Just Hand Me A Tissue

So I usually come to the table a bit late with all the viral videos popping up (who knew that the Harlem Shake was ACTUALLY a thing).  Well I am sure that many of you have heard about the story coming out of El Paso, TX, but I just saw it for the first time last night.  Okay ... maybe I wasn't too far behind on this one thanks to so many FB posts.

Mitchell, a mentally handicapped high school student who managed the basketball team, was finally given a chance to suit up and play the final minutes of the game.  What happens in the final seconds of the video is the most amazing gesture of sportsmanship I have ever seen and helps restore my faith in humanity.

Tailwinds and Neg Grades

One of the hardest things post Bike & Build was trying to explain the magnitude of beauty we saw along the way.  One of the the riders, Marcus a.k.a. The Beard, recently put together a video of major declines.  While the movie is an hour long, you can skip around to see some of what we got to see this summer or put it in front of your trainer and logs some miles.  Yours truly made a few cameos (just look for the flag sticking out of the camelback).

Definitely gives me a sense of wanderlust and I am pretty jealous of Marcus and Arden who are heading out again this summer.  Click on the links and help donate to their rides!!

Alive Inside

So coincidentally, every Tuesday I have been posting something related to older adult care, so I figured I would continue on with the tradition until the semester ends.  (Tuesday happens to be the day the entire class sits for Older Adult Health so this is not COMPLETELY random).

Alive Inside is a documentary which looks at the impact that music can have on our aging population.  Music & Memory, a non-profit agency, fills iPods with songs of yesteryear and distributes them to retirement homes across the country.  The documentary shows first had how music can remind seniors of their past and get them smiling, talking and even toe tapping again.  

In class we learned that this idea is grounded in the Reminiscence Theory.  Seniors are encouraged to share stories from their past with the hopes of increasing self-esteem and socialization, while they reflect on the past.  Many find the process helpful to focus on what they value and find meaning from their life.  

"Music imprints itself on the brain deeper than any other human experience," Sacks says.  "Music evokes emotion and emotion can bring with it memory" and "brings back the feeling of life when nothing else can."

Take a look for yourself and watch Henry's response!
The last two minutes are where it really comes together.

You can also check out Gil & Denise's story.

Happy Birthday Alex

Happy Birthday to the best adventure partner/co-bike tour giver/mover-extraordinaire a girl could ask for could ask for.  Today I drink a glass of Merlot (jk lol and stuff) bottle Cabernet Sauvignon in your honor!

Meta Picture Monday

The one up side to being up before the crack of dawn, is that you get to see the crack of dawn!

Off to day 6 of the PSYC rotation.

Hearing Voices

Feel free to play Chris Young's I Hear Voices as you read along.

If you want to get a feeling for what had to listen, click on this link before you start reading. 

As a part of the curriculum we are required to participate in two PSYC SIMMs (live simulations) which are supposed to give another dimension to out clinical experience  The down side is that today was a 13 hour day.

For the first eight week PSYC term, I am working on a combination inpatient, locked unit which houses patients with Schizophrenia and dual diagnosis substance abuse.  (Subconsciously I probably chose this unit because most of the adults I saw in clinic last year had one or both of these diagnoses.)  Tonight after our regular clinical day, we participated in a Hearing Voices exercise.  While it is easy to place a person in a wheelchair for 24 hours to understand what a paraplegic might experience, it is recreate a mental illness experience like hallucinations.  Over the years a simulation has been created which allows students to listen to "voices" as they participate in a variety of exercises. 

For the first hour we watched a video which helped us to understand what a patient who hears voices might experience on a daily basis.  One of the examples she gave was to imagine a scenario where 15 minutes before the work day ends your boss comes in and explains everything you have been doing wrong.  Instead of being able to voice your opinion/say what is really on your mind, you leave work, head to your car and start up an internal conversation with yourself.  You might mutter under your breath or yell, have worked up facial expressions and maybe hit the steering wheel a time or two.  To an outsider you might look "crazy" talking to yourself and being completely wrapped up in your own world, but in reality you are by all definitions sane.  If a ball was to all of a sudden come into your lane, you would be able to snap yourself out of your conversation and back to reality.  Unfortunately, for many who hear voices that is not an option; all day, everyday they hear someone/something in their minds, coming from various parts of their body and/or environment. 

