This song, light and fluffy, reminds me of my brain right now because not everything can be so serious and hard and difficult. Sometimes, it's nice to just sit back, relax, and smile. (And yes, I KNOW, it might be a bit egotistical but seriously, this is a blog about MY journey and things I find along the way... what'd you expect?! :D)
Make it a great day - and a better one tomorrow!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
And There In The Bowels
of a old, outdated building, in a tiny office tucked way in the corner sat my adviser. She sat, listened, didn't say a word. As I continued, she continued to just listen: never judging me, never disparaging me or asking what I could have done differently, just listened.
Then she inquired about my safety. THAT she was concerned about. Yes, she was concerned about my academics but Maslow's pyramid starts at safety and that was first and foremost in her mind.
Safety from what you ask?
A stalker.
(I edited this portion out from an earlier version of this post and placed into the comment section.)
This is not about him, for that is a waste of space. This is for my adviser who in the shallow, darkened end of an old building, in the back corner of an not-so-well lit room, gave me support and then some to continue the path. She put a light on the "prize" again for me. She helped me see objectively what my options were and what the resolutions to those would do to me related to med school.
None of them hopeless or bad.
She restored some light. And to her, as to many of you, I am thankful.
And as it turns out, I'm staying in biochem (YEAY!) and yes, I'm safe.
Then she inquired about my safety. THAT she was concerned about. Yes, she was concerned about my academics but Maslow's pyramid starts at safety and that was first and foremost in her mind.
Safety from what you ask?
A stalker.
(I edited this portion out from an earlier version of this post and placed into the comment section.)
This is not about him, for that is a waste of space. This is for my adviser who in the shallow, darkened end of an old building, in the back corner of an not-so-well lit room, gave me support and then some to continue the path. She put a light on the "prize" again for me. She helped me see objectively what my options were and what the resolutions to those would do to me related to med school.
None of them hopeless or bad.
She restored some light. And to her, as to many of you, I am thankful.
And as it turns out, I'm staying in biochem (YEAY!) and yes, I'm safe.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Private Loan Information - Coming Soon
Several companies are still supplying needed private loans to credit-worthy students OR not-so credit-worthy students WITH co-signers.
I'm in the midst of studying for gen chem II exam. Will post more on it soon.
Until then,
Make it a great day!
I'm in the midst of studying for gen chem II exam. Will post more on it soon.
Until then,
Make it a great day!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
It Is So Tempting To Blame Obama
And yet I won't. I did not vote for him and quite honestly, didn't vote for McCain either. The latter had my vote until Palin was attached but then, dear old Colin Powell got my 3x write in vote - 2000, 2004, 2008.
Why not Obama?
I'm not going to denigrate my blog with a political bent, although, I have a hankering to. Discussing what is wrong with Obama's health care plan is open season.
During the years I was fully employed making well over $200,000 a year, paying $80,000 a year in taxes (withdrawn from paychecks) and FICA and Med, I had decent health care coverage. Not great but it was decent enough that if I needed to get to a doc, I could. At $200,000+ a year, I had more than enough money to take care of my son, take care of my home, take care of things that needed tending and even put away funds for retirement (now long tossed out the window) and open a securities account.
The war chest was built using lies and taking money I'd rather have been spent making sure the homeless on the street were cared for. Why is that the most powerful country in the world would rather make bombs and blow the snot out of another country without provocation, than take care of our own. Most homeless are not there because they chose to be - they are ill: mentally and generally, physically. The veterinarians have shown far more compassion for our homeless than our government caring for the homeless person's pet often for free. Even vets understand the compassion and warmth a pet can bring.
The first democrat I would have ever voted for was Paul Wellstone (guess you now have it, I'm from Minnesota). I wrote him shortly before the election that year and told him he would be the first Democrat that I would ever vote for, and hopefully, the last (as I was praying the GOP would get back to mid-ground). The letter I received back from Senator Wellstone was typed but signed by him, with a small comment underneath his sig. He died a few days later in a plane crash and my vote went to Mondale. Why would I not vote for, refuse to vote for, Norm Coleman?
