Nickism: Real men of Genius

I find Nick to be pretty hilarious. It's pretty much why I married him. That being said, here's the most recent "Nickism." It's not as nerdy as most Nickisms tend to be, but still most certainly worthy of the title. This Nickism is brought to you due to his need to vent his frustration about sitting near a smelly peer...

"Real men of genius: Today I salute you Oh stinky kid next to me in the library. 

Deodorant, Cologne, or a weekly shower just don't fit into your schedule. 

But a sweat-soaking workout before studying next to me couldn't be skipped. 

So crack open an Ice cold Budlight or maybe even a window- oh invader of my nares,

 because this stank is unrivaled..."

Looks like we have a blooming poet on our hands ladies and gentlemen!

ACLS Certified!!!!

Yes, it's another brag about Nick post. Sorry 'bout it. I'm just so proud of all his hard work! This past weekend was Sandblast (a big beach party put on by the school that I've talked about in previous terms) yet instead of participating in that, he opted for 3 days of Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Training (ACLS). And, to the surprise of no one- he absolutely LOVED it!

Basically (in my layman's terms/understanding) ACLS is a systematic way of providing care to people who have either suffered from cardiac arrest or experienced other specific medical emergencies. The class covered topics such as the importance of team dynamics and communication, systems of care and immediate post-cardiac-arrest care. It also covers airway management and related pharmacology. Nick loved that it was so hands on and allowed him to actively apply things he is currently learning/has learned in the past. For a big chunk of the class they were given an issue and had to work together to "treat the patient" and spent a lot of time in the lab actually simulating real life situations.

I am not sure if an ACLS certification is a requirement for all health care professionals, but it certainly can't hurt and in many areas of health care it would be a necessary certification to have, so it's so great that he is already one step ahead of the game by getting it now! I'm so proud of him and all his work and loved listening to his stories each night because his enthusiasm was impossible to miss! I was not surprised to hear that he aced the written exam at the end of the course because when he loves something and is that interested in it, he soaks it up and thrives! 

He might not have gone to the beach party, but I think he actually had more fun playing doctor all weekend... if that doesn't scream nerdy medical school student, I don't know what does! Oh, and to all our family and friends- don't even think you can try and die on his watch now... he's the man at resuscitating people now ;)

I also feel like I should have thought it was more weird than I did to find this laying on our kitchen table when I got home, but these are the things I have become accustomed to. When I asked Nick where I should put his "weird body part toy" he excitedly exclaimed "it's the oral pharynx/larynx! Couldn't you tell from the tongue?!" Oh, silly me.... and in case you were wondering, it has only been moved from the kitchen to the living room so far.  Some people have vases and nice ottomans... we have a pharynx/larynx/tongue... almost the same thing.

Powderpuff && Dodge ball

SGU IEA hosted a Powderpuff football tournament for the first time this term- so naturally Nick's foobtall team (and their fabulous cheerleaders) had to put together a team! We had SO many players that we actually ended up being forced into breaking it up into 2 teams! At first we were bummed that we had to split up our fabulous gang, but in the end it worked out because we were all able to play a lot more this way. We thought the tourney would only last a couple hours and we'd just play a few games... well 8 hours in the beating sun and 6 games later... the tournament was over! Our team played great and went into the finals undefeated but unfortunately lost in the final game.

What an exhausting, but incredibly fun filled day! We had hardly eaten and did not drink nearly enough water (as we didn't expect it to last all day- we were severely unprepared.)  Nick actually ended up super dehydrated and sick (and most likely suffered from hypoglycemic shock) which was horribly scarey! What can I say? Powderpuff is hardcore!!! And... I could literally not move for a week afterward. Go Free Agents (and gals!)

Another fun event was the dodge ball tournament. Nick and the football boys have played in previous terms and have always been competitive, but this term they went in with 2 goals: 1)win the costume contest and 2)win the tournament. Nothing less.

After discussing what their costume should be continuously the week prior- they decided to paint their faces like the KISS Band members and wear white shirts that said "Kiss This" on it. It was pretty cute watching 10 guys carefully painting each others faces before hand. I am happy to report- they successfully accomplished BOTH goals! They won the costume contest AND tournament! It was so, so, so fun and nothing short of ridiculously competitive!

Enthralling Conversation... or not.

It's pretty typical that I still talk to my best friend, Anna, almost every day despite her being in California and well, I am of course on a tiny rock in the middle of the ocean! It's mostly text-chatting via Facebook messager, but "talking" never-the-less!