Another great example was to imagine that you have a song stuck in your head.  Of course it is only a phrase (not the entire thing) and the harder you try to forget the song or figure out the rest of the words, the more it becomes lodged in your head.  Over the years this professor has polled the audience to see what they do to help escape the song.  One of the best examples was a person who would sing Happy Birthday to themselves 54 times (no more ... no less).  Now if none of us knew the person had a song stuck in their head and this was their coping strategy for getting the song out of their head, we would think that something was not right with this person.  For many who hear voices they go through the same thing.  Some have various coping mechanisms like responding to the voices/reciting mantras and to an outsider these actions seem unnatural.

Unfortunately for most of the patients I have worked with the voices do not have good ideas.  Instead they encourage suicidal and homicidal ideations, as well as self-harm and self-esteem issues.

Once the video wrapped up, we were split up into our clinical groups, told to hit play and we were off.  As we traveled from classroom to classroom for the next three hours, not only did we constantly have the voices on repeat, but we also had to participate in a wide variety of activities.  Things like playing board games and origami were fairly easy compared to reading comprehension and a simulated Mini Mental exam in an ED.  Most of the students commented that when we were participating in activities which did not require much active thinking, like the tactile experiences, it was much easier to block the voices out.

Researchers are still trying to determine what causes people to experience hallucinations (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, proprioceptive, equilibrioceptive, nociceptive, thermoceptive and chronoceptive with the first five being the most common).  One successful study has taken PET scans of those who are hearing voices/noises and those who experience no hallucinations/are listening to music.  Interestingly enough, the same areas of the brain light up in both groups.  Unfortunately this also means that the brain is not able to differentiate between voices/noises which are real and those which are caused by the disease.  As a result it takes some time and experience before people are able to get a sense of what is real and what is not.

I Still Got It!

One thing which used to drive my mother (hi mom!) crazy when I was in school was the fact that I would leave large research papers until the bitter end aka not starting until 24-48 hours before it was due.  I tried to assure her that after so many years in school I have mastered this process down to a science.  The use of modern technology and the internet also helps my case.  I am also an academic adrenaline junkie, found also in grant writers and program evaluators (hello undergrad major), which means the stress in the final hours before a deadline helps crank out a quality product.

After sitting around for a month contemplating what I should write my final HELP paper on (this is the thing half of our grade is riding on), I could put it off no longer.  With 25 hours to go I headed to the library to start pulling and printing articles.

NERD ALERT: You know that feeling you get when all your MeSH terms line up, you are able to find thoughtful quantitative and qualitative articles sprinkled with some policy analysis and everything is coming together beautifully in support of your hypothesis?  Well it was all that and more last night!

With twenty articles R&D'ed (read and digested ... basically highlighted and written all over) and stacked neatly on my bed, paper writing can commence.  Always start with the policy suggestions because this is by far the easiest thing to summarize ... then some of the body ... background ... conclusion ... body ... intro ... back to the body to make sure everything in the intro was covered.  And after 3 hours or so of listening to the click-clack of my computer keys, I have a pretty solid draft and it is time for bed.

The typical morning routine consists of a latte, writing the introduction, proofing, throwing together my references, proofing and then SUBMITTING. 

And voila!  A ten page paper is written with five hours to spare!

Yay for being a humanities major in undergrad.

Never Trust an Old Gal

One of the classes I am taking this semester deals with the specific health needs of adults over the age of 65.  Now you might be asking yourself, "Emily why are you taking such a specific class, especially since you want to work with kids?"

