Let go and let God...

It's been an interesting week around here. The tests this week were rough - I'm pretty sure phys went as expected, but the histology was just a total mess. Thankfully (or sadly?) most everyone seemed to feel that way... so perhaps it wasn't quite as bad as we're all expecting.

Tomorrow is the NBME Histology & Cell Biology. Shouldn't be nearly as bad as a normal histology test, but it sure wouldve been nice to actually have been taught the cell biology stuff that we needed (Thank you, biochem, for teaching most of it). Wednesday we've got a Genetics final, next week is phys phys phys (respiratory, comprehensive, and NBME)... then Spring Break! Looking forward to a few days off before Neuro starts.

In other news, there have been some exciting developments in my professional/career future, and I can't wait to share them all... but it'll have to wait until everything's ironed out and I've got the details. God is good, ALL the time... His presence has been felt more in the last week and a half than in a very long time... and I love being in love with Him!

Quote of the week: "The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not sustain you" - in my excitement and anticipation, as well as in my moments of exhaustion, I think on these things. To God be the glory!

Another week has gone by.. Welcome to Lent

So, another (fairly boring) week in the life of M1s. We've had a couple of study nights, mainly trying to just stay on top of the material so that this weekend isn't as miserable as it could be. I elected to skip classes on Monday and Tuesday and just go to Histo lab... was a good choice. May not have been as productive as I should've been, but I was more productive than I would've been in class.

Wednesday was Ash Wednesday... the beginning of the Lenten season. This year, I've decided to give up the "snooze" button on the alarm clock, and spend that thirty minutes every morning in dedicated bible study. I've done this Lenten vow before and it's always very refreshing... time for serious spiritual growth. Sometimes, whether we want to or not, we get caught up in the world and forget the real reason behind things. Every year with Lent, I renew my vows to God to do His will, listen to His voice, and be the best I can be for the purposes He's put before me, even if I don't know them yet. This year is no different - and I've grown more in the first three days than I ever thought possible.

I also chose to fast on Wednesday, another new experience - and exciting one - for me. Relying on His guidance, His strength, and His endurance was all-powerful. I did my fast in honor of Baby Kate, who received her stem cell transplant on Wednesday and spent most of the day in prayer for her. Please join me in lifting her up for God's ultimate healing (www.prayforkate.com).

Thursday and today have been good days overall. We've been discussing fetal and neonatal physiology, and I'm in love. Finally something that I'm interested in. Yesterday's PIG meeting was neonatal medicine too - Dr. K gave a great speech.

M and I went to see our new patient at the nursing home today and it was tons of fun. I'm really excited about getting to know her better and she can't wait for us to come back! On the way home, we discussed the "power of the white coat" and how much it truly means to have complete strangers open up to you simply due to its presence. It's slightly overwhelming, until I remember that He's the one with the real power and I'm just His instrument.

Even though we've got lots of tests this week, I'm taking some "me" time on Tuesday morning and going to the NICU to round with Dr. K and the residents. Sometimes remembering why you're doing this helps keep things in perspective.

This weekend will be filled with lots and lots of studying, endocrine and reproductive phys test on Monday. But that's okay. I have some of the world's best friends and study partners who make my world just a little bit brighter every day :)

Prayer Requests:
Baby Kate
CB Kiddos
NICU babies
My spiritual journey during Lenten season
**Unspokens**

5k.. done!

The end of the week was uneventful, except for a HUGE amount of snow we received Thursday night & Friday morning... I've never seen so much snow. Jackson got about 6 inches, it was insane. I loved it... except for the part of M getting "snowed in" and her flight getting canceled to go see the boy :(. Other than that, it was nice. We ended up having "school" canceled, but it was really just a fun day anyway - I'm kind of hoping they reschedule Primary Care Day instead of just canceling it. But last week I went to FMIG's meeting (Forrest General was down talking = networking) and Dr. T was telling us about Summer Day Camp in May. It seems like a really cool way to get some experience with H&Ps, communication, and minimally invasive procedures. I'll be checking that out for sure.

