Done and DONE!!!

Last week, I submitted my final grades for the chemistry class I taught this past spring semester and let me say that I've NEVER in my ENTIRE life been so happy to be done with a teaching assignment! And with that said, I'm just gonna move on but suffice it to say, I'm so looking forward to a summer of NOT teaching!

Movin' on, my schedule for the summer is a somewhat moving target as I'm waiting to hear back from my PhD adviser about whether or not additional sections of a course I'd planned to take this summer will be opened. I'm good either way but can admit that I could definitely use that time in MCAT prep. Speaking of the MCAT, my course schedule for my HIT certification did get changed to require I repeat A&P I & II( that's anatomy and physiology 1 and 2) for this Fall and next Spring. And that could be a blessing in disguise since that would by default include some MCAT subject material too. But that would also mean that my exam date would get pushed back until May 2017 at the earliest which really isn't that big of a deal since I'm not planning to apply to med school until 2018/matriculate in the Fall of 2019, after I finish my PhD.

As for my abstracts, while I certainly have been able to generate some promising results in the 3 short months I've been on this research gig, we just don't have the statistical power to publish anything substantial just yet. But I've been given permission to attend the two meetings I was submitting abstract for anyway, one of which is the Ryan White 2016 HIV/AIDS meeting being held in August of this year in DC. So this will be a trip back home for me and since I haven't been back since we relocated to Texas in 2013, it's a welcome opportunity to visit one of my favorite cities in America, Washington DC!!

Finally, I know I blogged a lot about how frustrating my teaching experience was for me this past Spring, but I think I'll be able to get my "mojo" back over the summer and teach again this Fall. I'll just be doubly sure to teach only 2 classes and NOT 4!! :)

Slow your roll!

So my adviser emailed me to say that I'm putting "the cart before the horse" with this research project stuff and that over the course of the next year I need to focus on: 1) Getting the rest of my classes for my PhD completed, and 2; Passing my written and oral exams.  So, in the words of Nene Leakes from Atlanta housewives, BLOOP!!! :)

However, that isn't going to stop me from submitting an abstract to an AACR (American Association for Cancer Research) meeting to be held in the early fall. But of course, that's going to be HIGHLY depended on what I get done this summer with more certification classes to complete (as a Data Analyst/Health Info Management) and an in depth MCAT review, BOTH with definitive placement on my "summer plate" too.

Still point VERY well taken, I seriously need to slow myself down!!

More scribble, scrabble!!!

"Sure, I'd much rather work on a project related to cancer, but I accept the fact that right now, I don't have any support in that area unless I want to leave Texas."

URGH!!!

So not even 48 hours after I came to accept that I won't have a cancer research project, did my graduate adviser pretty much veto DOWN my choice to have an HIV focused dissertation project. Not only that, one of my mentors did the same thing adding that my new PI hasn't published enough. D*mn!

So while this may appear to be a major set back of sorts to some, it actually really isn't because I haven't officially started the research gig yet, LOL!! And I obviously won't mind continuing with cancer research. :)

Right now, I'm going to stick with the HIV gig for my "day job" because of the opportunity to have regular interactions with patients and my VERY strong interest in staying "clinically oriented". And the fact of the matter is that I don't have time to volunteer in a clinical setting, as much as I'd love to do it. But we'll see how this "Jeckel and Hyde, Infectious Disease/Cancer research existence goes moving forward!!!

Welcome to 2016!!!

I'm not usually the kind of person that has negative feelings about one year ending and a new one beginning, but that's exactly how I felt at the end of 2015!! Last year was one hellva' year for me on every front possible, mentally, personally, emotionally, physically, academically, and most especially, professionally!! So I was VERY thankful to end the year on such a high mental and emotional note with my teaching gigs lined up, my academic goals moving forward, and my health in a MUCH better "glad I no longer need to have an immediate surgery" place!! WHEW!!! :) Best yet, we're leaving for our multi-state vacay later this week which had to be postponed because I had the dumb arse idea to take 2 courses over the winter break.

