13 things.

Today is the last year of my intern year, so I decided to write about what I learned in each of my rotations.

First: Special Care Nursery: i.e. Neonatal ICU

This was my first rotation as an intern. I was pretty nervous but not too bad. I was trying really hard to do everything right. Honestly, I didn't feel much like a doctor on this rotation. The little preemies were so foreign to me that I didn't know what to do for them. This month I did get used to being called "Dr. Gray" which was doubly weird because it was a new last name and I was being called doctor. Call nights were stressful at first because I thought I should have an answer immediately and not have to look things up. I wanted to be confident but I honestly didn' t even know how much fluid boluses to give these little guys.



2. Radiology

This rotation was a joke. I learned how to waste time and about the ins and outs of the hospital. I reinforced why I didn't want to go into radiology in the first place. BORING! The teaching was abyssmal. I would sit and stare at a computer screen while the radiologist dictated into a microphone. Every hour and a half or so, I would get up and take a break. I also learned that radiologists tend to have no curiosity. Whenever an interesting reading would come along, I was curious about how the patient presented and how he was doing etc. They tended not to care. It seemed like too routine and mundane for my taste. I know that everyone said to go into radiology but it was just not for me.


I got too bored to finish this, so will post as is, months later...

A year in review

I have been in academics so long, that my years do not follow the regular calender. Instead of thinking about Jan-Jan, I go from June-June. So this is my year in review, and what a year it has been! I am approaching the end of my intern year. Wow, it went by so fast...perhaps the fastest year of my life. So much has happened this year. In my personal life, I went on a couple fabulous vacations, including Cuba for Gary's 40th birthday, Alaska for my best friend's lovely wedding, Utah for some awesome skiing and climbing, and of course Portland and Durango to see family. I also bought a guitar with every intention of learning to play it. Of course, it is now making a lovely addition to my western theme den...with 2 strings broken... I took a Spanish class, and came a wee bit closer to making my desire to speak a foreign language a reality. I trained for a marathon during one of the hardest months of my intern year, and came oh so close to my goal of 4:20. (actual time 4:26--I bonked at mile 19). We bought the best dog in the world--and named him after our favorite place in the world. We moved into a fabulous house and actually bought some furniture that we have the intention to keep---dare I say...forever? I continue to have a very strong marriage and a true friendship with my wonderful and quirky husband. It is amazing to be in love more than ever after 11 years.

Some future goals for the next year...
Actually learn to play the guitar that I have.
Actually use more than one tense while speaking Spanish (well maybe two occasionally).
Don't give up on my "thing." My friend Shanna had a great way of explaining that everyone has or should have their "thing." This is something that you love to do and would spend your free time, vacations, travel around the country and world to do. My "thing" is definitely climbing, and unfortunately I have not been doing it. I feel part of me is missing and I want to get that part back--I'm not ready to give up on it yet.
Continue to be committed to putting healthy foods into my body. When I was purely vegetarian, I ate so much healthier. I thought I could eat meat occasionally but it has become way too frequent. Perhaps I can commit to vegetarianism again, because I believe in it.
Encourage more romance in our marriage, not get bogged down in the day to day grind.
Nurture the dreams of my husband.
Travel to 2 foreign countries and have amazing adventures.

Well, that is about it. I am saving my professional year in review for this weekend when I have more time to reflect.

If you could meet one person from history...

So things have a tendency to ruminate in my mind. For the one of you who have been keeping up with my blog (and I think that person is my Grandma!), you know that I have been trying to figure out who I would like to meet. And now, I think I have a working hypothesis. I think it would be immensely interesting to meet Leonardo Da Vinci!
Just check out this quote: "I love those who can smile in trouble, gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection, Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles until death"
Some quick facts:
He is of course immensely famous for controversial paintings like The Last Supper, and Mona Lisa. I would love to sit down and figure out, who Mona Lisa really is and to truly crack why he painted The Last Supper the way he did. It took him 10 years to paint Mona Lisa's lips and he kept the painting with him until he died...
He is also the true "Renaissance Man" He was so eclectic having an intriguing mind and desire to explore--dissecting cadavers, inventing things. He is considered the father of modern science
He is the illigitamate child of a peasant!
He wrote most of his notes using mirror writing...some think to keep his ideas secret? Was he actually schizophrenic? Would be interesting to see why he needed to keep his ideas secret.
He invented the bicycle 300 years before it appeared on the road, and he sketched the first motorcar, helicopter, airplane.
He would wear pink to make his complexion look fresh.

Well those are a few of the things that I have learned about my new favorite historical person. So now, if I ever get that question again, I will sit back, ponder it for a moment, and then act like I just thought of him off the cuff and will extemporaneously recite a few facts that I just happen to know because I am so cultured...

Speaking of culture:
I am going to Europe for the first time in a few months. Gary and I got super cheap tickets to Spain from San Diego. We had actually wanted to go to either Asia or South America, but the tickets were so cheap that we couldn't pass it up!