My favorite summer show is back! I'm so excited about it. Now, this is no Dancing With the Stars...the dancers are actually really good. Some of the best young dancers in the country. Awesomeness.
Below is a 2006 performance of the girl who is my early favorite.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Our number one test is your number two!
In case my fellow third years were wondering why we do a rectal exam on EVERY patient. We can always count on Scrubs to have the answer! I love this show.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
I think I'll talk to my analyst....
OK, friends, kudos to the first person who post a comment with the song and artist
(title of blog is line of a song). Bonus points if you know the next line to the song. Anyway, I'm just starting out on the Eating Disorders day program at a local hospital for my psychiatry rotation. It's mostly women from age 20-25 who have anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder. Kind of overwhelming. These poor women use restricting food, overexercising, and binging and purging as a way to cope with issues and events that they can't deal with in a healthy way.
And what issues. I think a lot of people think a woman with an eating disorder is selfish and narcissistic. And there definitely is a self-centered component to it. She basically spends all of her time hating her body, counting calories, obsessing over her hunger, planning meticulously the next binge. She can't go to the same McDonalds two days in a row or they'll know. What lie can she tell? Ordering for a big family? Or her son's baseball team? And how can she throw up without anyone knowing? Good thing she's trained herself to throw up silently.
But she's not doing this for the heck of it. She can't deal with what happened...not with those feelings. If she "practices" her eating disorder, she won't have to feel. Among my patients, there are women with alcoholic parents, abuse and rape victims, women who have seen loved ones die, all sorts of horrible past experiences.
Today was a day dedicated to addressing body image issues. Hearing these feelings of self-loathing and disgust that these women had for their bodies was eye-opening. And as much as their eating disorder is their issue, current societal ideals of what feminine beauty is really does not help them. How can they believe that it's okay and beautiful for them to be in their healthy weight range when most of the women who are lauded as beauties are underweight? It's a pretty awesome expectation to have of them. I mean, when your boyfriend has a huge crush on Cameron Diaz it's kind of hard to embrace achieving a healthy body weight. I think it's very confusing for them...to figure out what to believe...when they have only believed the lies that they have told themselves for so long.
This experience is forcing me to deal with my own body issues. While I don't have an eating disorder, I at times have pretty intense body dissatisfaction. When people around me who are much thinner than I am talk in a hurtful way about their own bodies, it reinforces the message that my body must be really awful. And the fifteen pound weight gain that has happened with third year (admittedly by not exercising as much as I did last year) hasn't helped things either. I am certainly not immune to the messages that thin=good, that there is only one way to have a beautiful body. And I am also aware that I sometimes use hunger as a way to deal with (or avoid dealing with) hard feelings. Strange, huh?
So what do we as women believe? Who do we believe? How's this for a start? "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."--1 Samuel 16:7
Oh, back to my title, which ended up having very little to do with my post. My attending is a psychoanalyst...she's really into subconscious conflicts and those sorts of Freudian and Jungian theories. I'm a skeptic, I admit. But she's also an amazing therapist and a great doctor and teacher. I'm privileged to learn from her.
(title of blog is line of a song). Bonus points if you know the next line to the song. Anyway, I'm just starting out on the Eating Disorders day program at a local hospital for my psychiatry rotation. It's mostly women from age 20-25 who have anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder. Kind of overwhelming. These poor women use restricting food, overexercising, and binging and purging as a way to cope with issues and events that they can't deal with in a healthy way.
And what issues. I think a lot of people think a woman with an eating disorder is selfish and narcissistic. And there definitely is a self-centered component to it. She basically spends all of her time hating her body, counting calories, obsessing over her hunger, planning meticulously the next binge. She can't go to the same McDonalds two days in a row or they'll know. What lie can she tell? Ordering for a big family? Or her son's baseball team? And how can she throw up without anyone knowing? Good thing she's trained herself to throw up silently.
But she's not doing this for the heck of it. She can't deal with what happened...not with those feelings. If she "practices" her eating disorder, she won't have to feel. Among my patients, there are women with alcoholic parents, abuse and rape victims, women who have seen loved ones die, all sorts of horrible past experiences.
Today was a day dedicated to addressing body image issues. Hearing these feelings of self-loathing and disgust that these women had for their bodies was eye-opening. And as much as their eating disorder is their issue, current societal ideals of what feminine beauty is really does not help them. How can they believe that it's okay and beautiful for them to be in their healthy weight range when most of the women who are lauded as beauties are underweight? It's a pretty awesome expectation to have of them. I mean, when your boyfriend has a huge crush on Cameron Diaz it's kind of hard to embrace achieving a healthy body weight. I think it's very confusing for them...to figure out what to believe...when they have only believed the lies that they have told themselves for so long.