Movin' on, the chemistry class I'm teaching this semester will be my largest EVER, in a room that looks a LOT like this:

This is also my first time in a LONG time, teaching chemistry for chemistry and engineering majors which could potentially be challenging since premeds, ect, tend to sometimes be "know it all" kinda students. Still, I'm really looking forward to it since I've been given free latitude to teach however I want as along as I'm getting the message across to students. Along those same lines, I'm going to also start posting again on my Chemistry with Kimberly website on a regular basis too! So anything related to my teaching experiences will be discussed there.

Interestingly enough, I've also started a blog in health data science though I'm not quite ready to go public with that one yet! Turns out there aren't ANY blogs by women in health data science that I've been able to find, so it will be interesting to see how much "traffic" I generate! Speaking of health data, I'm going to a meet-up later today to see a demonstration of  IBM-Watson Analytics. My interest in this platform started with IBM Watson Oncology which I learned about while working at The MD Anderson Cancer Center. I'll let you click on the links to see for yourself what it's all about, needless to say in interface between computers and healthcare is here to stay and I'm so excited about the future holds for someone like me, with a strong interest in both!!

Speaking of medicine, I've already started back with my simultaneous review of both general chemistry and biochem for the MCAT, and will start with practice tests in those subjects when I finish my current course next week. Yep one thing ends, another begins, that's how I'm happily rolling these days! :)

Holiday break? NOT!!!!!

                                     

I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to finish up 2 stats courses over the winter break, including one class where 70% of my classmates have dropped out after the second week! Yikes!!!. But I think I did it because I'm trying to make up for lost time toward finishing my PhD. I think................
So it looks like joining my local SNMA (Student National Medical Association) chapter was a great move for me because I constantly get email "motivation" from them to stay the Physician/Scientist course. Recently, I got an email about the Annual Medical Education Conference being held in Austin Texas this year and it's an understatement to say that I'm looking forward to attending my first SNMA meeting!! Austin is one of the most beautiful cities in the US and the food there is pretty amazing too, so it's going to be a great time!

That week is going to be especially busy for me since I'll be at this meeting in San Fran earlier in that same week, 2015 Joint Summits on Translational Science. As I mentioned before, many of the people from my old, UNsupportive department in Texas are going to be there and there's also going to be folks from one of my alma maters there too. So I tremendously thank 2 profs at that east coast university in DC for having planted the seeds which helped me get to where I am today, immersed and in demand (job wise) when it comes to the field of biomedical informatics. Speaking of that alma mater, the elementary school where I teach occasionally, has a flag from that school posted in front of one of the classrooms:

                                                      

People say a LOT of negative things about the people/education here in Texas but I tell everyone I know that there are quite INCORRECT!! From the free breakfast provided to ALL students every morning, to the emphasis on getting a college education ie posting university flags, public schools in Texas seem more than committed to higher education than ANY of the 6 other states I've lived in.

Speaking of jobs, I'm still meeting/interviewing like a crazy woman for positions in biomedical informatics/health data science, searching for that combination of flexibility and a gig that I can learn a LOT from. However, finding flexibility is proving to be the most challenging aspect of all but as I've said MANY times before, I'll happily (and blessedly) stick with teaching until the right gig comes along!

Peace at last!!!

So it finally seems that I'm getting pretty well settled in here in Texas. And by that I mean, I've finally decided on my next career goals. I think............, LOL!! With this semester almost over (HELL YEAH!!), I eagerly anticipate formally continuing along the path toward my PhD at my new institution in the Spring.

And yes, I did decide to go for the PhD because I think I can get "more bang for my buck". The fact that almost all of the cohort I would have been classmates with in the Doctorate program were already Clinicians, pretty much "sealed the deal on my decision". And in the biggest irony of all, the methods I aced but received no encouragement/support for in the Asian group I rotated with last summer, are the same ones my new adviser (who is also Asian but Indian, like the folks who have made up most of my tutoring clients) is encouraging me to continue to develop and pursue for my dissertation. That means, that I'll see them next Spring at a meeting for an organization we're all a members of! Boo-Yah!!!

