We had a pretty good week here at the Pringle household. I did finish my ambulatory rotation (ie nice cushy clinic hours) and switched to night float on Friday...bummer. I did like my clinic hours, which shall be missed. However, night float gives me Sat morning-Monday night off every weekend, which is pretty awesome. I just have to figure out a weekend sleeping schedule that works and doesn't subject James to work-lag.
For my last week of clinic, I had a neat opportunity for my peds clinic rotation. The pediatrician I worked with also happens to be the medical director of Baltimore's only pediatric hospice center. This may seem like an awful job at first, but hear me out. On Thurs, my last day of clinic, we got to go on a field trip to the hospice center instead. The center is called Dr. Bob's, after my preceptor's father who started the hospice and has since passed away. I have to say- this place was SOOOO inspiring. Obviously a dying child is one of the most horrible things in the world. However, this center makes a HUGE effort to make the dying process for the children and their families a dignified and cherished time amidst all the sadness. It was so wonderfully decorated and well thought-out. The staff were incredible and care sooooo deeply. I was incredibly impressed and it was one of those moments that helped boost my faith in the world. The work done at Dr. Bob's is truly incredible. Interestingly, there are only 4 independent pediatric hospice facilities in the ENTIRE US (much more advanced in other countries, especially in Europe) so this is "cutting edge," if you will. My preceptor is also one of the most inspiring physicians I have met thus far - so dedicated and kind. He has so many roles and serves in so many aspects of the community, many of which are probably pro-bono (I didn't ask him, of course). So glad I got to meet and work with him for a short month! If anyone is interested in donating to the cause, here is the website: http://drbobsplace.org/home/. I am happy to tell more about the center to anyone interested but I'll spare the rest my exuberant gushing. They are also trying to do an adopt-a-family thing for Christmas this year so if anyone is interested in helping with that, I am going to try and donate through that and we could coordinate. Anyway, that's my soapbox/plea for the day (and I don't do that often...sorry to bug).
I was also inspired by so many neat stories and resources being posted and shared for mental health awareness two weeks ago (and still seems to be semi-ongoing!). Proud of my cousin Kim, who works so hard in this field. Clinic has only underscored the things I learned about mental health in medical school - and the main lessons are that mental illness is real, is treatable, is under-treated, and has way too few resources in our healthcare climate. I hope that this improves overtime and am so glad when I hear that my talented med school classmates are going into psych because there is just such a shortage. It isn't the field for me, but I truly respect all the hardworking folks who make such a difference in people's lives. We need more providers, so I hope my friends and future providers keep going into the field (more than have been!).
Wow, I keep diverting from my travelogue. So, back to the more boring stuff, I guess. The week was filled with more unpacking/organizing/errands (the car needs a new engine mount per the oil change folks, of course. blah) after work. Slowly but surely the house is getting organized! Unfortunately in the process, it looks more tornado-esque so no video tour yet. Another reason for that is that the upstairs is filled with laundry in various stages. Turns out, front loading washers need special HE (high efficiency) detergent - who knew? So the laundry got put on hold til I picked up some new detergent this weekend. In the process of resuming, so goal is for photo tour next weekend! We did stumble upon a great shelf-find so now our main floor is moving up in the world of organization and decor, woot.
Transporting the shelf took some finagling with a couple of bungee cords and a tarp. Success! All who move should invest in bungee cords. Just do it.
So pretty! Still working on stylish arrangement of things on the shelves. PS - it has like 2mm between the window sill and the side of the shelf on each side. Perfect fit! Therefore, it was destined to be in our home!
