Oh the power of the white coat

I had two similar situations occur in the past two days and reacted to them very differently. On my walk back from Walgreens one day, a unkempt male approached me with a loud rude voice. Because I was by myself and in a not so safe area (walking, too!), I thought it would be best to ignore him and keep walking. Sure, he could have been harmless but I sure wasn't going to take the chance while I was by myself.

During my weekly rotation at Metro Hospital in inner city Cleveland, a similar situation occurred. I was doing my usual sprinting around the hospital when someone approached me in a similar way. "'Scuse me." This time, however, I stopped, approached, and listened. It's really unbelievable how in two similar situations, I can have such different responses. Once I put my white coat on I feel that I have a responsibility to turn, approach, and listen.

Spring break 2007!

My last spring break- ever! It’s crazy to think that this time next year I will be done with step 1 of the medical school boards! It’s even crazier to think that at this point I only have about half a year of classes left and then I’m off to rotate and be responsible for knowing things at the hospital. (!!)

Spring break 2007 started off with a drive down to Columbus, OH where we met up with Emily’s parents and they took the group of 5 of us (the last person met us in Atlanta, GA) to the airport. It was a rare beautiful sunny day when we left and we were all so excited that we were going someplace even sunnier. :) During our layover in Atlanta we had lunch and watched the start of the NCAA Basketball Games- we officially started our spring break!

We landed around 6:30pm in Miami and it was still very warm and balmy. We arrived at our hotel, had a quick outfit change, and headed out for South Beach Miami. Our first night was very fun and exciting- we had lots of (unintentional) matching outfits. We had drinks and a late dinner on Ocean Drive. People watching on that street cannot be topped! After dinner we headed to one of the bars that I frequented with the girls last spring break. I couldn’t remember the name of it but instantly recognized it when I saw it: The Clevelander. The bar was a great choice and I smiled thinking that I had gone there so many times last year without ever knowing that I would end up in Cleveland, Ohio for medical school.

Our hotel was close to the port of Miami so when we woke up the next morning, we had breakfast at a Cuban restaurant overlooking the port. We headed out to our cruise ship as soon as we could and we were on the boat by 11:30am. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the docked cruise ship lying out by the pool, ordering tropical drinks, and EATING. My goodness! That first day I must have had more than three lunches! Thank goodness for all you can eat cruise ships! We left the port of Miami around 6pm and passed by South Beach only to see the sunset a few hours later. I was already in heaven!

The boat was huge! My first impression of the boat was disbelief that it really was a boat- a grand scale hotel-like lobby, climbing wall, gym, theater, casino, and more! And there were so many activities, even on the first day. It was all a bit overwhelming at first.

Every night our group of friends had a nice fancy dinner together. We ordered wine, we ordered too much food, we took our time- it was fantastic! I have to admit, however, that I rarely made it very late past dinner. After enjoying wine, appetizers, salads, entrees (sometimes even trying two), and dessert, it was quite challenging for me to fight my food coma impulse. Luckily, I didn’t feel bad about it and didn’t resist my strong urge to go to bed early every night. Thank goodness.

On the cruise we went to Nassau in the Bahamas, then the privately owned island of our cruise line (Cococay, Bahamas), Key West, and finally back to Miami. In Nassau we went to the beach and Atlantis. The hotel was unbelievable! They had shark tanks and a water slide (enclosed in glass) went through it! Amazing. Apparently the rooms on the bridge between the two buildings cost $25,000/night with a four night minimum stay: not this year for us. ;) In the afternoon, David and I went on a catamaran with another couple (Tai and Julie) and then went snorkeling. I was very lucky to have David at my side: he is a certified underwater naturalist so I learned so much about what I was seeing. We even found a turtle and followed it through the water.

The next day at Cococay was very windy but David and I still managed to have fun. There were miles of nature trails and beautiful beach fronts. Check out some pics from our walk!

In Key West we spent most of the day walking around the main street. It was very touristy, but still very fun. We made it to the closest point to Cuba and walked by Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. Most importantly, I got to try some conch fritters and key lime pie!

The next morning we had to leave the cruise ship around 8am. We were all a little sad that vacation was almost over. For the record, this was the first vacation that I can remember NOT DOING WORK. Ok so I did a bit of work on the airplane but I RESISTED doing work this week. I didn't even get more than 50 pages into my fun novel. Mmm I feel so relaxed and rejuvenated! This spring break was definitely one to remember!

