Oh my...

On Tuesday I had physical diagnosis, that lovely class which always falls at the worse times, but that teaches me how to be a doctor. During the debriefing the doctor running the session made me laugh so hard:

"If a patient comes to you for erectile dysfunction, give him the drugs because sex is good. However, you better do a work up for peripheral vascular disease. Because, while sex is good.... sex with a one armed man is not."

And Isn't It Ironic...

I took a year off before going to med school and volunteered as a teacher in Thailand... Now, I did a lot of work but never made any money.... meaning I didn't have to file any taxes last year. This also meant that that lovely economic stimulus was never seen by me.

Fast forward to this year: I did a 6 week educational externship this past summer. It was paid, but it didn't pay a lot. Now, somehow, by working for 6 weeks I owe the government $200+.

But what's even more ironic, is that the only money I have right now are my student loans.... which means I'm paying the government back with their own money.

The Rural City

My best friend's mom shared this with me. It's kind of long, but it gives a really good picture of what Detroit has become within the past 20 years.


Detroit Wildlife from florent tillon on Vimeo.

The Effects at Home

CNN had an article today/yesterday that came from Lansing, my hometown (but not where I currently live) about the effects of the bailout and horrible state of GM.

Please take a moment and read the article if you haven't already... and if you get the chance, pray for Lansing (and Michigan) in general... The recession has been absolutely horrible to us*.

Here's the link: Lansing struggles with restructured GM**

*Yes, I know that it's been horrible for everyone... but this is how I'm seeing the effects.
** Sorry about the non-image link... I'm on a school computer, not my amazing Mac.

Oh my, I think we just went insane

*this post is a little snarky.... oh well**

My class has officially hit the psychotic breaking point.... And we're taking it out on each other in the retard, I mean discussion, forum*.

Please note, that this was posted anonymously....

haha...

* "Retard forum", while probably not politically correct, or in any terms correct, is what some my friends call the discussion forum on Blackboard (an interface that we can access all the class material from).

By far my favorite post thus far (and proving that retard forum is a just name):

While I've never heard of "Dimentia" (please note this spelling was used twice), Dementia with Lewy Bodies has under its heading "other dementias with Parkinsonism." Also, a quick perusal of Wiki shows that it is "closely allied with Parkinsonism." In fact, if you search the book and look for Lewy Body Dementia, it points you Parkinsonism.... Hmm...

Another case of when Wiki could save insufferable humilation:

Thank you cut and paste Wiki.

People, I don't know about you... But half my MD will be coming from Wiki... try using it my friends. :)


P.S. Although I have posted some comments on the forum, I cannot take credit for any of the above anonymous quotes... Although I wish I could claim a few of them. Haha..

Part of that Magic Society

Another great article by Pauline Chen over at the NY Times.... Some of my favorite excerpts

Or another character’s lecture on the descriptive names for different physical signs: “’Yes! A treasure trove of words! That’s what you find in medicine. Take the food metaphors we use to describe disease: the nutmeg liver, the sago spleen, the anchovy sauce sputum, or currant jelly stools. Why, if you consider just fruits alone you have the strawberry tongue of scarlet fever, which the next day becomes the raspberry tongue. Or how about the strawberry angioma, the watermelon stomach, the apple core lesion of cancer, the peau d’orange appearance of breast cancer...and that’s just the fruits! Don’t get me started on the nonvegetarian stuff!

My teachers were magically seeing things we students could not see; I wanted so much to be part of that magic society.

“The busy practitioner struggles with time pressures,” Dr. Verghese responded. “But hurrying through makes us just hurry through. We order a lot of tests because we think we are saving time or because we are uncertain. If you spend more time listening to a patient or being more thoughtful, you end up saving time.”

If you are interested in going into medicine (aka going through med school) or just looking for a good read, I highly recommend Final Exam (by Chen). Yes, I've recommended it before, but it's a really is a good book.

Anorexia Awareness

Below are the two short videos highlighting one of the guys I graduated with from HS. TJ passed away 2 years ago from anorexia while in dental school.