More updates from the week: I got to watch James play at his soccer game this week, which was fun. Stellar player, that one! He scored a header goal that was AWESOME and then the winning goal in sudden-death overtime. YESSSS! We also went jogging finally twice this week, and found some fun routes near our house. We avoided default and ended the government shutdown (and I sent some disapproving emails to certain congresspersons of all political parties...I think all incumbents should be voted out!), so that was good. We had the sister missionaries over for dinner this week. On Saturday, I emerged from my post-work slumber with enough time to organize the house a bit and then we got to go on a date to see Gravity! It was our first movie date together (we did go to one movie with James' parents) and we saw it in 3D. I tried to take a cute pic of us in our Real-D/3D glasses. It was not cute. So it will not be posted. Despite the photo fail, the movie was great! I loved the special effects and James loved the whole movie. We both agree that being an astronaut is not a goal in our future. We also snuck in a movie snack (goldfish crackers and haribo gummy bears) which were delicious. However, we got a very large bag of haribo gummies and our self-control has been lacking, so we have been on a sugar high since the movie started. In case any of you enjoy a good Amazon review, the top listed review may give you a chuckle about sugarfree haribo bears (note: we got the sugar filled ones, so did not suffer the same fate. Beware of the review if you do not like descriptions of bodily functions): http://www.amazon.com/Haribo-Gummy-Candy-Sugarless-5-Pound/dp/B000EVQWKC/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1381926575&sr=1-1&keywords=haribo+gummy+candy+sugarless+gummy+bears+5-pound+bag
Today, we spoke in church (both on the same day! yay! topic was Christlike service and only 10 min each, so it wasn't too bad), got a calling (assistant ward employment/welfare specialists), got admonished to join the choir in a forceful manner, were grabbed from Sunday School to sub for the MIA teacher for the 5 and 6 yr olds (they all survived, so that's good), and then got some training on our new calling from the sweet couple in charge of welfare/employment in our ward. Apparently it is shocking that I do not like pineapple (she asked me if I liked pineapple so she could make pineapple upside-down cake for our "training session" and I answered truthfully that I do not, which she will remember forever more). I also got to see my lovely friend Yasmin, who started her residency in surgery in California and was visiting her family for the weekend. Love catching up with friends!
This week, I will unpack feverishly so I can make a video tour. My friend Lauren is coming up from the Eastern Shore and staying with us next Sunday - so excited! We may check out the Halloween Lantern Fest in the park next Saturday, which is a real Baltimore treat and should provide some awesome pictures. James has midterms as it is the end of the quarter so I guess it's lucky that I'll be sleeping instead of talking to him during the day. I will be getting my engine mount fixed so that "my engine is no longer flapping in the wind" as the mechanic so kindly explained to me. That is about all! Hope everyone has a fantastic week! Don't be like me and binge on Halloween candy just because it's all around!
For my last week of clinic, I had a neat opportunity for my peds clinic rotation. The pediatrician I worked with also happens to be the medical director of Baltimore's only pediatric hospice center. This may seem like an awful job at first, but hear me out. On Thurs, my last day of clinic, we got to go on a field trip to the hospice center instead. The center is called Dr. Bob's, after my preceptor's father who started the hospice and has since passed away. I have to say- this place was SOOOO inspiring. Obviously a dying child is one of the most horrible things in the world. However, this center makes a HUGE effort to make the dying process for the children and their families a dignified and cherished time amidst all the sadness. It was so wonderfully decorated and well thought-out. The staff were incredible and care sooooo deeply. I was incredibly impressed and it was one of those moments that helped boost my faith in the world. The work done at Dr. Bob's is truly incredible. Interestingly, there are only 4 independent pediatric hospice facilities in the ENTIRE US (much more advanced in other countries, especially in Europe) so this is "cutting edge," if you will. My preceptor is also one of the most inspiring physicians I have met thus far - so dedicated and kind. He has so many roles and serves in so many aspects of the community, many of which are probably pro-bono (I didn't ask him, of course). So glad I got to meet and work with him for a short month! If anyone is interested in donating to the cause, here is the website: http://drbobsplace.org/home/. I am happy to tell more about the center to anyone interested but I'll spare the rest my exuberant gushing. They are also trying to do an adopt-a-family thing for Christmas this year so if anyone is interested in helping with that, I am going to try and donate through that and we could coordinate. Anyway, that's my soapbox/plea for the day (and I don't do that often...sorry to bug).
I was also inspired by so many neat stories and resources being posted and shared for mental health awareness two weeks ago (and still seems to be semi-ongoing!). Proud of my cousin Kim, who works so hard in this field. Clinic has only underscored the things I learned about mental health in medical school - and the main lessons are that mental illness is real, is treatable, is under-treated, and has way too few resources in our healthcare climate. I hope that this improves overtime and am so glad when I hear that my talented med school classmates are going into psych because there is just such a shortage. It isn't the field for me, but I truly respect all the hardworking folks who make such a difference in people's lives. We need more providers, so I hope my friends and future providers keep going into the field (more than have been!).