I'm glad that I wrote this post on the plane returning from Miami! I'm back in Cleveland now, adding pics and as they were loading up realized that I have to learn renal, pharm, and pulmonary this week on top of writing a grant this week. Awesome. And did I mention it snowed here? Welcome back, Natalia.

Spring break here I come!

I'm leaving for Miami tomorrow! I'm going on spring break with David and two other couples from our med school. I can't wait! We arrive on Sunday night and will be going out to dinner and drinks with David's friends from home. Our cruise leaves Miami on Monday. From Miami we are going to the Bahamas and then Key West for a total of 5 days. I'm so excited! I can't wait to lay back and relax in the sun. I will be posting pictures here once I return. Can't wait to be tan! (Until then, I'm frivolously applying self-tanner)

And of course, I'll be bringing work with me... and I don't mind- I'm starting to get used to this. :)

My heroes

Mom & Dad visit!

:) :) :)

Today was a wonderful day! My parents drove from Chicago today so that they could visit. And they brought so many goodies! Polish deli meats, 10 packages of pirogies, a new blender, and a new bed! Horray! I was so happy to see them! I feel very lucky to have such supportive and caring parents. Really, they couldn't get any better.

After unpacking a bit, David came over and helped put together my new bed. I was very proud of how well everyone got along. I have to admit that it's always a little nerve-wracking at first! Luckily, things turned out amazingly well. I took my parents to their hotel to check in and then Mom & I went on a frantic bathing suit shopping extravaganza. At least 13 suits later, we found two perfect ones. Horray- new suits for my cruise next week! Leave it to my mamacita to always pull through during a stressful time.

After shopping, we met up with my Dad and David. We went to dinner at Blue Point Grille downtown. It was unbelievable. I couldn't have picked a better restaurant for us! Dad loved the seafood and Mom loved the mini tour of downtown Cleveland. We drank champagne, enjoyed unbelievable seafood, and the waiter even brought over a surprise treat to wish my parents a happy 25th anniversary. It was a flawless night and I couldn't have been more pleased.

It took a few years but I really feel like I'm starting to come to my own. I looked at my parents as they chatted with David and was so PROUD of them. I was so proud that they were MY parents. I felt so LUCKY to say, "Them! These are my parents! Aren't they perfect?!" After all the years of battling (especially with my dad), I finally felt at peace. I didn't feel like I had anything to prove, I relaxed and had one of the best times with my family that I've ever had. I'm the luckiest... :) :)

Pics of the happy couple to come!

Thoughts about the white coat

Being in medical school is such a gift: everyday you are immersed in a world of intelligent individuals, individuals who are passionate about the things that you have always cared about. It's really special to see a case and have so many people, just like you, interested in exploring the nature of the case. We throw out diagnoses, etiologies, long term sequelae... it's such a high to be in this driven and interested environment. We delve into patient presentations with the same attention and passion as detectives in a murder case. What we talk about and what we do each day immerses us in an exciting learning environment.

Although I feel like I am thriving in this environment, it has been a struggle for me to adapt to situations where I am no longer in this safe haven of discussion. It's challenging for me to hear a woman in the grocery store describing symptoms of an illness and not shout out, "It's CML! Or maybe it's pernicious anemia!" Similarly, it's challenging to see friends or family members who I have learned have increased risk for developing certain diseases, and not freak out trying to explain to them all of the reasons why they might develop something like CHF in the next minute. I struggle to separate my learning environment at school and my "real" life. It's hard not to ask questions and shout out diagnoses at the store or on the phone when I think that way at school for hours.

I've also realized that as I learn more about medicine, it becomes more difficult to explain what I do everyday to people who aren't in medicine. How can you explain how exciting it was to realize the clinical significance of elevated ESV and hypertension? How can you explain to people outside of medicine that 4 weeks before the exam is "last minute" studying?

That said, I've also found an unbelievable camaraderie and acceptance to go along with my white coat. Physicians talk to me when they see me in the hallway just because I have a white coat on too. I don't walk by myself in the hospital: I get nods of acknowledgment as I walk by. I've found myself surprised by how much acceptance I get for my white coat. The people that nod at me are encouraging me along because they too once went through this short-white coat era.