I can't believe my test is only FOUR weeks from today. I've been studying, but I feel like it will never be enough. I recently started doing USMLE World, which is the main question bank everyone suggests and I was doing really well the first few days, but the last couple? Yeah, I'm not sure what's going on. I'm still doing better than most, but I want to kick butt on this exam! I know there's only so much I can do, I just hope it's sticking.
I'm currently doing an elective in Infectious Disease and it's going well. We set up a schedule where only one student stays late per day and everyone one else gets to go home and study, which is great. The doctor even offered to write us a letter of recommendation on Friday :o)
I only have two more weeks in NYC. My mom and her friend, Julie, are coming on June 29th to help me move. It's a good thing they're coming too because I'm going to have to move to another apartment for 2 days, since my lease ends on the 30th, which is a Wednesday but my rotation doesn't end until Friday the 2nd. Luckily my wonderful landlord is letting me stay in a studio for those two days. I'm looking forward to their visit, I just wish I had more time to show them around and really enjoy my last couple of days here.
I'm having a going away party next Friday so that should be fun. We're starting out at Max Brenner's for dessert and then going out afterwards. I have mixed feelings about leaving because I'm going to miss my friends, but I'm really looking forward to coming home and having a break. After this elective I'll only have 12 more weeks of rotations before I finish medical school. I can't believe I can say that already. It seems like just yesterday I was going to Dominica. These past couple years have flown by...I can only imagine how the next few will go.
Thanks for reading and please keep me in your prayers. I'm studying as much as possible, but I'm definitely getting a little nervous. ONLY 4 WEEKS LEFT! Ack! Better get to bed so I can get up and study before church tomorrow. Love you all and thanks again for your support!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Study, Study, Study
As you can probably tell, all I feel like I do anymore is study. I'm currently studying for Step 2 CK, which I've signed up to take July 19th. As I go through the information it all looks familiar, but then I read a question and of course I pick the wrong answer. lol I keep telling myself that it will be worth it in the long run, but if I'm honest I'm just really tired and ready to be done. I don't know why I feel so burnt out especially when I haven't studied more than a couple days at a time for the last year and a half, but I do. My goal is a 250 on Step 2 and that's not going to be easy. I'm praying for guidance, recall and understanding.
My mom will be coming at the end of June to help me pack up and move back home. We'll be stopping in Boston for a couple of days on the way home, which I'm really looking forward to. I'm excited to be coming back to the west coast eventhough I'm going to miss NYC and all of my friends here. I'm trying to get the rest of my electives set up there, so cross your fingers. Right now I've applied to a hospital in California and am trying to see if it'd be possible to get some electives back home as well. I have 8 more weeks to fill and then my schedule will be set and it will be time to start the residency application process. I should be graduating at the end of October/November. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. Eventhough I'll be graduating then, the Graduation Ceremony itself won't be til June of next year. I know this is a short post, but please keep me in your prayers. I'm getting nervous about everything I have to do over the next couple of months. Thanks again for reading!
My mom will be coming at the end of June to help me pack up and move back home. We'll be stopping in Boston for a couple of days on the way home, which I'm really looking forward to. I'm excited to be coming back to the west coast eventhough I'm going to miss NYC and all of my friends here. I'm trying to get the rest of my electives set up there, so cross your fingers. Right now I've applied to a hospital in California and am trying to see if it'd be possible to get some electives back home as well. I have 8 more weeks to fill and then my schedule will be set and it will be time to start the residency application process. I should be graduating at the end of October/November. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. Eventhough I'll be graduating then, the Graduation Ceremony itself won't be til June of next year. I know this is a short post, but please keep me in your prayers. I'm getting nervous about everything I have to do over the next couple of months. Thanks again for reading!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Visitors, Tests and a New Roomie
So I know it's been awhile since I updated my blog, but things have been really busy lately. As I mentioned in my last post, my ex-roomie, Kristen and her husband, Matt, came to visit. It was a wonderful visit filled with lots of laughs and adventures. The day before they arrived I was told I had Costochondritis. If any of you have ever had that, I am SOOOO sorry! It was extremely painful and was starting to affect my ability to breathe, so I decided it was probably time to be seen. I pretty much diagnosed myself, but it's always nice to have someone confirm :o) I also wasn't able to sleep due to the pain, so they gave me Percocet to help with that. I really didn't want to take it, but since I couldn't lie flat, or on my side, or on my back, or basically get comfortable at all I decided I'd try it...relief FINALLY! They also told me I needed to be taking Ibuprofen 800mg 4x/day...a HUGE dose. I'm just so thankful it worked. I'm not sure if it came on because I was sick with the flu and a 104 degree fever recently or due to the fact that I had done a lot of push ups in P90x at the beginning of the week, but either way...I'm fine now :o) Thank you Jesus!
