Ready to run, ready to learn

I've spent time in all my clinicals, met all my teachers and instructors, made new friends with my new group, commuted for the first time in my life, and got three new nametags.


This hot, windy day and the arrival of my textbooks means I need to keep this post short. But here are some reflections on this wack-wack-wacky week:

• OB is tough. But it's also great. I think I've handled the biggest hurdle which is walking through the floor where we were when we lost the baby. I told my instructors that OB might be a little difficult for me sometimes. My professor told me that maybe I'll feel empowered by the experience so that is going to be my goal. I'd like to take my clinical experience as a chance to see how challenging pregnancy is, how much assistance is possible from good healthcare and how possible a healthy baby is for us. We'll see how all this pans out.
• I might get to see a circumcision! And I might be able to give a newborn some vaccinations! Awesome!
• The VA is ridiculous. Paperwork gets lost, strange protocols must be enforced inconsistently, and very friendly veterans say hello in the hallways. I like that the VA feels like a community. I despise that I waited for a full two hours this week (in two separate sessions of waiting -- there are two steps to this process) for a name badge. 
• Mental health is so strange. But since crazy people are all over the place, it's a fine idea to learn about how to work with them. 
• Weird lesson: On locked psych units patients wear scrubs. This is extremely strange when your brain associates scrubs with nurses. I almost said aloud, "Jeez, these nurses are weird." That would be because the people in scrubs are patients -- mentally unstable patients who can't leave the floor. 
• Pediatrics is terrific. My clinical instructor knows her stuff and is getting us some awesome experiences. Today we got to walk around the floor, see the playroom (amazing), and take a math test. I got a 100 percent on the math test -- yay! And loved the pediatrics floor. 
• Commuting to start at 7 a.m. and to leave Maywood at 2 p.m. isn't terrible, but it's still a serious amount of driving. 
• I'm so excited about this crazy semester -- even though it will be completely nuts -- three clinicals a week, lots of travel, lots of work -- it's going to be great.
• And, I run 10 miles on Saturday! Whoa!!!