Video 1:
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009302130007

Video 2:
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009302130008

Male anorexia is not discussed a lot; there needs to be more awareness.

If you know anyone who is showing signs of anorexia, PLEASE talk to them! Show them you're concerned and care about their health and well-being.

Easiest Indian Stew

Ingredients - serves 4

1 cup long-grain white rice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
1 medium onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon curry powder, plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 cups homemade or best-quality store-bought tomato sauce
2 cans (15 ounces each) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for garnish
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt

Directions

1. Cook rice according to package instructions; cover, and keep warm.
2. While rice is cooking, heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
3. Add onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper.
4. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
5. Add curry powder and ginger; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
6. Add tomato sauce, chickpeas, and 1 1/2 cups water.
7. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.
8. Stir in lime juice; season with salt and pepper.
9. Serve stew with rice and yogurt, garnished with lime wedges and a pinch of curry.

Taken from MarthaStewart.com

Thoughts
Umm... I LOVE chana masala... So this just made me insanely happy. Yum yum yum. :)

Mediterranean Grain Salad

Ingredients - serves 1

• 1/3 c medium-grind bulgur
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 c grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 c fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 c small shallot, minced
• 1 tb red-wine vinegar
• 2 tb olive oil
• 1 ounce fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. In a heatproof bowl, mix bulgur with 1/2 tsp salt and 1 c boiling water
2. Cover and let stand until tender but slightly chewy (30 minutes)
3. Drain bulgur, pressing to remove liquid
4. Add tomaotes, parsley, shallots, vinegar, and oil
5. Season with salt and pepper and toss
6. Top with cheese

Taken from MarthaStewart.com

Thoughts
I modified the recipe a little... I couldn't find grape tomatoes, so I just cut up 1/2 a normal tomato. Also, I used feta instead of goat cheese.

Overall I liked the recipe... I didn't drain it enough as I should have, so when I make it in the future that will definitely change.

But I really liked the bulgur. I've never really had it (except for once a long time ago), but thought its nutty flavor complemented the salad well.

My Mom is A-MAZING!

My mom completely spoils my brother and me when it comes to holidays. For as long as I can remember my mom has put together gift for both Valentine's Day and Easter. I don't know why she started doing it, but all I know is that it's amazing.

Now, you must admit, that that is amazing when you're little. But, what's even more amazing is that my mom STILL does it! In fact, my brother* actually asked her this year if she was going to do the holiday gifts. It's really quite a tradition in our family.

Last year my mom was actually staying over at my apartment close to Valentine's day, so she brought AMAZING cupcakes and some other fun things with her for the visit. When I was away at college, she'd send the gifts as packages.

Well today I went to my mailbox and found a slip saying I had a package waiting for me in the apartment office. I went in and received a colorful bag of goodies (see above image)!

I cannot lie and say that it was a complete surprise (I had talked to my mom earlier on the phone today about 2 happy things** and she had mentioned to be expecting something in the mail), but what was a surprise was all the goodies! I was kind of expecting the candy, but completely not expecting the Stabilo pens or the movie at all! ****

So, Mom, I LOVE YOU and YOU ARE THE MOST AMAZING MOM EVER***!

* Mind you, my brother is 19 and I'm 24 (almost 25). Yes, we're spoiled... I already mentioned that.

** I got my grades back for cardio today, and while my average was decent, my standardized score was pretty amazing for me. Also, I was nominated for a type of humanitarian honor society at our school.... there's 70 nominees for 12 spots . I don't know if I'll get it, cause a lot of the other people deserved it, but it's an honor to be nominated... and it makes me happy.

*** Sorry to everyone else, but it's true... You should be jealous that you don't have my mom as your mom. :)

**** And yes, I know that I overused the word "amazing", but there's really no other word that truly captures how awesome my mom is (except for maybe "awesome").

I'm such a bionerd for liking this.

