SCHOOL
Monday we learned about working with interpreters. I didn't know that, by law, a hospital/clinic/whatever is required to provide an interpreter. That was one of those random details that I never thought about before. Sort of like, who pays a resident's salary? (That answer is primarily Medicare. Sort of random, right?) Anyway, UNMC brought in interpreters and "standardized patients" (people who are paid to act like patients) so that we could practice our skills. I chatted with a lady who uses American Sign Language to communicate. It was good practice because, for example, when I first walked into the room I wanted to introduce myself AND shake her hand simultaneously. And if I did that, she was unable to look at both me and the interpreter. So little things like that were really nice to figure out in a real setting as opposed to just a lecture. I actually enjoyed the ASL patient compared to other languages because the interpreter could be signing as I was talking-- it wasn't quite as slow/delayed as other languages. When I get excited I interrupt people like crazy, so ASL was a good fit for me. Our second practice patient spoke Japanese which was super cool to listen to. The inflection they use is fantastic!
In lecture we have been learning about viruses, one of those being HIV. I find studying HIV to be very interesting for a couple reasons. For one, I get the feeling that our generation thinks that all diseases have been "discovered" and that our job is just to continue to find cures. Like by the time we retire, everything will have a treatment. (ohhhhh boy I wish that were true!) I suppose some people understand that viruses mutate because of the H1N1 panic a few years ago.. but I still don't think they get it. The idea of a group of patients dying under your care without a good explanation (like in the 80s with HIV/AIDS) is frightening but it also makes ya think. I feel like we (especially Americans) tend to think we are the big dogs on campus and that we are on the cutting edge of everything. However we are doing something must be the right way! (I get that feeling when I look at our healthcare system and how we spend oodles more $ than everyone else but our quality is poor. Maybe they've figured out something we haven't?) Anyway, the point of this rambling is that I think these experiences are humbling and they teach us that we truly aren't in control. We are going into medicine because we want to teach people what we know about taking care of our bodies and how to heal them.. but even if everyone in our country could know all that we know about medicine, illness would still exist.
This probably sounds silly to ya'll.. but I think it is just the timing of going to medical school during this obesity epidemic. The cause of every condition is not abusing our bodies with poor-nutrition, not washing our hands, and sitting all day (although some of our lectures or conversations would make you think that). Yes, a HUGE part of the disease in our country could be avoided or at least lessened if people could live the "perfect life"... but c'mon! You only get to experience this planet once! How fun would it be to live as a bundle of anxiety stressing about every decision and detail of everyday?
But back to HIV- I find the history and (sadly!) still present stigma to also be very interesting. I had no clue that in 2012 people would still say things like, "but they are so nice! How did they get infected?!" C'mon people! It's a virus. For one, viruses don't discriminate based on morals. And two, since when should medical conditions define people.. or at least how you view a person? Silly, silly, silly. That is just one of my current pet peeves. Like when I see young teenage girls in clinic and they tell me that they want to lose weight because their parent thinks they are fat. That drives me bonkers. Or when they they say, "I'm fat." No, you are not fat. You HAVE fat. But you are not (at least in my eyes.. am I wrong?) defined solely on your weight (or w/e other medical condition).
My last thought about our HIV lectures is that the professors have left me feeling very inspired. Not necessarily because of what they are teaching (Krista.. where are you going with this?).. but because I googled them, and our lecturers at UNMC were some of the first people to step in and care for the original patients suffering from HIV/AIDS. They were there before anyone could identify what was making them ill. They were there without knowing if it was communicable. They were there because they went into medicine to help people, and these patients needed help. so cool. I hope that I don't lose sight of what drew me to to this field under the piles of paperwork and silliness that will be part of my career. Plus, these professors are celebrities of sorts in the medical world. Ex: Obama references their research in speeches :)
WEEKEND
We had a test this Friday which was awesome-sauce because it meant I had the whole weekend off! That like never happens. If you follow me on Instagram, then you've seen this quick summary of my (one!) FaceTime chat with my family:
Yup. That was all the same conversation. If you know my family, it won't surprise you that our we bounced from UNL dorm drama, to bugging my parents while they ate dinner, to breakdancing, to fly-in-the-kitchen chasing, and a host of other places. Oh, and PS, if you aren't on Instagram I've added my feed to the left column of my blog!
Highlight of my weekend was not the Huskers winning (although that was good too). Saturday afternoon I was able to catch lunch with my college roomie and catch up on her awesome life. She is doing super cool things and it had been way too long since I'd seen here.
Sunday is always a fantastic day because I get to spend the day with T! We attend church in the morning (where we have amazing, fantastic, fabulous friends (can you tell I like them?) AND see all their cute kiddos) and then we lounge in the afternoon. Sometimes we hang with friends, sometimes we nap, we ALWAYS make sure we eat good food ;)
ADVICE
Alright, that is enough rambling for one day! I just have one last question for you all. T and I are thinking about buying a treadmill so that we can start some healthy habits. If you have or had one yourself, are there any features/brands/whatever that we should consider? Do you love yours? Hate it? Think we need to just invest in some good winter running gear and run outside? Your help is much appreciated!
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