We just got in the mail all of our Japanese pictures. We took these pictures on Christmas Day in Japan. There was no ceremony, but it made us feel special like we were getting married again. It was a lot of fun and Keiko looked so beautiful.
To see them in smaller sizes for viewing, click here.
If you want to see them in full size or print them, etc, click here.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
A car crashed into the clinic
And I don't mean just the car bumped into the building. The entire Mini Cooper went 20 feet or so through the a huge window, through the rather large waiting room and through the wall of an office. Amazingly no one was hurt. Many people were scared and crying and worried about someone being stuck under the car or something but it turned out no one was hurt. The next day, I watched an old episode of ER with Keiko. A car crashed through the ER into the hall. I'm tempted to say "like that would happen" for most things on tv, but in this case it seemed pretty realistic.
CDC
In the pediatrics rotation, we have the possibility of being on the general service, pulmonary/allergy, or infectious disease services. I was pretty lucky as I am thinking of possibly doing pediatric infectious disease and was able to do 3 weeks of infectious disease. Once a week they have a conference with all the attending physicians.
Another bit of background: I never turn the sound on my cell phone. It is permanently on vibrate because, as the title of this blog reveals, I tend to forget things. However, I was on overnight call and had to turn on the sound for my alarm clock on my cell phone.
And yes my cell phone went off during the middle of the meeting with all the attendings. I was shocked and embarrassed so much I never even checked the message. Later that night, I checked my email to find one from the CDC. The phone call was also from the CDC. They congratulated me on making it as a finalist.
The CDC experience, as it is called, is a fellowship for medical students to experience public health at the CDC. It consists of a few parts (this is just a few)
-Being part of a research team the conducts epidemiological research and surveys disease. This is often how the CDC comes out with statements that guide physicians around the country and world on subjects like vaccines, obesity prevention, and other prevention strategies of various diseases.
-They also are the group that investigates outbreaks of diseases when state and city public health departments want help. The recent peanut butter salmonella outbreak is an example. I heard an extreme example of them flying in a helicopter to the bottom of the Grand Canyon to look at a rather sick group of campers/rafters.
-There are many classes that they offer on how to do research, epidemiology, computer programming. I really liked this part of the program because you gain real skills not just from being thrown in a research project but also have classes to help you know what you are doing along the way.
The interview is Feb 27-28th and the hotel, flight, and all expenses are paid for. I am very excited and will let everyone know how it turns out.
As I mentioned earlier, I am contemplating pediatrics. But beyond what specialty, I am also seriously considering a career in public health research. I am not absolutely sure what that will mean yet, but it probably means 80% of my time is research, and 20% is clinical care. Or it might mean I do a job at the CDC or a public health organization rather than working at a hospital or clinic. Or it may mean that I work for an organization overseas. I am not sure, but spending a year at the CDC would probably help me figure my choices out.
Another bit of background: I never turn the sound on my cell phone. It is permanently on vibrate because, as the title of this blog reveals, I tend to forget things. However, I was on overnight call and had to turn on the sound for my alarm clock on my cell phone.
And yes my cell phone went off during the middle of the meeting with all the attendings. I was shocked and embarrassed so much I never even checked the message. Later that night, I checked my email to find one from the CDC. The phone call was also from the CDC. They congratulated me on making it as a finalist.
The CDC experience, as it is called, is a fellowship for medical students to experience public health at the CDC. It consists of a few parts (this is just a few)
-Being part of a research team the conducts epidemiological research and surveys disease. This is often how the CDC comes out with statements that guide physicians around the country and world on subjects like vaccines, obesity prevention, and other prevention strategies of various diseases.
-They also are the group that investigates outbreaks of diseases when state and city public health departments want help. The recent peanut butter salmonella outbreak is an example. I heard an extreme example of them flying in a helicopter to the bottom of the Grand Canyon to look at a rather sick group of campers/rafters.
-There are many classes that they offer on how to do research, epidemiology, computer programming. I really liked this part of the program because you gain real skills not just from being thrown in a research project but also have classes to help you know what you are doing along the way.
The interview is Feb 27-28th and the hotel, flight, and all expenses are paid for. I am very excited and will let everyone know how it turns out.
As I mentioned earlier, I am contemplating pediatrics. But beyond what specialty, I am also seriously considering a career in public health research. I am not absolutely sure what that will mean yet, but it probably means 80% of my time is research, and 20% is clinical care. Or it might mean I do a job at the CDC or a public health organization rather than working at a hospital or clinic. Or it may mean that I work for an organization overseas. I am not sure, but spending a year at the CDC would probably help me figure my choices out.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
A new way to check the temperature
Keiko has figured out a good way to see how cold it is outside. We have one new window and one old one in our house. The old one is in the bathroom. It tends to freeze, including on the inside. on a day like today, in the 20's, we'll get maybe 1/2 inch or so on the perimeter. Last week we had some -20's weather. Then it comes close to freezing the whole window unless we have shower going for a while to thaw it out. Who needs the weather channel?
Pediatrics might just be for me
I am now 2 full weeks into my pediatrics rotation. I have completed psychiatry, neurology, family medicine, and internal medicine. I came into my 3rd year thinking internal medicine vs pediatrics as my future career.
I spent 12 weeks in internal medicine thinking "ehhhhh, I was hoping for a little more." I'm not sure what it was about it, but I didn't just love every minute of it. I know a big part of that is the fact that I am being evaluated every second of every day for my grade. Grading in med school is really frustrating. It depends a lot on how your resident or attending physician is feeling at the time as it is 100% subjective. I was told at one point I was too shy and at another point that I asked too many questions and talked too much. I probably wasn't acting much different at either time. There are some objective tests, but they are worth only a fraction of the grade.
