Showing posts with label WADT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WADT. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Alternatively titled, "8 Hour Test Meets 5 Hour Drive Meets 3am Meets Sale At Dicks Sporting Goods."
So, yesterday I took Step 2: Clinical Skills. This is an 8 hour test where we see 12 standardized patients, do a history and physical, and then write a note and come up with a plan. Each patient takes 25 minutes, and we get a dinner and snack break. There are only FIVE testing centers in the country (yes, EVERY medical student in this country, or others who want to come work as doctors in the US, have to take the test at one of those 5 centers). So I got stuck with the afternoon session, which started at 3. After the test (which was not hard, just long and exhausting), I had to drive from Atlanta to NC because I had an appointment this morning at 8:30 with my orthopedic surgeon. So, a little after 10 last night, I hopped in my car and drove the 5 hours home. Luckily, Sarah and I had prepared me well, with a cooler, two bottles of water, two starbucks drinks, twizzlers, pretzel M&Ms, a loaf of bread, cheese, meat, fruit, napkins, and a garbage bag. We're good at this road trip thing. So the trip home was uneventful, but I was very tired. I wore a dress for the car, and threw on my new under armor sweatshirt for the drive so I could crank the air up without freezing. When I got home this morning at 3 (which, you should note, would make it TUESDAY morning...), I took off the dress and sweatshirt and threw them in a pile before putting on PJs and hopping in bed. This morning, I decided that was about as close to WADT as I'm going to get today, so here's the picture! Glamorous, isn't it?
Until next time,
Kari
So, yesterday I took Step 2: Clinical Skills. This is an 8 hour test where we see 12 standardized patients, do a history and physical, and then write a note and come up with a plan. Each patient takes 25 minutes, and we get a dinner and snack break. There are only FIVE testing centers in the country (yes, EVERY medical student in this country, or others who want to come work as doctors in the US, have to take the test at one of those 5 centers). So I got stuck with the afternoon session, which started at 3. After the test (which was not hard, just long and exhausting), I had to drive from Atlanta to NC because I had an appointment this morning at 8:30 with my orthopedic surgeon. So, a little after 10 last night, I hopped in my car and drove the 5 hours home. Luckily, Sarah and I had prepared me well, with a cooler, two bottles of water, two starbucks drinks, twizzlers, pretzel M&Ms, a loaf of bread, cheese, meat, fruit, napkins, and a garbage bag. We're good at this road trip thing. So the trip home was uneventful, but I was very tired. I wore a dress for the car, and threw on my new under armor sweatshirt for the drive so I could crank the air up without freezing. When I got home this morning at 3 (which, you should note, would make it TUESDAY morning...), I took off the dress and sweatshirt and threw them in a pile before putting on PJs and hopping in bed. This morning, I decided that was about as close to WADT as I'm going to get today, so here's the picture! Glamorous, isn't it?On the bright side, I had another great weekend in Atlanta. Highlights include pizza with Bruce at Everybody's, watching Sarah dodge raquetballs while trying to take pictures of Bruce and I playing, watching Dual Survivor, seeing Sarah's coupon clipping in action, and learning that I should never seek work as a blind, one-handed sanwich maker.
On the not so bright side, at my doctor's appointment this morning we decided to go ahead and do surgery on the ankle to see what is still causing me pain and swelling and ideally fix it! It's scheduled for August 18th, and should be pretty easy as long as there are no surprises! You may remember the original post about this injury from back in the winter. Note: being a patient still sucks! But I'd like to have this all fixed up without running into interview season. I'm hoping.
Kari
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Let's start with WADT for the week. This, sadly, may be the last WADT for a long time. My next rotation is in the emergency department, where we wear scrubs. Although if I don't work on a particular Tuesday, I'll probably wear a dress then. After that, I'm doing a rotation in orthopedics, and on Tuesdays in the OR, I will be wearing scrubs, and not a dress. Sad, I know. But anyway, today I wore a dress that I got last year about this time for my brother's wedding rehearsal dinner! I had no one to take a picture of me, so when I got home from the gym tonight I put it back on the hanger and took a picture. Not great, but the best I could manage today!
So, onto the pedicure paradox.