This experience is forcing me to deal with my own body issues. While I don't have an eating disorder, I at times have pretty intense body dissatisfaction. When people around me who are much thinner than I am talk in a hurtful way about their own bodies, it reinforces the message that my body must be really awful. And the fifteen pound weight gain that has happened with third year (admittedly by not exercising as much as I did last year) hasn't helped things either. I am certainly not immune to the messages that thin=good, that there is only one way to have a beautiful body. And I am also aware that I sometimes use hunger as a way to deal with (or avoid dealing with) hard feelings. Strange, huh?
So what do we as women believe? Who do we believe? How's this for a start? "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."--1 Samuel 16:7
Oh, back to my title, which ended up having very little to do with my post. My attending is a psychoanalyst...she's really into subconscious conflicts and those sorts of Freudian and Jungian theories. I'm a skeptic, I admit. But she's also an amazing therapist and a great doctor and teacher. I'm privileged to learn from her.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Top 10 OB moments...
The last three weeks on Parkland's Labor and Deliver wards have been hectic. Here are the highlights:
10. I delivered my first baby the first fifteen minutes of being on Labor and Delivery! It was such an amazing, emotional experience. Then, I almost fainted from all the blood. I was able to deliver nine more babies basically by myself over the three weeks. One short of my goal! But still awesome.
9. At least five of my teen moms and pops asked if I was married or had kids. Um, nope. It was funny, though. I couldn't exactly say, "No, I'm WAY too young to have kids" to a seventeen year old girl who already had two of her own.
8. My teammates!!!!! Irene was my night float partner, and she of course is adorable. Then, Pam and Shirley, my day compadres were witty and helpful and wonderful. We had a blast. At least I did. They sure make the 10 to 14 hour shifts on Labor and Delivery more fun.
7. Last night, one of the dads asked if I was going to be a doctor for the money. Awesome.
6. One of my moms on my last day on labor and delivery was a 46 year old G9P7 (That means that she had been pregnant nine times, with seven kids and one in the tummy). I took a little extra history and found out that her oldest "kiddo" was 27, and she had twelve grandchildren! Some of her grandchildren have aunts and uncles who are younger than they are! Crazy!
5. Getting to speak Spanish all the time was AMAZING. Something like 80% of the moms speak Spanish only. I think my Spanish has improved by 100%. Wonderful.
4. "Every time I close my eyes, all I see is blood everywhere." --Irene, my dear friend and night float partner at the end of our last night shift
3. "Meconium happens." A button on an L+D nurse's uniform--I totally want one. (Meconium is basically a baby's first poop.)
2. One of the dads saw his baby girl and thought that she was so beautiful that he changed her name on the spot from April to Linda (which means pretty in Spanish).
1. According to shirt worn by and L+D nurse outlining the ten top reasons to work at Parkland's Labor and Delivery, the number one reason is...."We put the fun in fundus." Hahaha.
10. I delivered my first baby the first fifteen minutes of being on Labor and Delivery! It was such an amazing, emotional experience. Then, I almost fainted from all the blood. I was able to deliver nine more babies basically by myself over the three weeks. One short of my goal! But still awesome.
9. At least five of my teen moms and pops asked if I was married or had kids. Um, nope. It was funny, though. I couldn't exactly say, "No, I'm WAY too young to have kids" to a seventeen year old girl who already had two of her own.
8. My teammates!!!!! Irene was my night float partner, and she of course is adorable. Then, Pam and Shirley, my day compadres were witty and helpful and wonderful. We had a blast. At least I did. They sure make the 10 to 14 hour shifts on Labor and Delivery more fun.
7. Last night, one of the dads asked if I was going to be a doctor for the money. Awesome.
6. One of my moms on my last day on labor and delivery was a 46 year old G9P7 (That means that she had been pregnant nine times, with seven kids and one in the tummy). I took a little extra history and found out that her oldest "kiddo" was 27, and she had twelve grandchildren! Some of her grandchildren have aunts and uncles who are younger than they are! Crazy!
5. Getting to speak Spanish all the time was AMAZING. Something like 80% of the moms speak Spanish only. I think my Spanish has improved by 100%. Wonderful.
4. "Every time I close my eyes, all I see is blood everywhere." --Irene, my dear friend and night float partner at the end of our last night shift
3. "Meconium happens." A button on an L+D nurse's uniform--I totally want one. (Meconium is basically a baby's first poop.)
2. One of the dads saw his baby girl and thought that she was so beautiful that he changed her name on the spot from April to Linda (which means pretty in Spanish).
1. According to shirt worn by and L+D nurse outlining the ten top reasons to work at Parkland's Labor and Delivery, the number one reason is...."We put the fun in fundus." Hahaha.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Even the Internet knows I'm pathetic.
E-Harmony keeps sending me emails. Find my soulmate! Three months for the price of one! I have never visited e-harmony. How do they know that I am chronically single? Cue creepy Twilight Zone music. Wait, no, cue girl angsty teen movie music. Yes. That's better.
Oh, friends, I have to admit...being single is hard sometimes.
Oh, friends, I have to admit...being single is hard sometimes.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
For Anna Fleming....
