My Attempt at Humor and Art (watch out, world!!)

So I LOVE this website:  http://xkcd.com/  that has funny math/science comic strips.  I decided to try my hand at a similar medicine comic. Leave me a comment to tell me if you like the comic.  Maybe I'll start doing more if people like them.  Disclaimer: I have NEVER been known for my artistic ability, but here goes nothing. 

What I've Learned About Running

• It takes a lot of time.  Especially when you're as slow as me. According to my Nike shoe chip; I've already spent over 16 hours running. That doesn't even include the time it takes to go to and from the gym, stretch or do abs. 
• I have no idea where I get the time to do it.  And yet somehow I feel like I have more free time on the days that I run than on the ones that I don't.  If you asked me to find 3 hours per week to do some new activity- I would tell you that you're crazy! But somehow there is always time to run.  Maybe my Nike shoe chip has some secret flux-capacitor capabilities?
• It's not a great way to lose weight.  Running 15 miles a week burns less than half a pound a week, and that's assuming that I don't succumb to my post-run cravings.  I have lost a little weight since starting running- but it's 99% due to watching what I eat, and 1% to the calories I burn running.
• It makes me better at EVERYTHING else I do.  I pay more attention in lectures, I have more energy and concetration during rounds, and I have more time and energy to give to my patients.  I can tell whether or not I ran the day before based on my mood at 11am the next day.
• It's not even worth trying to run after an overnight shift at the hopsital.  Waste. Of. Time

Kittens!!!!

My friend Heidi's two kittens + a miniature football = so much more entertaining than watching the SuperBowl!!

These kittens are really the best kittens I've ever met. Unless you are allergic to cats- which brings me to my favorite picture ever taken of my two very allergic roommates.  That's Ala in the foreground, mid-sneeze, and Monica in the background, mid-snot.Enjoy!

My Brown Thumb

Keeping plants alive has never been my strength.  Most of the plants in my house growing up were fake ficus trees- so I blame my mother for making me believe that plants required zero maintenece to look green year round.  Danny likes to tell me that I have to keep a plant alive for a year before I'm allowed to have a pet.  And I REALLY want a kitten. I mean puppy.  I mean pony. Let's see how it's going so far:

My newest plant is one week old- I bought it on Danny's birthday to be part of the centerpiece for his birthday dinner.  I'm not sure if it's actually possible to kill a plant in less than a week, but if it is- then I probably would've done it.  So I count this one as an early, tentative success.  The flowers are still pink, the leaves are still green- so that means I've succeeded.  Laura: 1, Death: 0.

Next we have my "money tree".  I don't know why it's called that, but I bought it in July 2009 when we moved into our new apartment.  It had a rough patch a couple of weeks ago, when I forgot to water it, but it's pulled through quite nicely.  I'm proud of this guy- and I'll ignore the fact that I was told that its nearly impossoble to kill when I bought it.  Laura: 2, Death: 0.

Now here's the one that I'm most concerned about.  My mom sent it to me when I took the boards, in April 2009.  That means we are REALLY close to hitting the one year mark with him.  I put this plant on my desk, thinking "I study at my desk EVERY DAY- how could I possible neglect something that I see EVERY DAY?!"  It was a good thought- until I started 'studying' in bed.  Drat. This little guy probably went a solid 3 weeks without water.  I'm desperately trying to nurse him back to health, but those yellow/brown leaves at the bottom just seem to be getting deader every day.  This guy could go either way. Laura: 2, Death: 0, Purgatory: 1.

If you ever come and visit me, you might see a few other plants around the house that look like my handiwork.   Such as these two.  I am proud to annouce that I wasn't directly responsible for either of these sticks' plants' deaths  These belong to my generally nurturing and attentive roommate, Ala.  But this is what third year of medical school will do to you.  So we won't hold it against her.  But it does raise the final score to Laura: 2, Death: 2, Purgatory: 1.  Let's hope that the final plant is a tie-breaker!!  I think keeping paper flowers alive counts. Right?

Walled Off

My sister left a comment on my last post, implying that my wood panel walls were something less than totally awesome.  As I walked around my house, reveling in the beauty of wood paneling, I realized that my house contains no less than 5 different types of wood paneling!!  Let's take a tour!

Where Did I Go Wrong?!

I've been trying to study for my medicine shelf exam, which is Friday, but something's holding me back. What do you think, is the problem:

• that my bedroom is the warmest room in my house, so I try to 'study' in bed?
• that I can't open my computer without visiting at least 3 useless sites?
• that I haven't had my GINORMOUS cup of coffee yet?

Well, now I'm sitting at my desk with the World's Warmest Sweater, I've turned off the wireless on my laptop (after posting this, OF COURSE) and I'm halfways through the World's Largest Cup of Coffee.  Time to rock this test!!

Talkin' The Talk

A blog that I read sometimes (MothersInMedicine.com) had a post a while ago from a couple physicians describing what they would have done differently in medical school if they could go back.  I think I've done some things right so far in med school (with the exception of locking my keys in my car twice in the last 6 months)- and one of my best pieces of advice to any upcoming med student would be to live with other medical students for as long as possible.  Here's one reason why:

Medical professionals have their own words for everything- which are generally no more specific or useful than the patients words.  The patient says 'bruise', we say 'ecchymosis'.  They say 'short of breath', we say 'dyspnea'. They say 'tomato', we say 'You put a tomato, WHERE?!'.

As a med student, talkin' the talk lets people around you know that you're worth being taken seriously, and it also covers your butt when you have no idea what's going on.   If I have NO CLUE why my patient's kindeys aren't working, it sounds a lot better to say, "At this point, I can't define the pathogenesis of his renal insufficieny" than "His kidneys won't work, and I don't know why".  The big words are like the castle at Disney World-  if you get someone to look at the castle, there's a decent chance they won't notice the puke by Magic Moutain.

But it's not just a new language- it's learning to be fluently bilingual depending on your audience.  There's nothing worse than a patient who misses half of what you say, ends up taking their meds wrong and also thinks you're a pompous jerk.  But it's just as bad than having an attending who thinks you can't speak Medical-ese, and stops listening to you.

My advice to anyone, in any field where they have to learn a new language, is to LIVE WITH OTHER STUDENTS!  My roommates and I speak 'doctor talk' constantly to one another (which has consequently made our boyfriends very good at Wii) and I don't know how else I would make it at the hospitals. There's no Rosetta stone for Medical-ese. Medic-lish?

Also, there are some words that patients just don't like to hear (see cartoon)!!