Movin' on, my MCAT studying is coming along though I've dropped off a little recently to prepare two presentations I have to do by the end of the month. And after reading a post on oldpremeds, I've decided NOT to mention a date/year for when I'll apply to med school until after I take the MCAT because there's simply NO point. Yes, I'm still shooting to take the MCAT next year, but the exact date is a moving target (late next summer?). And you know what I'm okay with that for now, because med school isn't going ANYWHERE and though I was concerned about being 50+ when I apply, I've simply decided NOT to worry about that anymore either. Why? Because there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. I realize most many MD schools will rule me out because of my age, but I'm certainly not going to let that stop me from applying anyway. At this point, MD, DO, Caribbean MD, it doesn't matter to me as long as I get it done!

These kids......

Being the quasi writer I am, I can't put into words the feelings I get working on a regular basis with disadvantaged kids. And what I also know is that it's almost impossible envisioning yourself doing something if you never see anyone that looks like you doing it. So while I grew up reading about Dr. Percy Julian a famous Black Chemist, I NEVER in a million years thought I could do the same because I'd never SEEN a Black Chemist. Even with two college educated parents. But not long after I met a Black Chemist working at a majority institution, I became a Chemistry major and the connection there isn't coincidental. Of course, if I had attended an HBCU I'd have seen examples of Black folks majoring in science a LOT sooner, but that's a topic for another day.

Movin' on, after WEEKS of struggling to get organized, I'm finally there and I'm seeing the benefits, a straight "A" average in all my classes. That isn't to say that all my grades have been "A's" thus far, just that that's where I am now and will remain for the reminder of the semester. I'm also maintaining pretty good progress with my MCAT studying, though there's room for improvement as far as how much I review is concerned.

This weekend, I'm attending a premed fair at one of the top medical schools in the country and while I think my age is a substantial "barrier" to my admission to this school, I'm going because I certainly won't get admitted if I don't network and apply anyway. I'm just looking forward to the looks of bewilderment I'm certain to get from people who I'm sure will be wondering what I'm doing there at my age, especially since I've decided to leave my edges slightly silver. Speaking of age, I found this HIGHLY inspiring article in DO magazine about med school matriculants in their 50s:  

http://thedo.osteopathic.org/2013/06/older-medical-students-persist-leverage-life-experience-to-achieve-dreams/

If I'm being realistic (and honest with myself), I pretty certain that my best options for med school matriculation are at a DO school and that's perfectly fine by me. The first med school to ever recruit me as a premed was a DO school, my pediatrician growing up was a DO, so I've long since been comfortable with the idea of having the letters DO behind my name rather than MD. More importantly, I'm very comfortable with myself and my abilities so I'm not concerned about having to "defend" this choice should it come down to that. My work will continue to speak for me, I'm sure!!

Lastly, I met with the other profs yesterday at the college I'll be teaching Chemistry at next Spring, and I have to say that I'm really looking forward to it! :) I've also volunteered to help students with their research projects so that adds an extra sense of purpose to me teaching chemistry at this school primarily attended by URM students!!! 

Working Day and Night!!!

So the title of this post is a spot on definition of what my life is these days, and I honestly wouldn't have it ANY other way!! After a few rough weeks of adjusting, I'm finally in a great place school and career wise though I have to resist the temptation to continuously question why in da' hell it took me so long to get to this VERY comfortable and focused place. MCAT wise, I'm doing concurrent review in Biology and Chemistry and as I've previously mentioned, regularly tutoring a student in chemistry is that extra push I needed to get the lead out so to speak. The book I'm using is below and it's an updated version of the book I used in undergrad 30 years ago.

