Abnormalities

 *image from medscape

First things first, I'm fine (though I'll be confirming soon with a second opinion). But when your hear the words "abnormal mammogram" for the 3rd time since 2002, it makes you "unable to concentrate" nervous for MANY days. So besides being VERY far behind in my classes, I'm happy because at least I have my health.

Interestingly enough, I decided to choose a local (county town) FP for my new family doctor which is ironic because: 1) I had kinda written off FP as a profession due to the constant turf battles with PAs/DNPs/NPs and 2) I wasn't sure a small town doc would "cut it" for me ie would be familiar enough with the medical nuances of Black folks. But it turns out that not only am I considering FP as a career option myself (a distant 4th to Heme/Onc, IM/Hospitalist, and Pathologist) my White, female middle aged FP suits me and my medical nuances just fine.

So other than that scary mammogram moment, everything else is good, MCAT study is moving right along but I find myself distancing myself (yeah, that's redundant as hell) from research these days., and feeling a bigger pull towards clinical medicine. I'm just not sure I'll be able to enjoy a research career as I have in the past enough to stick with it, though my "challenging experiences" over the past 2 or so years plays a huge role in those thoughts I'm sure. I am however crystal clear that what I'm learning in CS will be highly useful to my work as a Clinician one day.

Finally, health issues can be very scary especially when you've had them before. But times like these are a fantastic reminder that God's grace is never far away.

Return of the Mack

So I had a meeting with my new research advisor yesterday and what can I say, I left the meeting with a profound sense of appreciation for the fact that I have FINALLY found another Prof who "has my professional back". I also realized that while my research rotation last summer helped me better define my interests in the interface between medical research and computer science, how poorly I was treated while working there left my self-confidence in shambles (and that very likely came across in the interviews I had last Fall which may explain the outcomes). So I'll continue to rebuild that but with a group that believes in me and what I'm ultimately trying to accomplish.

Moving on, my verbal reasoning review is going well and though I'm not scoring as well as how I performed on the exam, I'm pretty certain that all these years of reviewing for the MCAT are going to pay off big time. I mean how could it not and I also look forward to passing on to others what I've learned.

Well, my posts are going to be pretty short as I embark on a CS deep next few months while also preparing for the MCAT. I'll also be doing research though not regularly until around March, my CS intensive classes and MCAT review are going to keep me plenty busy until that time!

Now in the spirit of me putting the "mo back into the jo", this is one of my favorite "comeback" songs!

Still here and kickin'!!!

Happy New Year!!

So I didn't really disappear off the face of the earth LOL, I've just been SUPER busy with with intercession classes, moving, setting up a new home, and visiting out of town relatives. But now that the holidays are over, I'm back into "student"/premed mode as I start one of the busiest semesters I've had in a VERY long time!

The first 8 weeks of school be strictly programming classes with some MCAT review mixed in. Speaking of that, I need to adjust my MCAT exam date meter, there's NO WAY I'll be ready for the exam by April as I had originally planned due to my course schedule this semester. I am tentatively planning on a date sometime in July which I know is pushing it because I was considering applying early decision by August 1. And yes, I'm still interested in the MD/PhD program. As for my research, I meet this week with my new PI but no, nothing official is in play yet but I should know something more certain by week's end. However, as my grandmother used to say, "one monkey don't stop the show", so I'll keep busy with school and volunteering until something local and "fitting" comes about.