Well first it is a required class for all students.  Over the last decade more and more schools are requiring students to take such a class (Hopkins required this before the suggestion was made).  Secondly, this age group will be the largest health care consumer in the United States.  The Baby Boomer population will start to reach the age of 85 in the year 2020.  Previously, elderly individuals were considered to be anyone 65 years + (hence the retirement age) because people were only living into their late 60s and early 70s.  With an increase in medical technology and preventative measures, people who once needed to access services for chronic disease management at the age of 65 are not accessing those services today until the age of 80-85.

One of the biggest things our professor clarified in our first class is that people between the age of 65-85 are not the old people that everyone envisions.  In fact, many people are more active at this point in their lives compared to their younger years.  Umm hello - my grandmother just turned 80 and still plays several hours of tennis a DAY on top of walking the dog.  Our professor showed us a video of a sassy 87 year old on the first day of class ... things start to get really good at 1:40.

This is not the sassy lady in said video, but she is still working her stuff.  Look at those legs!!

In Honor of Today's PSYC Pharm Exam

Meta Picture Monday

Happy Valentine's Day

** NERD ALERT **

** BIKE ALERT **

Help Circulate the Love

With all things red and heat shaped what better way to circulate the love than to donate a pint of blood and save up to three lives tomorrow. 

I just got an email from the American Cross saying:

"The recent winter storm has forced the cancellation of 170 American Red Cross blood drives throughout the Northeast, resulting in a shortfall of more than 7,100 units of blood and platelets.

While all types are needed, the Red Cross urges those with blood types O negative, B negative, and A negative to make a lifesaving appointment."

Sadly because the half marathon is a few weeks out, I can't donate right now, but I could be persuaded to send anyone who donates a love-gram.  I know it is short notice, so I will give you a week to get to your donation center.  Just send me a picture to confirm!

To find a donation center near you call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or go to redcrossblood.org.

A Valentine's Day History

Tomorrow is probably the one holiday of the year where there is a clear dichotomy in the US population. People have a deep visceral reaction and either throw themselves into the holiday or dress all in black. For me it seems like a whole big to do.  I am usually stuck in some ungodly lecture and/or have to take an exam and, my valentines date would be a bottle of red wine at a dance party with my roommates.

Here is a quick and dirty History Channel Video which quickly outlines how the holiday was born.

Mardi Gras

As we all know For those of us who took French, we know that Mardi Gras translates to Fat Tuesday.  The tradition started back in the 5th century when Christian leaders realized that people were unwilling to give up their Roman traditions.  As a result, people were allowed to celebrate Carnival, a festival of merry leading up to Lent.  During the forty days and nights of Lent, the Christian tradition forbade the consumption of meat.  As a result, the day before Ash Wednesday, people would consume all of the meat and eggs in their homes.  This day in France was called Mardi Gras and thus a tradition was born.

Over the years Mardi Gras became synonymous with three major cities: Rio de Janeiro, Montreal and of course New Orleans (thanks to the French Canadians who came to settle LA)

Official colors: green, purple and gold

Official Song: If I Ever Cease to Love

For a pretty good quick and dirty video check out this History Chanel link

So what are you waiting for?!?!  

Go get yourself some King Cake and live today up!

Meta Picture Monday

This summer, thanks to Jack, we put googlie eyes on as many things as possible.  

See exhibit 1 and exhibit 2.  

Pinterest Fail

So every now and again I remember that I have pinned about a million things on my Pinterest boards and decide to try something out.  Today I was attempting to make these bomb stained glass sugar cookies for my 13.1 ounce buddy (a newly formed SUS tradition).

Now for the most part I am a wiz in the kitchen, but the whole thing turned out so horribly it could have ended up on the Pinterest Fail blog (basically where good intentioned DIY'ers try to attempt recipes/projects and things go horribly wrong).

Basically the recipe tells you to make some sugar cookie dough and cut out the center.  You then place a jolly rancher (or two) in the center and as the cookie bakes, the jolly rancher melts.  Different sites tell you to leave the cookie alone to cool for a variety of minutes; this allows the candy to harden just enough so you can take it off the cookie sheet before the whole things sticks to the cookie sheet.  After several attempts, a couple spatulas covered in melted jolly rancher and twelve cookies broken into many pieces I decided to scrap the whole thing and make regular sugar cookies.

