OMG!! holidays.

...And that sums up my feelings of another end of the year. ;)

But on a more serious note, my friend Brandon always begins the new year with a retrospective on the year that has just passed. And this year, I thought I would try that out myself.

January led to the transition into the "easy" semester of my 3rd year of medical school. The Christmas season had just ended. I had come off of my surgery rotation as a die-hard future plastic surgeon. Justin was newly "recovered" from his knee surgery, and we had just spent our first year of marriage through the holiday season. 'Twas hard to unwind from surgery, and during my two-week break, I ended up shadowing in the burn surgery operating rooms in the early days of January prior to starting my next rotation: psychiatry. I spent the next six weeks in the State Hospital. It was the first time in medical school where I felt like a genuine member of the treatment team instead of a removed observer. I spent time in the mental health court system, and I battled with a new and unsettling concept of a treatment paradigm -- one where the patient was not in control of their own health care. It was a defining rotation for me. Especially that one day of child psychiatry. And though at the time, I still was strongly considering surgery, I began to search Freida for information on psychiatry residencies. It was then that I discovered the triple board program.

The hours on psychiatry took some adjustment. For the first time in my medical education, I was keeping relatively normal hours. I had my evenings free. And when Justin was working the closing shift at Starbucks, I would settle at the coffee bar with my books with a nice cup of coffee or tea, the music and the movement of the employees a comforting backdrop to my studying. I loved those hours spent studying with my husband and friends working and chatting only a few meters away.

In contrast, mid-February marked the beginning of my least favorite rotation of all of medical school: OB/GYN. The first week was spent on 12-hour OB day shifts; the next, 12-hour night shifts. Those first two weeks fostered my hatred of the specialty, where the physicians avoid their patients while the nursing staff develops a relationship in their place. The residents rarely deem to notice the medical students, unless the medical student looks so pathetic that they will sign off a clinical topic on their required form out of pity. Those two weeks drove out any desire I might have had in the specialty, even with a few crazy experiences in baby-catching. The next week was spent in a high-risk OB clinic, where I came to realize that sexual and physical abuse were more commonplace than I had been aware of previously. The last three weeks were spent with a gynecology team. This was more rewarding, as I was blessed with a great resident team combination; nevertheless, I am still inclined to think of obstetrical surgery with a shudder of unease -- my own almost-surgeon bias remains as I think of the gynecologists who I felt weren't comfortable enough with their surgeries to be performing them.

April was a good month. This month was devoted to family medicine in Fayetteville, where I was able to spend some great times with Jenn and Lance. They cooked me dinner while I explored the world of community-based family medicine. I enjoyed the surgery component of family medicine, and I enjoyed outpatient medicine with a great resident team. When off work, I enjoyed a variety of cuisine a la Lance and Jenn. I saw a glimpse of what world might have been like if I had not gone to medical school -- a life of potlucks, weekly Brewski nights, home-cooked meals, parties, and meandering walks through weekend Farmer's markets. I was introduced to the world of Veronica Mars. Meanwhile, with the exception of the brief period he came to visit, Justin was at home, saying farewell to his job at Starbucks as he received a new job at the downtown library. Though I was excited for him, I knew I would miss those days spent at the coffee bar while he played with espresso beverages and hummed underneath his breath. And I had a grand birthday extravaganza -- Jenn and Lance worked to make my birthday the best I had experienced since my days in undergraduate. And I got to see my friend Shelby while eating sushi and green tea cupcakes...num. This was a busy month, filled with fun and excitement...but I should probably move on. Though I did meet an adorable black kitten named Hermione.

May and June were busy, as I picked up my pediatrics rotation I had missed from the previous semester. I came to realize that I loved kids, but I was not a fan of the pediatrics program. The first month was spent in-patient. I met a few of my favorite patients of all time during peds hem/onc, one of which ended up passing away the week after I moved on to peds neuro. I experienced the worst resident I was ever assigned to, which made 2 weeks rather miserable. And then I bustled off to a week of general peds clinic, two weeks of day and half-day clinics, and three days of nursery, where I actually performed a circumcision.

The semester ended, and my one-week break fell on the week of the 4th of July. This is also the week of my Step 2 Clinical Skills exam in Houston, TX. Justin took off work, and we traveled to see his relatives in Houston while I prepared for the eight-hour exam. Justin helped me prepare in the amazing Borders. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory. I met and interacted with a side of Justin's family that I had only met in passing previously. And once the exam was over (and even before), we had a lot of fun. Justin's aunt and uncle were great. The fireworks were impressive. And it was fun. We even were able to stop by Marshall on the way home to see my friend Misty.

July was the month of geriatrics. I spent two weeks on geriatrics at UAMS: an unfortunately relatively pointless experience except for the chest tube placement I helped some random surgery residents with one day. I glared at Hospice representatives, and I made weekly Hospice visits of my own to a woman who was only able to acknowledge my presence once. James came to visit from Japan, and we watched The Dark Knight (my last movie theater experience of 2008). I spent time at the nursing home at the NLR VA. And I experienced outpatient geriatrics, which was enjoyable, if a bit melancholy.

