Shadowing Update!!

So I knew if I kept at it, I would sooner or later have get lucky with my shadowing endeavor. Since I am going to be doing bench research in the neuro department, I thought it would be appropriate if i inquired about shadowing in the neuro department at the local childrens hospital (which, by the way, is now 5 minutes from my new apartment.) Couldnt get any more convenient than that.

Anyways, I found an email address on their webpage and this is what I wrote:

Neuro Team,

I would like to inquire about any possibly physician shadowing opportunities that you might allow. I am a student at XYZ, currently earning my bachelors degree in biology. I graduated in 2006 with a BA in English and a minor in biology but have recently returned to complete the bio curriculum and pursue medical school.

To complement my interest in medicine, this fall I will be involved in a bench research project with the Department of Neurology at UM Miller. I am also interested in a shadowing opportunity at MCH (once a week or so) to gain experience from a clinical standpoint.

I appreciate your attention and look forward to hearing from you at your convenience.

Sincerely,


A day later I received a reply:
Hello Ms. ___,

Our nurse practitioner, (name), is going to contact you next week to discuss your request.

Sincerely,


Business Administrator
Neuro Network Partners


Well yes, that was short and sweet and i wonder what a nurse practitioner has to do with it but hey, this is the closest I've come so I'm happy. That thing with Bascom Palmer was short lived. In fact, it wasnt even lived at all. He sort of disappeared on me but I'm not going to dwell on it because it simply wasnt meant to be.

Class Schedule!

Dare I say that I'm not surprised I had to revise my class schedule yet again? I'm not referring to time slots and days, etc. I had to pick different classes! It was like a domino effect too - it was crazy. Let me see if i can put it into perspective:

Originally I swapped out Physics because I didnt want to have it in the same semester as Calc and Orgo II --> I switched it to Microbio --> I find out that I'm not eligible for microbio because I need Orgo II as a pre-req ---> I drop mircobio, disappointed and dismayed --> I look at the options I have left:

Plant Life History: NO! hardly relevant.
Local Flora: ???
Marine Botany: See above.
Microbiology: If only....if only....
Comparative Zoology: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? What is the difference between a horse and a donkey?
Vertebrate Zoology: Not sure.
Morphology of Vascular Plants: I tried this class a few years ago but I dropped it because the people in that class were vegan tree huggers and I spent the whole time in the back of the classroom with my friend in hysterics over it.
Forensic Biology: Its a 5000 level class. I wont even bother.
Human Anatomy: A possibility but....
Human Genetics: I'm already taking genetics.

Anyways, back to my chain of course destruction -

I thought about Human Anatomy but the class time doesnt fit. they ony have one slot --> I then decided to check out Vertebrate Zoology (not really knowing what the class was about) but it turns out that it conflicts with my organic chem --Finally I settle on Comparative Zoology , 3 times a week instead of Microbio which was twice a week.

On top of that I had to switch Genetics Lab from Wed to Tues to even it out. So, even thought I managed to compromise with my classes, It still turned out to be a little more compacted than what I originally had wanted. On top of it all, I have my research from 8-11 on Tues and Thurs. I"m packed. Slammed. It's gonna be one heck of a ride, thats for sure.

Lets look at it this way: On M/W/Fri I get out of class for the day at 1pm, which leaves me time for tutoring etc afterward.
Tuesday, I have classes from 12:30 - 6:15 Bleh.
Thursday however, is my "break." I only have genetics from 12:30-1:45.

My mom took one look at my schedule and said, "Alright, I'll see you in December." I guess I'll be buried in books for a while.

I couldnt think of a title for this post, mainly because there hasnt really been any incredible breakthroughs. I've been pretty busy lately with the move, registering for classes, still trying to find a job....On top of that, trying to read this material that I was given from the prof in the neuro department who I will be working with in a few weeks. I'll be honest, the material is difficult, but certainly if I keep it up, I'll get the hang of it.

I cannot wait until my book on the current trends of healthcare comes in the mail!! That will be book #15 that I am reading at the same time. I'm still drooling over my other book though. 800 pages of laboratory and diagnostic tests!!! I think I'll finish the evening with the chapter on bone scans...

I need to make more "been there done that" friends. Lets call them BTDT friends. Since I'm attacking this journey under the radar, I would like to at least leech on to some people who have gone down my path. I'm sure once I start class again, I will be meeting many people who have similar goals. I just have to learn to take advantage of peoples advice more than I usually do. My closest BTDT friend is now in north Florida working as a family med doc at UF. I met him when we was a 1st year and now he's a working dr. Time certainly does fly...

My other closest BTDT friend (the one who lended me the mcat prep books), she is not that far behind... Shes a 2nd year now. We took a most of the pre-req classes together but while she went off to med school somewhere in the caribbean, I diverted and moved to new york thinking that I would immerse myself in the publishing industry - I was sadly mistaken.

Cut to now, I'm picking up where I left off. I'm glad I was able to reconnect with the few people left around here to help me out.