First Day of OB

Today half of the class heads off to their OB rotation and the other heads off for peds; I am in the OB section, hence the picture.

This semester my group and I are out in Annapolis where we will be at Anne Arundel Hospital for the next five weeks.  The upside is the hospital has more of a community health vibe, but the down side is we have a 45 minute drive which means we are leaving here at 0545 (woah baby - no pun intended, but I am still cracking myself up).

On Thursdays we get to try out hands at 12 hour shifts and then Fridays are only 8.  Stay tuned as I am sure there will be lots of fun interesting stories and apparently lots of births. 

Last Day of Vacation

Another rainy day here - the weather at the end of May can be pretty hit or miss.  Never fear we had tons of Memorial Day marathons to keep us amused.  The sun did come out right before dinner.  Man you can never get old of this view!!

The final outdoor shower

Laying Low

No better way to continue vacation than with some pancakes. 

The plan de jour was to head out on a ride because the weather had finally cleared, but with winds at 20 mph and no one to draft off that idea was quickly benched.  Even at high tide the ocean was churning (waves like this usually are only seen at low tide).

Later that evening Elise and I headed into Provincetown to see Melissa Ferrick (in the center) - a friend hooked us with with some VIP tickets.  She a bunch of old favorites including Closer and Heartbeat and a new one entitled Baltimore which is not on the new album, but AMAZING!!

Rain Day

I had planned on checking out the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory (a long, but flat bike ride), but a forecast filled with rain meant Bernard hung out in the garage.

The one thing about rain days up here is that you have a day filled with puzzles and movies.  

No complains here!!

I Got My Toes in the Water

After sleeping in I decided to go for a bike ride (the forecast was calling for lots of rain over the next few days) and headed out towards Wellfleet where I could get in a short trip, bike around the harbor and get some breakfast.  Thanks to some strong head winds I decided to turn around early (sadly it turns out I was only a two or three miles from "downtown" before I decided to head back).  I did get a picture with our town sign.

After a quick shower I decided to do some grocery shopping which would tide me over until the rest of the family arrived with food.  As you can see my priorities were in order.

With nothing to do in the afternoon, I headed down to the beach for a stroll along the beach.  

No complaints here!

6 State Lines and Only ONE Lunch

Literally EVERY time I cross a state line I always ponder whether or not I should pull over and take a picture, but it seems like cheating when you drive and not bike by them.  After my LAST final of Level 2, I hopped in my car (with some good books on tape) and set out to conquer the seven hour drive ahead of me.  It was kind of a wing and a prayer because I was 95% sure that I could do the drive with no directions even though it has been a couple of years since I have been to the Cape. 

In Connecticut things really started to slow down thanks to a couple of accidents.  The worst was crawling along the road with this next to me.  All I wanted to do was knock on their door and get an iced coffee.

I was happy to see the Big Blue Bug as I plowed through Providence, RI.  It was a family tradition and our parents would wake us up to see said bug (it also served as a rough "half way" mark).  The little things people.

FINAL STATE LINE!!  And only two hours to go.

By the time I got to the house the fog had rolled in so I grabbed some chowda' 

and tucked in for some much needed R&R.  

Taking Off For Some R&R!!

All the papers have been turned in, all the clinical hours fulfilled and all the finals have been taken.  I am headed off to the Cape for some rest and relaxation and to hang with the familia.  Bernard is coming along too because there are some great trails around the house!  Photos and posts will be up once I get back to MD.

With a view like this from the deck, how could I not come back rested and ready to take on the summer semester. 

Lee-See Graduated

So after 4 years of mechanical engineering classes and D1 lacrosse, Elise graduated today from UVM.  Sadly I was not able to make it up to Burlington (only two flights in and out make it hard when you have a morning final and said sister graduates at 3:30 on a Sunday), but thankfully Mom sent us pictures as the day went on!

The look says it all

Elise Mazurak, BS 

#Birdland

Man I am breaking my no posting during finals rule, but my brain needs a mental 5-10 so I figured I would put up this back post.

On Friday night (yes I am writing this on Sunday night, but my OCD makes me post everything with the correct date) we had a mini-SUS reunion as Julie was in town for a hot sec, literally less than 24 hours people.  Meghan, a diligent blog reader/adventure partner extraordinaire, reminded me that going to an Orioles game is on my Baltimore Bucket List and Friday is student's night!

We quickly realized that we should have donned some orange attire because we stuck out like sore thumbs in our bright blue garb.  But, it was a PERFECT night for baseball, even though the O's did get their butt kicked.

All was not lost because we did get a picture with Natty Boh.  

You can't get more Baltimore than that!!

 

And no, we did not pick up a rando for our picture.  

This is Tracy, a friend of Meghan and Julie's from college. 

Signing Off For Finals

I will be signing off for the next few days as I do some serious prep for my second round of finals!!

Let's see how many of these rules I can follow!