"Yay me" *clapping my hands and jumping up and down*

Umm, so I've been given another award... Wow. I don't know what to say except, "Thank you to Leah, over at Pretty in Pink."


Lovely Lemonade Award!
As always here are the rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude.
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received the award.

Good lord, 10 is a lot.... and I really, umm... Can I just do 5? Yes?! Okay! Here goes:

1. Angela, over @ Angelaboration.... I know, I know... I link her a lot, but she's awesome and we go way back to ballet tutus and Copeland's Hoedown from Rodeo (or something like that, at least according to our mothers).
2. Heidi @ Heidi Renee... She's fun... I promise (and we go back to her swinging from the rafters, invisible rabbits.... I'd go on, but I'd just embarrass myself).
3. Jenn @ Free and Flawed.
4. Expensive Mistakes and Cheap Thrills
5. Allison @ Chasing Zebras... Just started reading her, but really like what I've read!

That is just ridiculous!

*Another potential source of controversy/ Extremely long post*

This week has been a seminar week* at school, the topic being "International Women's Health." Yesterday one of the first year students gave an amazing presentation about his work in rural India last year and today a U of Michigan doctor came to talk to us about his work with maternal and neonatal health.

The guy is definitely an authority on the issue, making 35+ trips to Ghana since 1986 to work on the issues of maternal health. And he presented a lot of very good information on a broad range of topics. Overall I was really enjoying his presentation... that is until he got to the end.

He concluded his lecture on why there has been no significant changes in the maternal death rates, even while the infant death rates are declining. I cannot remember the 3 words he initially stated as the problem, but I do know that under one of them he listed the problem as being two-fold: Religion and Anti-Scientism.

And here is where I wanted to stop him and saw, "Hold Up! Do you even realize what you're saying here? Where is your evidence?" Let me explain.

He started with the aspect of religion as being one of the reasons that maternal death rates haven't changed.

He wasn't saying religion in general, he was saying that it was the Church's fault... And here is where he made his first mistake. The Church does not refer to just the Catholic Church (however, technically** if he had used catholic church he could have gotten away with it...), and the Church, universal, does not go by the standards of the Catholic Church. In his argument he stated the problem to be the condemnation of the use of condoms.

Let's stop and clarify: the Catholic church has come out as being anti-contraceptive. However, other denominations within the church do not hold this view. This is a Catholic view. Both do support abstinence as being the best protection (and let's be honest, it is... you can get anything if you ain't getting any). But, even here he left out a detail: The Vatican was thinking about relaxing it's rules about the use of condoms in those who were HIV positive, especially concerning Africa. Now, I admit, that was in 2006 and I don't know all the details of how that played out...

And, the non-Catholic Christians are out there supporting the ABC method for HIV protection (that being Abstinence, Being Faithful, Contraceptive/Condoms). In fact, Christian organizations are doing more than just supporting it, there's a bunch of them on the front lines teaching it. Let us not forget that non-religious NGOs are not the only people working overseas to make a difference... Not only are there Christian-NGOs (as well as those for other religions), there are also these things called Missionaries.

To say that the Church is holding back the advancement in maternal health is preposterous.

Let's move onto his second topic: Anti-Scientism, which to be honest, was just another attempt to bash Christianity.

Now I'm not entirely sure how he made the jump to this one, but he somehow said that anti-scientism (aka religion) is to blame for a whole host of problems here in the States...

And while he didn't actually make any real agrument (or at least one worth pulling out), I do want to address the fact that he listed "Intelligent Design" as firstly being anti-science, and secondly, somehow related to the non-advancement of maternal health (a case he never actually made, nor do I think he can make).

This brings on a whole new issue of the Creation-Evolution SPECTRUM (it's not just 2 sides my friends), which is a topic he clearly did not know enough about to even mention.

