the first day of the rest of my life..

Today was orientation to my summer research program. General orientation was Boring (and yes, that's a capital "B") and long, but Peds orientation was short and to the point, leaving me with a free afternoon. Instead of calling, I decided to stop by the unit and see if my attending/mentor was around. That turned into an awesome idea, as I ended up spending 4 hours with her. She gave me a tour of the unit, newborn nursery, newborn lab and pharmacy, peds xray... we went to laundry and got my badge set up for scrubs (which come out of a vending-machine type apparatus - cool!). Then we went to cardio surgery conference which was also very interesting. Tomorrow will be my first full day - and full it will be. Grand Rounds, NICU rounds, a lunch meeting, afternoon developmental clinic....

I think I'm going to like this whole doctor thing.

There's no place like home...

After a few weeks of traveling and catching up with family and old friends, I'm finally "home" again in the big city. It was a lovely time away but more than time to return. I missed M & N more than I thought possible... those med school friendships really are all they're cracked up to be ;) So after lunch and dinner with them yesterday and mom's help cleaning and getting the house pulled together, it appears I'm ready for a fun filled weekend and the most amazing job ever starting Tuesday.
Orientation is Monday, and thanks to inside sources (ie: all my friends who've already started their jobs) it definitely will not be considered part of the "amazing".. at least the general orientation in the morning. Apparently the videos are worse than the ones the VA shows. That doesn't seem possible, but I trust these people... ha. Peds orientation might not be too bad. But I'm looking forward to Tuesday morning and a high census. Bring on the babies!!!

One time, in med school orientation...

So far, I've learned...
1) Orientation is incredibly boring and long-winded
2) Everyone really wants us to succeed, which is nice. The scaring the pants off of us has been kept to a minimum.
3) I am entitled to, and now own, the infamous white coat. It was an absolutely WONDERFUL evening - one that I will never forget. For indeed it was in that moment that I married this career and set forward on my journey.

Tomorrow is 8-1 and then we have been sufficiently oriented and are free to begin class. Monday morning. 8 am. See ya there.

An overdue update...

Things are going well here in Jackson. Friday I reported to the VA with my fellow F-H's. What a treat that was... three hours of fingerprinting, signing forms, and wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. (I would assume that orientation will be just as enlightening, only 4 days long..) They sent us home with this fun e-qip thing to fill out and about a hundred references of character to get (okay, i'm exaggerating, but only slightly). I tried to log on to it all weekend to no avail. Monday I called and come to find out they had spelled my name wrong in the system and that's why I couldn't get in! I was able to log in, change my name, fill out all the forms, etc.

Dad came up for the weekend. We had a good time. Just ran around a bit, showed him the school, etc. Monday I went to Batson and got a tshirt and badge holder...

Tuesday I had an appointment with my new doctor up here, Dr. P. He's wonderful. It was a bit of a stress to get established as I had to do some tests and such (and UMC is a MUCH bigger place than my previous hospitals/clinics). Kinda funny to be a patient before a student, but whatever it takes I suppose. It's nice to know I have a doc and I can call (or Student Health can) if I need him. Plus, he's probably going to be teaching me at some point in M3-M4 years... so... (it's never a bad idea to start knowing people that could possibly write LORs at some point!)

It's been raining a lot this week. I think the sun is finally coming out, so I may run around a bit this afternoon. I haven't done much shopping lately!

Five days to go!

W2s, 1044s, scholarships and more!

It's TAX SEASON... AH! That means W2's, 1044's, and FAFSA - some of everyone's favorite things.

Thursday I got a scholarship offer in the mail from UMC... my first one! There is a chance that more scholarship money will be forthcoming after the FAFSA is processed, but I am beyond blessed with this offer. Just last weekend I was starting to worry about money and how everything would work out, then I got this offer in the mail. God is so good and always hears our prayers. I am so blessed that He chose to answer this one in this fashion. It is not a huge scholarship but anything is a BIG help.. any money that doesn't have to be paid back especially!



In other news, orientation will begin on August 4th at 1:00 P.M. Some days it feels like it's still so far away - other days it seems too soon. I'm ready to get started but nervous to be leaving everything I know behind - I'm sure that many people are having the same reaction. Overall, though, I'm incredibly excited - and so very blessed. The Lord ALWAYS knows what we need!

I've also started getting serious about working out. Running is my new passion. I think the endurance and stamina will serve me well in med school - as will the stress outlet.

Until next time, keep pushing for your dreams!