Hello everyone! I know it has been awhile. Just wanted to write an update of what has been going on and what is next for me.

This month I have been on my Behavioral Science rotation. We have learned about development, psychiatry, medical finance, and ethics. I have only had class for two hours a day, so this was a pretty easy load, which = lots of free time, which = not updating blog, haha. I have my final examination (our only measure for our grade) today. It is a national test and we are required to score a certain score for a passing grade and another score for honors. I have heard it is super easy, so I really hope that is true.

Interesting story. This Sunday, I volunteered at the Sojourner Free Health Clinic. It is a clinic run inside a church that is run by medical students from my school. This was my fourth time to volunteer there. At the start of clinic, I was helping triage people and get their vitals. One man I helped had lots of questions about myself and the clinic. I answered him to the best I felt comfortable. He was dressed in a tattered shirt and a stocking cap and fit the bill of our other homeless patients. He wrote on a notepad occasionally. As I am about to put him in a room, he tells me he is from the Kansas City Star and would like my full name for an article. So, not sure what to do, I ask him if he has proof that he is from the paper. He pulls out a business card, "Lewis W. Diuguid, Vice-President and Community Relations." At this point, I am not sure what to do, so I refuse to give my last name to him. He is insistant that I give it and I am insistant I do not. So, Mr. Diuguid was seen and left the clinic. Later, I looked him up on the KC Star website, yep it was him. He was undercover to see what how homeless were treated. Feeling very dumb, I decided to email the man on the card and explain why I had not given my full name. He wrote back a very nice email and even included a story he had written about Truman Medical Center a few years back when he played a homeless person. (Truman exceeded his expectations, if you were curious). He thanked me for the wonderful care that I had given him and told me that I should be proud of my care. So, always remember you never know who you are taking care of. Be sure to give each patient the treatment you would want a family member to receive! And watch out in the Star for the article.... :)

Study: Free booze benefits homeless alcoholics

TORONTO, Ontario (Reuters) -- Giving homeless alcoholics a regular supply of booze may improve their health and their behavior, the Canadian Medical Association Journal said in a study published on Tuesday.

Seventeen homeless adults, all with long and chronic histories of alcohol abuse, were allowed up to 15 glasses of wine or sherry a day -- a glass an hour from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. -- in the Ottawa-based program, which started in 2002 and is continuing.

After an average of 16 months, the number of times participants got in trouble with the law had fallen 51 percent from the three years before they joined the program, and hospital emergency room visits were down 36 percent.

"Once we give a 'small amount' of alcohol and stabilize the addiction, we are able to provide health services that lead to a reduction in the unnecessary health services they were getting before," said Dr. Jeff Turnbull, one of the authors of the report.

"The alcohol gets them in, builds the trust and then we have the opportunity to treat other medical diseases... It's about improving the quality of life."

Long post....

Started Behavioral Science today. It is a class that covers several issues, first and foremost being psychiatric medicine. It also covers ethics, healthcare finance and development. So far, it was been a really great class. The lecturer today was very dynamic and was interesting to listen to. He is the head of psychiatry and will be giving around half of our lectures. This class is also a very light load. We have class for only an hour or two everyday with four days completely off. This will allow me to study for the chairman's exam for Behavioral Science as well as the pre-boards exam (CBSE) at the end of the month.

If you didn't know, I have been broadening my ideas of what "kind" of doctor I want to be. So, I went from having my mind made up, to really having no idea. Today, I came to the realization that I will probably like every single rotation that I do. Which is a great thing, but it will probably make deciding what I want to do a little harder. I think so many parts of medicine are very cool. I am so satisfied that I have chosen a profession that I enjoy learning about and will probably eventually enjoy practicing in for the remainder of my life. No matter how sick I get of studying and later of the horrible hours, at least I am loving what I am doing. ---if you can't tell, I am liking being back to real med school classes. :)

I also just got back from a mini-vacation. We went and saw my Aunt Carol and Janet, my grandparents, Aunt Nancy, and my cousin Jeanne and her family. Aunt Carol lives in Madison, WI. She just bought a home there, so it was nice to finally see the house that I have heard lots about. Her dog, Ricky, was not so happy to have us there. He barked and jumped like crazy when my family arrived. He seemed to calm down some when we were sitting, but the second we moved, it was back to the "crazy dog." We played a game called Balderdash. I really enjoy this game. If you have not played, it is a game in which you have to make up fake, but believable things that could have occurred on a date, a person is famous for, a definition, or abbreviation. Janet and I tied for the win. The next two days were spent in Milwaukee. I stayed at my grandparents while my mom, dad and brother stayed at my aunts. They live around 50 feet away from each other, so it is not bad. If you ask me I got the best deal, all the attention, a warm bed, and my own bathroom. :) I also got to spend some extra time with my grandparents, where I always get to learn something new about their lives. Aunt Nancy, grandma, my mom and I went to see Walk the Line while we were there. I really liked this movie. When I wasn't at my grandparent's house, we hung out at Aunt Nancy's house. She had lots of yummy cookies and other snacks. We then headed down to Chicago to visit my cousin Jeanne, her husband Boris and her 2-year-old Luka. Jeanne is always such a great hostess. She had a yummy lunch already for us when we got there. We hung out in the afternoon with them. Surprising to everyone, Luka really liked me (normally he is very shy, I guess). I read many books...including the favorite of his which includes the phrase, "gooey, gooey goose." He is such a cute kid!! That night we went to dinner with Keith's family at Red Lobster. It was very tasty and the company was great. After dinner, Jeanne, Nick, my mom and I played pictionary. I learned how horrible my drawing skills are. :) The next morning, it was back to KC. It was a great trip and I enjoyed seeing everyone. Thanks to all my relatives for their hospitality.

Back to studying for me. Happy New Year to everyone!!