Back to Kristen's visit, so they saw Central Park, Natural History Museum, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, China Town, WTC Memorial Museum, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, The Seaport, a fire station in Queens where Matt's friend works, Yankee Stadium (bit of a close call there), the musical "Rock of Ages," Max Brenner's (my favorite restaurant, which they listed as being in the top 3 of their favorite things they did in NYC!) and a few other places all in the span of 4.5 days! Busy busy bees were they. On the last night, they made Phoebe and me a burrito dinner, which was really sweet and SOOOO good! It was wonderful to have them and I hope I get to see them more often once I'm home for awhile. Oh and I think I also have them hooked on P90x...they at least have the videos now. Kristen did Yoga with Phoebe and I the night before they left and she said, "I never knew yoga could be that hard!" That's P90 in a nutshell :o)
I officially am done with OB/GYN, the last of my cores, and it feels so good! My favorite part was clinic because there was a lot we could help with. My least favorite was L&D, which consisted of standing for approximately 10 hours without anything to do and Gyn Surgery was somewhere in the middle. Anyway, it's over and I'm pretty confident I got an A so I'm happy about that. In addition, I just finished Pain Management at Wyckoff. It was a really nice and laid back rotation. I had two wonderful students to work with and the doctor was ridiculously nice. I actually missed one day because I had to go and take Step 2 CS in California (Yay for seeing Phoebe again!). It went well I hope but we don't find out if we passed or not for about 3 months. I was a little disappointed in myself because I felt like I forgot to ask something in every room and it wasn't even the same question everytime! Oh well, I spoke with other people and they said they had the same problem so we'll see. Either way it was nice to be in Cali with Phoebe and her family and to just get out of NYC for a little while. I don't mind NYC but it's nice to be in a home surrounded by family. Everyone needs a mini vacation now and then, right? Thank you Lee Family!
My new roomie recently moved in, her name is Fernanda she's from Mexico and she'll be here until May 2 when the other young lady, Ramon, moves in. Fernanda is very nice and laid back. She's having a little trouble adjusting which has affected her sleeping, but she's hanging in there. She also has allergies, so pray that she starts feeling better soon. She's a little homesick right now. Tonight we're going to see "How to Train Your Dragon" and "The Last Song" so hopefully that will cheer her up a little.
I start Radiology next week for 2 weeks and then move on to Oncology for a month at NYDH, followed by 4 weeks of Infectious Disease at Wyckoff. These will be my last electives in NYC and then I'll be heading home to study for a bit. Please pray that I'm able to focus these last few weeks and really get in study mode. My goal is to have gotten through most everything by the time I leave here so that I can review for a few weeks in July and then take my exam. I'm planning on doing the rest of my electives in California, so cross your fingers! Hope you all are doing well and thanks again for reading!
Back to Kristen's visit, so they saw Central Park, Natural History Museum, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, China Town, WTC Memorial Museum, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, The Seaport, a fire station in Queens where Matt's friend works, Yankee Stadium (bit of a close call there), the musical "Rock of Ages," Max Brenner's (my favorite restaurant, which they listed as being in the top 3 of their favorite things they did in NYC!) and a few other places all in the span of 4.5 days! Busy busy bees were they. On the last night, they made Phoebe and me a burrito dinner, which was really sweet and SOOOO good! It was wonderful to have them and I hope I get to see them more often once I'm home for awhile. Oh and I think I also have them hooked on P90x...they at least have the videos now. Kristen did Yoga with Phoebe and I the night before they left and she said, "I never knew yoga could be that hard!" That's P90 in a nutshell :o)
I officially am done with OB/GYN, the last of my cores, and it feels so good! My favorite part was clinic because there was a lot we could help with. My least favorite was L&D, which consisted of standing for approximately 10 hours without anything to do and Gyn Surgery was somewhere in the middle. Anyway, it's over and I'm pretty confident I got an A so I'm happy about that. In addition, I just finished Pain Management at Wyckoff. It was a really nice and laid back rotation. I had two wonderful students to work with and the doctor was ridiculously nice. I actually missed one day because I had to go and take Step 2 CS in California (Yay for seeing Phoebe again!). It went well I hope but we don't find out if we passed or not for about 3 months. I was a little disappointed in myself because I felt like I forgot to ask something in every room and it wasn't even the same question everytime! Oh well, I spoke with other people and they said they had the same problem so we'll see. Either way it was nice to be in Cali with Phoebe and her family and to just get out of NYC for a little while. I don't mind NYC but it's nice to be in a home surrounded by family. Everyone needs a mini vacation now and then, right? Thank you Lee Family!