I'm not what you would call a girly girl. The fact that I wear a dress every Tuesday (and even days in between!) is probably a total shock to my mother. I haven't had so many dresses in my closet since I was 5 and owned every color Lands End made of their white and color striped dress with a little pocket. My hair is usually up in a pony tail, on weekends I wear sweat pants a lot, and whoever I marry better like seeing me in running clothes because I wear them a lot. So, knowing me as you now all do very well, I will tell you about pedicures.
A couple friends and I started getting pedicures last fall at the end of each rotation. It's a great way to relax and spruce up for the next rotation. The first time we went, it was early fall and we all wanted something fresh and springy. We all asked for designs, and this is what we got. First of all, my toenail is huge... it's the one in the upper left corner. We like to call it a blank canvas on which you could paint a mural or write the Hippocratic oath. This picture was posted on facebook and there were a couple comments that were particularly descriptive. "Kari's toe is like a really big awesome party with a chocolate fountain!", and "It looks like Chinese new year. On a toe". Since the initial pedicure, I'd say we've had four or five, and without fail I've had the most outlandish, awesome design painted on my toe. And I love it. For Christmas, I had a whole bouquet of poinsettias with white and silver accents. For valentines day I had floating hearts. When I was in Michigan, my grandma painted a long-stemmed rose with gold accents. 
So today, when Betsy and I went to get pedicures, I wanted to make sure my design lived up to the high standards set before. Have no fear... it did. In case you can't see it, there is a rhinestone. I asked for a white and yellow flower. I'd say that was accomplished. I don't really know where they come up with the ideas for these things... it's a skill set far beyond mine. But they never fail to impress me, and now I get to walk around with this on my toe until I mess it up or get a new one :)What do you all do to relieve stress, celebrate accomplishments, or pamper yourself? If you have no answer, I recommend a pedicure... and a crazy design.
Cheers,
Kari
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
So I never did get around to posting my picture from last week's WADT... Sorry! This weeks WADT selection is one of many purchases I made this weekend while in Atlanta with Sarah and Bruce (so Bruce maybe didn't participate so much in the shopping, but he smiled graciously when we came home with LOTS of bags...). Anyway, this dress was originally $65, and I got it for $12. Yay me. I also got a $99 dress for $20, and a $75 dress for $15. The cheaper one you may see in another WADT post... the pricier one wouldn't qualify for school appropriate, but if you'd like to take me out for a nice dinner, I'm sure it might make an appearance. I'd also like to thank my friend Elizabeth who I frequently recruit to take pictures on Tuesdays, usually right before we go to the gym! (Proof: Lockers and a loofah in the background.)
WADT delayed a week: I had no assistance on this picture... so five attempts later, I finally got a shot using the timer with MOST of me in it... I couldn't settle on a dress this particular morning, so I went the skirt route. It's from Nepal, by way of a small shop in Saratoga Springs, NY. Unfortunately, the shop has since closed (very depressing for me and my sister). But before it did, I snagged this blue skirt with a nifty lacy bottom. I suppose I'll just have to go to Nepal if I ever need to replace it...I owe you a long weekend update, but I'll instead like you to Sarah's blog about it. I'll sum it up with a bunch of random phrases.
Dunkin donuts coffee (x2), Swedish meatballs (and Ikea), KitchenAid ice cream makers are expensive, dress shopping, Vera Bradley, beef tenderloin is EXPENSIVE... but tasty, NCIS marathons, tailgating and smoked hamburgers, the Braves lost but the fireworks rocked, dude stole our cooler (more importantly Turkey Hill iced tea, Pyrex, and silicon muffin cups), we laughed a LOT, The Flying Biscuit, botanical gardens, I don't want to go home :(.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
How, you might wonder, are these three things related? Well, they aren't... except they all happened to happen today!
First of all, WADT. I was supposed to take a picture of my friend and I today before we went to work after we swam this morning... but I forgot. So, I took one when I got home, with my camera timer. But it's still stuck on the camera so I will post it later tonight... when I get the motivation to get up off the couch. But today's WADT featured a blue skirt from Nepal and a black shirt that was probably made in china or Indonesia.
Onto The Best Sandwich Ever (yes, it deserves to be all capitalized). I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner that involved an avocado. Why, you may wonder? Because I had one in the fridge, and I wanted to eat it. So I decided to make a Cajun shrimp avocado sandwich. Note to you: this would be better as a wrap, but I didn't have a wrap... I had wheat bread. So that is what I used. Anyway, Here's how you do it.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Layer veggies and shrimp: I chose cucumber, tomato, onion, shrimp, avocado. You can choose a different order... it just might not be QUITE as good.
