This blog post is arguably going to be one to beat any prior record
for how many pictures of food I can fit into one post!
Let’s see, where should I start? Well, I finished my OB
rotation and I already miss it! I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up
but OB is weighing heavy on my mind right now—so much so that I’m considering
doing a sub-internship in the early summer to really nail down how I feel about
it. I still can’t quite wrap my head around the idea that I might want to be an
OB/GYN someday. So for now, I’m just doing a lot of thinking and trying not to
panic that I don’t know what I want to do. I still haven't got my "clinical grades" back yet, but I got an honors-level grade on my exam (you had to get above an 80% and I got an 86%) so it's looking like I may have another honors under my belt. So, if I do end up choosing OB as a specialty--that will certainly help the residency application efforts!
Prior to the end of my OB rotation I got an AMAZING sunrise
on my way to work that I just had to share online because it was so beautiful!
I also go the chance to catch up with 2 of the 3 of “my
girls” that I studied with all through 1st and 2nd year.
It was a great time to compare stories of the crazy opportunities, crazy cases,
crazy stores (notice that I used crazy three times because this third year
business is crazy!). Hilary is now in Alaska for her surgery rotation trying to
survive the approximately 5 hours of daylight and Anna is in Seattle at
Harborview and UW for her Internal medicine rotation so I got to fill her in on
the scoop for that.
Before I left Seattle, Tom and I had several splurges of
date nights to celebrate a few things. We were celebrating the conclusion of my
OB rotation and the fact that Tom was hired as the supreme court justice extern
for next semester!
The night before my final exam I called it quits around 7 PM so we rounded out the evening with a treat at Molly Moon’s
Then, after the exam the next day (when I said splurging, I wasn’t kidding) we started the
night off with dinner at Barrio – a modern twist on Mexican food. Tom got burritos and I got fish taco’s.
If dinner wasn’t enough, we decided to try out Old School
Custard since we drive by it every time we go to Seattle U and we’ve never been
in. It was good, but not my favorite so we probably won’t be going back.
The splurging continued on my last night in Seattle (we figured we were making up for the next 6 weeks of date nights). We
dined at Rays Boat House. It was happy hour so the prices were lower than usual
which is how we justified going :).
This meal was incredible! The pictures DO NOT do it justice.
Then we said our goodbyes and I was off to Montana. I had
perfect weather driving over the passes – sunshine and clear blue skies the
whole way home!
I got in just in time to meet up with my friends John and Bri
for dinner and then pick up my parents from the airport as they returned home
from Bonaire. The following day we had to go pick up Peyton who had been
staying with family friends at Seeley Lake while they were gone. I joked as we “turned
left at the big cow” because that’s the main landmark that we’ve all used for
years to know where to turn for Seeley.
She was one happy puppy to be back with her parents, and she
was very cuddly and cute on the ride home.
I checked out the student housing that’s provided for us
here in Missoula and it’s actually really nice—but nothing is as nice as living
back at the mansion. So, while I might swing by here to study from time to
time, I won’t be crashing this place. But, if it weren’t Missoula I feel like I’d
be spoiled to live in this house!
My first weekend home also marked a good occasion- my mom’s
birthday! We celebrated with my aunts/uncles and grandma but I only managed to
get a picture of the birthday girl with her birthday dessert.
And speaking of spoiled—in my rotation at St. Patrick’s
hospital I’m provided with essentially unlimited food. The break room is
stocked with all kinds of goodies:
And, I’m able to go through the cafeteria
and get whatever I want, whenever I want, no questions asked except “are you a
WWAMI student?”. Saying yes to that question is like a magic word around here! After packing my lunches every day for the past i-don’t-know-how-many-years,
it is kind of surreal to be sitting down to a full lunch like this on a regular
basis! I know there’s talk about a “freshman 15” but I think there is bound to
be some “WWAMI weight gain” or something with food like this at my disposal all
the time.
I got to check out some volleyball with my cousin and his
wife. Sadly, the UM volleyball team is no good in comparison to UW but it was
still fun to see.
And, of course, the food doesn’t stop around the house
either. After all, I am living in a B&B. Between scones being available on
a regular basis…
…to being “forced” into a taste-testers job for new recipes
for the dinner parties at the mansion….
...to trying out the newest ice cream shop in town...
…to amazing breakfasts –it’s like I’m going into hibernation
mode!
This is my view on the weekend mornings. I sit back and I'm able to reflect on how amazed I am that my parents successfully established a B&B that started out as an abandoned old house and how I am part of such a loving and wonderful family--and that I get to continue my medical education AND be with them. It's a truly wonderful feeling (besides the hints of guilt that come into my head for just sitting there while they do all the work!)
As far as my experience is concerned—I don’t have any
pictures of that. I’m feeling very blessed because I continue to get weekends
off and the hours are quite manageable. I did my first night on call last week
and, unlike my last rotation, no matter how little I sleep on a call night, I
have to go into work the next day (unless it’s a Friday night call). Other than
that, I have a pretty great schedule. I’m done by 6 at the latest every day and
start each day by 6 at the earliest. So, I usually get up to study for an hour
or so before I head off to work. And, speaking of spoiled--I had a study spot all lined up at the table upstairs and I happened to mention to my parents that I would prefer a desk in my room so I could study there in the mornigs without the distraction of people in the house--what did I come home to the next day? A desk all set up in my room complete with adequate lighting and a childhood teddy bear to keep me company. How spoiled am I?
So far I’ve been a part of a lot of different surgeries—hernia
repairs, mastectomies, lumpectomies, chemotherapy port placements, colon
resections and melanoma resections. I’m learning a lot –including the fact that
I don’t want to be a general surgeon (but ssshhh don’t tell my attendings that I’m working with). I enjoy who I’m
working with and even enjoy the day-to-day experiences but I have learned in
just 2 short weeks that this is not what I want to do for my career. And, that’s
an exciting breakthrough for me. I was wondering if I would ever be able to “rule
something out” because I knew it wasn’t for me and finally that day arrived. I
loved medicine and I loved OB so I was beginning to think I would love
everything. I LIKE general surgery, but I don’t LOVE it—so, it’s crossed off the
list. It feels nice to have some sort of conclusion about something, even if I
have so much more to learn about before making a career decision.
I always leave the Tom update for the bottom of the blog and
I don’t know why….Just like I said in the last post, he is SO busy! I don’t
know how he’s handling it all but he’s down to the last 3 weeks or so of work
before he flies back to MT to spend Christmas over here and I cannot wait! Just
today he started looking into an option to take a one week trip to Italy for a class
next year. And, while I’m insanely jealous at the opportunity, I’m excited that
SU has those kinds of opportunities available. We’ll let you know more as we
know more, but an international trip might be on the horizon for Tom in 2015.
We’re both “powering through” to 2016—the magical year when we both graduate
and go “now what?”. We’ve got a lot ahead of us and a lot of bumps in the road,
decisions and stressors to go—so we’re just trying to enjoy each step of the
ride!
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