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| Apple-caramel crisp (top), blackberry cream pie (L), and pumpkin pie (R). |
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| Granny smith and gala mostly. |
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| I thought this seemed really peaceful. And the logs on the side were a nice touch. |
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| So excited. |
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Apple Hill
One thing I've been meaning to do while living in NorCal is go apple picking. I've never gone fruit picking before and it seems like such a cool and interesting thing to do. Last year a few of us did go to Apple Hill (about a 45 minute drive from our med school), but we missed the apple picking season and it was already time for pumpkins. We did enjoy our day, but it was still a fail in that we came back empty-handed. This year, we made sure to double check when apple picking season starts (Labor Day weekend!) and when the best time to go is. And I am happy to report that our mission was successful.
Break time!
Because we at UCD believe wellness is the key to success, we were blessed with 1 week off after the end of our second rotation. Yaya! I got to go home after a 4 month absence from the city of Angels (the longest I've ever been away). Mostly I did nothing. And by nothing I mean eat too much and hang out with people I hadn't seen in a while. Perfect way to recharge for the rotation ahead.
On to Psychiatry!
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| Got to see my ragamuffins! |
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| First stop: Sprinkles ice cream sundae aka ice cream in between a cupcake. I have to admit, this may have been too much for me. |
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| Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup. Perfection! I had never tried this before and it was simply amazing. |
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| Had to treat myself while in the motherland. |
Rotation 2: Pediatrics
After my Surgery shelf exam, I had 2 whole days off before starting my second rotation. I didn't really know what to expect as I've heard really great things about Peds and some not-so-great experiences others have had. Overall, I was happy with my schedule and sites so figured it would be an interesting couple of months and definitely a respite from the OR!
I started off on Newborn Nursery. I basically got to play with babies all day, so I know you are all incredibly jealous. At first, I was very very very careful when examining the babies. After all, they were like 2 HOURS OLD. I would put my stethoscope on them extremely gingerly, so much so that my attending would watch me with a bemused expression on her face. She later assured me that I wouldn't break the babies and I could be a little more confident with the way I was conducting the exams. Ha!
I then had 3 weeks of outpatient. The hours on outpatient are glorious. It's basically 9-5 and I had to be in clinic 3 days out the week! It was such a change from the 13-hour-6-days-a-week schedule I had gotten so used to. It was nice to have the chance to catch up on some life things, like going to the optometrist, taking my car to get serviced, getting my laptop fixed, etc. I really enjoyed outpatient too, which was a little surprising to me. I've always known that I like the inpatient setting more than outpatient - I find the time constraint of appointments a little difficult to manage and I worry after the appointment if I did all that I could for the patient. At least on inpatient services, you can always check in on the patient whenever you want to, get more information, etc. Inpatient cases tend to be more acute as well, which I find exciting. It's like a puzzle you have to solve. And (at least in academic centers) you work in a team, so you feel less isolated and it's more of a learning environment where it's easy to call consults and bounce ideas off others. So when I found myself really enjoying the outpatient part of Peds, I figured it must be because of Peds itself. I told myself I would wait and see how my month of inpatient peds went and then figure out if this is something I want to consider pursuing as a career.
The preceptors I worked with in clinics were also really great about letting me take the reigns and seeing patients on my own rather than simply shadowing. I don't think all of my classmates had the same experience and that's really unfortunate. There's a huge educational benefit to being active participants in patient care so I'm grateful the pediatricians I worked with were willing to do that for me. I also felt I learned a great deal in just a few short weeks. Even though it was summertime, I still saw plenty of sore throat cases, rashes, ear pain, and of course sports physicals. Although some cases were tough and I couldn't get more than one-word answers even though I was trying really hard, other times it was just so easy to build rapport. One kid even gave me his sticker!
After that, I had 4 weeks of inpatient service on the Wards team. Initially, I had requested either the Heme/Onc service (blood disorders and cancer) or Nephrology (kidneys), so I was a little bummed that I had gotten my third choice pick. But it turned out to be the greatest thing ever. I absolutely loved wards so very much. It's the general service so I got to see what you call the "bread and butter" of pediatrics - the typical cases that you manage. Each of my patients had a different issue so I got to experience a variety of things and it turned out to be great not just educationally but also as validation that this might just be the field for me. I loved learning about pediatric conditions, loved interacting with kids and their families, loved working with the various interns, residents, and attendings, and just always felt a sense of happiness. I was happy when I woke up in the morning, exciting to go in to the hospital and experience my day. And I was happy when I came home in the evening, excited about the things I had seen or learned about. Studying pediatrics also did not feel like a chore. At the risk of sounding like a nerd (but we all know I am one, not ashamed to admit so), I would read for hours and not realize how much time had elapsed. From meningitis to botulism to irritable bowel to rashes to cystic fibrosis, I took it all in as a starry-eyed third year student is apt to do.
On our last day of service, the pharmacist brought over samples of the medications we give kids so that we can taste them and experience what it's like. (Before anyone gets bothered, we used the syringes so we were only taking in a few drops.) Let me tell you, most of these are just nasty. I felt bad thinking back on all the times I had to prescribe some of these. I'm sorry, kids! It was for your own good and I'm so glad you got better!
What a wonderful rotation this was! I'm sad to leave but also excited to see what other surprises third year has in store for me. Check back in 8 months time to see if Peds is the winner.