My new roomie recently moved in, her name is Fernanda she's from Mexico and she'll be here until May 2 when the other young lady, Ramon, moves in. Fernanda is very nice and laid back. She's having a little trouble adjusting which has affected her sleeping, but she's hanging in there. She also has allergies, so pray that she starts feeling better soon. She's a little homesick right now. Tonight we're going to see "How to Train Your Dragon" and "The Last Song" so hopefully that will cheer her up a little.
I start Radiology next week for 2 weeks and then move on to Oncology for a month at NYDH, followed by 4 weeks of Infectious Disease at Wyckoff. These will be my last electives in NYC and then I'll be heading home to study for a bit. Please pray that I'm able to focus these last few weeks and really get in study mode. My goal is to have gotten through most everything by the time I leave here so that I can review for a few weeks in July and then take my exam. I'm planning on doing the rest of my electives in California, so cross your fingers! Hope you all are doing well and thanks again for reading!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Whirlwind Weeks!
Hi Everyone,
So these last two weeks have been crazy busy for me. Last week my dad and my grandma came to visit, which was a blast! My cousin Treston came up to visit for his birthday too, which was great! At first I wasn't sure they were going to make it the entire week since my dad's coat, although his warmest, was not warm enough and we were having to stop to get warm every block or so. Then, I accidentally took them on the Downtown train instead of the Uptown train because that's how I go to work in the morning, so we had to transfer at 59th Street. Well...I forgot how many stairs there are at that station and my poor grandma had to stop a few times to catch her breath. When she finally got to the top she was saying she felt pressure in her chest! Oh man! I thought I had given my grandma a heart attack...so yeah, scary moment right there. My dad later said he was glad she stopped so many times cause it gave him a reason to rest too :o)
Later that day, we ended up going back to the apartment so my dad could add more layers and my grandma could put on more comfortable shoes. After that we were all set and boy did we see a lot! We went to Times Square where we saw Batman, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central, Central Park, Natural History Museum, Union Square (Max Brenner anyone???), Statue of Liberty, Staton Island, World Trade Center, Phantom of the Opera, etc etc etc. We also made a trip to Costco for the much needed toilet paper and a few odds and ends as far as groceries. On the way back I was pulling my suitcase (Yes, that's how we go to Costco in NYC!! lol) and I fell down flat on my butt...so embarrassing! From then on my dad pulled it even though his arm was giving him a rough time from moving my grandma into her new house the week before.
Overall it was a wonderful and very busy visit. Every night after we came home my dad would take a nap for at least an hour and my grandma would collapse on the couch either to take a nap or write in her journal about what all we had done that day. We went out to eat a couple of times, but we were able to get groceries and eat in some too. My grandma made biscuits and gravy two mornings and pancakes another. It was so nice to have family around if even for a short time. I'm not sure the next time I'll be able to go home, so it could be quite awhile before I see everyone again. They left really early on Friday February 19th and were back in Wenatchee by 4:30pm that evening. I miss them a lot but am looking forward to my next visitors, Kristen and her husband, Matt, who will be coming in March. Seeing familiar faces really helps when I'm so far away from home.
On Monday, I started OB/GYN at New York Downtown Hospital. I've been at this hospital before for Surgery and I really like all of the staff there. My first two weeks are in Labor and Delivery. So far it's been incredibly boring and I'm not liking it at all...probably in part due to the fact that I was able to watch multiple deliveries and a few C-sections at home in Wenatchee before I even started rotations thanks to Tom and my mom! I'd still like to see a twin delivery though... Anyway, I'm hoping it will get better because so far it's just A LOT (10 hours) of standing around not doing anything. At least my group of students are nice and friendly :o) Last night NY received a lot of snow, so today was a snow day for us...not sure what I'm going to do with myself, but I'll figure something out.
One last thing, I posted an ad on Craigslist last week for my apartment I've gotten quite a few replies. Please just pray that I'm able to find the right person and that everything goes well once they move in. Thank you so much to those of you who have been praying about that situation. I should have a final decision by next week :o) Love you all and I'll post again soon!