I realized recently that what Profs are teaching these days is a LOT more extensive than the stuff I learned, so I decided to upgrade my "equipment". Speaking of Profs, I interviewed for a part-time position as an Adjunct Chem prof at a local college starting in the Spring and I'm looking forward to doing that again too, but in a MUCH more socially and financially diverse school than the one I worked at a few years back. And in the spirit of yet another revelation (not that I needed this one), I've come to the conclusion again that educational environments work best for me!!! And for the future, that means that I'll likely end up working at an academic institution as a Research Physician if I don't go the Locums route which still looks VERY appealing too. As it relates to building my career in health data/health informatics/health information technology, I've decided that based in large part on my past job experiences, that I will ONLY work for someone with the "Dr" title moving forward. Now I realize that this sounds educationally elitist but the reality is that working for someone I outeducate has led to the worst jobs experiences I've EVER had. In today's work environment, people seem to worry about you either taking their jobs or having to work for you one day (although most times, it feels to me like most people still have a high school mentality). At any rate, I've simply decided to avoid what I know does NOT work for me. Plus, you add the fact that I'll also be working on my Doctorate (classes, which would have to be signed off by my Supv), and now I could have a recipe for an insecure Boss explosion!!! Thanks, but I'll pass on that!! So that might bring up the question of how will I adjust to being a med student who frequently works with/around people with less education. Well, I 1000% respect folks who have something to teach me plus, those folks know going in what my ultimate goal is so as a student, I'm NO threat to their current job security. And since medical school is a place for me to learn, I have absolutely NO qualms about the fact that they'll be PLENTY of people for me to learn from no matter how much education they have. However, the biggest differences between med school and answering to someone I outeducate on a job is that: 1) The people I'll be around in med school will be there to teach me something I'm dying to learn and I gladly accept this. Most importantly, I'm NO THREAT to their current position as a lowly med student. So I expect an entirely different situation than the one I've experienced as a hospital employee. Finally, being the daughter of an Advanced Nurse from a family full of Nurses, I know better than to disrespect Nurses who make up the majority of healthcare professionals in hospital settings.

The last topic I want to blog about today is that I decided to go ahead and pursue my Doctorate concentrating in Health Administration and Health Data Science because I realized that there's NO real reason I can't keep ALL my education and career goals in play at the same time as long as I'm willing to work hard. I realized that all I really needed to do was change the company I keep to positive folks, share details of my career goals with folks on a "need to know basis", and bust my tail to get both the organizational skills and motivation to multitask on multiple levels ALL THE TIME. But the single most important thing I needed to do was to have the faith that God gave me multiple talents for a reason and that if I maintained a "faith of titanium", there was absolutely NO REASON I couldn't do what I've talked about FOR YEARS!!! So right now, I'm preparing for the MCAT, teaching/tutoring Science courses, working on my HIT/Health Data Analyst certification which doubles as Doctorate course prep too.

*multitaking without compromising style

I'm also volunteering with Komen and participating in organizations related to my future as a Physician (through SNMA) and Health Data Scientist (through Women Who Code and Blacks in IT). And when it's cool in hot a$$ Texas, I manage a couple tennis matches too!! Yeah, it's an understatement to say that I work day and night!!

 

Uptown Girl

                                             * my "uptown girl" hat

My apologies for the weeks long delay, between final projects and packing/moving I've been VERY busy!! But I'm sooooo happy to be starting my new gig at a major hospital while livin' in the city!!! YES!!!! I'm also excited to be working side by side with clinicians, and I'm certain this experience will only enhance my need to stay focused on my future Physician/Scientist career!