This morning was Rush to Brush. There was a pretty good group of classmates that ran... Of course P placed in the top 3, C and H came in pretty early as well. A, RA, and I were further behind in the pack - but we all did amazingly well (especially considering it was the first one for all three of us). I'm especially proud of A - she's worked her tail off and doing an awesome job of preparing for her upcoming half in Nashville!! Of course I couldn't have done it without the encouragement of my non-racing friends, so thanks to N & M for the "love you's" and "we knew you could's" and RA for being the best running buddy a girl could ask for. I ended up finishing almost ten minutes earlier than my best practice time... and I have no idea how that happened, considering the weather/ice/snowy conditions... but it was amazing and I am HOOKED!

N and I have had a fun weekend. Tomorrow we're going to do some studying and get ready for a new week. Joy joy.

In short, I'll never forget this weekend. One of the best things I've done in my life, and a check off the "bucket list". RA and I are already plotting out for the next one...

Who is that? Who is that that said they were going to beat my Saints?

Let's see... another week of fun has passed. The weekend was epic. Slumber partying was tooo much fun. We definitely acted like 6th graders, listening to 90's music and giggling and doing all the normal 6th grade-ish activities. We did manage to fit a little (ok, a good bit) of Histology in there... and get to bed at a (somewhat) decent hour of about 2.

Sunday morning, RA and I went for our first run together preparing for the upcoming 5K this weekend. I slowed her down a little bit, but she wouldn't admit it. Looking forward to the run. It was REALLY cold Sunday morning, but considering the forecast for Saturday, I'm kind of glad we "practiced" in that. Did 2 miles at M's house on 4 hours of sleep. Good times. Then we went to church, came home, studied some more... and Superbowled!

My Saints won the Superbowl, and there's been over a foot of snow in DC. Hell has frozen over. The game was AMAZING. The weekend was AMAZING. The test was.... but the weekend was worth it. And it wouldn't have helped at all to study any more. Somebody in a certain dept just hates us. So, oh well. P=MD. And I'm thinking I POSSSIBLY passed it. But I really don't care. Sometimes a mental vacation (and mini real vacation) is totally worth it.

The rest of the week has been fine - Monday night I went to bed at 8 to make up for the total of 8 hours of sleep I got this weekend. And since then it's been pretty low key. Hanging in there, pushing forward, and really, really excited about my first race on Saturday!

Another week in the life of an M1... Pretty routine early in the week. Class, PBLs, CORs, all the usual. I'm really not a fan of nephrology. Had a frustrating start to the renal unit (too many biochem memories), but as usual, M fixed it and helped me pull it all together in the end :)

Thursday was the renal test (which went much much better than expected), followed by Histo lecture (that no one attended - also known as nap time at home to me personally), followed by a trip in the monsoon to our first patient visit. The whole "white coat = dr here to talk to you about life, not medical problems" was slightly confusing to even our very sane patient. This was good, because we were slightly confused too. Anyway, she was really, really sweet - and it was cool to have a little interaction with somebody on the premise of learning.... (whatever they seem to think we're learning). Sadly for us, our wonderful little patient may be leaving the home soon as her rehab is going well and her family's ready for her to come home. Great for her, sad for us. Means we'll have to get another one... But M and I can handle it. We always do. :)

Yesterday... Histo lab (joy, my favorite part of life */endsarcasm), followed by two hours of phys lecture (with Dr. L - hormones, this is gonna be a treat), then home to get ready for Dear John girls' night out! We did dinner at O'Charley's, then went to see the movie... Without giving away any details since most of the world hasn't seen it yet, I'd say 6 stars for eye candy but straying from the book - that always irritates me. Bop's afterwards. I love these girls. Med school = so much better now that we've got a core group, and lots of friends outside that group as well. I remember HemOncDoc telling me a long time ago as I prepared to start med school that it wouldn't be long and these people would be my best friends. It's happening, and it's lovely.

Slept in this morning (always great), now it's time to study for histology since we have a test on Monday and I've got fun plans for the rest of the weekend. Slumber party tonight (oh yes, complete middle school style with 4 giggling girls, Rock Band, and endless hours of girl talk), followed by church, group studying, and SUPER BOWL tomorrow. And somebody in the histo dept had the nerve to tell us not to party too hard. HA. My Saints are in the Super Bowl. It's on. Histo - I'd like to beat you up, but if it's a punt and my Saints win, it's still worth it.

I've put off studying long enough. Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Prayer Requests:
Baby Kate - beginning her BMT workup (prayforkate.com)
NICU babies
CB kiddos
**Unspokens**