Start of rotation 2 and quotes from prison

I realize that I haven't been keeping up with the blog, but I hope to change that with this next rotation. My primary care rotation ended successfully and I was fairly tired by the end. I was working 55 hours in 4.5 days...seriously fun but exhausting!

I have now moved on to prison. Federal prison to be precise. I have completed 3 days and I think I have gotten over my initial claustrophobia from being locked in the medical area. There are a series of very large double locked doors that you have to go through to enter and exit the prison. It is a strange feeling to be standing there waiting for a guard at central command to open the door. More on all of this later, but here are some quotes for your enjoyment:

preceptor asks a patient "why are you taking acyclovir?"

patient "herpes.....man! don't make me say that in front of the lady" (the lady being me)

patient "when I got inside (read: incarcerated) they told me I only had one testicle, but before that I had 2.....I don't know what happened to the other one"

Bangtail Divide a LITTLE too early in the season...

Monday I rode my bike up Stone Creek (well, actually, I pushed it most of the way past all the crazy switchbacks....) and along the Bangtail Divide trail toward Olsen Creek. Most of the way it was awesome, gorgeous, perfect riding weather...

But then I hit snow.
The trail disappeared and left me post-holing up to my thighs, flinging and dragging my bike over and through snowdrifts. Long story short, I backtracked and made it home safer and wiser (hopefully)

Day 1 of first rotation

Yesterday was my first day of my primary care rotation. This is a 6 week rotation at a local family practice office with 1 Doc and 3 PA's (all are alumni from my program). I will be shadowing the first 3 days and then I get to start seeing patients on my own this friday. So, I observed 23 patients and was in clinic for 13 hours! Awesome. I saw a wide variety of conditions ranging from high cholesterol to ingrown toenail removal and everything in between. I got home at 8pm, heated up some food, entered my patients into Typhon (school system that logs our patient encounters), reviewed some pharmacology that I could not remember when I was pimped in clinic, then to bed. It is 6:15 a.m. and i'm getting my lunch and snacks together for today.

Woot!

Egads!

Since returning from spring break we had a week of obstetrics and now I'm in the second week of pediatrics. Yes, peds. Or perhaps "aw gahd peds!" would be more fitting. It is a metric sh** ton of information and at this point in the didactic year I think my brain is on strike. Chili doesn't seem to like it either. I get home, make some food, take her for a walk, and then study. Last night it was the chi who was on strike....

"It's not you, it's me....really"

Baking: Week 1

I started baking bread at the co-op in Bozeman this week. My shift started at 3:30 in the a.m. and I got to weigh and mix, shape, score, and bake hundreds of breads, including:

baguettes, challah, ciabatta (loaves and rolls), foccacia (salt & herb, red pepper parmesan, caramelized onion, mushroom, pepperoni, and blue cheese walnut) and a different flavor levain every day, sourdough, burger buns, sausage buns... a lot of bread!

There's a lot to learn, and next week I'm training on the second bread shift so I get to sleep in! It doesn't start til 4:15 a.m.

Clinical Rotations 1 and 2

Today we got official notices of our sites for rotations 1 and 2!

Rotation 1: 6 weeks of primary care in The Boro (Jesse's new name for Hillsboro)

Rotation 2: 6 weeks of community medicine at the Federal prison in Sheridan. That is, if I pass the background investigation.....

The good news is that Won and Jesse will be nearby for both rotations so much fun will be had by all.

We are Aunties

Over spring break we got to visit my brother Josh and his wife Autumn and their new (week old!) baby boy, Mason. He was born March 13, 2011.

Little Mason Robert Gullickson

Josh, my brother, holding Mason

It's pretty neat how his tiny little fingernails are so perfect. He has really long fingers and feet.