Eclipse!!!!

Or is that eClipse? Perhaps iClipse? Definitely not. There WAS a lunar eclipse tonight, and if you missed it, then you missed out bigtime... By far one of the most meaningful events of my day, I assume that it is a sign of some sort--possibly a bad omen--but in all likelihood a beacon of good news from "the heavens"... So I'm eagerly awaiting finding out that I won the lottery or discovering an original copy of the Declaration of Independence in the closet in my apartment. Or, I would even settle for not having to scrape my car windows in the morning.

Too bad I'm not superstitious. (Though I am pretty convinced that the medical school is haunted)

Well, enjoy your day. I know I did.

Guess who passed Neuroscience?

If you guessed me, you were right. We got our final grades for that class today. Actually everyone in my class passed. So there you have it. I guess we succeeded. But of course we've moved on to the wonderful world of Physiology now, and forgotten all about Neuroscience.

Personally, I'm looking forward to this summer (yes, we do get a summer break, although this is the only year). No classes for a couple months is gonna be nice. Also, I got into this "Hospital Medical Education" program that the Indiana State Medical Association sets up with different hospitals around the state. So I'll be here in South Bend "working" (aka watching and learning) in a hospital for 8 weeks. They say the goal of the program is to expose you to as much of the diversity of medicine as possible, which I think will be good. Basically you get to learn some things and see what you might like to do down the road, and get paid to do it.

Well anyway, that's really all I have to write. It was just another long day of studying. Nothing to write home about. Well, there was a lot of ice on the inside of my windshield when I leaving school to come home tonight. But that's about the most exciting thing that happened.

My First Patient

For me, today was that big day in the life of any medical student when I met my first patient. Ok, so all I did was take a history, but it was big a big day for me. Obviously I can't say anything about this patient (HIPAA, your secrets are safe with me!), but I probably can tell you what I experienced.
First, I didn't totally know until this afternoon that I was going to be taking a real history today (its a part of my Intro to Clinical Medicine class, and the schedule for that is one of the great mysteries of the universe). Second--and probably more important--I've never done a history before, and also, I hadn't really ever been taught how to do it.
So, you can imagine my fear and trepidation (actually fear may be a bit of a strong word, but you get the point). In the end though, it did all work out. Everybody in my class met over at the hospital, in their auditorium, and there we got a crash course in history taking from our (crazy Italian) instructor. Seriously, it was less than an hour. But it really was a good lesson, because after that we went up to one of the wards and took patient histories, and for the record, I think I did quite well.
To be honest, it was a little nerve-wracking just walking in to a total stranger's room and basically saying "please tell me everything about your life", but it ended up alright. Turns out all you have to do is ask questions and listen...
After taking the history, the next step was to learn how to present a history. So we went back down to the auditorium, and got another crash course on that, and then I had to present my patient's history to one of the residents that was helping teach us. Apparently I did alright. Actually, all in all it was a real good experience. Not necessarily the the easiest thing I've ever done, but I think I did alright for my first time, and with practice I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.

In other news, I have a joke for you all... So, G, A# and D walk into a bar, and say to the bartender, "We want some drinks." But then the bartender says, "We don't serve minors here."

At it again

That's right, yours truly is putting his nose back to the ol' grindstone. (talk about the mother of all cliches! oh well.)

This Monday I took the final exam for Neuroscience (a lab test and a National Board of Medical Examiners "Shelf" exam) and after that I was greeted with the whole day of Tuesday off!! Which was great. I slept in (didn't even set my alarm), did laundry, cleaned, went grocery shopping--things that normal people do... So that was good. Of course I really don't know how the tests went, but I am confident that I passed. So now on to Physiology!!!