Bike to Work Day

HAPPY BIKE TO WORK DAY!!

Where Has the Year Gone?

It is hard to believe that a year ago today, 27 strangers met in Jacksonville, FL and set out on an adventure of a life time.

Before we left Monterey, I left a message for next years riders (SUS 2013).  Sadly the van and trailer we used were sold so all we have left is this picture.

So here's to the newest members of SUS.  May you have enough:

• Tubes to get you across the country
• Headwinds and hills to make you cherish 7% downhill grades
• Laughter to get you through those flats and hills and headwinds and humidity
• Sunscreen to keep your skin from burning in the hot Southern heat
• Blue and cliff bars to get you to lunch, and second lunch and dinner
• Time to stop and smell the roses (seriously stop at all the random places along the way)

But above all, may you enjoy the company of your fellow riders and learn from those you meet along the way. 

  
In honor of tomorrow's Adult Health I final, which may or may not be worth 40% of our grade and cover more information than I would like to speak of ... 

I will see you all on the other side!

Monday Gosling Meme

Visit to Poe's House

Today I headed out to visit Edgar Allan Poe's house.  Sadly the museum inside the house has been closed to the public, so I really just did a drive by of the boarded up row house.  The home was set for demolition for a public housing project in the 1930s, but was saved because of historical purposes (it was officially listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1972).  It was while he was living in this house he wrote and published The Raven (yes this is where the football team's name comes from).

Four years later Poe died mysteriously at Washington College Hospital which is just down the road from Hopkins medical campus.  There is tons of possibilities some of the favorites include alcoholism, murder plot theory, suicide related to depression an overdose from a tranquilizer/pain killer.  Sadly the world will never know because his death certificate was lost.  You can visit his his grave at Westminster Hall (that is an adventure for another day). 

OR Day!

Every student during Adult Health 1 is given a day in the OR to see what the circulator nurse and scrub person do.  After getting all gowned up in fancy green scrubs, I set of for OR 12.  The first procedure was a laparoscopic cholecystectomy (i.e. gallbladder removal) so I got to see everything on one of the screens.  The second was an inguinal hernia.  Because the incision was so small and there was the surgeon, resident and med student I was given a stool and able to peak over the drape which was nice; if not I would have been staring at heads for quite some time. 

While I can say the day was interesting, I do not think I will end up working in an OR after graduation. 

"The well should take care of the sick."

So as you know the past few days have been a part of a mental health week for me.  The final "event" of the week was to drive in to DC to hear Paul Farmer speak.  Every time he has spoken at an event somewhat near where I am living, I  seem to be out of town or buried under a massive pile of school work.  When I first got the email about tonight's appearance I decided I would get there come hell or high water.

After my research presentation I hopped in the car to do battle with rush hour traffic and pouring rain to get myself to the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue.  It was funny, when I mentioned where I was going people either were super excited/jealous or had never heard of him. 

One of the main reasons for the event was to discuss his new book, To Repair the World, which is a collection of his past speeches.  It is called a must read book for students and young professionals looking to make a lasting impact.  I have not picked up a copy of the book, but hope to be able to read it over the Memorial Day long weekend. 

There were two things that stuck out from the evening's conversation:

1)  Serendipity:  Much of life happens because of serendipitous moments.  New opportunities come up and you should take advantage of them because you may find your new passion and/or a way to get to your end goal. 

2)  If you are not challenged and do not have to struggle along the way, you will probably wake up and regret the direction your life took.  At the same time there are just some days where you need to take a time out and let yourself have some "me time" ... it will keep you sane. 

Monday Gosling Meme

Show Nurses Some Love!

Today kicks off National Nurses' Week so if you know a nurse give them some love.  They are the eyes and ears of a floor and are constantly caring for your loved ones when you cannot be by their side!

Monument to Monument

Adventure #2 of the weekend: the Monument to Monument Ride!

This morning Meghan was going to drive in to meet me and Alex for the almost century ride from Baltimore to DC and then back to Baltimore.  A few minutes away from my house Meghan realized she forgot her helmet at home and needed to head back and get one for the ride.  We all decided to meet up about 35 miles into the ride because that is where I was going to meet up with my B&B mentee. 

At 0820 a group of about 60 riders headed off.  Alex and I were ready for the adventure and surprisingly awake (9 hours of sleep will do that to a person).  

The group powered through lights down to the bottom of the hill and at mile 1.7 we were stopped by a train to only be stopped again by the same train a few miles later.  Ride out of NOLA anyone?

The first bit was fairly flat, but around mile 10 the hills started to pick up and you know me and hills (we do not get along particularly well).  Between no training for the ride and still missing a pint of blood some were harder than others; I caught up on those downhills.  Thankfully there was a 7-11 stop at mile 20 and after some blue and a cliff bar I was good to go. 

