Senior Year Blog

I'm nearing the end of the Judson chapter of my life. I'm finding myself packing my schedule a bit more than I used to. Over Spring Break, I couldn't get myself completely out of school mode. My sister is the same way. Because of our similarity we didn't get to see each other. The plan my family worked out was that my parents would go to visit my sister at the University of Houston so that she could stay with her practice piano (she's getting a major in piano performance) and I would stay in Marion and work on my projects. I got to shadow Dr. W. Shane Lee at the Vaughan Marion Clinic and on his nursing home rounds Monday through Thursday. My eggs are doing well. The last batch of eggs came in Sunday. I was able to stick them in the incubator Monday over lunch break. I've done a lot of thinking and a little work too on two upcoming papers - one on Gaucher's disease for Biochemistry and another about vegetarianism during pregnancy for Biochemical Nutrition.

Even being in Marion instead of hanging out in Houston with my sister, I had fun over break. My mother is very picky about the food we keep in the house. Anything too desserty either gets used as sugar in a milkshake or gets fed to the chickens, no joke. Monday I saw a caffeinated brownie mix on a site and since my mother was not there to scold me, decided that I'd make my own version. I just did a normal brownie recipe, but instead of adding liquid, I added coffee. The first batch was alright. The second that I made later in the week was a killer though. I got a little carried away with the coffee pouring. Instead of the few tablespoons that the first batch had, I added 2/3 cup instant coffee powder to the liquid. The whole batch fit into an eight inch square pan, so quite a bit of coffee per brownie. I got a headache when I ate 2 of them. That probably isn't healthy. I looked up caffeine toxicity. According to eMedicine, 10 or more grams are lethal, so considering that one cup of coffee has only 85-250 mg, I think I'm definitely alright. I really don't think I'll make them again though. The only other crazy thing I did other than the brownies was to take two of my three dogs to Perry Lakes park in my car. I took the black lab Solomon and mutt Town Dog. They had a good time and got insanely muddy. I have a hatchback and put the seats down so they could just jump in the trunk, but mud still got everywhere, even on the windows. It'll take a while to clean the car, but we all had fun. It's finally feeling like spring!

This coming semester will be my last at Judson. I thought that it would be fitting to wear a dress that my mother wore to Christmas Tea and Vespers when she was a student at Judson to my last Christmas tea as a student. Surprisingly, the dress fit perfectly and didn't seem too very out of style.. I realize that I need to savor every blip of time I have here. This spring semester will fly in a hurry!

Course signups took place several weeks ago. It looks like I'll be in Ms. Bartley's Biochemistry, Ms. Susan Jones' Biochemical Nutrition, Ms. Castro's Spanish II, Ballet with Jill Coplen, Bioethics with Dr. Wilson, and of course one of Dr. Betty's voice classes. I'll still be working on the biology honors project. Dr. Wilson (my project sponsor and major advisor) is encouraging me to present what I have so far at the Alabama Academy of Sciences meeting this March. As well as trying to pull that together, I'm worrying over my applications to the two rural medicine programs - RMP at Auburn and RMSP at the University of Alabama. I already feel busy just thinking about the honors project. I doubt Biochemistry will be a walk in the park either.

In addition to all of that brainy work, I do plan to keep dancing and try to work on jogging. Unfortunately my jogging/workout buddy Christina is going to Australia soon.  (Check out her study abroad blog :)) I'll miss having accountability and am worried that I'll get sidetracked. I know it'll be a an incredibly fun and huge learning experience for Christina and can't help but be excited for her though! It's frightening how easy is is for me to get tempted into homework, papers, and other things I need to take care of during workout hour. I desperately want to finish my Judson years in good form. If you like working out and need a buddy this spring, let me know!      

I just got back from an informational interview with Dr. John Wheat of the University of Alabama's Rural Medical Scholars Program. The Rural Medical Scholars Program is currently my top medical program choice. If I enter RMSP, I will get a one year "General Studies in Human Environmental Sciences" masters of science with a focus on rural health at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The next two years, I would go to medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, followed by clinical rotations the next two years in Tuscaloosa. The goal of RMSP is to train aspiring medical students from rural backgrounds who have an interest in practicing medicine in rural areas. Since I've grown up in Marion, am most interested in primary care medicine, and love small town living, I fit the program well.

I really do hope all goes well and I'm accepted. The coursework for the masters program and the RMSP activities are selected to give a good framework for medical school and future rural practice. They range from Biochemistry/Molecular Biology I (taught partly by Dr. Wheat) to courses called Community Clinical Processes I and II. Something about the program must be working well! According to data from 1997 to 2001, the Rural Medical Scholars program students had an approximately 10% higher graduation rate than non Rural Medical Scholars UAB medical students.

In addition to the Rural Medical Scholars Program based in Tuscaloosa, there is a sister MS/MD program at Auburn, RMP (Rural Medical Program), with basically the same system. I need to get more information about the RMP program, but will definitely be applying when I apply to RMSP.

According to Dr. Wheat and Dr. Brandon, the RMSP medical director, one big thing that I can do to boost my application is to get more rural physician shadowing. I'm hoping that I can shadow over school holidays. School courses, assignments, and obligations are catching up!       

You guessed it..The school year here at Judson is picking up. I decided to take Autobiography Writing this semester to help me with my med school personal statement and writing skills in general. One of my classmates, Caitlin, was talking about her study plan before class. She arranges short homework assignments between large ones to stay pumped. I'm going to have to take a page out of her book.

Yes, I'm feeling just a little burned out! Last week was a serious killer. Between painting, a paper, homework, lots of reading, and my work study math study session job, I got to bed way later than I would've liked every single night and had to get up much earlier than I wanted to every morning. It's Labor Day weekend and although I'm sleeping later, I still have to study every day. Grrrrr!! It's easy to get so many projects going that you don't have time for yourself! I'm sure that's true at every college or university.  

This morning I did take some time off to go to the beach with my Labrador and boyfriend. Yes, believe it or not, there is a really nice sandy beach within 15 minutes of Judson! Perry Lakes Park/Barton's Beach is a fun place to go when you need a tan or just some chill time away from the books.  During our time there, we saw kids playing in the river, neat birds, people with canoes, a ton of amazing butterflies, and several Judson students! I seriously need to buy a butterfly book!

This afternoon, I've been reading James Elkins' What Painting Is for Painting class. I've also been working on my AMCAS computerized medical school application. It'll get sent to UAB and South Alabama. My MCAT scores are supposed to be posted next Tuesday. Hopefully all will go well and I can be in med school next fall. If that plan doesn't work though, I'll be in a good place to get in the next year. Will try to make a dent in my Spanish vocabulary tonight for Spanish 1 Test 1 coming up next week..