August: Step 2 CK. Chris Killingsworth and I studied at a far more leisurely pace than we had prepared for Step 1. I enjoyed my time in coffee shops during the day as I read Crush and Boards and Wards. We went on searches for the comfy chairs, and we made a home at the Chenal Starbucks for a time. Step 2 CK, despite the extra hour, was a far more pleasant experience than Step 1, likely because it was spent in Arkadelphia with the friendliest staff on Earth, and because Justin had taken off work for the day to drive and cheer me on.

September was the month of ENT/orthopedics/urology/anesthesiology. It was also the beginning of the ERAS process. I was keeping surgery hours again, though I was reveling in the thought of my first pass/fail rotation. I briefly considered ENT as my residency of choice, and then quickly changed back to triple boarding. I wrote personal statements, discarded them, and wrote new ones. I researched programs and requested letters of recommendation. I helped lead ICM small group lectures. I participated with annual prostate screening day. And I thought that perhaps, if I had discovered anesthesiology sooner, then I might have chosen it...

But then the choice was made. With sighs of relief, and no regrets.

October was a glimpse into the life of an intern. I worked 85 hour work weeks (I mean 80 of course...), and I realized it was doable. I discovered that I loved hematology/oncology. And I bonded with my kids and parents. I learned more on that rotation than almost any other, the details of admissions and discharge summaries and dictations and medications, of a variety of cancers and blood dyscrasias that can affect children from 6 months to 18 years of age. I worked hard, and I stayed for overnight calls, and I loved it, even with the awful hours, because I was actually making a difference for being there. And I was still working on Saturday before leaving the next day for Kentucky -- that Sunday was my fourth day off of the entire month.

October 27th was my first day of my triple board acting internship in Lexington, Kentucky. I bonded with my cousins Josh and Lindsey and Madelyn. I spent a week on inpatient pediatrics, and loved it. I went trick-or-treating with my little cousin. I spent a week on outpatient pediatrics, and loved it too. I learned a lot. I bonded with my fellow triple-board applicant Rachel from Arizona, and I bonded with my chief resident in inpatient peds. I was introduced to the world of Rock Band. I watched Obama win the presidency. I moved on to child psychiatry, and I was reminded and reassured once again that I was entering the right field. I participated in my first residency interview. I traveled to far-off sites. And I was happy. Though I missed Justin, as he wasn't able to visit during the month I was away.

I swung by Cincinnati for an interview on the way home for Thanksgiving. Before I made it home, though, I stopped in Paragould to see my friend Matthew Dalke. I spoke to junior high students about medical school and why pre-algebra was important in the field, and I watched their impressive community theatre. And I finally made my way home on the day before Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was a crazy affair of two family dinners. The day after Thanksgiving, my mom and I went shopping like always. And the day after that...Justin and I flew to Hawai'i. Read account here.

After Hawai'i, I had the best experience of medical school: I taught second years how to appreciate cardiac clinical exam findings. I realized that I could learn a complicated medical case in a fifteen-minute time period and explain why and how the multitude of findings were found in an individual. And I was proud, both of my abilities and knowledge base, and of my ability to teach those to students, even in the short fifteen-minute period we were allotted. I can't tell you how proud I was...! And happy.

I flew off to Austin, Texas next. I saw the differences in a community-based program from a university-based program. And I spent time with Chase in Texas -- happy days. From there, I flew to Worcester, Massachusetts. I was very impressed by the program, even in the ice storm. It was amazing. And I was surprised by the number of Arkansans and those with ties to Arkansas in the department. Came back home for a few days, participated in a pharmacy OSCE, watched the ice postpone my UAMS residency interview. I enjoyed a secret ice day with Justin before flying off yet again, this time to Salt Lake City (despite the goose delay, grr, caused me to miss my free dinner). Good program, in a beautiful city with lots of mountains and snow. And back home, the day before Christmas Eve.

Christmas schedule here.

Another day in Booneville. Another day in Jacksonville with dear family friends. A visit from Florida by Brandon, from Japan by James, from Georgia by Wes, from Washington DC by Nealon, from the other side of town by Spencer, from Fayetteville by Jenn and Lance...tomorrow from Paragould by Matthew Dalke.

And I have left out a multitude of visits from Jenn and Lance, and from Matthew Dalke. I have left out parties with Sherri, Joey, Justin, Jon, Chris, Neil, and Michael (congrats on the move Sherri!!). I have left out the dramas of day to day life, the existential crises of leadership roles in medicine, the joys of simple pleasures, random volunteering, the impromptu sushi runs, the family gatherings on both sides, bike trips, the discovery of gelato, and many cups of coffee. Too many happy days out of my 366 days. Gained hours on call. Lost hours on the road. Movies in airplanes. Television shows online and on DVD. Books, and plays, and the occasional concert. Life has been good to me this year, if very busy. A lot has changed this year...a lot. (She saved the world...a lot. ~Buffy Summers) And through it all, it has been a journey. One I have shared with my kitten, and with Justin and my family and friends. It has been a good year. And if you have made it this far in my blog (poor thing)...though I have not blogged as much as I would have liked...perhaps now you have a glimpse of how I've spent the last year. *smiles*