A song by the adorable Chris Lowell's band Two Shots for Poe. Not the awesomest song, but I'm trying to find Anna a new celebrity crush (Anna, he plays beach volleyball and is an avid photographer who only uses REAL film). Besides, anyone who manages to rhyme Anna, banana, cabana and Santa in the same song scores points in my book. :)
How many of me?
You can go to this website called howmanyofme.com to see how many people in the US share your name (according to the US census). It's not perfect...per Google there is at least one other person who has my name...but she's a kiddo, so maybe it doesn't show up. Still, I'm a rare gem! Ha.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Deep questions...
Not really, but my dad sent these to me, and some of them are kind of funny in that awesome corny dad way. Consider the following:
If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn?
What hair color do they put on the driver’s license of a bald man?
If nothing sticks to Teflon, how do they get Teflon to stick to the pan?
How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work?
Why is bra singular, and panties plural?
Why do they put Braille dots on a drive-up ATM?
What would Geronimo shout if he jumped out of an airplane?
Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways?
And my favorite... If con is opposite of pro, is Congress opposite of progress?
Yeah, pretty silly.
If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn?
What hair color do they put on the driver’s license of a bald man?
If nothing sticks to Teflon, how do they get Teflon to stick to the pan?
How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work?
Why is bra singular, and panties plural?
Why do they put Braille dots on a drive-up ATM?
What would Geronimo shout if he jumped out of an airplane?
Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways?
And my favorite... If con is opposite of pro, is Congress opposite of progress?
Yeah, pretty silly.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Human reproduction IS funny...
Today I hung out a bit at Panera with my friends Buddy and Christian. I was also studying Ob-Gyn. Which brought up the topic of human reproduction. I gleefully shared a bit of the birthing process...yeah, kind of gross. But it was funny. A few highlights.
Buddy (after I shared with them how we actually maneuver the baby out of the birth canal): "So...it's kind of like getting a sofa through a doorway." (great analogy, actually)
Later, I told them how a vasectomy was done. And the following ensued.
Buddy: "I was glad when I found out that, you know, stuff still comes out."
Christian: "Yeah, otherwise it would be kind of like, well, dry heaves."
Ha!
Buddy (after I shared with them how we actually maneuver the baby out of the birth canal): "So...it's kind of like getting a sofa through a doorway." (great analogy, actually)
Later, I told them how a vasectomy was done. And the following ensued.
Buddy: "I was glad when I found out that, you know, stuff still comes out."
Christian: "Yeah, otherwise it would be kind of like, well, dry heaves."
Ha!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Night float done!
I'm done with OB night float, which totally rocks. But I have to admit, I had a blast. I got to deliver four babies on my own and help with tons more. My two favorite experiences were not even the times I was able to deliver the baby. Two nights ago, I helped this sweet lady push for four hours (the upper limit of normal is three). She only spoke Spanish...and the midwife did not really...so I was able to comfort her, I think. The upper level resident called a C-section on her for "arrest of descent" (as in the baby wasn't coming out), but the mama was so determined to have the baby vaginally that she pushed him out before they had the chance to take her to the OR! Anyway, she cried, I teared up...it was really a sweet time. And then she was so grateful to the midwife and to me for helping her. Honestly a gratifying experience, and all I did was encourage and talk with her!
Then last night was kind of slow...I only got to deliver one baby and assist in another (the second baby had a bowel movement in the amniotic fluid, which can be a sign of fetal stress...so no med student delivery). However, I hung out with Marta, the coolest midwife of all time! She helped me with my Spanish, and we practiced all night. Awesomeness.
What I'm about to say is going to sound really strange to some people, but that is okay. I realized something important during my first nights of OB. I saw quite a few moms lose their babies, and it is such a trauma and tragedy in their lives. I want to marry the type of man who I would want by my side if we ever lost a baby. Does that make any sense? I want a man who would grieve outwardly, who would cry with me and not turn cold, who would stay strong in his faith that God is good and loving and sovereign in the midst of all of that. Kind of off topic, I know, but I've actually thought about it a lot during the past couple of days.
Two days off and then two more weeks of days on OB. I was dreading this, but it really is fun. Yay. :)
Then last night was kind of slow...I only got to deliver one baby and assist in another (the second baby had a bowel movement in the amniotic fluid, which can be a sign of fetal stress...so no med student delivery). However, I hung out with Marta, the coolest midwife of all time! She helped me with my Spanish, and we practiced all night. Awesomeness.
What I'm about to say is going to sound really strange to some people, but that is okay. I realized something important during my first nights of OB. I saw quite a few moms lose their babies, and it is such a trauma and tragedy in their lives. I want to marry the type of man who I would want by my side if we ever lost a baby. Does that make any sense? I want a man who would grieve outwardly, who would cry with me and not turn cold, who would stay strong in his faith that God is good and loving and sovereign in the midst of all of that. Kind of off topic, I know, but I've actually thought about it a lot during the past couple of days.
Two days off and then two more weeks of days on OB. I was dreading this, but it really is fun. Yay. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)