Cathedral of Our Lady's Assumption from the Peoria River

Peoria, IL - July 2009

So imagine going through college and your only exam was once a year - one exam for everyone in your major, which you all take at the same time. It occurs on a random day in the middle of the week.

There's no prep or cramming - you're supposed to be studying all year, of course, because this covers every subspecialty imagineable whether or not you have actually trained in it yet. (There IS a study guide based on last year's exam, which the truly test-oriented students actually use.)

Your grade is a mysterious number comparing you not with your whole major but year-for-year with your peers across the nation. Your goal is to hit a general range, improving gradually over your course of studies -sounds almost reasonable, but slightly crazy - because wait - did I mention this exam is 8 hours long?

Yes, internal medicine Intraining Exams are at hand.

Mine is tomorrow - all 8 hours of it. :)

Say a prayer that double vision, spinal cord compression, comatose-like sleep, insanity or other asundry conditions do not set in while surviving the Ordeal.

By tomorrow night, I suspect I'll be doing the classic Kemba-thing (above)!

Jer. 29:11

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On the Road Again... Omaha!

I-74 over the Illinois River, Peoria

It does not seem like a year ago that I took a cross country trip east in October.. This year I have taken the opposite direction, with a little different purpose. Then, it was reconnecting with family and friends. This year, I hopped into a Suburban with Caron Easley and three little Easleys and made a brisk 6 hr trek to Omaha Nebraska. That was Friday afternoon. It was filled with funny conversations from the 2 & 4 yr olds, Henry and Violet, minor dramas from the same department, entertaining commentary from 6 yr old Annabelle, and great conversation with Caron. The scenery was somewhat obscured by pouring rain, but that didn't really dampen the enthusiasm for the journey. I really am looking forward to the trip back for an encore of such good company - it far exceeded making the drive solo in my tired post-nightfloat state of being.

Currently, I've settled into the Comfort Inn in Omaha for a 9-day course on the natural regulation and management of fertility, woman's health and the psychosocial, medical and ethical issues that all play into this. It's challenging and fascinating. There are a group of Ob/Gynes with a special clinic devoted to this - associated with Creighton University - leading this research.
I come with a healthy mix of curiousity and lots of questions. I think I've had such a broad exposure to so many women's experience that I come in with a lot of ideas about ths particular system's benefits and limits. It's a great opportunity to delve into the medical aspect of things for myself and to meet lots of other (young!) residents, nurses, moms & dads, some older doctors too, becoming practitioners - trained experts who will help teach patients how to use this. Tapping their wide experience - from converts to previous patients (with and without underlying problems) - has shed a lot of light on my questions. I think i'll be putting a lot more work into this in the future, partly because I see so many ways it can be applied and how it needs to grow as well.

In the meantime, I mostly here to learn - not dream - unless that's in bed, where I should be, as we actually have an exam on Tuesday so tomorrow night is study night. :)

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