Intelligent Design is not a Christian theory. Yes, it has been adopted by the Christian community, but it started off in the scientific community. And ID does not equal creationsim. ID was first proposed by scientists who were studying the intricacies of biology (etc) when they came to the conclusions that they didn't think the evolution could have happened by chance alone. Now, let's not jump and say, it's that the same thing as Creationism? No, it's not... they never defined what that Divine Being was or who it is, they just stated that evolution was not by random chance. The Church then started using this as one of many theories to allow them to find harmony between faith and science. (If you want more information on some of this, I've uploaded a document that I gave to my students while teaching biology in Thailand here.)

And Christianity is NOT anti-science, as he was implying. Yes, there are some religious people who are anti-science, but the religion as a whole is not. And it's not only the non-Christian who think they're being a little ridiculous for denying things that science has shown***, a lot of Christians would agree with you on that point. However, I'd like to point out that most Christian universities are not only offering science majors, but they are also exposing their students to views that a lot of these extremists would disagree with completely.

For example (jumping back to the creationism thing), I had professors that ran the gammet of the creation-evolution spectrum, from a literalist to a theistic evolutionist. They did not force their views on us, but presented all the materials and wanted us to come up with our own conclusions on the issue.

To say that Christianity is anti-science is an ignorant view lacking any true supporting evidence. What's even more horrendous, is that this ignorant view was used to show Christians are being ignorant. That clealry is not always the case.

I could go on, but I'll stop there. But I would like to add, that I'm open to your thoughts on the issues addressed or other comments about interface of science and faith. Also, if you have any thoughts on the paper listed above, or about Christianity, please let me know.

P.S. I'll try and tone down the controversy in future posts.... but it just keeps throwing itself at my feet.


* Seminar weeks are special topics in medicine presented at lunch. If you attend you can get credit towards a program called Co-Curricular, which (if you do the necessary volunteering and seminar hours) goes towards a free month off during 4th year.
** Catholic, with a capital "c", refers to the denomination, whereas, catholic, with a lower case "c" actually means universal.
*** To say proven, is technically outside the scope of science. Science can never actually prove things, they just get overwhelming evidence that points to it as being true.

"You are so inappropriate"

Things taken out of context can sound so inappropriate, or are just inexplicably inappropriate:

"We go back to the vagina slicing days. Makes me never want to by a gynie."
"I had to do the penis. I was the only girl."
(as we were walking out of the theatre and after introducing some of my friends to each other)

"No. Get out of the hole."
(driving home after the movie... the roads are awful with lots of potholes post-worst winter ever)

"Want to make out?"
(my friend via text during class)

Back to our regular programming

*One of the those post-exam posts that is completely random/ Holy... Long Post.*

Post-Exam Life Catch Up:

Welp, yesterday was the cardio exam. Which somewhat explains my absence... I've had a few things I've wanted to blog about, but I wouldn't let myself near my computer for fear of falling into the black-hole of the internet, seasons of Gray's Anatomy on DVD, and the fear of failing cardiology (won't find out till Wednesday or Thursday if my efforts were successful).

And as boring as it is, I'm going to comment on the exam: going into the exam I felt like everything was very logical and made sense. The problem is that I can sometimes make the wrong things seem logical. Hmm. Needless to say, I'm hoping it went well. General consensus (of friends) was that it was rough, and I don't know how I feel about it... I wouldn't describe it as horrible, I mean, it didn't leave me with a headache like the pharm ones, but I didn't walk out thinking that I did amazing either. AHH, Must. Stop. Analyzing.

Anyways, post exam I cleaned! Everything except vacuuming and laundry (which will be done tomorrow). This is a HUGE improvement over previous habits. But it might have also been me procrastinating.

What, you might ask, could I possibly have to procrastinate after finishing an exam? Oh, I had an assignment due for physical diagnosis by midnight. Granted, it's my fault for putting it off, but I was too stressed over cardio to even attempt said assignment. To make the procrastination worse, I went to see He's Not That Into You with a few friends (which was cute, but a complete chick flick with lines that even we laughed at as being completely ridiculous).

But I got the assignment done by midnight (or at least the quiz part, maybe not the reading - I couldn't focus, I was too tired) and went to clinical skills this morning to learn how to do the musculoskeletal exam*.

