Sunday, June 28, 2015

top three

can't stop won't stop with my favorite dress pants

medicine
  • Over the last month, we've done quite a few sports physicals. These usually include a questionnaire that asks about family history, and specifically if anyone in the family had died of sudden cardiac issues under the age of 40. This is super important because a condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be passed down genetically - it basically means that the heart is enlarged. It usually results in teenagers/young adults suddenly dying during moments of exercise or high stress - I know when I was in high school, we would constantly hear about kids across the country just falling over dead during a basketball game. During the past month, we actually had to send two teenagers to cardiologists because of their family history and abnormal EKGs. 
  • An essential tremor is another disease that can be inherited. It results in a tremor that notably usually goes away with alcohol use, which is why many patients tend to self-medicate with alcohol use. Treatment involves a simple beta blocker, so self-induced alcoholism isn't the only option ;)
  • The "most tweeted medical study" indicates that frequent ejaculation for men may slow down the rate of prostate cancer. Men across the country are rejoicing ;)

on the internet

spotted

on franish

notable sales

personal
  • 1 down, 10 more to go! My first month of rotations was on family medicine, and I think it was the perfect way to step into the clinical years. My hours were super nice, I loved the staff at the office I was at, and overall it was just nice to feel like a human again during my nights and weekends off. Tomorrow starts the beginning of two months of surgery. I'll be in a smaller community hospital so while I may not see a very diverse group of surgeries, I'll hopefully get to be more hands on! Wish me luck...I'll need it!
  • CR and I spent part of the weekend in Cleveland and had so much fun. We went to Melt (all the carbs), then got my new computer (!!!), walked around down town, and went on a brewery tour at Great Lakes. It was so nice to get out of town for a little while and see a few new places.
  • It's my grandma's 85th birthday today. My entire family (which is very small) is currently at her house in Germany celebrating, and I'm actually very upset I can't be there. I see my family (now including my parents and siblings) maybe once a year, and knowing that they are all together while I'm here is pretty rough. They always tell you that you'll miss out on family events because of medical school, but that doesn't make it suck any less. The bright side is that I will at least get to see some of them when we make our pitstop in Germany in September.