Another part of internal medicine that puts me off a bit is this competitive edge it has. I mean that people are always trying to show that they know more medicine than each other. Everyone is nice, is trying to learn all the time, and there is no malice in it, but it gets tiring pretty quick.
Things I like about pediatrics:
-It's never the kids fault. They aren't the ones choosing to eat themselves to obesity and get heart attacks and diabetes. if they are obese, it is more the parent's fault.
-So many cute kids. I find myself liking kids more all the time.
-The residents and the whole atmosphere is just more relaxed. People joke more and don't seem nearly as judgmental.
-It might be because my expectations fell after my internal medicine rotation, but this is the first time I find myself feeling like this is a fit. People say you just know when you find the right specialty.
It's also the first time I have overnight call. Every 3rd or 4th night I stay the night at the hospital. I have had 1-2 hours sleep, and I've had more like 6. It depends on how busy the hospital is. I've had to change my pager to a more obnoxious tone because I've slept through pages already.
I spent 12 weeks in internal medicine thinking "ehhhhh, I was hoping for a little more." I'm not sure what it was about it, but I didn't just love every minute of it. I know a big part of that is the fact that I am being evaluated every second of every day for my grade. Grading in med school is really frustrating. It depends a lot on how your resident or attending physician is feeling at the time as it is 100% subjective. I was told at one point I was too shy and at another point that I asked too many questions and talked too much. I probably wasn't acting much different at either time. There are some objective tests, but they are worth only a fraction of the grade.
Another part of internal medicine that puts me off a bit is this competitive edge it has. I mean that people are always trying to show that they know more medicine than each other. Everyone is nice, is trying to learn all the time, and there is no malice in it, but it gets tiring pretty quick.
Things I like about pediatrics:
-It's never the kids fault. They aren't the ones choosing to eat themselves to obesity and get heart attacks and diabetes. if they are obese, it is more the parent's fault.
-So many cute kids. I find myself liking kids more all the time.
-The residents and the whole atmosphere is just more relaxed. People joke more and don't seem nearly as judgmental.
-It might be because my expectations fell after my internal medicine rotation, but this is the first time I find myself feeling like this is a fit. People say you just know when you find the right specialty.
It's also the first time I have overnight call. Every 3rd or 4th night I stay the night at the hospital. I have had 1-2 hours sleep, and I've had more like 6. It depends on how busy the hospital is. I've had to change my pager to a more obnoxious tone because I've slept through pages already.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Christmas in Japan: Riding home in Luxury
I stole these images from Keiko's Japanese blog. I woke up extra early today due to the time differences as Keiko sleeps the night away so I figured I would do my last blog entry for a while.
Our last day in Japan was a 10 hour layover in Tokyo. My closest companion from my mission was able to come over and visit in the morning and one of Keiko's good friends visited in the afternoon. We got through security and thought we were all good when our names were called. I was imagining they had oversold the plane and were going to tell us our seats had been taken or something. I was half right.
"It's you lucky day, you've been upgraded to business." This was pretty funny because it has happened to me once before and I told Keiko about it and she talked about dreaming of being able to fly business class.
I suppose the biggest thing is the service. "How are you doing, Mr. Jones?" "Can I get anything for you Mr. Jones" "How was your sleep, Mr. Jones?" I felt like I was in a hotel. Our first meal was a 3-4 course deluxe. We had all you can eat ramen and some other snacks (and alcohol was also included) the rest of the way. We got nice cloth placemats with real dishes.
It's time to head off to my first day of pediatrics and back to real life... sigh, I miss Japan already.
Our last day in Japan was a 10 hour layover in Tokyo. My closest companion from my mission was able to come over and visit in the morning and one of Keiko's good friends visited in the afternoon. We got through security and thought we were all good when our names were called. I was imagining they had oversold the plane and were going to tell us our seats had been taken or something. I was half right.
"It's you lucky day, you've been upgraded to business." This was pretty funny because it has happened to me once before and I told Keiko about it and she talked about dreaming of being able to fly business class.
The seats are huge and comfy. You can lay down nearly 180 degrees, completely flast, a foot rest comes out, your own personal monitor that pops out.
I suppose the biggest thing is the service. "How are you doing, Mr. Jones?" "Can I get anything for you Mr. Jones" "How was your sleep, Mr. Jones?" I felt like I was in a hotel. Our first meal was a 3-4 course deluxe. We had all you can eat ramen and some other snacks (and alcohol was also included) the rest of the way. We got nice cloth placemats with real dishes.
Here is all our freebies: extra ramen, slippers, toothbrush/paste, lotion, facemask, ear plugs, and some other stuff I can't remember.
It's time to head off to my first day of pediatrics and back to real life... sigh, I miss Japan already.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Christmas in Japan: Okonomiyaki
Since Keiko's dad has work all the day before we left, we had our last blast with him 2 night before our departure. We went to a popular okonomiyaki restaurant.
You get all the raw ingredients for the okonimiyaki and you cook it yourself. The middle of the table is one big grill, a teppan grill. It takes up about 80% of the table.
I ended up taking Keiko hostage with my spatula.
The final products
Family surrounding the table
You get all the raw ingredients for the okonimiyaki and you cook it yourself. The middle of the table is one big grill, a teppan grill. It takes up about 80% of the table.
I ended up taking Keiko hostage with my spatula.
The final products
We are enjoying an after-dinner... lollypop.
New Years: a nice long delicious Japanese celebration!!
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