thing that was re-iterated several times this week was that we will NEED to rely on our friends and family to help us get through the next four years, so thanks in advance too!

Something that I thought was really cool about the white coat ceremony was all of the people who have been part of my life, even tangentially, that were involved or present. Obviously my parents were there, my grandmother and Godmother/Aunt, Dr. Edwards, and Megan's parents also were there. But then there were the others. My mother's best friend from college (who is actually a friend of mine's mom!) helped to sponsor my white coat (Dr. Edwards sponsored the rest of it), one of my classmate's grandmothers used to work at Good Samaritan Village with my mom and remembers me as "little Jenny," another one of my classmate's uncles went to HC with my parents as well and was excited to meet me. Moments like that remind me of how small the world is sometimes. There are several of my classmates who are actually high school friends with some of my closest college friends. I actually just discovered that I used to teach dance to the younger siblings of one of my classmates. I'm grateful for these connections and am excited to continue to expand them. 

Megan getting her coat.

Fellow HC student, Jake Wardyn, getting his coat.

Dr. Lydiatt (President Alumni Association) coated me. 

UNMC Class of 2016

Thank you Aunt Lorraine for everything you've done over the years!
And thanks for sponsoring my white coat!

A special thanks to Dr. Erin and Dr. Chris Masada for sponsoring my white coat
and for the wonderful little note you sent with it!

My wonderful roommate, Megan! 

Mama and Daddy. 

Grandma
(I had to take my shoes off so I wasn't too tall for this picture)

Oh and just so everyone knows...I have only *officially* joined one extracurricular group so far. I'm still considering 3-5 more, but can everyone just take a moment and be impressed with the self-restraint I'm showing? Okay, great. Thanks for that! 

Classes start 8 am on Monday morning in the Gross Anatomy lab. Tomorrow I begin a delightful 10 weeks with a cadaver and 3 other students in my lab group. Wish me luck! I apologize in advance for smelling like formaldehyde. 

Orientation: Day 1

Megan and I have with our
sweet backpacks on our first day!

Today was our first day of orientation at UNMC. It seems like actually being a fully licensed medical practitioner is almost forever away, but I suppose I've already come pretty far in my journey towards medicine. My roommate, Megan, and I were talking last night about how excited, yet nervous we were to begin today. The anticipation and worry had been building up since we were accepted in December, but until last night it didn't seem real.

The day began with some basic introductions about the school, our class, and what to expect during orientation week. We grabbed some lunch with our M2 buddies (students who were first year med students last year) and took a tour. My M2 buddy, and her twin, were actually students at Hastings High School, so it was a blast from the past to see them. After lunch, we broke into our Problem Based Learning (PBL) groups. These groups will change throughout the next two years, but the basic premise is that it's a small group that works through case studies. We create a differential diagnosis and management plan from a patient history and results from some fictional tests.

We also took our ID photos today. We will be using these photos for the next four years, and good news, my eyes are actually open for once in a smiling picture! (the little things in life...)

Well we already have assignments for PBL, so I'm off to do that while I wait for the Internet people to actually come install our internet (instead of us using a sketchy unlocked network).