A Search For Roots

Out of shape

gordonmc3 — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:43:41 +0000

Med school is not good for someone’s health. It seems to me that most med students don’t eat right, drink way too much caffeine, don’t get enough sleep, have too much stress, and don’t exercise enough. A couple of weeks ago, we had some lectures on obesity and how to work with individuals on losing weight, etc. It just so happened that day we were provided free lunch from a local residency program. We had pizza.

Since in med school, I have eaten more pizza, drank more soft drinks, and lost considerable amounts of sleep. One of my New Years resolutions is to cut out the soda and sleep a little more. Another goal I have is to start to exercise again and get into better shape. It is hard to find the time to exercise between tests and study groups. I haven’t been able to go to the fitness center here and I don’t want to many times because I feel like it would take more time away from my wife and son. So, my wife and I decided to exercise together. We both are out of shape compared to when we got married six years ago.

Last night, we started a work out regime that consists of 9 exercises per session with a total of 5 sessions per week. It is called the 22-minute marine work out. I found it in a magazine several years ago. We had considered P90X but I found myself exhausted only watching it without doing any of the exercises. We think this marine work out will be a good start for us and maybe after a couple of months, we can consider something more challenging like P90X.

Well, I am sad at how out of shape I am. I used to be in great shape when I live in Hawaii and Japan but not anymore. It will be a slow road but if I can stay consistent I know it will get better. I find myself at times ignoring how out of shape I am because I don’t want to face the reality of just how far I have fallen from when I was in good shape. I understand how people can let their weight and health spiral down because it can be depressing facing the facts. Sometimes, it is just easier to look the other way and pretend no problem exists at all. I am trying not to do that and I am hoping to get back into shape. I need to lose 15 pounds to get back to my preferred weight. I will give myself six months to get it done. Lets see if I am successful.

Conversations

gordonmc3 — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:20:22 +0000

I like to talk. I consider myself to be a social person and when I speak with someone I feel I can talk about a variety of topics. I like to listen to what others have to say as well. A conversation is a verbal interaction between two people. Yet, have you ever been stuck in a conversation where you are not participating because the other person is talking too much?

For the most part, I don’t avoid people. But, I have met a couple of people in my life where I purposefully try to look busy or in a hurry so that I don’t get stuck talking with them. These people I am describing aren’t bad people. They just lack the social ability of conversation. They just talk about themselves, don’t ask questions to the other person, provide way too much information about their personal lives or other random/unrelated information, and are incapable of perceiving the social cues that the person they are talking to is not wanting to talk to them.

So, what is one to do if they get caught in a one-sided verbal beat down that is wasting their time? First, prevention is key. Try to avoid situations that might lead to a prolonged interaction with that person. You don’t have to be rude but you must maintain control of your situation. Second, have a friend phone you. A friend of mine was stuck in a conversation for some 30 minutes when he was saved with a phone call from a friend that saw his predicament. I wouldn’t text because the person can still talk to you while you text. Third, pretend not to speak English. This may be hard especially if the person knows you speak English but it might be worth a shot. Fourth, go to the restroom. Excuse yourself to the bathroom. This is very useful if the person is of the opposite sex because hopefully they won’t follow you into the restroom. Lastly, just walk away. A classmate of mine that has been stuck in a conversion with a person with this problem will just put his hands slightly elevated in the air, shake his head no, and say “Sorry, I can’t do this.”

There are many possibilities when it comes to aborting these conversation traps. I would be interested if anyone has any other good ideas on how to end a conversation they don’t want to be a part of.

After being caught in some of these time-consuming and head exploding conversations, I have tried to make sure I am not doing this to anyone. I am being more aware of time and interaction level in a conversation. If you are controlling over 75% of a conversation, be nice and let the person be and go do something else.

Blogging

gordonmc3 — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:37:40 +0000

When I started this blog several years ago, I really wanted to become a blogger. I have realized that I am a very poor blogger with sporadic entries. I would always have ideas on things I wanted to blog about but at times felt overwhelmed with all the things I wanted to write about. So, since I could not write about everything I wanted to, I just stopped blogging. I feel like I had valid excuses with being in med school and everything that comes along with it. But, it doesn’t take long to blog and I actually find it refreshing to do something different than medical studies. Thus, one of my New Years resolutions is to write more regularly on my blog. I am not going to make lists like I have in the past but just write what is on my mind that day. I will find out if that helps me be a more faithful blogger.

