The SNMA NLI January 2016 and Other Updates

2015-2016 SNMA National Osteopathic Schools Co-Chairs (ends) and National Secretary (center)

It feels like it has been forever since I last posted, but it’s only been a week, LOL. As usual, I’ve been super busy and so much has happened! To start, this past weekend I attended the Student National Medical Association’s National Leadership Institute (NLI) and Board of Directors meetings in Tampa, Florida. It was also held in conjunction with the Florida Health Disparities Summit, so I had the opportunity to interact with physicians from the National Medical Association and with researchers from the Moffitt Cancer Center. It’s always nice being able to network with physicians and medical students from across the country, and I learned a lot from the different sessions I attended. This was my last NLI for the year as the SNMA National Osteopathic Schools Co-Chair, so it was also a very productive time spent attending meetings and handling official business. I took the above picture with my fellow co-chair and the National Secretary (center), and we are all very excited for next month’s Annual Medical Education Conference that will be held in Austin, Texas. So much work has been put into making sure the conference is an informative and amazing experience for all attendees, so if you haven’t registered, do so now!!!!

Returned home to my little cutie looking extra cute :-)

I drove to Tampa because I waited until the very last minute to buy plane tickets, and there was no way I was going to pay over $300 for a six hour drive, so right after our final meeting on Sunday, I made my way back to Atlanta. I hate losing study time though, so I made sure to download Goljan pathology lectures to my mp3 player. My drive alternated between pathology lectures and ratchet music breaks to get me through :-) I made it back home with good timing, picked my daughter up, and made it into my door right as the halftime performance was starting. That and the commercials are the only thing I care about when it comes to the Superbowl, so I was really happy to be able to catch it. I was also extremely happy to pick my daughter up with her hair fully done. One of my schoolmates watched her for me again while I traveled, and is a true lifesaver! I honestly don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have the amazing support of people helping me out on this journey, so words can’t express how wonderful it was to return home with a few less worries.

The GA-PCOM SNMA recognizes Black History Month

Outside of that, last week was pretty eventful as well. I never really got a chance to celebrate my birthday because I was too busy, but the week and conference more than made up for it. Last Monday, for Black History Month, the GA-PCOM SNMA organized a “Black Out” day and that was a pretty big success. On Tuesday, we had Oliver Bullock, DO come to speak to our school, and I was in charge of the Q&A session for that. On Wednesday, we had a “Pink Out” day in order to honor the life of my friend/classmate’s mother who recently passed from stage IV breast cancer, and we were also able to raise and surpass our goal of donating over $1000 to the Breast Cancer Research Fund, so I was extremely happy about that. We also had a suture clinic that day, and I learned that silk thread is hard to deal with, and while I am still a beast when it comes to interrupted suturing, I still need more practice on everything else. I honestly can’t remember what I was doing last Thursday, and somewhere in between all of this, I still managed to fit in studying for board exams and going to class. We have a lot more mandatory lectures this term, so my schedule has pretty much been packed, but I’m making it through! Other than that, life is the usual. At this point, I am probably the busiest I have ever been since starting medical school, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world! I continue to love every moment of this journey, and hopefully I can continue finding the time to blog about it so that you all can share in my joy too :-) Until next time!

Pink Out Day in to raise Breast Cancer Awareness

Working on my suturing skills!

USF Health Center Selfie :-)