Somewhere along the way, Norm forgot who he fought for when he first entered politics. He forgot the common folk who don't have healthcare, don't have food, don't have basic necessities of life. He forgot, or quickly found out it was not vote-worthy, the people who made him the mayor of St. Paul and supported his wrangling of a hockey team (the state, however, does thank you, Norm, for that!).
Norm is indicative of what is wrong.
He chased money. He chased votes. He chased like a dog after a car, things that were not helping mid-America and eventually, all America. Common necessities, basic needs. Maslow's pyramid... security, safety, food, health.
By chasing money all politicians forget to chase a moral compass. That moral compass gets lost in the plethora of indulgent dinners, PAC funding, and ego stroking. Obama is no different. I believe his goal is to help Americans get health care but his means are off base and therefore, his moral compass is wrong.
Obama still cares about lining his pockets with PAC money for 2012. Obama can't disparage the CEOs of insurance companies because they horde big money and big egos and big lawyers. Obama can't disparage the lawyers because... lawyers tend not to disparage their own ilk. Obama is set up for failure because the people he most trusts - those like him with pedigree initials from pedigree top-ranking law schools - don't get the moral compass thing either: forget about lining the pockets and do what is right.
They won't. They can't. And because of all that, $200,000+ a year went to fund bombs and fuel for Iraq instead of needles and blood and pharmaceutical research for disease fighting drugs.
I don't blame Obama for the health care mess. I blame greedy CEOs, greedy BoDs, greedy lawyers, greedy insurance companies run by greedy CEOs supported by greedy lawyers and enhanced sycophants surrounding the same.
Okay, so much for not being a political bent. :)
Make it a great day!
P.S. I was never ever worth that amount of money, I don't kid myself. Going into work everyday, I wondered why they paid me as much as they did to sit around, strategize how to use internal audit to make the company more money, commit no fraud (they did anyway), and manage/motivate/direct my teams. One day, while sitting in the board room, almost to the point of checking out the backsides of my eyelids whilst the "powers that be" discussed ad nauseum the derivative instruments of Goldman-Sachs, and the impact of selling short our position on the housing stocks, I questioned:
"Do you put this much effort into releasing good (product)? If we focus on doing good things, the rest will come. Two hours on derivative instruments when that is x% of our portfolio, is not difficult or worth it. We are not performing brain surgery here."
No, they didn't like me much. Especially when I told them they were committing fraud. But then again, at that time, the executive administration of the US government's SEC looked the other way when told companies were. Ironically, a finance executive once also employed by that company as a contractor just told me, "If anyone in this life deserves to do what they love, find their path and their dream, it is you, J." She was the former CEO and CFO of a multi-billion dollar company. She got it. She understood. She likewise laughed at the gobs of money thrown at people who move boxes and cups around all day playing, "Find the penny" (okay, that was snide but the point made, eh?)
Why not Obama?
I'm not going to denigrate my blog with a political bent, although, I have a hankering to. Discussing what is wrong with Obama's health care plan is open season.
During the years I was fully employed making well over $200,000 a year, paying $80,000 a year in taxes (withdrawn from paychecks) and FICA and Med, I had decent health care coverage. Not great but it was decent enough that if I needed to get to a doc, I could. At $200,000+ a year, I had more than enough money to take care of my son, take care of my home, take care of things that needed tending and even put away funds for retirement (now long tossed out the window) and open a securities account.
The war chest was built using lies and taking money I'd rather have been spent making sure the homeless on the street were cared for. Why is that the most powerful country in the world would rather make bombs and blow the snot out of another country without provocation, than take care of our own. Most homeless are not there because they chose to be - they are ill: mentally and generally, physically. The veterinarians have shown far more compassion for our homeless than our government caring for the homeless person's pet often for free. Even vets understand the compassion and warmth a pet can bring.
The first democrat I would have ever voted for was Paul Wellstone (guess you now have it, I'm from Minnesota). I wrote him shortly before the election that year and told him he would be the first Democrat that I would ever vote for, and hopefully, the last (as I was praying the GOP would get back to mid-ground). The letter I received back from Senator Wellstone was typed but signed by him, with a small comment underneath his sig. He died a few days later in a plane crash and my vote went to Mondale. Why would I not vote for, refuse to vote for, Norm Coleman?