Twenty miles later we met up with Casey who is going to be on the ME2SB trip this summer.  Girlfriend has already raised over $5100, but feel free to throw some cash monies her way - Affordable Housing is a GREAT cause people (and tax deductible)!  The Met Branch was smooth sailing.  One of the best parts about riding or driving into DC is when you crest the hill and see the Capitol or Washington Monument in the distance.  You know you have arrived.  If you follow the yellow line it points tot he Capitol (easy to miss in the photo if you are not looking for it).

The Monument is still under construction which put a damper on the photos, but it did not stop us from taking some anyway.  Also a dance video was taken, but no one would join me so it was lone dancer, party of one. 

This was taken by another rider, but I loved it so much I am posting it here.   

From there we headed off to lunch and waited to hear from Meghan.  Apparently she was kicking butt and not only had she found a helmet, she drove back to Baltimore to the start of the cue sheet and caught up with sweep.  GET IT GIRL!!  We met up at Union Station, snapped a picture to prove we were there and headed back to Baltimore. 

We kept getting split up due to different styles of riding.  I prefer to be towards the front because that means I can see what is going on and if a biker goes down I only have to worry about getting around one or two other people instead of eight or ten.  Meghan is a bit more conservative and takes the turns a little slower so she hung out in the back.

We found each other at the 7-11 and headed off with four other gentlemen.  With everyone taking a turn pulling, we ended up making GREAT time.  One of the leaders turned around about 10 miles from our end destination and asked if this was the longest ride we had ever done.  The two of us just laughed and admitted that we had spend the summer cycling and neither of us had put in major miles since our wheel dip in the Pacific Ocean.  Needless to say we got some street cred for that!

After some photos at the Baltimore Monument Meghan and I parted ways.  All in all the day was a success ... 107 miles round trip, 6 liters of water, 1 new B&B friend and a afternoon with two good friends.  Meghan and I did decide our next trip would be more relaxed as the last two reunions centered around a half marathon and then this century ride.  

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

AKA go get yourself some margaritas!

Kinetic Sculpture Race

Today a whole slew of "out of towners" came into Baltimore for the Kinetic Sculpture Race.  Every year teams put together crazy bike floats which traverse 13.1 miles around Baltimore conquering hills, water, obstacles and mud.  Meghan and I hopped on the bus to head over to Fed Hill for the kick off where we would be meeting up with Liana, Mer and Alex. 

The sculptures were AMAZING and ranged from super simple to over the top 

And they're off ...

The judges looked very official and had a golf cart at their beck and call.

All the bikers are allowed a support staff and of course dressed to match their bike.  One team had an Alice in Wonderland theme with the float is the caterpillar (above) and some of their crew dressed as cards.  Who knew there was a three person bicycle?

We started to walk around the Inner Harbor to try and catch up with some of the floats as they hit the water, but were a bit slower than the bikers so we enjoyed the lovely weather.  #nofilter

Meghan and I got a quick picture to induce some FOMO in the other SUS'ians

After lunch we headed over to Patterson Park where we caught some of the final floats going through the obstacle course.  The whole time Alex was thinking of the contraption he wants to build for next year.  Meghan and I called dibs on costumes and coming up with the theme; Alex, Captain Jack and my sister will be in charge of engineering.  We all will be studying the winners from this year because this crew might be crazy enough to put an entry together for next year. 

This is your brain on drugs

Anyone remember those commercials us 90s kids would see during TGIF and/or One Saturday Morning?  This is your brain ... this is your brain on drugs.  (I would also like to say that I am EXTREMELY proud of myself for figuring out how to imbed this video into my blog)

While it seems dramatic, this is pretty much how my brain feels right now.  After three taxing weeks I am ready to take some mental health time and fill it with bikes, friends and maybe a little reading and prep for finals.  Two weeks until we wrap up level 2 classes!!

Having a Patient on Isolation

Apologies if the .gif is making you a little nauseous, but you will understand in a second.

This semester I am working on an infectious disease unit which means that many of our patients are on some kind of transmission based precaution(s).  Now you may be asking yourself, "Emily what is that and why would someone be on it?"  Good question dear reader.

Transmission based precautions can be broken down into four categories:

• Standard: hand washing, gloves when giving injections/touching bodily fluids, eye protection if some bodily fluid might splash on you
• Contact ( Clostridium difficile, MRSA): standard precaution + gown and gloves when you enter the room
• Droplet (influenza, N. meningitidis, pertussis a.k.a. whooping cough, and rhinovirus): contact precaution + mask
• Airborne (chickenpox, measles, and tuberculosis): droplet precaution + possible respirator

Unfortunately, there is a rise of super bugs in hospitals which means a patient can pick something up while receiving treatment for an entirely different chief complaint (this is especially true on an infectious disease unit where people's immune systems are already compromised).  As a result, health care providers follow strict protocol to try and minimize the spread of germs.  If you have a person on contact precaution that means putting on a new yellow gown every time you enter their room (hence the above picture).  It is a wasteful process, but does help cut down on infections.