One year down... I have a lower case "m" on my way to an MD

Yesterday, June 15th, I finished my first year of medical school... and the best news: I PASSED! Our fourth and final class was Biological Basis of Disease (BBOD) and we learned about inflammation, cancer, cancer treatment, the immune system, bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites and how to diagnose and treat corresponding diseases (pictures of study topics in previous postings). This was a challenging course with a lot of information, but I finally feel like I have learned 'real medicine'. I started out strong with a 96% on my first test. I then got an 88% on the second and third tests, giving me a 90.32% going into the final. Although we were tested every two to three weeks throughout the year, this was the first time we had a comprehensive final... and it was worth 45% of my final grade! Before the test I calculated that I needed an 87.2% in order to get Honors in the class and I needed a 41% in order to pass. The test was hard (harder than expected)... when we take tests we can challenge poorly written questions by submitting written queries and this often results in a few questions being dropped and a slight increase in the test grade. My initial test score (without the dropped questions) was an 86.11%! So close! There is a good possibility that my grade will be bumped up to "Honors", but for now I'm happy with "Near Honors".

Since my last posting I have spent most of my time studying. However, I have also made some time for fun. Ryan and I spent a weekend in Cannon Beach back in April and got some much needed rest... which probably gave me the energy to finish out the year.

I also made it out for Michelle's birthday party and a girls' night out to the greatest place on earth: DUKE'S.

















Additionally, I was able enjoy a breakfast with my mom, grandma, and great-grandma who was visiting from Idaho.

For Devon's bachelorette party we got pedicures, had a big dinner at Paragon, and then went out on the town. We danced, mingled with sailors in town for the Rose Festival, and even witnessed a parade of 400 naked cyclists!!!




Following our 3rd test, a big group of my classmates went to a Portland Beavers game... We had a great time, but needless to say there were only about 20 students in class the next morning (YES, I was one of them!).
















To wind up the school year in style, we had 'spirit week' type dress-up days that included: Pajama Day, Undergrad Day, Stethoscope Day, Tacky Tourist Day, and Fake an Injury Day. We also took a class photo.






In addition to finishing off my classes, I also finished my preceptorship with Dr. Herzberg, the orthopaedic surgeon. In contrast to other specialties I spent time in, I found myself losing track of time in the ortho clinic; I truly loved all that I was learning. There was also a resident in the clinic (whom I call "Dr. Gary") who let me accompany him to the ER one day and then stay the night at the hospital on call... it was really great to see some acute cases as opposed to the post-op patients I had been seeing in clinic. I am now gearing up to start on some research projects this summer. Hopefully a few of them will result in publication so that I will be that much closer to getting into an orthopaedic surgery residency.

Aside from the research, I'm planning on a nice relaxing summer filled with working out, sleeping, and seeing friends. I have plans to attend a pub crawl, weddings for two of my cousins (two separate weddings... my cousins are not marrying one another), Devon's wedding, and two trips to Sunriver. Plus I'll be (hopefully) doing a triathlon and training for Hood to Coast and the Portland Marathon.

This is the last summer I will EVER get.... so I plan to make it a good one!