Somewhere along the way, Norm forgot who he fought for when he first entered politics. He forgot the common folk who don't have healthcare, don't have food, don't have basic necessities of life. He forgot, or quickly found out it was not vote-worthy, the people who made him the mayor of St. Paul and supported his wrangling of a hockey team (the state, however, does thank you, Norm, for that!).
Norm is indicative of what is wrong.
He chased money. He chased votes. He chased like a dog after a car, things that were not helping mid-America and eventually, all America. Common necessities, basic needs. Maslow's pyramid... security, safety, food, health.
By chasing money all politicians forget to chase a moral compass. That moral compass gets lost in the plethora of indulgent dinners, PAC funding, and ego stroking. Obama is no different. I believe his goal is to help Americans get health care but his means are off base and therefore, his moral compass is wrong.
Obama still cares about lining his pockets with PAC money for 2012. Obama can't disparage the CEOs of insurance companies because they horde big money and big egos and big lawyers. Obama can't disparage the lawyers because... lawyers tend not to disparage their own ilk. Obama is set up for failure because the people he most trusts - those like him with pedigree initials from pedigree top-ranking law schools - don't get the moral compass thing either: forget about lining the pockets and do what is right.
They won't. They can't. And because of all that, $200,000+ a year went to fund bombs and fuel for Iraq instead of needles and blood and pharmaceutical research for disease fighting drugs.
I don't blame Obama for the health care mess. I blame greedy CEOs, greedy BoDs, greedy lawyers, greedy insurance companies run by greedy CEOs supported by greedy lawyers and enhanced sycophants surrounding the same.
Okay, so much for not being a political bent. :)
Make it a great day!
P.S. I was never ever worth that amount of money, I don't kid myself. Going into work everyday, I wondered why they paid me as much as they did to sit around, strategize how to use internal audit to make the company more money, commit no fraud (they did anyway), and manage/motivate/direct my teams. One day, while sitting in the board room, almost to the point of checking out the backsides of my eyelids whilst the "powers that be" discussed ad nauseum the derivative instruments of Goldman-Sachs, and the impact of selling short our position on the housing stocks, I questioned:
"Do you put this much effort into releasing good (product)? If we focus on doing good things, the rest will come. Two hours on derivative instruments when that is x% of our portfolio, is not difficult or worth it. We are not performing brain surgery here."
No, they didn't like me much. Especially when I told them they were committing fraud. But then again, at that time, the executive administration of the US government's SEC looked the other way when told companies were. Ironically, a finance executive once also employed by that company as a contractor just told me, "If anyone in this life deserves to do what they love, find their path and their dream, it is you, J." She was the former CEO and CFO of a multi-billion dollar company. She got it. She understood. She likewise laughed at the gobs of money thrown at people who move boxes and cups around all day playing, "Find the penny" (okay, that was snide but the point made, eh?)
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Trick Or Treat - MD vs DO - Stalker Or Curious
All of those can be puzzling to many. Do you want a treat or would seeing a grand trick be better. I think seeing David Copperfield would be far more enjoyable than an entire bag of Snickers, dark chocolate Milky Way bars, or Toblerone... well, maybe on that last one.
The MD vs DO question gets raised a lot... Why only one type and not the other? What is the difference? How are they paid differently? Respected differently? Public perception?
Here's my own take on it. The two different types of schools MANDATE the same types of classes: gross anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, physician in society, etc. So I blatantly copied the programs from one of each, top of their respective osteopathic vs. allopathic schools.
Can you tell which one is which?
The MD vs DO question gets raised a lot... Why only one type and not the other? What is the difference? How are they paid differently? Respected differently? Public perception?
Here's my own take on it. The two different types of schools MANDATE the same types of classes: gross anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, physician in society, etc. So I blatantly copied the programs from one of each, top of their respective osteopathic vs. allopathic schools.
Can you tell which one is which?
Description: Clinical Epidemiology and Population Health (CEPH) combines teaching of core skills of clinical epidemiology (including biostatistics, study design, and critical reading) as they apply to the care of individuals ...
Description: This course is required for all entering medical and dental students. It is designed to provide a broad overview of the profession from a variety of perspectives. It will also aim to clarify the goals, ...