This was followed by the school's attempt at determining if spontaneous combustion is real, in the form of neuro pathophys. Oh. My. God! Are you effing kidding me!?

We had class till 5:30! We hardly ever have class till that late, and especially not on the day after a killer exam. WTF school?! To make it worse, we were apparently supposed to have relearned all off our first year neuroanatomy and done a self-study assigment in all our freetime between 5pm yesterday and 1pm today (umm, what?!). They jumped right into nerve lesions... wanting us not only to remember all the nerve tracts/anatomy, but the names and results of all the lesions. AH!

I mean, it would have been nice to have a little time to review pre-"walking the plank", or at least a lecture that quickly reviewed neuroanatomy. Anyways, I have a feeling neuro is going to be ridiculous... and not in a good way. Enter two weeks of hell. Boo.

Completely random:
1. New CD.

I've been wanting this CD for awhile... I've been in LOVE with "I'm Good, I'm Gone" since October-ish. And then I watched the music video for "Dance, Dance, Dance" and fell even more in love... and then heard a song randomly that I really liked only to find out it was by Lykke Li. So, I finally caved and bought it... and it wasn't exactly what I expected. But it's growing on me and I'm really being to like the rest of it. It's super indie meets a little jazz, at least that's my current definition (open to change).

2. Resolution's update.

I thought I would give you all a little update on my NYE resolutions (as it's been over a month) so here goes:

1. Work out at least M,W,F - Haha, who am I kidding. I've worked out once in the last month. Ooops... going to try it again (especially with the cruise coming up).
2. Make a real meal at least once a week - Totally knocking this one out of the ballpark. Score! And roommate loves it too!
3. Stop being an iTunes whore - Doing well, besides getting free music, the CD above has been my only purchase
4. Be better about reading my mail - Check! Getting way better at this... and paying bills on time.
5. Be a better student - Don't really know how to quanitate this, but I feel like it's a yes
6. Swear less - Umm... potentially, but not while I'm driving.
7. Gossip and pass judgment less - Only because I've become a hermit
8. Be a better friend... - Again, I've become a hermit (in an attempt not to have to deal with some situations with friends...)
9. Be more optimistic about life and myself. - Umm, situation mentioned above threw me off, but over I think I'm doing okay in this this department
10. Be better about cleaning - Oh. My. YES! I've been doing dishes within 24 hours of putting them in the sink**... and clean the apartment after both of the exams so far.

Okay, folks... Sorry it's super long and random... I guess that's all I got.

* I was super lucky and had the 2nd session, which meant I didn't have to be there until 10 am, instead of 8 am. Score!
** Believe me when I say this is a HUGE improvement.

Topic of the Day: Abortion

Enter the controversy:

I don't know your views on abortion, but this girl gives an amazing speech. So, I'm sharing:



In related news, I also wanted to share the following article. It's a few days old, but I didn't have time earlier to share...

Clicking the image opens the article.

For a little background on the story, here's a quote on what happened (Renelique is the doctor):

Renelique was not at the clinic, however, and Williams was told to wait for him. She was given two pills and told they would make her ill. When she complained of feeling ill, clinic staff members gave her a robe and told her to lie down in a patient room, the suit says.

Renelique was still not present when Williams "felt a large pain" and delivered a baby girl, according to the suit.

"The staff began screaming and pandemonium ensued. Sycloria watched in horror and shock as her baby writhed with her chest rising and falling as she breathed."

A clinic co-owner entered the room and used a pair of shears to cut the baby's umbilical cord, the suit said. She "then scooped up the baby and placed the live baby, placenta and afterbirth in a red plastic biohazard bag, which she sealed, and then threw bag and the baby in a trash can."

Staff at the clinic did not call 911 or seek medical assistance for Williams or the baby, the suit said.

Renelique arrived at the clinic about an hour later and gave Williams a shot to put her to sleep. "She awoke after the procedure and was sent home still in complete shock," the suit said.

