Matt irons shirts for the week - Check
Melissa tries to figure out the brachial plexus of nerves - eh...
Justin Bieber on repeat (every other song) - Check
The Band Perry on repeat (every other song) - Check 
Monday, September 20, 2010
Just another Monday night
Order Chinese Food - Check 
Matt irons shirts for the week - Check
Melissa tries to figure out the brachial plexus of nerves - eh...
Justin Bieber on repeat (every other song) - CheckThe Band Perry on repeat (every other song) - Check
Matt irons shirts for the week - Check
Melissa tries to figure out the brachial plexus of nerves - eh...Justin Bieber on repeat (every other song) - Check
The Band Perry on repeat (every other song) - Check
Friday, September 17, 2010
Good News, Bad News
The Good News:
Bill Ferguson, fellow Teach For America alum, tireless advocate, and all around great human being , won the 46th District Maryland State Senate Democratic Primary! He beat out a guy who held the job for 27 years (or something like that) by utilizing his network and social media to get the young and thriving city involved. I'm really excited about what this means for the future of Baltimore City, specifically the school system and the kids. Baltimore's Time is Now!
Learn ab
out Bill's goals, energy and commitment to the people of Baltimore City here.
Watch his reaction to the win here.
The Bad News:
There was a shooting in Johns Hopkins Hospital yesterday. A patient's son shot his mother's doctor, killed his mother and then killed himself.
Ironically, last year's season finale of Grey's Anatomy that was already set to air last night (next week is the season premier) depicted essentially the same scenario: Distraught and frustrated patient unhappy with his loved one's care shoots the doctor. Here is a quick post: 'Grey's gets warning after Johns Hopkins shooting' from CNN's The Marquee Blog.
Honestly, this frustrates me. Baltimore has a bad rep. Gangs, drugs, the streets, the corners. This extremely unfortunate and shocking incident actually has nothing to do with why Baltimore has been labeled "rough," yet will inevitably add to the stereotype that Baltimore is an unsafe place to live and work. I don't feel unsafe at all. As my dad frequently reminds me, I can't get too comfortable and always need to be aware, but overall, I am not fearful for my health, safety or life. I'm not afraid to walk home from school, enjoy the parks around campus, or to ride the city bus system. I love Baltimore and I'm frustrated that the events of yesterday might be linked to the crime and violence that plagues some of our neighborhoods instead of seen as a situation that could have happened at any hospital in any city.
Baltimore does have issues that need to be addressed. There is crime and there are gangs. But thankfully we also have hope, we BELIEVE that Baltimore's Time is Now. The problems are not too big to fix as long as we are working at them from every angle: the school system, the health of our small businesses, the development of the neighborhoods as well as the waterfront, the health care system, the homeless population...
Part of the reason I joined Teach For America is because the vision statement includes the reality that not all teachers will stay in teaching. We, in fact, don't want all teachers to stay in the classroom, we want people to become inspired by the problems facing our most precious youth and then go fix them. We want Bill Ferguson to fight for our school system in the Maryland State Senate and we want good doctors that will care for our kids and families that have been underserved for generations. I hope that the doctors, nurses and all of the hospital faculty, the current medical school students and especially the prospective medical students that were interviewing yesterday know that Baltimore is not unsafe. The people of Baltimore need quality health care and deserve quality doctors that are comfortable living and working in Baltimore City.
My heart goes out to the doctor that was injured yesterday. I hope that he and his family are able to recover and heal with the support and love of the Johns Hopkins and Baltimore City communities.
Bill Ferguson, fellow Teach For America alum, tireless advocate, and all around great human being , won the 46th District Maryland State Senate Democratic Primary! He beat out a guy who held the job for 27 years (or something like that) by utilizing his network and social media to get the young and thriving city involved. I'm really excited about what this means for the future of Baltimore City, specifically the school system and the kids. Baltimore's Time is Now!
Learn ab
out Bill's goals, energy and commitment to the people of Baltimore City here.Watch his reaction to the win here.
The Bad News:
There was a shooting in Johns Hopkins Hospital yesterday. A patient's son shot his mother's doctor, killed his mother and then killed himself.
Ironically, last year's season finale of Grey's Anatomy that was already set to air last night (next week is the season premier) depicted essentially the same scenario: Distraught and frustrated patient unhappy with his loved one's care shoots the doctor. Here is a quick post: 'Grey's gets warning after Johns Hopkins shooting' from CNN's The Marquee Blog.
Honestly, this frustrates me. Baltimore has a bad rep. Gangs, drugs, the streets, the corners. This extremely unfortunate and shocking incident actually has nothing to do with why Baltimore has been labeled "rough," yet will inevitably add to the stereotype that Baltimore is an unsafe place to live and work. I don't feel unsafe at all. As my dad frequently reminds me, I can't get too comfortable and always need to be aware, but overall, I am not fearful for my health, safety or life. I'm not afraid to walk home from school, enjoy the parks around campus, or to ride the city bus system. I love Baltimore and I'm frustrated that the events of yesterday might be linked to the crime and violence that plagues some of our neighborhoods instead of seen as a situation that could have happened at any hospital in any city.
Baltimore does have issues that need to be addressed. There is crime and there are gangs. But thankfully we also have hope, we BELIEVE that Baltimore's Time is Now. The problems are not too big to fix as long as we are working at them from every angle: the school system, the health of our small businesses, the development of the neighborhoods as well as the waterfront, the health care system, the homeless population...
