Andy's visit

Wow, I can't believe it's been two and a half months since my last update! Things have been busy as usual around here - actually busier than usual. I finished up my contact lens rotation and am currently working 5-6 days a week in the primary care clinic where I see a wide variety of patients. It's not uncommon to see patients with HIV, drug addictions, or personality disorders such as schizophrenia. One of my patients went off and was yelling at me because she thought I was killing her family and was afraid I would eat her eyes. Another patient had a seizure and had to be admitted to the hospital. There's never a dull moment!

In case you had be planning on bringing a grenade into the exam room...

Andy's been working at his new job in Washington for 2 months now and really enjoys it. He flew in this weekend to visit and while we had a wonderful time together, it wasn't long enough! While he was here we saw a movie, went out to dinner, made a trip to Miami, did some shopping, took Porter to the dog park, and relaxed at home. I had to drop him off at the airport this afternoon and I thought it'd be a little easier to say goodbye this time, knowing that we're nearly a quarter of the way through our time apart, but it was just as difficult as the first goodbye! Between now and his next visit I will be taking parts II and III of my national boards examinations so I have plenty of studying to keep me busy.

Family portrait: a day at the dog park! 

236 days until graduation!

It's Crunch Time

and no, I'm not referring to my abs. I've been in hiding for the past couple months because I've been studying like crazy for part 1 of the national board exam. Part 1 is the hardest according to most (all?) people you talk to. It's a grueling 2 day exam that covers everything we've ever learned. It's less than a month away now, which means I'm really starting to feel the heat. It also means that in less than a month I'll get my life back and be able to return to blogging!

I'm baaaack!

As I was typing the title to this post Steve Urkel pop into my head with his signature catchphrase, "I'm baaaack!" (Hey! Don't those look like the same glasses I made and put on our pumpkin?!)

Last Sunday I flew to Jacksonville for a two day contact lens seminar put on by one of the major contact lens manufacturers, all expenses paid. Due to scheduling conflicts none of my friends were able to go and I ended up being the only student from my school there. It was a bit nerve wracking for an introvert like myself, but I ended up having a great time and am really glad I went. Not knowing anyone there took away my crutch and forced me to meet a number of really nice students from other schools that I may not have talked to otherwise. 

Wednesday, the day after my return, was my last day in clinic for the semester. In a couple weeks we will start our winter semester and I'll be back in clinic, but thankfully I'll be working a different day. That means no more 12+ hour days! Woohoo! 

Clinic, here I come!

On Friday I received a letter congratulating me for passing the pre-clinical proficiency exam! That means in 6 short weeks I will see my first patient!

Done with Proficiencies!

This past Thursday I took my preclinical proficiency exam. What is that and what does it mean? Proficiencies is a rigorous hands-on exam which second year optometry students must take to demonstrate that they have the knowledge and communication skills necessary to begin working with patients in the clinic.

It works like this - I'm assigned a day and time when I must arrive to the clinic in professional attire, including white lab coat. I'm assigned to a room which is the first of four "stations". When I enter there is a "patient" already sitting in the chair and a doctor who is there to watch and grade my performance. The patients are all 1st and 3rd year optometry students. As soon as the buzzer sounds the door closes and I have 25 minutes to get through a specific set of procedures and exam elements. The doctor watches me, but doesn't speak. I'm graded on whether I covered everything, how well I explained the procedures to the patient, if I went in a smooth and orderly manner, and how accurate my results were. At the end of the 25 minutes I get 5 minutes to pack up my equipment and walk to an adjoining room where I have a whole new set of procedures to perform. It's a nerve wracking two hours, but by the end I'm so relieved it's over.

From what I hear, it'll be another two weeks before we get our scores back. Assuming I passed, I'll begin clinic orientation in the beginning of May and a week later I'll be seeing my first patients! It's hard to believe I've almost reached the halfway mark!