Of Luke Bryan, the Brachial Plexus, and Making Him an Offer He Can't Refuse.

*Disclaimer: I've included a picture of cadaver dissection I found on Google to help illustrate some of what we've been doing in lab. Consider yourself warned if stuff like that makes you squeamish* 

So, I had my first anatomy quiz today. We all were all studying like crazy this past weekend…yet somehow I felt at complete peace even though I knew I didn’t know everything we had covered. One of the things they kept emphasizing in orientation is that you’ll never feel like you know enough; you have to be content with learning at least 70%. What a huge change from the way I approached undergrad classes (you know, where 108% felt like failure because I missed two points). Haha. Yeah, gone are those days. In PA school, it doesn’t matter what your percentage is as long as it’s 70% or more. There are no honors or distinctions given for a 99.9% versus a 70.1%. They both equal a P (pass versus fail).  Of course, that doesn’t mean I don't or won’t try my hardest, give it my all, and study to the best of my ability. It does mean that there isn’t such pressure to perform at the top. It takes away the competition and creates teammates out of fellow students. I’m a fan.

Anyway, so the quiz came and went. I did well, and life goes on. Even if it hadn’t gone well, it’s far from the end of the world. Our first exam in biochemistry is this Wednesday (we have a test literally every week in that class). We’ll see how the exam goes soon.

My life pretty much is consumed by classes during the weekdays. From 8/8:30-11am every other day, I have either biochemistry or history & physical (H&P) clinical assessment skills. Then from 11-noon every day we have physiology. The lunch break from noon-1pm is our life-safer and the only “buffer” zone we get all week to catch up with homework and class prep. From 1-4:30pm every day, we have anatomy lecture and cadaver dissection. (I love the lab portion; it’s incredible how much we’ve already learned and how we are getting to the point of seeing the big picture through the details – both the forest and the trees. It’s super cool to see how the nerves, blood supply, bones, and muscles integrate and to understand the clinical application of what we’re striving to learn about the body. How fearfully and wonderfully we are made!). After lab, I usually stick around school for about 4-5 hours to study then hitch a bus ride home to prep for the next day for a few more hours. Then it’s sleep, wake, and repeat.

 An example, of the thoracic external muscles being dissected.
We've covered the anterior chest wall, posterior back muscles
(both superficial and deep), the upper extremity
(including the brachial plexus tangle of nerves) and flexor muscles of the forearm.
All in one week. Yeah, we're that awesome.

All that being said, I’ve also been able to participate in some pretty cool activities outside of the school work. Last weekend, I crossed off a movie from my bucket list. A group of friends I’ve made here have a book club and monthly discussion/movie viewing nights. Although I hadn’t read the book, I went for the movie. It was so great to relax and give my mind a break from all the science-y stuff I’ve been thinking about all week.

"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."
Now I know all those quotes, references, and imitations everyone uses.

I also went country two-step and line dancing for the second time since I've been in IC. Although I’m not stellar by any means, I’ve received some wonderful instruction from fellow dancers and have had a great time learning something different. 

I've learned some two-step, swing, cha-cha, and line.
Certainly have a long way to go, but it's a good start :)

Since being in IC, I’ve also been able to make friends through a local church…so in addition to the fun events I described above and the 15 hours I spent studying this weekend, I also was able to hang out with them Sunday night at something called Grad Group, where we have dinner, do a devotion, and discuss application in our own lives. We're going through the book of Galatians now, and it's been great working out faith issues in a supportive community.

So, yeah. That’s been my week. I know this summer is going to fly by, even if it is pretty intense. I’m so incredibly grateful to be able to learn everything we are learning though. It’s truly a blessing, a privilege, and a huge honor.

Well, that’s it for now. Consider yourself updated J