I started off on Newborn Nursery. I basically got to play with babies all day, so I know you are all incredibly jealous. At first, I was very very very careful when examining the babies. After all, they were like 2 HOURS OLD. I would put my stethoscope on them extremely gingerly, so much so that my attending would watch me with a bemused expression on her face. She later assured me that I wouldn't break the babies and I could be a little more confident with the way I was conducting the exams. Ha!
I then had 3 weeks of outpatient. The hours on outpatient are glorious. It's basically 9-5 and I had to be in clinic 3 days out the week! It was such a change from the 13-hour-6-days-a-week schedule I had gotten so used to. It was nice to have the chance to catch up on some life things, like going to the optometrist, taking my car to get serviced, getting my laptop fixed, etc. I really enjoyed outpatient too, which was a little surprising to me. I've always known that I like the inpatient setting more than outpatient - I find the time constraint of appointments a little difficult to manage and I worry after the appointment if I did all that I could for the patient. At least on inpatient services, you can always check in on the patient whenever you want to, get more information, etc. Inpatient cases tend to be more acute as well, which I find exciting. It's like a puzzle you have to solve. And (at least in academic centers) you work in a team, so you feel less isolated and it's more of a learning environment where it's easy to call consults and bounce ideas off others. So when I found myself really enjoying the outpatient part of Peds, I figured it must be because of Peds itself. I told myself I would wait and see how my month of inpatient peds went and then figure out if this is something I want to consider pursuing as a career.
The preceptors I worked with in clinics were also really great about letting me take the reigns and seeing patients on my own rather than simply shadowing. I don't think all of my classmates had the same experience and that's really unfortunate. There's a huge educational benefit to being active participants in patient care so I'm grateful the pediatricians I worked with were willing to do that for me. I also felt I learned a great deal in just a few short weeks. Even though it was summertime, I still saw plenty of sore throat cases, rashes, ear pain, and of course sports physicals. Although some cases were tough and I couldn't get more than one-word answers even though I was trying really hard, other times it was just so easy to build rapport. One kid even gave me his sticker!
After that, I had 4 weeks of inpatient service on the Wards team. Initially, I had requested either the Heme/Onc service (blood disorders and cancer) or Nephrology (kidneys), so I was a little bummed that I had gotten my third choice pick. But it turned out to be the greatest thing ever. I absolutely loved wards so very much. It's the general service so I got to see what you call the "bread and butter" of pediatrics - the typical cases that you manage. Each of my patients had a different issue so I got to experience a variety of things and it turned out to be great not just educationally but also as validation that this might just be the field for me. I loved learning about pediatric conditions, loved interacting with kids and their families, loved working with the various interns, residents, and attendings, and just always felt a sense of happiness. I was happy when I woke up in the morning, exciting to go in to the hospital and experience my day. And I was happy when I came home in the evening, excited about the things I had seen or learned about. Studying pediatrics also did not feel like a chore. At the risk of sounding like a nerd (but we all know I am one, not ashamed to admit so), I would read for hours and not realize how much time had elapsed. From meningitis to botulism to irritable bowel to rashes to cystic fibrosis, I took it all in as a starry-eyed third year student is apt to do.
On our last day of service, the pharmacist brought over samples of the medications we give kids so that we can taste them and experience what it's like. (Before anyone gets bothered, we used the syringes so we were only taking in a few drops.) Let me tell you, most of these are just nasty. I felt bad thinking back on all the times I had to prescribe some of these. I'm sorry, kids! It was for your own good and I'm so glad you got better!
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| PharmBar. |
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| Shelf day. Peds students have a dress code. |
What a wonderful rotation this was! I'm sad to leave but also excited to see what other surprises third year has in store for me. Check back in 8 months time to see if Peds is the winner.
Culinary Adventures
My second rotation was a little more flexible, especially during my outpatient weeks! So of course I had to eat my way through it.
I was finally able to attend the CA State Fair! It was already over before I moved up to Sacramento my first year, and I didn't get a chance to go during second year, though I really cannot recall why. I was extremely excited to go this year and was looking forward to it a soon as third year began. Luckily, the fair coincided with my outpatient month so I was fortunate to have the extra time. Third year has actually been really great so far. I'm finding that I am actually spending *more* time with classmates, going out and enjoying the things Sactown has to offer. I think a lot of us are putting in the extra effort to get together because 1) we don't get to see each other as often now that we are spread out among different rotations and different sites and 2) it's a wonderful way to catch up and compare notes about how things are going.
Anyway, as evidenced below, I ate way too much, and people are willing to deep-fry anything and everything. Case in point: deep-fried snickers, nutella, cheesecake (what the...?). It's glorious.
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| Most important meal of the day. |
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| Impromptu contest at the Fourth of July Last Minute BBQ hosted by K. |
I was finally able to attend the CA State Fair! It was already over before I moved up to Sacramento my first year, and I didn't get a chance to go during second year, though I really cannot recall why. I was extremely excited to go this year and was looking forward to it a soon as third year began. Luckily, the fair coincided with my outpatient month so I was fortunate to have the extra time. Third year has actually been really great so far. I'm finding that I am actually spending *more* time with classmates, going out and enjoying the things Sactown has to offer. I think a lot of us are putting in the extra effort to get together because 1) we don't get to see each other as often now that we are spread out among different rotations and different sites and 2) it's a wonderful way to catch up and compare notes about how things are going.
Anyway, as evidenced below, I ate way too much, and people are willing to deep-fry anything and everything. Case in point: deep-fried snickers, nutella, cheesecake (what the...?). It's glorious.
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| Fried fried fried. Also, dragon! |
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| German chocolate cake (L) and banana creme pie (R). |
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| Summer pasta with beef ragu and garlic bread. |
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