So these last two weeks have been crazy busy for me. Last week my dad and my grandma came to visit, which was a blast! My cousin Treston came up to visit for his birthday too, which was great! At first I wasn't sure they were going to make it the entire week since my dad's coat, although his warmest, was not warm enough and we were having to stop to get warm every block or so. Then, I accidentally took them on the Downtown train instead of the Uptown train because that's how I go to work in the morning, so we had to transfer at 59th Street. Well...I forgot how many stairs there are at that station and my poor grandma had to stop a few times to catch her breath. When she finally got to the top she was saying she felt pressure in her chest! Oh man! I thought I had given my grandma a heart attack...so yeah, scary moment right there. My dad later said he was glad she stopped so many times cause it gave him a reason to rest too :o)
Later that day, we ended up going back to the apartment so my dad could add more layers and my grandma could put on more comfortable shoes. After that we were all set and boy did we see a lot! We went to Times Square where we saw Batman, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central, Central Park, Natural History Museum, Union Square (Max Brenner anyone???), Statue of Liberty, Staton Island, World Trade Center, Phantom of the Opera, etc etc etc. We also made a trip to Costco for the much needed toilet paper and a few odds and ends as far as groceries. On the way back I was pulling my suitcase (Yes, that's how we go to Costco in NYC!! lol) and I fell down flat on my butt...so embarrassing! From then on my dad pulled it even though his arm was giving him a rough time from moving my grandma into her new house the week before.
Overall it was a wonderful and very busy visit. Every night after we came home my dad would take a nap for at least an hour and my grandma would collapse on the couch either to take a nap or write in her journal about what all we had done that day. We went out to eat a couple of times, but we were able to get groceries and eat in some too. My grandma made biscuits and gravy two mornings and pancakes another. It was so nice to have family around if even for a short time. I'm not sure the next time I'll be able to go home, so it could be quite awhile before I see everyone again. They left really early on Friday February 19th and were back in Wenatchee by 4:30pm that evening. I miss them a lot but am looking forward to my next visitors, Kristen and her husband, Matt, who will be coming in March. Seeing familiar faces really helps when I'm so far away from home.
On Monday, I started OB/GYN at New York Downtown Hospital. I've been at this hospital before for Surgery and I really like all of the staff there. My first two weeks are in Labor and Delivery. So far it's been incredibly boring and I'm not liking it at all...probably in part due to the fact that I was able to watch multiple deliveries and a few C-sections at home in Wenatchee before I even started rotations thanks to Tom and my mom! I'd still like to see a twin delivery though... Anyway, I'm hoping it will get better because so far it's just A LOT (10 hours) of standing around not doing anything. At least my group of students are nice and friendly :o) Last night NY received a lot of snow, so today was a snow day for us...not sure what I'm going to do with myself, but I'll figure something out.
One last thing, I posted an ad on Craigslist last week for my apartment I've gotten quite a few replies. Please just pray that I'm able to find the right person and that everything goes well once they move in. Thank you so much to those of you who have been praying about that situation. I should have a final decision by next week :o) Love you all and I'll post again soon!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
6 Years Old!
On Monday Anna, the little girl I used to be a nanny for, turned 6 years old. It seems like just last week that I was changing her diapers, rolling around on the floor with her and taking her to music classes. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by. I was able to do a video chat with her last night and it was SO fun! She is such a little sweetheart. One of the favorite things we did was type back and forth to each other on the computer. I loved hearing her sound out the words to see what I had written :o) At one point, she wanted to play a game where she would start a word and I had to try to finish it. Usually the words were the names of her friends, but since I don't know any of her friends it was quite the undertaking! Anyway, one of the examples she gave me was Hol. I chose Holly, but of course I was wrong and it was Holden. I asked her if he was her boyfriend and she said yes, so I proceeded to ask more questions about him to which she said that he doesn't know yet! lol Oh to be 6 again...I then heard Natalie in the background telling me to ask her why she liked him more than the other boys and Anna's response was, "Because his skin is SO soft!" Is that not the sweetest thing ever? Boy do I love my little Miss Banana :o) Happy Birthday little sweetheart!
Today was the last day of my Pediatric rotation. It was a really crazy week. My exam went well and I was able to get an A for the rotation though! Yay! Thank you to all of you who were keeping me in your prayers.
I'm still on the lookout for a new roomie, so if you know of anyone who might be looking for a place in the city from April to the end of June please let me know. I've got a couple pretty good prospects but nothing is for certain, so please keep it in your prayers. I'd really like to know one way or another within the next few days.
Tomorrow my dad and my grandma will be arriving. I'm really excited for them to come and can't wait for them to get here. It will be their first time to NYC, so it should be quite the experience for them. Probably a bit of a shock...I can't wait to see my grandma get on the subway for the first time! :o) We don't have much planned as of yet, but I'm sure that will change soon after they arrive. They'll be here for about a week, so we have a lot to do in just a short amount of time. Wish us luck! Thanks for reading and remember...I love comments :o)
Today was the last day of my Pediatric rotation. It was a really crazy week. My exam went well and I was able to get an A for the rotation though! Yay! Thank you to all of you who were keeping me in your prayers.