Tubes

gordonmc3 — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:40:32 +0000

This morning, my son had to get tubes put into both of his ears. He had three ear infections that were treated with antibiotics and the infection just wouldn’t go away. We took him to an ENT and after visiting him twice and monitoring my sons ears for a month, he recommended that he get tubes. I was little nervous when I thought about my son going under anesthesia and the scalpel. The staff at St. Mary’s hospital was top notch and his ENT was very personable and sensitive to our needs. Things went smoothly and he was walking around playing about an hour after the surgery. It was great to see him acting normal and playing. The only problem that happened was when my son didn’t like the cherry flavored Tylenol and spit it out. Maybe he was having flashbacks to the cherry syrup he had when he was circumcised as a newborn. My pediatrician warned me that he may never like cherries as a result having cherry syrup during his circumcision.

The ENT said fluid came out of his left ear when he made the incision. He described my son’s right ear as dull and red but no fluid was present. He said it should help his balance, hearing and speech. After the surgery, he seemed a little more sensitive to sound. The night before was tough because he had a hard time sleeping which means my wife and I didn’t get much sleep last night. He has always struggled for sleeping at night and the ENT said he thinks the tubes will help.

Every time I have a medical experience as a patient, I really scrutinize it because I want to be aware how patients are treated and feel in anticipation to surgery or medical treatment. As a future physician, I want to be sensitive to how patients feel and how they are treated. I believe it will allow me to be more sensitive to my patient’s future needs.

‘Me’ thoughts

gordonmc3 — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:38:08 +0000

As a medical student, I am gone a lot at the library or lab studying. I am probably gone for about 12 to 14 hours of the day trying to keep up with the demands of medical school. When I come home, I really do cherish the moments I have with my wife and son. I don’t get as many as I used to but I try to make each one the best.

For several months, my son could only fall asleep if my wife rocked him. At times, I found myself frustrated because I wanted him to feel comfortable enough to fall asleep with me as well. One evening, my wife had a girls night out with some other wives whom have husbands that are medical students or medical residents. I stayed home with my boy. My wife left him sleeping but he woke up while she was gone. He cried and cried. I danced around the room rocking him hoping he would relax and fall asleep. He would continue to cry looking at his bedroom door with his arm reached out hoping that mommy would hear him and walk through at any time. I found myself getting frustrated that I couldn’t calm my son. I felt that since I was his father that I too should be able to put him to sleep or he should feel comfortable enough to fall asleep with me. I could feel myself getting tense.

At this time, I had an epiphany. Why was I making my son’s distress about me? Here I was trying to put him to sleep while he was crying and all I could think about was ‘me’. As I realized that this situation shouldn’t revolve around me, I began to shift my attention away from my injured ego and to the needs of my son. I thought that it should be ok for him to cry and want his mother because she has been the one constant thing in his life as I have been away at school. I began to be grateful for the sacrifices of my wife and thankful for a little boy that loved his mother so much. During this time, something miraculous happened, my son fell asleep.

Another incidence occurred one morning when my son wasn’t able to sleep. He has had a difficult time sleeping through the night and my wife and I hadn’t quite agreed on the best way to handle the situation. He would have evenings where he would cry from an hour up to two and half hours in his crib and still not fall asleep. We were not quite sure why this was occurring. One night at about 2:30 am and after my son had been crying for two and half hours without being able to fall asleep, I went and picked him up and began rocking him. My wife entered the room bothered by the fact I picked him up. We began to disagree and all I could think about was how could she be upset that I was trying to help. Eventually my son fell asleep. As I sat there and I still couldn’t understand why my wife and I were fighting our this. If anything, 2:30 am is no time to disagree especially with both of us being tired and in the presence of a crying baby. My wife was pretty upset as well.

As I shifted my thoughts away from being offended to trying to understand my wife’s feelings, I realized why she might be so upset about me helping. I asked her if she felt bad that I was not able to sleep and how a lack of sleep might affect me with my classes and tests at school. She said yes. My wife’s motivation wasn’t one of ingratitude but one of frustration because she felt that since she couldn’t get our son to sleep through the night that she was inadequate as a mother and failing as a wife in supporting me in my studies. I immediately felt bad that I again had been only thinking about ‘me’. I am thankful that I have a wife that desires so much for me to succeed. Our communication about how to handle my son’s sleeping habits changed and we are now more successful in helping him but also each other.