Wow, I keep diverting from my travelogue. So, back to the more boring stuff, I guess. The week was filled with more unpacking/organizing/errands (the car needs a new engine mount per the oil change folks, of course. blah) after work. Slowly but surely the house is getting organized! Unfortunately in the process, it looks more tornado-esque so no video tour yet. Another reason for that is that the upstairs is filled with laundry in various stages. Turns out, front loading washers need special HE (high efficiency) detergent - who knew? So the laundry got put on hold til I picked up some new detergent this weekend. In the process of resuming, so goal is for photo tour next weekend! We did stumble upon a great shelf-find so now our main floor is moving up in the world of organization and decor, woot.
Transporting the shelf took some finagling with a couple of bungee cords and a tarp. Success! All who move should invest in bungee cords. Just do it.
So pretty! Still working on stylish arrangement of things on the shelves. PS - it has like 2mm between the window sill and the side of the shelf on each side. Perfect fit! Therefore, it was destined to be in our home!
More updates from the week: I got to watch James play at his soccer game this week, which was fun. Stellar player, that one! He scored a header goal that was AWESOME and then the winning goal in sudden-death overtime. YESSSS! We also went jogging finally twice this week, and found some fun routes near our house. We avoided default and ended the government shutdown (and I sent some disapproving emails to certain congresspersons of all political parties...I think all incumbents should be voted out!), so that was good. We had the sister missionaries over for dinner this week. On Saturday, I emerged from my post-work slumber with enough time to organize the house a bit and then we got to go on a date to see Gravity! It was our first movie date together (we did go to one movie with James' parents) and we saw it in 3D. I tried to take a cute pic of us in our Real-D/3D glasses. It was not cute. So it will not be posted. Despite the photo fail, the movie was great! I loved the special effects and James loved the whole movie. We both agree that being an astronaut is not a goal in our future. We also snuck in a movie snack (goldfish crackers and haribo gummy bears) which were delicious. However, we got a very large bag of haribo gummies and our self-control has been lacking, so we have been on a sugar high since the movie started. In case any of you enjoy a good Amazon review, the top listed review may give you a chuckle about sugarfree haribo bears (note: we got the sugar filled ones, so did not suffer the same fate. Beware of the review if you do not like descriptions of bodily functions): http://www.amazon.com/Haribo-Gummy-Candy-Sugarless-5-Pound/dp/B000EVQWKC/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1381926575&sr=1-1&keywords=haribo+gummy+candy+sugarless+gummy+bears+5-pound+bag
Today, we spoke in church (both on the same day! yay! topic was Christlike service and only 10 min each, so it wasn't too bad), got a calling (assistant ward employment/welfare specialists), got admonished to join the choir in a forceful manner, were grabbed from Sunday School to sub for the MIA teacher for the 5 and 6 yr olds (they all survived, so that's good), and then got some training on our new calling from the sweet couple in charge of welfare/employment in our ward. Apparently it is shocking that I do not like pineapple (she asked me if I liked pineapple so she could make pineapple upside-down cake for our "training session" and I answered truthfully that I do not, which she will remember forever more). I also got to see my lovely friend Yasmin, who started her residency in surgery in California and was visiting her family for the weekend. Love catching up with friends!
This week, I will unpack feverishly so I can make a video tour. My friend Lauren is coming up from the Eastern Shore and staying with us next Sunday - so excited! We may check out the Halloween Lantern Fest in the park next Saturday, which is a real Baltimore treat and should provide some awesome pictures. James has midterms as it is the end of the quarter so I guess it's lucky that I'll be sleeping instead of talking to him during the day. I will be getting my engine mount fixed so that "my engine is no longer flapping in the wind" as the mechanic so kindly explained to me. That is about all! Hope everyone has a fantastic week! Don't be like me and binge on Halloween candy just because it's all around!
2 comments:
Hi-I love your blog; it makes me feel part of your lives. Thanks for the details. We are having perfect fall weather this week. Bye from ggh
Lauren, I would love to help with Christmas for the peds center. Such a sad place. I can't imagine working there are dealing with that all the time. So hard!
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