Good Bye little Green Car...

Well, sadly after many many years of good use, my Geo is going to the junk yard. Last week while driving back to my clinical site in Augusta Maine I got rear ended by a guy driving a Subaru. As many of you know, my trunk has been functioning as a traveling closet for almost two years now and when I got hit, a bunch of my stuff was spilled out all over the road! Fortunately, While my car is not ok, I am! And some very nice people came and helped me pick my stuff up out of the road. One of my classmates came and helped me empty the rest of my stuff out since the car was not drivable (the frown on driving without break lights). I have since been issued a rental car by the other guys insurance and I found out friday that it would cost 5,000 dollars to fix my car so it is now in the process of being totaled. I am currently waiting to get loan approval so that I can get a new car. Do you think they will give another loan to an unemployed graduate student sitting on a MOUNTAIN of debt already??? Lets hope so! I will keep you all posted!

Car

Paper work never ends...

It seems to me that paper work will never end. We just had a class on how to get licensed in Maine and how to renew your license every two years... I will just say- its a lot of paper work. I don't really like it. What if I just don't do it? Yeah OK I know, I have no choice but I don't have to be happy about it.

For those of you that weren't aware, I had my simulated patient exam yesterday... I will have you know that my "patient" did not die. The only problem was that I did not think the plastic man looked "sick" and silly me, I forgot to ask- does he look sick? I think that at this point I would be able to tell on a real patient whether or not he was sick. Anyway, I am sure I passed which is all that matters. Now I am just killing 3 hours while I wait my turn to take a fake 3 hour board exam... I am also not happy about that.

Done with this cold weather!!!

Once again my plans have changed... instead of going back out to WA to do another rotation I will be going back to the VA in Maine. I am actually very happy about this because in the end it is going to save me a lot of money!

Nothing new is really going on in live right now, I am still just working full time at the various rotations while NOT getting paid! I have spent the last 5+ weeks in rural New Hampshire- all I have to say about that is that Rural NH is VERY cold. I think the coldest day it was -30. That just doesn't seem possible! Thankfully my car started. I really wanted to see a moose while on that rotation but alas it has not happened yet. I think I will go up to Baxter State park next fall- everyone says that's the best time to see one. They are really huge creatures so I don't really understand why I am having such a difficult time seeing one. I guess its a good thing I am staying in Maine for awhile.

I really like everyone that I have met on this rotation. All the ladies at the clinic have been so nice to me and the family that I am living with has been awesome!

While I am looking forward to the end of this rotation, I am not looking forward to rotation seminar. Between every two rotations we have to go back to campus to do presentations and take exams and other busy work stuff. At this seminar, we have our "summative evaluations" which includes a graded simulator experience. Basically we have these 250,000$ fake patients that we have to evaluate, diagnose and treat. The problem is, we are video taped, and watched from behind a two way mirror were someone is speaking through a microphone on behalf of the "patient" It is really strange and you have to basically "act" like its a real person. Not only that but the person grading you has to hear out loud what you are think- so you have to remember to say things that normally your just file away in your head, like- oh the patient appears to have good color and good profusion (even though the "patient" is made out of plastic!) Not only do we have to do these simulated exams, but we also have to take the practice board exam AGAIN! Which means we have to take another 3+ hour exam for FUN! No good!

Lets see what else... I am so over the snow and cold- I mean I don't even remember the last time it was over 30 degrees for more than a few hours one day a week. I don't think people were meant to live in under 30 degree weather for prolonged periods of time. Good thing I am still carrying around some 1st year PA school "insulation". I would love a little rain. I do like that the sun comes out however.

Rotation Update...

So I am in the last week of my 5th rotation... I only have 3 left!!! I have already one: Women's Health in Bar Harbor Maine, Outpatient Internal Medicine at the VA in Togus/Augusta Maine (where I meet Jason), Emergency Medicine in Lewiston Maine, Surgical/Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Maine Medical Center in Portland Maine, and currently General Surgery at Providence Medical Center in Everette Washington! The ones that remain are as follow (as long as nothing changes that is): Rural Family Medicine in Gorham New Hampshire, Emergency Medicine (again) at Harborview Medical center in Seattle Washington, and last but not least, Family Medicine (not rural this time) in Bangor Maine! If all continues to go as planned I will graduate on May 9th 2009... Not soon enough I can tell you that for sure! I can't wait until I can actually get paid to work this hard! Right now I work full time (usually 8 to 12 hour days depending on the rotation) and... that's right I don't get paid for it! I mean I know that just the way it goes but still, its getting old! The worse part of not getting paid to work full time is the fact that technically I am PAYING to work this hard! I still have to pay tuition! That should be illegal! I guess in the end it will all be worth...

Home sweet home...

Well I am back in Washington. I have been very busy on this rotation- it is far from my moms house so I spend a lot of time driving which is no fun but it gives me lots of time to talk on the phone! It has been nice to see all the friends that I miss while I am in New England I just wish I didn't have to work so much! I will say that being out here makes me miss New England- I am not just talking about the people (don't get me wrong I miss them VERY much) but I have become accustomed to life out there- like the fact that there is no traffic in Maine! I do NOT love being back in a state with lots of traffic after spending so much time without it! I am happy to have all my favorite restaurants again however now I miss the ones that I had out there... like Dunken Donuts! I would have bet a lot of money that I would never like DD- and when it comes to coffee I still prefer Starbucks, but I do like the breakfast that you can get at DD. The other morning I really wanted a nice toasted bagel with cream cheese and I was like "where is a DD when you need one!"
Today I got to spend Thanksgiving with my family- my sister came into town with her husband and three kids! YAY! Anyway, it is Thanksgiving so I thought I should say that I am thankful to be home with my family for the first time in a while, I am thankful that everyone is healthy, I am thankful that I have such great friends- they can make me laugh at the drop of a hat, I am thankful that I have a wonderful boyfriend who treats me so well, but most of all, I am thankful that I am almost done with school!!!

Thanksgiving 2008

Jet setter

So I am trying to get all my ducks in a row so that I can head out to Seattle for 8 weeks... Little did I know that was not going to be easy or fun to prepare for... How do you plan what to pack? Knowing that you have to pay extra for added baggage and weight, do you just bite the bullet and pack two suit cases or one really heavy one? Has anyone done the math on which is cheaper? I bet it depends on the airline... I did find a place to store my car while I am gone, if I was already in Seattle I would not have this problem, we don't have to worry about moving the car when it snow because it doesn't snow in the city! I am looking forward to seeing my puppy for an extended period of time- I am hoping he will remember me! I am not easy to forget so I think he will. I am hoping to do a New Years party or something while I am out there, Jason will be in town for the week so we have to show him a proper time!

The fall is here!

I, unlike may others, welcome the end of summer and the beginning of fall... why you ask... well, because fall is my favorite time of year! And it means the end of gross hot sweaty days with no air conditioning. I love when the weather gets brisk, not so cold that you can't stand to be outside, but just cold enough that you like to cuddle up with someone or something warm when you get back inside! I love watching the leaves change colors- one of New England's biggest perks... In Washington, most of the trees stay green all year- it is the evergreen state after all! Here in Maine, everyday on the way to work I notice more colors! Fall also brings soup season... man I love me some soup, I just wish I had more time to cook it and more people to cook it for... Its hard to cook soup for one if you have no place to freeze the extras. I also love being able to drink tea and Apple cider every night. Someday I will have a hot tub and I look forward to sitting in the hot water watching the stars during the fall... Lets see what else about fall do I love... I guess I can stop there. YAY FALL!