Many times in life, we can get stuck in these ‘me’ thoughts with everything being about me, me, me. I have been trying to shift away from this and try to understand the other person more completely. I had no reason to be frustrated or upset with my wife or son but because I couldn’t think outside myself. Luckily, I was able to avert possible arguments or hurtful situations and instead experience a bonding connection with both my son and wife.

Semester one in review

gordonmc3 — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:00:00 +0000

On December 14, I finished my first semester of medical school. I did well in anatomy and embryology. I performed well in my other class called molecular basis of medicine (a class that combined biochemistry and cell biology). I could have done as well as I did in anatomy but I had one bad test which was my first test in the class and I had to play catch up with my grade. I learned you can’t take it easy in medical school. I know that should be obvious but I think I relaxed somehow after doing well in anatomy and did not prepare adequately enough for my first test in my molecular basis of medicine class. Maybe I got over confident or lost my focus. Either way, I will try to prevent the problem and hopefully I will be able to focus better so that I can avoid having that one bad test. I noticed that when I woke up early and allowed myself some personal meditation and spiritual time that my focus was easier to maintain throughout the day.

My other class I had was Introduction to Patient Care (IPC). I did very well in preparing my interviews for medical scenarios with standardized patients, which are actors/actresses that are paid to follow a script in various medical situations. We did scenarios that involved the chest, heart, and abdomen. I at times felt foolish “playing doctor” but I have gained appreciation for the practice and experience in my IPC class. It was nice to combine what I was learning in this class to when I worked with my mentor.

My current mentor is a chief resident in the Internal Medicine/Pediatrics residency at Marshall. It has been great to be able to shadow and learn from him. He allows me to get very involved with patients by listening to hearts, lungs, asking questions, and other medically relevant stuff we might need to do with patients. It is nice to be allowed be a part of what doctors do on a regular basis because it allows me to get through my studies knowing that I will eventually be in their shoes caring for patients.

I enjoyed my first semester of medical school. I am confident that I made the right choice and I am excited for my next semester. It will be more difficult but I am confident I can handle it.

Speed dating

gordonmc3 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:40:17 +0000

About two weeks ago, I participated in my first speed dating event. I finally told my wife that I would be participating in a speed dating event at my medical school and she looked at me peculiarly and quipped, “So, I should expect you early that night then!” Ouch! I was hoping for some jealously or nervousness that I would be back in the game at a speed dating event but nope, not from my wife. I actually thought her response was pretty funny and I didn’t have a response to her. I then explained to her that the AMA at Marshall was holding a medical specialties speed dating event. We recruited some 20 physicians to come and speak about a fourth of our student about their particular medical field.

The evening was divided into six rounds. We were given our top four interested specialties, assigned one, and had one open round to choose any table we decided looked interesting. Each round was about 20 minutes long. In each round, the physician at a table would take about ten to fifteen minutes to explain their specialty and then we would have about five to ten minutes to ask questions about their particular field. The specialties I learned about were family practice, cardiology, pediatrics, medical oncology, neurology/neurosurgery, and anesthesiology. All of the specialties were very interesting and I enjoyed the opportunity to learn about these very interesting but yet different career options in medicine. I came away from the evening most impressed with pediatrics, neurology/neurosurgery, and anesthesiology. Of those three, I have gained the most interest in learning about anesthesiology.

I had never ever really considered anesthesiology as a option in medicine but after speaking with two anesthesiologist and read about the field, I am very intrigued by that aspect of medicine. I like the idea of caring for patients before, during, and after surgery. Also, I like the possibility of being able to do a fellowship in critical care medicine. It is a competitive field to get into and I will try to arrange some shadow-time with some of the local anesthesiologists so I can get a better idea of their career and lifestyle.

Going to an event like the medical speed dating was great. It was nice to take a timeout from my studies and learn about the many career options in medicine and know that my studies now are preparing me for my medical career. Residency is still a ways away but it is not to early to start preparing for it so that I can make sure I get the residency I will desire.

AMA-MSS

gordonmc3 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:39:14 +0000

I am currently in Houston attending a conference for the AMA-MSS. The AMA-MSS is the student section of the American Medical Association. I am the student delegate in-training for my medical school. So, next year I will be the official delegate. This is the interim meeting for the AMA and where medical students propose resolutions for what they want the AMA to support and lobby for. Yesterday, I listened to 33 different proposals written and submitted by different medical students across the country. Some of the resolutions were interesting, good, bad, weird, unnecessary, and boring. One thing I have noticed is that students from Massachusetts, New York, or California are the students that like to talk the most. I think it is good they are active and involved but at times it sure seems they really like to listen to themselves speak. I tend not to support those that feel they have to always express what they are thinking. Brevity and concise communication is important. Also, I think it is important to give other people opportunities to get involved. I believe it leads to more things getting done and represents everyone.

