I think I got something here!

Ah, the beauty of networking :) To make a long story short, I ended up getting back in touch with an old friend (whom I met through another friend whom I met through jdate 7 years ago..) Yea, I know.

Anyways, without really knowing what he was up to, other than the fact that he was in his first year of med school when I first met him, I decided to facebook him. Upon reading his profile, it turns out that he is a neurology resident at the same med school where I am doing my research! Fabulous! What a small world...

I'm sure you know what I did next. I asked him if he knew any doctors who would be willing and able to let me shadow them for one or two days a week. He emailed me back and gave me a few contacts, one of which was the Chief of the neuro department (!!!!!). Let's call him, Dr. A.

I immediately called Dr. A and left him a voicemail explaining who I was and what I was looking for. To my surprise, he called me back and the conversation went something like this:

ring ring

Me: Hello?

Dr. A: Hi this is Dr. A, I'm returning your call?

Me: Oh yes, thank you for taking the time to call back. *smiles*

Dr. A: Ohhh uhh yes, sure. ... *pause* What do you want?

Me: (?!!?!?!) Uh. Well I am interested in any shadowing opportunities that you might offer .. I -

Dr. A: Okay, well are you a student?

Me: Yes, I am currently earning my second bachelors degree in biology and I am pre-med. I'm actually doing some research in the neurology department and I hope to gain experience from a clinical perspective as well... *holds breath and bites nails*

Dr. A: I see. Alright well, I have a few other students who are interested. How many hours do you have in mind?

Me: Well, I understand that everyone is busy so I wanted to allocated about one or two days a week toward shadowing, with probably 1 1/2 - 2 hours per day. My schedule is flexible, however. What days are most convenient for you?

Dr. A: I think Thursdays, Tuesdays. Maybe Wednesdays....

Me: Alright, perfect. Those are actually my lighter days as well .... ;) I'm still familiarizing myself with my schedule, but would you like me to email you once I figure out the exact times?

Dr: A: Yea do that. Email me with the times. I wont be checking my email until after Labor Day though..

Me: Fair enough.

Dr. A: Here is my email -...... *give me his email* So when you figure out the times, you email me. Okay?

Me: Certainly. Thank you again!

Dr. A: Sure. Have a good day.

*click*




Clearly, it seemed as though Dr. A has done this many times before, but hey, its MY first time :) I'm much more excited about this than any other prospect. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I actually spoke to him over the phone. Who knows. I'm so happy that I got in touch with my old friend too :) I owe him a thank you.

I'll email him the doc on friday and hopefully this will work out. How great would it be to shadow the chief of neurology???

Inbetween

I have a few moments to spare before my genetics class so I thought I'd snag an empty computer at the library and update a thing or two on this.

No earth shattering news as of late. Classes are alright so far. I'm starting to feel a little stressed out though... :( Comes with the territory I suppose. I started doing something quite odd with my calc notes though: my professor gives me all over her notes at the end of class and since they are on that clear, overhead plastic stuff, I get to stand there and roll up about 12 feet of it. Well anyways, I decided to post it on the walls of my room. Makes for great wallpaper and I'm constantly reading it :) Plus I put some plastic in my bathroom so I can write out my morning "Problem of the Day." Odd I know.

We started labs this week, so I have genetics this afternoon. I'm using the same lab coat that I had 4 years ago and its huge!!

Speaking of labs, in the research that I'm doing, my boss taught me how to work the flouroscopy microscope yesterday. It was tedious stuff, but I loved it! So I'll be imaging rat brain slices for the next few days :) I even brought my boss oatmeal cookies that i made. I'm so nice arent I. I dont think they came out as well as I wanted them too though :( I just wish calculus was as easy as baking cookies... .