In other news, Saturday was a big day. The St. Joe County Public Library has a program every year called "Science Alive!" for kids. Basically the library has a whole bunch of science-related exhibitors come and set up exhibits and then basically every kid in the 25 mile radius comes and learns about science. (Well, that sounds kind of lame but stay with me) Anyway the medical school had an exhibit (I was on the planning committee... no big deal though) where we had the kids go through a "mini-medical school" experience. The got to dress up like doctors, play 'Guess the Organ', learn all about why to never, ever smoke (and play with a GIANT cigarette model), and learn about the 'tools of the trade'. I think it loses something in the telling, but it actually was pretty sweet, and (a mark of success) there wasn't any time during the day when our station was empty. Anyway, I think it was success.

On another note, I hope everyone enjoyed Super Tuesday yesterday. I know I did, which is good, because I missed most of the Super Bowl due to studying for my final. Our boy Ron may not have won any states, but he DID get 3 delegates out of West Virginia. Of course probably the best news out of the whole deal is that they didn't decide everything yesterday. So maybe (I know this is a stretch), maybe our votes here in Indiana will end up meaning something...

So there you have it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. (another cliche... oh no--but also a good song)

I hope you all enjoy my egregious use of punctuation. And the word 'egregious'.

If you don't like the weather now...

We all know the saying. 'If you don't like the weather in Indiana, just wait a couple of minutes!' That's definitely true today (except in reverse). This morning it was nice and warm, and even all through the day it was warm. Then tonight came, an it's cold, snowing, windy (I love winter!) and my car had ice on both the outside and the inside of the windows when I was coming home tonight. Which was awesome. It's times like these when I think to myself, "Matt, you COULD have gone to school somewhere warm. Good work!"

Big news. I joined the AMA-MSS (American Medical Association-Medical Student Section) today! Which pretty much rules. Actually, I'm not sure just how great it is, but I do get a "free" Stedman's medical dictionary (the best one), and a subscription to JAMA out of the deal. So, I guess those are good things.

In other news, I've got the big Neuroscience National Board "shelf" exam coming up in about a week. However, more importantly, my intramural basketball team won last night! 2-1! I think we only have to win one more game to make the playoffs!

Interview Day!

Today I had an "interview" for the "Hospital Medical Education Program" at a hospital in Elkhart. Interview is in quotes because there never really was an interview... Ordinarily that would be a bad sign. However, it was just an "interview day" in the sense that they had everybody that applied for their Hospital Medical Education Program there for a tour of the place and to get information about just exactly what was the Program would be like.
At this point, you are probably asking, "Hey, what's a Hospital Medical Education Program?"
To put it short and sweet, what it is is a program where medical students (like me) between first and second years get to spend a lot of time in a hospital observing real medicine. Its been billed as "a great way to see a lot of medicine without the stress of a grade coming at the end of it, like during rotations third and fourth years." In English, that just means that I would get to watch a whole bunch of different parts of medicine, and hopefully get a better idea of what I want to be when I grow up.
Which is always a good thing to figure out. Now this isn't the only hospital that does this, and it isn't even the first one that I've had a interview at. Although the other one was a real interview. And that hospital is right outside my door. Like, right across the street. So it would be nice to be at that one, and not at Elkhart.
Well, I guess that's about all I do got right now.

I love intramural basketball...

I guess the streak had to end sooner or later. Our winning streak in GFS (graduate students, faculty, and staff) basketball, that is. We were 1-0 until tonight. Unfortunately, we lost pretty badly. I think one of the compounding factors was that we only had 5 players, and all of us are medical students who spend about 37 hours a day studying (oh, its possible...). So, yeah, we lost to the law students. They also had a pretty clever name (and about 12 players, plays, and even people who came to watch), but I don't think I can repeat it here.

Oh yeah, I forgot. We had the Neuroscience midterm this morning. So, that was fun. And by fun, I mean it was like getting hit by a car.

Well, I hope you enjoyed Monday as much as I did.


Also, just FYI, when you go to the polls this spring, I heard Ron Paul eats baby kittens. I'm just sayin'... that's what I heard.