Okay first things first.
I saw Presidential-Nominee Hillary Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama on Thursday!
It was awesome getting to see them, especially since I learned that they were going to be in Winston only a few days prior to the event. As you can see, the rally was stupid packed…I barely got into the stadium even though I was in the student line! The general admission line was insanely long; I don't even know if some of those people made it into the stadium honestly. When I got in with some friends, we didn't even have seats…so we improvised and stood behind the last row of seats in a section lol. I had already seen Hillary a couple of times prior before back in college, but it was my first time seeing Michelle Obama and let me tell you, she was absolutely PHENOMENAL. So phenomenal that Hillary actually spoke before her, as if she was opening up for the First Lady. After the rally, I wanted to run up and take a picture with them but you know how that goes with Secret Service and all. Plus we were not tryna get caught up in the crazy traffic back to school, which we ended up stuck in anyway for over an hour. For no good reason either. 😒 But anyways, if you haven't voted already, GO VOTE!!! Early voting is currently going on! To sum up what President Obama said, our future and well-being is on the ballot! I put my ballot in last Monday, so my voice has been heard. Make sure yours is too!
Also, I had a pretty interesting weekend that involved Wake Homecoming Black Alumni festivities, North Carolina A&T Homecoming festivities (Also known as #GHOE), and dressing up as one of my favorite childhood superheros. Can you guess who??
And tell me why I ran into Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry for a third time this weekend? We pretty much besties now, you can't tell me otherwise. It was an amusing weekend overall and I stayed up much later than I would have liked to both Friday and Saturday. However, I did fit in some volunteer time as well as adequate study time so I'm still all caught up on my lecture material!
Which brings me to my next point. I started the Gastrointestinal block this past Monday and so far, I haven't had any qualms about it. I feel like it definitely has been the most straightforward block yet and I've been able to keep up with everything since I've been attending every class so far. Go figure. It's been nice to have been able to go to class and grasp some understanding from lecture…believe it or not, that doesn't work all the time for me. It just depends on who's lecturing and how they do so. Some lecturers read off their slides while others truly talk about what they're presenting so that we can understand their material. It's been the latter this past week, which is why I've been in class this week lol. I'll just keep on truckin' through this block and before I know it, I'll be stuffing my face with great homemade food at the dinner table on Thanksgiving with my family!
Couple more things.
One, I attended a talk that described the USMLE Step 1 Exam in more detail earlier this past week and how pressing it is for our future. Like we weren't fully aware of that already. I feel like I should begin reviewing past material now and slowly pick up the pace as the weeks go on. I also need to begin focusing on how to maximize the use of test-taking strategies, because me and standardized tests never really got along too well. You know what, I don't even wanna talk about Step anymore. Instead, I'll tell you about how the chapter of the Student National Medical Association at my school is hosting the annual Regional Medical Education Conference this weekend! Our region consists of medical schools in the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. So this means that I'll be getting the chance to meet a lot of new people as well as catch up with other medical students in the region that I haven't talked to in a while. Only thing that sucks is that I'm missing my alma mater's homecoming because of this conference…but it should be a good time nonetheless!
Other thing is that I had the chance to actually follow up on a case that I had during my CPE week. A kid had come to my CPE preceptor's office a couple weeks ago with complaints of nightly fevers that took place for over two weeks and constant pain in his upper back. We had no idea what was going on with him, so we ran some blood tests and after a day or so, my preceptor had him transferred to the main Wake Forest hospital. This past week, my preceptor emailed me to see if I wanted to go and check in with the med team working on the kid at the hospital and of course I did, so I went to do so. It was quite awkward walking into the small room of upper-level med students and residents that made up that med team, but I went ahead and asked about the patient. They seemed to be pleasantly surprised that I actually went out of my way to come and talk to them about the kid and were enthusiastic about updating me on his condition. Turns out he had this condition called “cat-scratch disease“, a condition where a bacterium called Bartonella henselae infects an individual after a cat literally scratches that person. I had learned about it last year, but this was my first time seeing a patient with that condition. It was pretty cool to have been able to see that, although I'm sure the kid wasn't feeling too cool about having the disease. He's going to get better though; he was prescribed some antibiotics (azithromycin to be specific).
That's it for this post! Be sure to have a splendid week!
“Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't.” – Jerry Rice
– Black Man, M.D.
P.S. – I just got back from a Diwali (Hindu New Year) celebration with some of my friends! There was good Indian food as well as cool traditional Indian outfits involved. I love being able to learn a bit about other cultures…it's almost like I'm traveling the world free of charge lol. Happy Diwali! Oh, and be on the lookout for new Health Career Spotlights coming up in the future!