I was only able to get one cookie to turn out and even then it looks a little rough.  Honestly my first thought was OMG it has the stigmata.  

My New Best Friend is a Cow

A few months ago, during a routine physical for school, I was handed a tablet and asked to check all of my information and answer a series of questions.  While it has been a few years since I had to visit the doctor, I was shocked that a single floor at the UPMC hospital had several devices floating around and everything had gone paperless.  I was pleasantly surprise when I found out I could be emailed test results and access my vaccine records from their website.  (The shock might have come from the fact that I had been working with several very low budget clinics over the last few months and some still relied on paper charts because the network was not always reliable).  

If memory serves me correct, all hospitals and health care facilities are supposed to go paperless and implement electronic medical records by 2015 (don't quote me on that year, but I know that it is coming up).  As a result, my nursing buddies and I have become good buddies with something lovingly referred to as a cow (you may have seen one during a recent visit to the hospital).  This computer on wheels makes it easy to roll the electronic medical records with you from room to room (not all units have computers in each patient's room) and is super helpful when we have to find patients and record their locations on the unit.

It will be interesting to see how some of the smaller agencies make the switch and even more so to see what problems arise with such a drastic change in record keeping.  Like all grand transitions, unforeseen problems always seem to pop up.  People and organizations have to think quickly on their feet and find cost effective solutions to said problems.


Check out some other articles about how technology is being integrated into the health care field:

• Texting the Teenage Patient 
• Rise of App Development: Device Use Creates a Perfect Storm for Chronic Disease Prevention
• Integrating Technology Into Health Care What Will It Take?
• Importance of Health Information Technology, Electronic Health Records, and Continuously Aggregating Data to Comparative Effectiveness Research and Learning Health Care

Clinicals Are Up and Running!

This morning, circa 0630-0645, 160 nursing students descended up local hospitals.  Level two is separated into two eight week terms.  For the first eight weeks I will be in my PSYC rotation (working with patients with Schitzophrenia and substance abuse) and then will be in my Adult Health rotation (working with patients with HIV/AIDS).

Sadly for the PSCY rotation, students are required to wear business casual which means the scrubs and clogs will remain in my bureau.  Upside is we get to wear these super fancy lab coats.  (Truth be hold I would much rather wear the scrubs, but we look pretty legit as we wander the halls.)

The first day was the usual orientation, meet the staff, see what goes on on the floor.  That afternoon we got to sit in on teaching rounds.  A friend of mine from high school is currently a third year medical student and recently wrote about her experience during PSYC rounds.  As the nursing students were sitting in the back row, I realized that my experience was pretty close to what we saw between the psychiatrist and the patient.  Day 1 down, 15 to go!

A Pep Talk From Kid President To You

This video, A Pep Talk From Kid President To You, was posted the other day on one of the Bike and Build Facebook groups and I felt like I needed to share this with you all.  This kid is hilarious and has some pretty sage advice.  

"You can cry about it or you can dance about it"

There is also this great clip

This kid is a GENIUS and I need to somehow get him into one of my own dance videos.  

Seriously LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN.  I am open to suggestions.  

Why Women Should Care About Heart Health

February is Heart Health Month, and the folks over at FitSugar had a great post on why women should be more mindful about taking care of their hearts.  This is pretty much a cut and paste job of their article.  