Now, for the last part of this entry. The serious part that is why I write this blog (contrary to popular belief, this isn't supposed to be about food...) As I said a couple posts ago, I am on a rehab rotation right now, dealing with a lot of stroke patients. One of the most common problems these patients are battling when they come to rehab is aphasia, or the inability to use language appropriately. There are many types of aphasia, and it's complicated and deals with lots of areas of the brain, so I will not even try to give a detailed description of how it all works (mostly for fear of messing it up). But there are a couple basic types. Receptive aphasia means a person can not interpret language; they can not understand written or spoken words. Expressive aphasia means they can not appropriately use words, even though they may know exactly what they want to say.
I imagine that being aphasic must be one of the most horribly frustrating things to experience in the entire world. Particularly for people with expressive aphasia who know what they want to say and may even think that the words that are coming out make sense, when in reality they don't make any sense at all. When Sarah and I drove around the country (another story for another post... or maybe a book... which you should definitely buy), we stayed in Illinois with a man named Wally. He'd recently had a stroke and was still having problems with his speech. He could say most things he wanted to, but it took him a lot of time an effort to get them out correctly. Every sentence was a struggle for him. In his past life (before stroke and retirement), he'd been a PhD chemist for a huge chemical and pharmaceutical company. He was smart... brilliant really. He was used to being successful and accomplished. And he'd been reduced to spending an entire minute to ask for a glass of orange juice. You could see the frustration in his eyes. I've seen many patients like that on my service so far this month. They try so hard to get words out. They think they are saying the right word, but to us it means nothing. We have a 25 year old patient right now who suffered a HUGE stroke when his carotid artery was occluded for an unknown reason. He was admitted a few months ago, and still has a long way to go in rehab. Until this weekend, he hadn't made a single noise. This isn't surprising since half his brain is essentially dead. But to all of our surprise, on Saturday he started speaking. When I saw him on Monday, he kept saying "chair". He wasn't really taking about a chair, but that's the word that kept coming out, and it was clear he was trying to say SOMETHING. We just couldn't figure out what it was.
My sister wants to go into speech and language pathology. God bless her. It's work that I don't really understand... kind of like a magic box you send people into and then come out making sense. Sure, you have to send them in a couple times a day for weeks to months. But still, it happens. Communication is one of those things I think we really take for granted, until it's gone. Whether it be hearing or seeing or speech, or the ability to understand, we don't think about how important it is until it's gone. Or broken.
I don't really have a great concluding take home message from this... other than think about what you have and be glad. Also, be glad I am not aphasic, or my blog might read "to the take a for me frog once her to the from a gone with what my how name to see the my?"
Tomorrow is Wednesday, which means it's bike ride a burrito day! It's been a while since my friend Chris and I actually made bike ride and burrito Wednesday happen... but it was a summer staple last year!
Until then,
Kari
First of all, WADT. I was supposed to take a picture of my friend and I today before we went to work after we swam this morning... but I forgot. So, I took one when I got home, with my camera timer. But it's still stuck on the camera so I will post it later tonight... when I get the motivation to get up off the couch. But today's WADT featured a blue skirt from Nepal and a black shirt that was probably made in china or Indonesia.
Onto The Best Sandwich Ever (yes, it deserves to be all capitalized). I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner that involved an avocado. Why, you may wonder? Because I had one in the fridge, and I wanted to eat it. So I decided to make a Cajun shrimp avocado sandwich. Note to you: this would be better as a wrap, but I didn't have a wrap... I had wheat bread. So that is what I used. Anyway, Here's how you do it.
Ingredients:Raw shrimp (tails on or off), thawed (about 8-10 per person is plenty)
Avocado, sliced
Tomato, sliced (I used cherry tomatoes, because that's what I had... I recommend something bigger)
Red onion, sliced
Cucumber, sliced
Ranch dressing
Blackening seasoning
Wheat bread or other carb loaded veggie and shrimp carrying medium
Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, toss the shrimp in a small amount of oil.
Add blackening seasoning to the shrimp and toss until coated to your taste.
Cover cookie sheet with foil and spread shrimp into single layer.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through.
While shrimp are baking, slice your vegetables.
