I Haven't Watched TV In Over A Month

Well I ought to preface this post by saying...yes, I am alive (clearly). I'm sure some of you were worried I got bitten by a killer centipede (they actually have those here) or something to that effect, but I am actually alive and doing quite well. I'm sorry I let down my avid readers last Sunday, but sometimes my responsibilities as a medical student take precedence over writing this blog. As I have said before, my plan is to write a new excerpt every Sunday night, but if you wake up on Monday morning (bright and early) just to read my blog and it isn't there, just know it's probably because I was really busy.

Since the last time I wrote on here, I took Mini I Part II, a Gross Anatomy Practical, and a Histology Practical...and passed all of them with flying colors. After spending the afternoon at the beach on the day of our Mini and celebrating a little that night, it was back to lectures the very next day. From then till now, we have had a week and a half of lectures/labs/small group learning...nothing out of the ordinary.

This picture is not of me. It's a random picture from
the SimMan3G manufacturer. We aren't allowed to
take pictures in Simulation, so this is the best I could do.

One aspect of school that was new since the last time I posted and probably one of my favorite activities that I have participated in since I came to Ross was Simulation. So, Simulation is probably exactly what you picture it to be. At Ross, we have a building that is set up like a hospital...with individual rooms for patients. You enter the a patient's room and the patient is laying on the table. Once we are given a background update on the patient's status, the fun begins. Now, the unique thing about Simulation is that we don't use real patients. Instead, we use Harvey (SimMan3G). Harvey is a computerized, human-like, human-sized doll that can pretty much do everything an actual human patient can do; he can talk, cry, scream, bleed, vomit, urinate, defecate...you name it, he can do it. He can dilate his eyes, you can take his blood pressure (in multiple places), you can give him medicine/injections, you can give him CPR, you can administer shocks to him through a defibrillator, and, of course, he can die.

I took a lot away from my first Simulation experience. Unfortunately (and I am extremely excited to use this for the very first time), I can't tell you what happened during Simulation because of Doctor-Patient confidentiality!!! But I think you can assume what happened. Do you think my first Simulation experience was about a patient with the flu? Or do you think it was some medical emergency that required immediate intervention because it was a life or death situation? Come on people, I hope you're picking up on these not-so-subtle hints. Anyway, I felt like this first Simulation concentrated more on the range of emotions and ethical issues associated with being a physician rather than our bleak medical knowledge thus far.

Besides Simulation, there isn't too much to report from Dominica. I know it's random, but I do want to share a conversation I had with a Ross Dominican maintenance man the other day; this conversation is both funny and sad, and I hope it demonstrates the importance of being aware of the world beyond where we live.

Him: Are you a new first semester student? (Picture him being very hard to understand because he is from Dominica)
Me: Yea, I am.
Him: Oh, how are you liking Dominica so far?
Me: I like it. The weather isn't too much different from where I came from, so I am used to the heat.
Him: Where did you come here from?
Me: Florida.
Him: How close is that to the United States?
Me: Hmm, well Florida actually is in the United States.
Him: Yea, but how close is that?
Me: Well, Florida is one of the states that makes up the United States. So when you are in Florida, you are in the United States.
Him: Oh, how long does it take to get there?
Me: To Florida? Or to the United States?
Him: No, from Florida to the United States?
Me: Hmm, not long because when you are in Florida, you are actually in the United States.
Him: Can you drive there?
Me: From Florida to the United States?
Him: Yea.
Me: Yea. It takes three hours by car. Sorry, but I got to run.

I've never been more convinced that I didn't know my US geography than at that moment. His circular line of questioning and obvious lack of geographical knowledge beyond Dominica almost had me believe that I was wrong. So strange.

In three days, it will mark two months that I have been in Dominica. While I'm in lecture or studying, time passes so slowly, but when I actually reflect on how long I have been here...time is absolutely flying. I try my best to remind myself of where I am, in Dominica for medical school, everyday...man it would be tough going to med school in a state like Iowa or Nebraska (so boring!). Anyway, these thoughts sort of made me think of some wise words that a great philosopher once said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91lJhEzMaH4


Have a great week everyone!