Wow. I don't even know where to begin on this one (and I have a feeling people might get a little mad at me, but here goes anyways). I guess we should start with a "have you realized", that being that I am a Christian. I won't go into more detail there, but I will say that I usually a kind of liberal Christian - I don't believe in a 7 day creation (but still believe that God was directing everything), I support gay rights, and I drink and swear (but only in moderation, *wink*).

When it comes to abortion I'm not 100% committed either*. I do think that it's wrong, but I think that there are situations where it's hard to say that it's completely 100% wrong (i.e. situations of rape, conditions putting the mother's life at risk, etc). I also don't think that my morals should be force onto others... basically meaning, I don't think the "moral majority" has the "right" to decide what everyone else gets to do**.

That being said, although I don't necessarily agree with this girl's decision to get an abortion, what happened next I find absolutely appalling. Now, I know that for many people the idea of abortion can be justified by saying that "it" isn't really a person and the whole issue is about when we become human (the idea of ensoulment)... but I think most people think that would agree that if it can take a breath than it's a real human***.

I understand that the people at the clinic might have freaked out... but who would have ever thought that suffocating the baby was right? Let's say that post-birth the mom still didn't want the baby... there's safe haven laws**** and the option of adoption. This was just plain murder.

*However, recently my thoughts on the issue of abortion have been moving to a more conservative stance.

**That doesn't mean that I agree with their choices.

*** In fact, a lot of people think that 3rd trimester abortions are wrong, as a fetus can live outside the womb after the 27th week of development if there's no major complications.

**** Which I know doesn't necessarily apply, but someone from the clinic could have taken the baby somewhere.

"I love Jesus but I drink a little"

Someone shared this on facebook... and it's too funny not to share.

Red Bell Pepper Frittata

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c water
• 1/3 c uncooked couscous
• 1 tbs water
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 4 large egg whites
• 3 large eggs
• Cooking spray
• 2 c red bell pepper strips
• 1 cup thinly sliced onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Bring 1/2 c water to boil and slowly stir in couscous... remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with fork
3. Combine 1 tbs water, salt, black pepper, egg whites and eggs in medium bowl. Whisk.
4. Heat 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-heat.
5. Add bell pepper, onion and garlic - saute for 5 minutes
6. Stir in couscous and egg mixture
7. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes
8. Sprinkle with cheese
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (or until set)
10. Let stand 5 minutes before serving
    

Served with:
1. Roasted vanilla-scented apples (3 apples, sliced; 1 1/2 tbs vanilla, 1 tsp melted butter in an 8x8 for 15 minutes at 400 degrees)
2. English muffins with jam

Thoughts:
I was a little nervous about the couscous (this is the first time I've seen it put into a frittata), but I went ahead. It was actually pretty good. I really liked the apples and they complemented the dish well. The bottom of the frittata was a little burnt (oops), but the rest was cooked well and delicious.

Recipe and image from MyRecipes.com (i.e. Cooking Light)

You've just been Punk'd

About to get on the highway to go back to the D...
TB Guy: Welcome to Taco Bell. Can I take your order?
Me: Yes, I would like a veggie burger and yam fries.
TB Guy: You do realize this is Taco Bell?
Me: You do realize this is your sister?
TB Guy (aka brother): Ha, hey Katie. What can I get you?
Me: Just a Diet Pepsi (at which point I held back my rant on why Pepsi is not nearly as good as Coke).
Bro: Cool, pull around to the 2nd window.



At the window...
Bro: Here you go. Why are you here so late?
Me: On my way home.
Bro: Oh. Can you do me a favor? (this happens every time I go to TB)
Me: Sure, but I only have $3 and a credit card.
Bro: I need Nyquil....
Me: I'll be back.
Bro: Just pull up to the window.

Me: Here you go. (Handing over overpriced drugs)
Bro: Cool, thanks. Have a safe drive... and call me if there's lots of cops out.


Classic encounter with the brother.

After leaving, I realized I should have told him not to take any until he's done with his shift and not driving. Oops.