Today, we are voting for which resolutions are submitted to the House of Delegates of the AMA. The House of Delegates is the forum with physicians and several student regional representative meet and decide which resolutions are going to be supported by the AMA. Many of the ideas that are supported by the AMA start with the AMA-MSS such as the ban of smoking on airplanes. It has been an extremely interesting process and I will be interested to see how these resolutions are advanced or disregarded. From my two sessions so far, most resolutions are not adopted or they are reaffirmed by already existing AMA statements or documents. There is a lot of sifting through things that people have as special interests when it comes to society and healthcare. But, we all have those issues we believe and want to promoted.

There are several other classes that are available for those not involved in the resolution process. I think it would be nice to come to one of these conferences without the delegate responsibilities but I will have these duties throughout my first two years in medical school.

I have also enjoyed interacting with many other medical students from across the country. By rubbing shoulders with many intelligent and talented individuals motivates me to be more active in my education. Last night, I was studying late in the lobby area of my hotel and another student from a different medical school was studying as well. We were both going over biochemistry. No matter the school, we are learning and suffering through the same science concepts so we can become trained in knowledge that will allow us to care for the health of others.

Information

gordonmc3 — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:02:25 +0000

The other day I started to think about how much personal information is shared on the internet between blogs, myspace, facebook, etc. It is amazing that people, including myself, are willing to write and share such personal things for even strangers to read. I have always wondered if this information could be used in some type of fraud or act against me or my family.

During my undergraduate studies, I read the book Catch Me If You Can. It was an really interesting book about how Frank Abagnale, Jr. gained millions of dollars through various fraud schemes mainly using fake checks. Frank was before the computer era so I wonder how he could have been successful in today’s environment but no doubt he would have been successful. Living in the computer age where everything is so accessible is exciting but at the same time scary to me. I can have access to the whole world from my computer but many have developed the ability to access the personal life of internet users. Astute and intelligent computer know-hows have succeeded in committing fraud and stealing probably billions of dollars.

So, if I have this fear, why do I have a blog, a facebook account, and several other accounts that could allow access to complete strangers into my life? I am not quite sure but it centers on the idea of staying connected with people I know and love. Also, I have had success in communicating with and reconnecting with several old friends as a result of my blog that I don’t believe I could have found if it wasn’t for it. I just haven’t given much credence that something bad could happen to me. I am most likely naive and I need to be more careful about what I share and with who. Luckily, I have yet to give my bank information to someone telling me I have inherited millions of dollar so I can’t be that dumb:) I am careful with what and who I share things with but I always need to realize that there are many fishing for victims and waiting to snag their next opportunity to get gain from others through stealing and fraud.

I am going to be more careful about what I will share in order to prevent a bad situation. Hopefully, I maintain enough common sense to realize how to use the internet with my personal life so I can benefit from it but not be taken advantage of.

Waffle House

gordonmc3 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:40:18 +0000

Being from the South, the Waffle House is a normal restaurant I used to eat breakfast at as a kid. It is all over the South but not out West where I have been living for the last 12 years. I always liked their breakfast and usually had a good experience when I would eat there. I have heard crazy things have and can happen at the Waffle House and can also not be the nicest or cleanest place. Jim Gaffigan’s comedic piece on the Waffle House is one of the funniest bits I have heard. If you can find it, I recommend you listen to it.

Last Saturday, I took my wife to the Waffle House for the first time. She had seen the vast number of them when we have visited Atlanta a couple of times and was convinced that if so many existed, it has to be good. Well, like I mentioned, it depends on the Waffle House. I asked a classmate of mine how the Waffle House is here in Huntington and he said it was clean and nice which definitely made me more comfortable to eat there with my wife. We had a nice breakfast at 1pm. We had a late night and slept in so having a late breakfast made sense. My wife was surprised with how loud the employees were and how informal it was but overall she liked it, which is good for me because I like to eat there. I like the laid back, carefree environment that serves a good breakfast. All in all, it brought back good memories and created a good new one.