Neuro, pelvic exam, community service grant
That last entry pretty much sums up my life in school these past few months. I had a nice two-week break and came back feeling refreshed and excited about Block 10: Diseases of the Nervous and Musculoskeletal System. I've done a fairly good job of keeping up with the material, but today is one of those see-saw days: if I don't meet today's quota, it will be very hard to be prepared for this exam. And I'm feeling pretty okay about not meeting today's quota (which includes learning about anesthetics, opioid painkillers, antiepileptic drugs and muscle relaxants -- so it actually could be a pretty interesting Saturday if I chose to do the work). Drew's at the grocery store right now buying ingredients so he can make a dish for a potluck I'm forcing him to go to. When I accepted the invite I fully expected to make it myself, but of course the day came and I freaked out that I wouldn't have time to do it all. It's something like 11 degrees here, so the guilt I feel about sending my boyfriend out in the cold to walk to Whole Foods for me should motivate me to get back to work. It should.
I did a pelvic exam last week. On a live woman. With a speculum. It was probably the single craziest thing that's happened to me since med school started. I found it kind of thrilling, actually. I know how that sounds -- but I saw a cervix! I actually saw a cervix and then I touched a cervix. And then I felt for her uterus. The woman works for an organization that trains healthcare providers to give pelvic exams. This particular woman is an attorney by day. She said she works with a lot of victims of sexual crimes, and those women have a lot of anxieties about these exams. A lot of the training was about proper word choice and proper technique. And also learning not to do certain things. For instance, we're not supposed to use "therapeutic touch" -- which is basically when you put your hand on someone's shoulder while you're listening to their heart. A reassuring touch. It's considered to be a good thing in other exams, but would obviously be a little skeevy in this situation.
My friend Abi and Leslie and I got $6000 from the alumni association to do a community service project. We're giving out cold weather gear (emergency blankets that retain body heat, hats and gloves and coats) and hygiene kits and underwear and socks to people who come to a local area mobile health clinic. It's a big truck that parks in the neighborhood and a doctor comes to do routine health screenings and give vaccinations etc etc. There's also a needle exchange, so a lot of IV drug users come there. We started giving out the emergency blankets this week. I was a little worried when these blankets arrived at my door. I spent $1,500 on them so they were a huge part of our budget. They're not warm, soft blankets and that's really what I wanted to hand out to people. That was my instinct. But it doesn't make sense to give a homeless person an army blanket or something that's just going to get waterlogged the first time it rains. These are waterproof and, although they're thin, they really do help keep you warm. One corner has a little hood and two other corners have places for your hands so you can wear it like a poncho and wrap it around yourself. People seemed to love them and the doctor thought they were a great idea. So that was cool.
Okay... back to work before Drew comes home all frozen and gets upset with me for blogging when I could have gone grocery shopping.
I did a pelvic exam last week. On a live woman. With a speculum. It was probably the single craziest thing that's happened to me since med school started. I found it kind of thrilling, actually. I know how that sounds -- but I saw a cervix! I actually saw a cervix and then I touched a cervix. And then I felt for her uterus. The woman works for an organization that trains healthcare providers to give pelvic exams. This particular woman is an attorney by day. She said she works with a lot of victims of sexual crimes, and those women have a lot of anxieties about these exams. A lot of the training was about proper word choice and proper technique. And also learning not to do certain things. For instance, we're not supposed to use "therapeutic touch" -- which is basically when you put your hand on someone's shoulder while you're listening to their heart. A reassuring touch. It's considered to be a good thing in other exams, but would obviously be a little skeevy in this situation.
My friend Abi and Leslie and I got $6000 from the alumni association to do a community service project. We're giving out cold weather gear (emergency blankets that retain body heat, hats and gloves and coats) and hygiene kits and underwear and socks to people who come to a local area mobile health clinic. It's a big truck that parks in the neighborhood and a doctor comes to do routine health screenings and give vaccinations etc etc. There's also a needle exchange, so a lot of IV drug users come there. We started giving out the emergency blankets this week. I was a little worried when these blankets arrived at my door. I spent $1,500 on them so they were a huge part of our budget. They're not warm, soft blankets and that's really what I wanted to hand out to people. That was my instinct. But it doesn't make sense to give a homeless person an army blanket or something that's just going to get waterlogged the first time it rains. These are waterproof and, although they're thin, they really do help keep you warm. One corner has a little hood and two other corners have places for your hands so you can wear it like a poncho and wrap it around yourself. People seemed to love them and the doctor thought they were a great idea. So that was cool.
Okay... back to work before Drew comes home all frozen and gets upset with me for blogging when I could have gone grocery shopping.
Labels: Drew, Medical School
1 Comments:
what a great post!! i've missed your blog. the image of you doing a pelvic exam made me smile. but the community service blankets really made me smile!!! i think it's pretty fucking great. you are rockin' nuke -- i'm cheering you on from sunny cali.
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