Anyways, quick update on life. The drunk driver that hit me in my car accident has yet to talk to his insurance, so I cannot get my car repaired yet. I went to the doctor for my whiplash and neck pain, so I got a high strength ibuprofen and a muscle relaxant. They work beautifully for my neck pain, but it appears that my back pain (which was non-existent at the time of the crash) has now gotten much worse, most notably when my neck pain disappears. All of my forms for medical school have been submitted and processed, and I will be able to register for classes on Monday. My employment at the UF Department of Neurology will be coming to a close tomorrow, and while I am excited to be moving on, I am not excited about finishing the mountain of work on my desk and saying goodbye to all these great people. Of the 5 books they recommend I read, I have only completed one and a half. Sadly, I'm pretty sure I won't finish them by the start of school, but I don't believe I have to. They were after all "recommended" reading. The first book I read as well as the assignments I had to do for anatomy and ethics did teach me some interesting things about the medical profession though.
"America's Social Health," the first text on my list, is about how we as Americans are so in tune with the economic progress and state of our society that we often overlook the equally important social factors (dropout rates, crime levels, healthcare). Additionally, what news we do get about the health of our society often falls under the media that work to sensationalize any stories they find, often obscuring the true nature/sources of the problem. The authors give a wonderful description of social trends across our country combined with a look at social reporting done by other nations. They push for a more robust national social report supplemented by dedicated media coverage in the hopes that our social health as a country with be as well known as our economic health. It is an interesting read for anyone who wants to know about social trends and their place in American lives and political policy.
I also recently completed an assignment looking at what a doctor's code of ethics would look like. The key traits I imbued my version with were based on the doctor I hope to one day be: Honesty, Diversity, Community, Curiosity, Dedication, Patience, Empathy, Humility, and Selfishness. I go into each of these virtues in my actual assignment, because I believe each of them is important to developing a functional medical system without losing focus on the people who operate within that system, patient and doctor alike.
Finally, my anatomy assignment asked me to talk about my feelings towards human anatomy lab. Initially I wrote about excitement since that is what I feel. To me, learning human anatomy in the pursuit of a medical career is like a mechanic learning the basic parts of a car. It is the foundation of all understanding and jargon associated with the field and is a true necessity for any practitioner. However, I find it ironic that we as medical professionals are dedicated to life and its preservation but our first foray into the world of medicine is with the dead. I guess you gotta start somewhere.
Now if only I could get on a regular sleep schedule by Monday, things would start looking better. Heh.
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