1. It's the No. 1 killer of women: Breast cancer may get the attention (and is also a serious and potentially deadly disease), but far more women die each year of heart disease than breast cancer: while one in 31 women will die of breast cancer, the American Heart Association reports that one in three women will die of heart disease.
2. Young women are having more and more heart attacks: A recent study that tracked over a million women for 12 years found that women were having more heart attacks at a younger age. The study also found that the women experienced atypical heart attacks with symptoms that were different than what we think of as normal heart attack symptoms (see below).
3. 90 percent of women have at least one risk factor for heart disease: Even if you are seemingly young and healthy, factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and genetics can contribute to your risk of developing heart disease.
4. You may not have symptoms: Heart attack symptoms in younger women include shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea, and back or jaw pain — not the normal striking chest pain that we think heart attacks should be like. But it's not just subtle symptoms; most women who die of coronary heart disease don't experience any symptoms at all.
5. More women than men die of heart disease: It's a trend that's been continuing since 1984.

For more on heart health, check out the American Heart Association's Go Red For Womencampaign, and read our tips for avoiding daily habits that are bad for your heart here.

The American Nurse Project

"We will need to educate 1 million nurses by 2016 to meet the demand" of a growing, aging and sicker population.

The American Nurse Project:

"aims to elevate and celebrate nurses in this country by capturing their personal stories through photography and film. Photographer Carolyn Jones and her team traveled to every corner of the U.S. to record the unique experiences of nurses at work. The photographs and narratives shed light on what it means to be a nurse in our country, and who the women and men are who have pledged their lives to the care of others. It’s a story worth telling—it’s a story we all should hear."

Super Bowl Wrap Up

Let's be honest here people.  The only reason I watch the Super Bowl is to see the half time show and the COMMERCIALS.  Sadly last year I only saw the second half of the game in a local PGH bar (I had no cable) which meant the volume was turned down/most of the commercials were missed.  Tonight, however, the volume was turned way, way up and I was ready to throw in my two cents with the rest of the DC crew.  

I will say that the commercials from last night were pretty abysmal.  The classic Budweiser Clydesdale ad was great and the Jeep Whole Again brought a tear to several several eyes at the party.  The clear winner (for me) was Tide Miracle Stain ... HILARIOUS!!!  

Twitter and Facebook were of course all a buzz with comments of Beyonce's performance and the once in a lifetime (hopefully) blackout.  The below is one such example from a dear friend/one I visited in San Francisco last week.  My guess was it was Michelle Williams.

All in all it was a successful evening and Erica was EXTREMELY excited about the outcome.  The only downfall was driving through downtown Baltimore on my way home from DC.  All of the city seemed to be driving around in their cars/ honking or walking stumbling about/high fiving people as they drove by.

And so we wrap up another football season.  Here's to next year and a better year for the NY Giants.  Until then, CONGRATS Baltimore.  

21 Credits ... I'm Coming for You

That's right we are going to hit the ground running this semester.  

Thankfully I had the last six weeks to sleep and to get caught up with friends  With 21 credits, a job, a volunteer thing or two and a half marathon to train for the next few weeks look busy, but with some strong coffee and memes like this I will make it to the end. 

If you haven't heard from me in a while please send out a search party to insure that I am not stuck under some medical tomes.  

Meta Picture Monday

A Little Taste of Home

So tonight there apparently is a little football showdown (Let's be honest, I only watch the Super Bowl for the commercial).  One of my good friends Erica was born and raised in Baltimore so she is quite obviously a Ravens fan through and through.  In her honor, I decided to swing by and pick up a special surprise that combines two hometown favorites ... Dangerously Delicious Pies and Berger Cookies.

These two confections come together in the below Baltimore Bomb Pie.  

Come back tomorrow where I weigh in on the best (and worst) commercials.  

Chilly Chilly Run

After a week off of from running (there was LOTS of walking in SUNNY/WARM San Francisco), I decided to lace up my shoes and head to the National Mall for a quick 4 mile run.  Up until this point I have been avoiding running outside in weather less than 50 degrees.  Yeah yeah I know I am from New York, but let me tell you ... I despise the cold.  A friend who is training for the marathon in single digits is a total trooper (and BA) and deserves MAJOR props.

As you can see from the below picture, it was a brisk 37* and people were bundled.  It was good to see the reflecting pool filled with water once again, even if said water was frozen.