Had to laugh a minute ago as I realized I had been rambling on about my day for the past 10 (okay, more like 20) minutes and this is what I had to say:

1) Today was AWESOME (overly excited and lots of !!! used in the conversation). Reason- I was able to snag 3 loaves of KISS bread (aka cheap 5.50 EC or approx 2 US $ but yet, GOOD bread.) The most commonly stocked bread here is hard and dry and just iick- I'd rather eat cardboard- literally. I have not been able to purchase KISS bread yet this term and it always comes in on a day other than when the rest of the food comes in (Thurs/Fri)- which is obviously my ONE shopping day of the week. So naturally, upon seeing it, I ran over- willing to headbutt, elbow, or (lets be honest) kill, anyone who dare get in my way. No one did, and the 3 loaves are now mine and 2 are already happily frozen in my freezer. See? I could talk about this for a long time. It was THAT monumental.

2) I am really mad because for the 4th week in a row they do not have my Asian brand, frozen block of chicken in stock and I am pretty sure they are simply not ordering it anymore, which literally DEVASTATES ME! No, this is not me being dramatic. That block of chicken was a lifesaver for us! It is easily the cheapest price for the highest quantity! AND it was surprisingly clean- the new Tyson brand I have to buy needs to be cleaned so much more, they are so much smaller, and cost an arm, leg, and backside to buy!

SO that, is apparently what you will get if you start a conversation with me on Friday. AND that is just the spark-notes version... she's a saint for trying to find my grocery shopping drama entertaining for minutes on end... OR at least pretending and responding with a "oh my gosh!!" "no way?!" or "that's so crazy!" periodically :) What a trooper!

Just a day in the life of- me! Also, as I write this, I am eating a sandwich on this fabulous bread and reminded yet again  that is the small things in life :)

Clinicals, STEP prep, & Stuff

Since we are basically mid-way through 5th term the big topic of conversation lately has been clinicals! At SGU, medical school students do 2 years (5 terms) of basic sciences in Grenada then return to the States for 2 years of clinicals- during which they visit many different areas of the hospital and gain important and necessary hands on experience.  SGU has several affiliated hospitals within the US that students can complete their 2 years of clinicals- the main clinical centers being in New York, California, New Jersey, and DETROIT (there are other placements as well with some being removed/added each term.)

Over the past week there have been numerous meetings and emails sent out regarding this process. I attended a meeting for Nick last week (good ol' SGU scheduling meetings during mid-terms week) and Nick has attended at least 1 other regarding clinical placements and 1 regarding his health verification (ie: does he have all his vaccinations, etc). The way it works through SGU is that they send out a form where each student is able to pick their top 3 clinical placement choices. There is no guarantee students will get their top choices, but the school tries to accommodate and most people we know in terms before us have been fortunate enough to end up in at least 1 of their top 3, and in most cases got their 1st choice! Nick submitted the form on Monday and obviously we are gunning for Detroit!!! It would be so, so, SO nice to be back in good ol' Michigan! Despite Detroit having such a negative stigma attached to it, we know we love it there, already know the area, Nick worked in the St. John's satellite hospital before coming to SGU, and both our families live within 45 minutes of the hospital... so fingers crossed that 2 proud Michiganders get to return home! Our 2nd/3rd choices however, were New York and New Jersey :)

More school news: Nick had mid-terms last week and crushed them! He did absolutely awesome and I am so proud of him! Another extremely successful set of exams in the books and only 2 more rounds of exams to go for basic sciences!!! Even after 5 terms of seeing his hard work firsthand, I am still so impressed by his motivation and dedication to studying and LOVE to see it pay off!

As I've mentioned before- on top of studying for his regular classes, Nick has also already begun to study for the STEP 1 exam that he will be taking in July. His schedule alone for studying for this test is unbelievable!  I've seen others go through it, heard about the intense study schedule for years now, and pretty much know what to expect in terms of knowing he will be locked away in the library for 8 weeks straight, but still seeing it in calendar form was still shocking... it is SO much work! Basically from now to mid-May he will be trying to dedicate 1-2 hours a day to Step preparation, from end of May til TEST DAY he will be dedicating at least 5 hours a day to his study program and then possibly spending another 3-4 hours or so going over areas he knows he needs to work on and doing more questions.  From now until the test he will take approximately 3,818 practice questions!!! Wowzers!!! As of right now- the goal is for him to actually take the test on July 8th (as opposed to July 15th like the calendar below indicates- but you get the general idea!)

So, anyone jealous of Nick's next 5 months?! NOT me!! Michigan friends- get ready to hang out with me- the medschool/step 1 widow- during those gross 8 weeks... oh, and pretty please help me get a job ASAP :)