I'm still on the lookout for a new roomie, so if you know of anyone who might be looking for a place in the city from April to the end of June please let me know. I've got a couple pretty good prospects but nothing is for certain, so please keep it in your prayers. I'd really like to know one way or another within the next few days.
Tomorrow my dad and my grandma will be arriving. I'm really excited for them to come and can't wait for them to get here. It will be their first time to NYC, so it should be quite the experience for them. Probably a bit of a shock...I can't wait to see my grandma get on the subway for the first time! :o) We don't have much planned as of yet, but I'm sure that will change soon after they arrive. They'll be here for about a week, so we have a lot to do in just a short amount of time. Wish us luck! Thanks for reading and remember...I love comments :o)
Monday, February 8, 2010
Two Posts in One Week??
Just a quick update. As I said in the previous post I am finishing up Peds this week. I'm excited because it's a long commute, but I'm a little nervous too. This is the first rotation where the students are just a number...no really I'm #26! Anyway, when the attendings don't know your name let alone anything about you it makes it really hard to get an A. We have our final on Wednesday but it was SUPPOSED to be on Friday, so I'm feeling really stressed about not having enough time to study. I'm on call tomorrow night so that means tonight and during the day tomorrow is the only time I'll have. Please pray that I'm able to get through all the information and that I can remember it when I need to. Everyone thinks I'm worrying about it too much, but if you know me at all you know I want to be the best at everything and school is definitely not an exception :o)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Are you Wondering What I've Been Up To??
Okay, so it's been over 2 YEARS since I updated my blog. I know, I know...there's definitely no one reading it anymore, but I'm hoping to change that. As most of you know, I'm still in Medical School. I'm in my 4th year and that means I'm no longer in Dominica. To be honest I havent been there for about a year and a half! It's odd...I know I was there. I have memories of the island, but it feels like a dream. Like a lifetime ago. So you ask, what have I been up to?
Since I left the island I've taken and passed the Comp (on my first try!), I've taken Step 1 and passed with a number I'm very happy about and done most of my core rotations. What are core rotations you might ask? All medical students are required to do rotations in certain areas of the medical field before they can graduate. So far I've done Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Surgery and Psychiatry. I'm currently in my last week of Pediatrics and then I'll be on to OB/GYN...my last core. I've also done a couple of electives: Emergency Medicine and Anesthesiology.
So what's next? After I finish my cores I'll be doing some more electives, taking Step 2 Clinical Skills on April 10th and then later Step 2 Clinical Knowledge sometime in July (at least that's the plan). At this point, I'm thinking I'll be in NYC until the end of June, home for a month to study and then off to more electives. I really want to come home for some of my rotations, but it's a long process and I haven't had much luck as of yet. Cross your fingers God opens some doors soon.
Also please pray that my housing situation gets settled soon. I've been living with Phoebe, whom I love dearly, for the last year and it's been wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better, more loving, supportive roomie :o) Nonetheless, she's heading home to California in early April, which means I either have to move or find someone to take her place...not that anyone ever could! As you can tell, there are a lot of big changes coming up in the next few months, so please keep me in your prayers. If you know me at all, you know that I am not a fan of change and will put it off for as long as possible! lol Tata for now!
Since I left the island I've taken and passed the Comp (on my first try!), I've taken Step 1 and passed with a number I'm very happy about and done most of my core rotations. What are core rotations you might ask? All medical students are required to do rotations in certain areas of the medical field before they can graduate. So far I've done Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Surgery and Psychiatry. I'm currently in my last week of Pediatrics and then I'll be on to OB/GYN...my last core. I've also done a couple of electives: Emergency Medicine and Anesthesiology.
So what's next? After I finish my cores I'll be doing some more electives, taking Step 2 Clinical Skills on April 10th and then later Step 2 Clinical Knowledge sometime in July (at least that's the plan). At this point, I'm thinking I'll be in NYC until the end of June, home for a month to study and then off to more electives. I really want to come home for some of my rotations, but it's a long process and I haven't had much luck as of yet. Cross your fingers God opens some doors soon.
Also please pray that my housing situation gets settled soon. I've been living with Phoebe, whom I love dearly, for the last year and it's been wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better, more loving, supportive roomie :o) Nonetheless, she's heading home to California in early April, which means I either have to move or find someone to take her place...not that anyone ever could! As you can tell, there are a lot of big changes coming up in the next few months, so please keep me in your prayers. If you know me at all, you know that I am not a fan of change and will put it off for as long as possible! lol Tata for now!
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