Made it to 3rd Year!

Wow!  I really thought this day would never come, but now that I'm here, It feels like only yesterday I was starting this journey.  Well, I know you are all wondering.... STEP is over and we both passed!!! We really want to thank you all for your prayers through that very difficult time in our lives.  It really was the hardest thing I think I've ever done.  This summer we studied 12 hrs a day (sometimes more) 6 days a week for 5 weeks.  I lost 10 lbs due to my chronic diarrhea and stress ulcer that prevented me from eating.  I cried almost every day!  I thank God everyday for blessing me with such a patient and loving Husband.  Seriously, a lesser man would have left me!!!  But he held my hand and got me through it!  And now we are officially in 3rd year and spending all day in the hospital on rotations.  I wish I could share some stories of things that have happened to me at work, but due to Patient Confidentiality Laws (aka. HIPPA) I cannot.  But here are some things I can share:

First Day of School Picture... Dont we look so cute!! 

1st Rotation: Psychiatry at NLR VA.  I'll be honest.  I was really nervous about starting Psych.  I didnt know what to expect.  Would people be talking to figments of their imagination?? Would they be violent??  Would there be padded walls and straight jackets??? 

This is the picture of the student office where we saw patients.  Looks legit, right?! 

But.. See the red button?  That's the panic button!  So when I asked, "Will I need to use the panic button?" The physician responds, "oh no, that's just incase.  We've never had a med student get hurt here, but I've only been here for 2 years!" Ok, Now I'm panicking! 

I was very nervous.  But, it really wasnt that bad.  I did see schizophrenia and psychosis and  bipolar and all sorts of things.  But I learned that sometimes the one's with serious mental illness are more afraid of you then you are of them.  I mean if you heard a voice telling you that you were going to die or go to hell everyday, wouldn't you be scared?? So I think my eyes were really opened and I realized that Mental Illness isnt scary. and these patients suffer from other medical problems that often get overlooked due to their mental illness, such as pain or insomnia, or infections.  I learned that psychiatrists really are special people and have a heart to speak for those who often cant speak for themselves. 

I also really enjoyed Psych because it was a nice intro into 3rd year.  The days were really light.  I usually got done around 2 or 3pm.  I was able to get all of my reading done!  It was nice.  Now onto OB/GYN.  Long days!  But, you know I love it!  More updates to come!

STEP and finishing M2 year

Ok, so I dont think anyone reads this, but I've decided to try to keep up with this thing!  I've had a lot of anxiety lately about the year ending and moving on to the next STEP in my life.  And my mom suggested I keep a journal to help me sort thru all my emotions!  So I guess I'll just do it here.

So yes, as the title suggests, we have finished M2 year!  Thank you Jesus!!! Although, we cannot officially be called Third years until we take STEP.  More on that later.  So we are kind of in this Purgatory.  And yes, I do think that Purgatory is a fitting description.  Why? Because we are stuck in this 5 weeks cram session trying to relearn everything from the past 2 years.  Our days consist of waking up at 6 am and studying like a mad person until we go to bed.  Its gonna be a LOOOONNNNGGGG 5 weeks.  Why are we doing this you ask?  STEP

What is STEP:
Ok, so basically in order to become a doctor, we have to take a few tests to prove we actually know what we are talking about.  There are 3 of them and they are called STEP 1, STEP 2, and STEP 3.  STEP 1 consists of all the knowledge we should have learned over the past 2 years.  The problem is that our school (along with all other med schools) taught us what they wanted to teach us.  But some panel of MDs somewhere all got together to make a test over stuff they feel we should know. And sometimes that material doesnt quite match up. 

**Somehow the rest of this post got deleted?? and I dont remember what I wrote last time, so I'll just summarize:

STEP 2 - we take during our 3rd or 4th year.  It is broken up into 2 parts: Clinical Skills and Clinical Knowledge.  The skills part is an acting test where we are graded on our interaction with pretend patients. 
STEP 3- I dont remember when we take it.  Maybe during residency.

So why am I so stressed out about this test.  Well, it kind of determines what we will do with the rest of our lives.  Its kind of like if the ACT not only determined if you got into college, but also determined what degree program you qualified for!!
 
So thats it.  For the next 5 weeks we are locked away in our house, reading for 12 hours a day (including saturdays!)  Trying to relearn everything we should know, and teach ourselves everything we dont know or didn't learn already.  June 11th is the big day!

So if you are the praying kind, please say some for Hunter and I -- We'll need them!

Bye Buddy

Well, I'm sad to say that on Monday we lost our family pet, Buddy.  He was a 6 year old Yorkie who was very much part of the family.  He was a very good dog and we loved him very much!

We were all so upset that we all started the hunt for a new puppy.  Using the classifieds, I was able to find a very nice lady out of Hector, AR.  She met me in Conway Tuesday afternoon and we picked up the newest member of our family.  

This is .... Well, we dont have a name picked out yet.  He is a 6 week old Yorkie and weighs about 2 lbs.  Elliott met me in Conway and took him home to meet the rest of the family last night.  Everyone was really excited!  

Eye Clinic

Finally something to write about.  Usually when my family and friends ask me about school I dont really have much to say.  Wake up.  Study.  Go to class.  Come home.  Study.  Eat Dinner. Study.  Go to Bed.  Repeat!  But today, we had eye clinic.  This block is over the Central Nervous System and the Eye.  So this afternoon we all got to meet at the Jones Eye Center at UAMS and look into eachother's eyes.  

By the way, Opthalmoscopes are harder to use than you would think.  But now we have one dilated eye and it makes it really hard to study in the bright lights of the library.  So we are at home sitting at the kitchen table with the blinds partially open, laptop backlights dimmed,  trying to focus!!  :)  This should be fun!

P.S. What I learned today:
Get your kids eyes checked before they are 7, some damage may be able to be corrected if detected early!

SNOW DAY!!!

Snow is actually hitting me in the eye right now!  

This is Ruie's "You cant make me come in!" face 

Trying to find the ball

We'll Hold hands and Then we'll go ice skating!!!

 Ice Rink set up at the River Market!

 Hunter Skating Backward... I know... its sickening how he's good at everything!!!

 And yes, I do skate with my butt sticking out!

 Looking classy by the snow people 

A.C.s Graduation

I am so proud of my Bubba!  This saturday he graduated from Arkansas Tech with a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and an Associates degree in Nuclear Technology.  Congrats Bubba!!!!

Here he is being recognized for being an Honors student: 

 Here he is being recognized for graduating with Magna Cum Laude:

Well, 2 down, one more to Go!!!!