Waiting around

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

New and exciting things! (No, not really)

Well I didn't want to dive back in head first and write a post everyday. I thought it'd be better to ease my way back in. Kind of like training for a race. You don't want to exert too much effort on the first day you start training or you will burn yourself out.

Okay... okay. Lame excuse, I know. But I have been relatively busy over the past week, but busy has taken on a new definition since school ended. Since last time I posted, I have watched more TV than I did all spring semester, have sat outside for at least 20 hours, whether it be poolside or in a park, have gotten back on the bike to get rid of some of the "winter pounds" as I like to call them, and have begun the whole "social" aspect of my life where when I hang out with people, conversation does not revolve around medicine, though the topics sometimes end up there.

I've also decided to find something to do with my free time, and that is volunteering at The Bodies here in DC, or rather, Rosslyn, thus I can walk there. I "get" to walk around the exhibit in a white coat with a big "Ask Me" button as if I am intelligent, or something. I went to the orientation for that last week, and while a lot of came back, I definitely need to do a little brush up on Netter's before I truly start. This morning I went down to a free clinic called "Bread for the City" which is a clinic similar to CrossOver (where I worked all last year) but they offer a few more things such as free legal help, social work, clothing and food. A kind of place someone can walk in for some food, some new clothes, and get his or her medicine. Seems like a pretty cool place.

I'm headed to Florida next week to see my parents and my sister will be there too. That will be a nice break from sitting poolside in D.C.... I can sit poolside in in Fort Lauderdale (which is ridiculously hot this time of year).

Well it's time for my next big activity of the day: Lunch. And then I think I'm headed to a friend's pool in a couple hours. Don't be too shocked.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Untitled...

So I've really sucked at this whole "blog" thing. It's been a few months (3, to be exact) since I have posted, but I have been a little busy with the whole med school thing. I know, I know. I use that as an excuse pretty much for everything, and there are times when I should reevaluate my priorities and not let medical school take over my life to the full extent that I let it over the last couple months. That being said, there are also times that I need to realize that what I am studying is only going to help me in my career, which means that my future patients will all benefit. So there's the crazy "ying-yang" that I have tried to balance my life with over the past few months. I thought that I had it all figured out up until last week as I have pushed all of my "real life" duties aside; but as I am figuring out this week, it isn't always a wise idea to simply shove ideas to the side and decide that they will figure themselves out. Between late wedding responses and hurt feelings for those I have neglected as I became too wrapped up in my own life, I have started to understand the complexity of attempting to balance my career with my life.

I know that my career will not get any easier from this point: the workload grows and the hours increase. So how do I strike this balance? It's a question that I feel many, if not all, physicians face, but often many never confront. I think I've heard somewhere that many physician's marriages end up in divorce; whether it's true or not I can't say for a certainty. But I can see where it comes from as our careers turn into our lives. Not once can I leave school and not think about all that I have to, nay, want to learn. Not once can I leave the doctor's office where I am medical student interviewing patients and wonder about the patient who has early onset dementia and how his family is coping with the news. I'm entering a profession that I wanted for so long, and I'm only really now beginning to understand what it truly means to be doing the trite thing of "helping people."

I guess I have the next couple of months to attempt to figure all of this out. And if I do, I can probably write a book about it and financially be able to retire. Of course, that's not what I really want, since I entered this profession in order to do one thing: "Help people."

still waiting,
-wait