I miss college... Roomies! This is a test ... who remembers what we were doing here? And who is hidden under the pillow? Chocolate...Yum Yum Middle School Dance Party!!! Halloween Our J bottles - purchased by our new found friend Dan :) and drank by the girls
NIOSA Shared Birthday Party Writey Drawey 80's and a big piece of gum Ummm...I just hope Nava doesn't kill me for this one. Let's just say we made her do it Girl's Night Out... We built up the courage to ask for a hot waiter at the Cheesecake factory and sadly we were disappointed :( Fall Break - A trip to the (closed) Renaissance Faire hahaha 21st bday! Middle School Dance Party part 2 Mojitos to celebrate the last day of college! Perhaps it was 6:30 pm and perhaps we had drank a few too many...or just enough :) End of the year celebrating!
I've recently discovered a new way to listen to music on the computer. A friend told me about this a while ago, but today was the first time I checked it out. I told some other people and apparently I'm totally out of the loop because everyone seems to know about it, but...if you are like me and not "with it." Pandora radio - is awesome. You can sign up for a free log in and then you type in an artist or a song you like and the website will automatically start a play list with similar music/artists. As the song is playing you can tell the website if you like it or not and it will adjust your play list accordingly. You can make multiple "stations" that will be saved under your log-in. So if you are like me and are in constant need of some background noise or just in the mood for some new music check it out: Pandora Radio
Last week - THE Dr. PAUL FARMER came to lecture at Penn State. Who is Paul Farmer, you ask? He is THE current face of global health.
Tracy Kidder wrote a book about his life, "Mountain Beyond Mountains."
Dr. Farmer is a medical anthropologist. His life started out living in a bus and a trailer park. His intelligence landed him a spot at a Harvard Medical School. While going to med school Dr. Farmer made frequent trips to Haiti and was working with the poor there. He started his own clinic there and from this eventually grew his current organization, Partners in Health. This organization has done amazing work in the past couple of decades. Dr. Farmer has pioneered new community-based ways to treat multi-drug resistant TB in Peru and the Russian prison system. He has also founded community-based programs for AIDS treatment in these 3rd world countries. His work has expanded and includes his passion Haiti along with Peru, Russia, Rwanda, Lesotho, and Malawi. Dr. Farmer has also written books about health, human rights, and the role of social inequalities. He believes in health care equality for all. He truly is an amazing person. There are many physicians who participate in global health by volunteering their time for a few weeks to month, occasionally even a year. (I too hope to someday participate in global health). Paul Farmer on the other hand LIVES and BREATHES global health. He is outside of his home country more often than in it.
Paul Farmer believes in self-sustaining organizations. The clinics and hospitals he sets up in these countries are run by local people. Training and jobs are provided for helping not only to make people healthier, but also the community as a whole.
A brief overview of Partners in Health (PIH) quoted from their brochure "PIH is a nonprofit corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1987, PIH is committed to working with partner organizations to improve the health and well-being of people living in poor communities. PIH believes that health care is a fundamental right, not a privilege. To this end PIH provides technical and financial assistance, medical supplies, and administrative support to partner projects in Haiti, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, Lesotho, Malawi, Burundi, Mexico, Guatemala, and Boston. The goal of these partnerships is neither charity nor development but rather "pragmatic solidarity" - a commitment to struggle alongside the destitute sick against the economic and political structures that cause and perpetuate poverty and illness."
It was an inspiration to hear him speak and have faith that one person really can change the world.
It's finally here! Springtime! It's time for - tank tops, skirts, and sandals! Green is reappearing where white winter snow used to be! Flowers are blooming and the birds are chirping!
My favorite part of spring is spending hours upon hours outdoors, enjoying the beautiful weather. That and wearing skirts and flip flops! What's your favorite part of spring?
I've now spent 3 days in the psych hospital and... well I sort of feel like a patient. No I'm not crazy, well maybe a little - I think you have to be a little nuts to voluntarily subject yourself to medical school. Anyways...I feel like a patient, because my day is structured very similar to theirs. In the morning I go in and talk with a few patients and then do some paper work or have a report from the nurses on how the patients are doing. Then at 10 am we have group. Groups is a time when most of the patients get together with the counselors and have some activity planned. I attended and participated as well (my participation is not as in depth as the patients, we are here to discuss and work through their issues, not mine). Then I busy myself with reading, etc until lunch. After lunch, group therapy. Off I go. I missed the later afternoon group because we were rounding today. Of course that was the coolest group session of all --> PET THERAPY! That's when a dog comes into visit the patients. Just like the patients I busy myself until group and then off I go to participate. The only difference is I get to hang out behind the nurses desk and I have a key that lets me out of the building at the end of the day.
Welcome, Welcome to your 3rd year medical school Psychiatry Rotation. Here are a few rules to abide by during your 4 weeks with us.
1. If you are in a situation and your gut tells you this is not good or that you shouldn't be there - leave. Listen to your gut.
2. When in a room with a patient, NEVER let the patient occupy the exit. Never let yourself get trapped in a room with the patient between you and the exit!
3. Never touch your patients. If they are sad and crying - no hugging, no touching their hands, no sitting on their beds. You never know how the patient will interpret such acts and you don't want to get into a he said, she said battle.
4. After shaking your patient's hand, wash your hand - you never know where that hand might have been.
5. Never trust your patients. They are not your friends, they are not supposed to be your friends, do not give out any personal information and never let your guard down.
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