Description: Molecular and Cellular Basis of Medicine provides an introduction to biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology. The course will cover not only well-established findings but also recent advances that ...
Description: The Integrated Human Physiology course builds on anatomy, biochemistry, and cell biology, and presumes a working knowledge of the basics of college physics and chemistry. Using case tutorials, lectures, ...
Description: The Human Body course provides the foundation for understanding the anatomic basis of diseases studied in subsequent courses and encountered firsthand in clinical settings.
Description: This course will present an integrated introduction to general mechanisms of cell, tissue and organ injury (general pathology), the principal mechanisms of responses to injury and defense against foreign ...
Description: This course will focus on fundamental aspects of human genetics. Both classical and modern genetic principles and methods will be covered, with a strong emphasis on applications to human biology and medicine. ...
Description: Students will learn to take a medical history with excellent communication skills and to develop relationships with patients. Understanding the patient's experience of illness and various aspects of the ...
Description: This course provides an overview of many ethical issues that arise in the practice of medicine and research. The class will be entirely taught in separate sections with an enrollment of about 14 students ...
Description: This 5-week course will provide an in-depth analysis of recent advances in our understanding of human disease pathogenesis, as afforded by contemporary biomedical research in the basic sciences. Topics ...
Description: Physician In Community
Description: Scholarship in Medicine
Description: All physicians, regardless of their specialty, will work in setting where social, economic, and political forces powerfully influence who gets sick, the diseases that afflict them, the treatments that ...
First Year
TERM 1 (FALL)
Structural Principles of Medicine . . . . . . 13
Principles and Practice I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Primary Care Skills I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
TERM 2 (WINTER)
Cellular and Molecular Basis of Medicine . . . . . . . . . 14
Principles and Practice II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Primary Care Skills II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
TERM 3 (SPRING)
Emergency Medicine I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Cardiovascular, Renal and Pulmonary Medicine . . . . 12
Medicine and Society I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Principles and Practice III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Primary Care Skills III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
So, why I am allopathic only? As I have said elsewhere, after a life in the business world of not fitting the cookie-cutter mold the business world wanted (lying, cheating, throwing friends under the bus - do-I-sound-angry-at-all - to get ahead, lack of compassion, and I could go on), I just want to fit in the box where I don't have to explain my choices. I'm spineless and I think and believe it takes a stronger individual than I to overcome the haphazard comments about DO that are not meant to be chiding, but indeed are. I have great respect for my peers and others who have advanced to and through the DO. In many ways, they have had to overcome greater obstacles than their MD brethren although BOTH are conferred the exact same rights in the United States and DOs CAN BE board certified with MD boards.
My last comment is aimed at one individual only:
Bezerkely post hold digger: stop. Cease and desist. If this is the poor post hold digger's wife, you've been lied to... greatly.
That is all.
First Year
TERM 1 (FALL)
Structural Principles of Medicine . . . . . . 13
Principles and Practice I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Primary Care Skills I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
TERM 2 (WINTER)
Cellular and Molecular Basis of Medicine . . . . . . . . . 14
Principles and Practice II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Primary Care Skills II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
TERM 3 (SPRING)
Emergency Medicine I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Cardiovascular, Renal and Pulmonary Medicine . . . . 12
Medicine and Society I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Principles and Practice III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Primary Care Skills III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
So, why I am allopathic only? As I have said elsewhere, after a life in the business world of not fitting the cookie-cutter mold the business world wanted (lying, cheating, throwing friends under the bus - do-I-sound-angry-at-all - to get ahead, lack of compassion, and I could go on), I just want to fit in the box where I don't have to explain my choices. I'm spineless and I think and believe it takes a stronger individual than I to overcome the haphazard comments about DO that are not meant to be chiding, but indeed are. I have great respect for my peers and others who have advanced to and through the DO. In many ways, they have had to overcome greater obstacles than their MD brethren although BOTH are conferred the exact same rights in the United States and DOs CAN BE board certified with MD boards.
My last comment is aimed at one individual only:
Bezerkely post hold digger: stop. Cease and desist. If this is the poor post hold digger's wife, you've been lied to... greatly.
That is all.
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