Part of the reason I joined Teach For America is because the vision statement includes the reality that not all teachers will stay in teaching. We, in fact, don't want all teachers to stay in the classroom, we want people to become inspired by the problems facing our most precious youth and then go fix them. We want Bill Ferguson to fight for our school system in the Maryland State Senate and we want good doctors that will care for our kids and families that have been underserved for generations. I hope that the doctors, nurses and all of the hospital faculty, the current medical school students and especially the prospective medical students that were interviewing yesterday know that Baltimore is not unsafe. The people of Baltimore need quality health care and deserve quality doctors that are comfortable living and working in Baltimore City.
My heart goes out to the doctor that was injured yesterday. I hope that he and his family are able to recover and heal with the support and love of the Johns Hopkins and Baltimore City communities.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Finance... I mean Muppets
So, Matt told me he would write a few posts about the "Finances of Medical School" this weekend. At 10:30 pm on Sunday night this is what he turned in.
He argued that instead of making everyone's eyes glaze over with boredom, he would hopefully be providing them with a chuckle on Monday morning. Questionable. Enjoy.
He argued that instead of making everyone's eyes glaze over with boredom, he would hopefully be providing them with a chuckle on Monday morning. Questionable. Enjoy.Test Shmest
The first few weeks of school were a bit stressful. I didn't know what to expect, how to study, how long to study, or how deep to get into the material. Not wanting to give up my social activities or this newly-wed time in my life, I was carrying out a nice little balancing act. After the first anatomy test on Friday, I can confidently say that it's doable! I wanted to be over-prepared for the first exam, so I gave up some time with family and friends to study. Although I'm glad I was super ready for the test, I now realize that the world will not fall apart if I put down Gray's Anatomy and board a Pirate Ship with my friends (which I did miss out on... tear).
Some quick study tips:
1. Prepare for lecture by reading the notes, looking up crazy names of bones and ligaments, and finding pictures the structures I will learn about the next day.
2. Be efficient. By using the hours during the day to study, I am able to make dinner, walk to the store, and enjoy some QT with Matt at night. Sometimes I get out of class at 1pm - leaving 5 or 6 more hours to color code pictures of arteries and veins.
3. When studying, don't just do the reading to "check it off" my To Do List. Actually memorizing and learning structures, attachments, and functions while reading is more efficient than reading and then going though it all over again to actually learn it.
(Who knew the foot was so complicated?!)
4. Plan! If I create a study plan for each day, each week, or each test then it's easier to stay ahead of the game and not feel overwhelmed!
5. Prioritize - not only what to study, but for how long to study that topic or those details. If something is super complicated, I'm going to need to spend more time on it... but how important are the tiny details of that complicated topic versus another topic I haven't even looked at!?
It's nice to know that hard work does pay off, as usual. It doesn't hurt that there were 8 extra credit points at the end of the test... "Is this medical school or eighth grade?!?!"... not that I'm complaining :-)
Some quick study tips:
1. Prepare for lecture by reading the notes, looking up crazy names of bones and ligaments, and finding pictures the structures I will learn about the next day.
2. Be efficient. By using the hours during the day to study, I am able to make dinner, walk to the store, and enjoy some QT with Matt at night. Sometimes I get out of class at 1pm - leaving 5 or 6 more hours to color code pictures of arteries and veins.
3. When studying, don't just do the reading to "check it off" my To Do List. Actually memorizing and learning structures, attachments, and functions while reading is more efficient than reading and then going though it all over again to actually learn it.
(Who knew the foot was so complicated?!)
4. Plan! If I create a study plan for each day, each week, or each test then it's easier to stay ahead of the game and not feel overwhelmed!
5. Prioritize - not only what to study, but for how long to study that topic or those details. If something is super complicated, I'm going to need to spend more time on it... but how important are the tiny details of that complicated topic versus another topic I haven't even looked at!?
It's nice to know that hard work does pay off, as usual. It doesn't hurt that there were 8 extra credit points at the end of the test... "Is this medical school or eighth grade?!?!"... not that I'm complaining :-)
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Hummus on my notes
There is hummus on my urogenital triangle notes, spaghetti sauce on a drawing of the entire supply of blood to the foregut, midgut and hindgut, and ice cream on my To Do List. This must mean there is a test coming up. I am really looking forward to the day where I can eat a meal without Gray's Anatomy.
On a similar note, my husband made a comment to a bunch of friends the other night. After talking about how med school is or is not like Grey's Anatomy he says, "So, I didn't talk with Melissa about this yet, but guys, she has a book called Gray's Anatomy on her desk! I laugh every time I see it! It's crazy it's got the same name as the show!" Blank stares. Wow. He clearly should have brought that up with me before announcing it to the group.
When retelling that story to a classmate, she says, "He laughs when he sees it, I have quite a different visceral reaction when I see it!"
And on a completely different note, we did get our white coats today! And of course we had to buy them ourselves... (the school will give us ones at the end of the year apparently). So this video is included simply to note that eventually (I'm hoping after anatomy) there will be time to change the words to popular rap songs and make music videos.
On a similar note, my husband made a comment to a bunch of friends the other night. After talking about how med school is or is not like Grey's Anatomy he says, "So, I didn't talk with Melissa about this yet, but guys, she has a book called Gray's Anatomy on her desk! I laugh every time I see it! It's crazy it's got the same name as the show!" Blank stares. Wow. He clearly should have brought that up with me before announcing it to the group.
When retelling that story to a classmate, she says, "He laughs when he sees it, I have quite a different visceral reaction when I see it!"
And on a completely different note, we did get our white coats today! And of course we had to buy them ourselves... (the school will give us ones at the end of the year apparently). So this video is included simply to note that eventually (I'm hoping after anatomy) there will be time to change the words to popular rap songs and make music videos.
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