When shrimp are done, cut tails off if necessary
Toast bread.
On bread, spread a thin layer of ranch dressing.
Layer veggies and shrimp: I chose cucumber, tomato, onion, shrimp, avocado. You can choose a different order... it just might not be QUITE as good.Cut. Diagonally. Because that's the only way to cut a sandwich.
Eat.
Get a fork to eat all the stuff that fell out. That's why a wrap might work better....
Enjoy. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.Now, for the last part of this entry. The serious part that is why I write this blog (contrary to popular belief, this isn't supposed to be about food...) As I said a couple posts ago, I am on a rehab rotation right now, dealing with a lot of stroke patients. One of the most common problems these patients are battling when they come to rehab is aphasia, or the inability to use language appropriately. There are many types of aphasia, and it's complicated and deals with lots of areas of the brain, so I will not even try to give a detailed description of how it all works (mostly for fear of messing it up). But there are a couple basic types. Receptive aphasia means a person can not interpret language; they can not understand written or spoken words. Expressive aphasia means they can not appropriately use words, even though they may know exactly what they want to say.
I imagine that being aphasic must be one of the most horribly frustrating things to experience in the entire world. Particularly for people with expressive aphasia who know what they want to say and may even think that the words that are coming out make sense, when in reality they don't make any sense at all. When Sarah and I drove around the country (another story for another post... or maybe a book... which you should definitely buy), we stayed in Illinois with a man named Wally. He'd recently had a stroke and was still having problems with his speech. He could say most things he wanted to, but it took him a lot of time an effort to get them out correctly. Every sentence was a struggle for him. In his past life (before stroke and retirement), he'd been a PhD chemist for a huge chemical and pharmaceutical company. He was smart... brilliant really. He was used to being successful and accomplished. And he'd been reduced to spending an entire minute to ask for a glass of orange juice. You could see the frustration in his eyes. I've seen many patients like that on my service so far this month. They try so hard to get words out. They think they are saying the right word, but to us it means nothing. We have a 25 year old patient right now who suffered a HUGE stroke when his carotid artery was occluded for an unknown reason. He was admitted a few months ago, and still has a long way to go in rehab. Until this weekend, he hadn't made a single noise. This isn't surprising since half his brain is essentially dead. But to all of our surprise, on Saturday he started speaking. When I saw him on Monday, he kept saying "chair". He wasn't really taking about a chair, but that's the word that kept coming out, and it was clear he was trying to say SOMETHING. We just couldn't figure out what it was.
My sister wants to go into speech and language pathology. God bless her. It's work that I don't really understand... kind of like a magic box you send people into and then come out making sense. Sure, you have to send them in a couple times a day for weeks to months. But still, it happens. Communication is one of those things I think we really take for granted, until it's gone. Whether it be hearing or seeing or speech, or the ability to understand, we don't think about how important it is until it's gone. Or broken.
I don't really have a great concluding take home message from this... other than think about what you have and be glad. Also, be glad I am not aphasic, or my blog might read "to the take a for me frog once her to the from a gone with what my how name to see the my?"
Tomorrow is Wednesday, which means it's bike ride a burrito day! It's been a while since my friend Chris and I actually made bike ride and burrito Wednesday happen... but it was a summer staple last year!
Until then,
Kari
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Yes, I realize it is not Tuesday. But by the time I was finished with the grand vacation update last night, I was too tired to write another post. So I saved it for today.
I would like to introduce you to Wear A Dress Tuesday! It is the brain child of my college roommate, Sarah, who has been doing WADT for a long time now. Since I've spent the last two months wearing scrubs, I haven't really had a reason to participate until now. Here's the scoop on WADT. Every woman deserves a reason to wear a dress and make themselves look pretty, feel special, and walk with their head held high. Tuesday is as good a reason as any to do it! When Sarah started WADT months ago, she didn't have many (any?) followers. But as time passed, people realized that they too wanted a reason to wear a dress, and it's caught on with many of her friends, readers, family members, their friends and family members, etc, etc etc. I figured I would share the wealth to all of you! Here is the first WADT picture I have to post... look for more each Tuesday, and spread the word that Tuesday is a reason to look pretty! Also, send pictures of your WADT outfits, and I'll post them on Tuesdays (or Wednesdays....) with mine!
Enjoy the rest of the week!
Kari
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