I have my orientation on Monday and will try to give a report of my first impressions next weekend. I'm also still working on my summer plans but other than working on Verbal MCAT and taking ONE advanced stats class, I don't have anything else planned. Hold on, I do plan to volunteer at a hospital as well, although I would thoroughly enjoy working with special needs kids at a local school too. But the fact is that from this point until May 2016, 99.999% of my actions need to point me in the direction of med school ONLY, so that likely means a hospital position.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

This afore mentioned text is what I was supposed to post last weekend, but I got busy and simply forgot. Suffice it to say that I had a fabulous first week at the hospital and while it wasn't without any glitches at all, I simply refuse to focus on ANY of that and keep things pushing with my med school plans. One thing that is crystal clear besides my Physician goals is that my doctoral focus in Biomedical Informatics is a great move! Just not great enough for me to drop my med school plans and that's a great thing because I need to stay focused on med school by ANY means necessary.

So in the process of finishing my coursework last semester( all A's again), moving to the city, and getting settled in my new gig, I've been researching what I'm going to do to prepare for the MCAT. And I've decided to go with the new EK materials which seem to have good reviews. I've decided to order the complete new set not just pieces and parts just so that I'm covering everything. I'll also have to look into which companies are providing practice exams patterned after the new exam, but I'm darn happy I decided against taking the new exam this summer without first letting the new test "guinea pigs" go through it first. This decision jacked my application timeline by a year, but it's not a regret in the slightest because the better I can do on this new exam, the more options I'll have for my training. And I can't emphasize this enough, almost everyone I knew who applied/matriculated to med school with scores on the low end, had to repeat at least one (and a few times ALL) of their USMLEs/COMLEXs. No, there's not a 1:1 correlation between MCAT scores and performance on these exams, but mastering standardized test taking before med school will almost always pay off later in med school.

Well, I'd better get back to unpacking and organizing, I realize this is a months long endeavor, but I'm trying to create a home like atmosphere ASAP!!!

I've got a new attitude!!!!

“I'm feeling good from my head to my shoes, know where I'm going and I know what to do, I tidied up my post of view, I got a new attitude!!””

Those infamous lyrics from Patti Labelle's song New Attitude, pretty much captures what I'm thinking and feeling these days!! I'm going back (FOR GOOD) to a clinical setting, and in the biggest, most exciting news of all, we're getting da' hell out of the suburbs and moving to the city!!!!!Yes, yes, YES!!!!

I actually attended this Prince concert, my first, in 1982 when this very tour came to the city I was living in in Florida.

But I digress, I've been waiting on a move like this for years, but we stayed in the 'burbs because public schools are so much better there. The only sticking point is renting versus buying, and at issue is the fact that buying is MUCH cheaper than renting in the city. But I don't want to jump into city life like that right now because I don't know where I'll end up in medical school ;) (and being landlords just isn't realistic for our "on the go" lifestyles). So I've found a few places that we're going to look at in a few weeks, but I'll be doing this by myself at least initially because DD is going with DH to Cali on business in a few weeks,  right after she finishes her final exams.

Movin' on, I've also decided on a tentative 2 year plan that is actually more like a one year plan as far as the classes I'm going to be taking and my MCAT study schedule. My program advisor is not too thrilled about my decision to slow things down, but he'll get over it. The difficulty I had finding a research group won't be forgotten soon and I need to shore up my “clinical goals” since that's where my heart is, Peds in particular. But to make sure I hit the ground running next month on my new gig, there are some websites I've had to review to make sure I'm up to speed clinically speaking when I start in mid May. One of these websites is the WHO-ICD10 training website which is located here . I'll only be responsible for the general training information and the information specific for GI, but looking through the manual reminds me that med school is going to require learning a TON of information and that the clinical experiences I'm getting now are sealing the fate on future and more importantly, my purpose!!!

"Know where I'm going my worries are few, 'cause I got love (purpose) like I NEVER knew. I tidied up my point of view, I got a new attitude!!

Never too much?

"Baby, you're all over the place".

When someone you're emotionally attached to, starts a conversation off with that sentiment, you KNOW you're in trouble, LOL!!! So it turns out that my plan to train to become a pharmacy tech has scared the "heebie jeebies" out someone VERY close to me. And I can't say that I don't understand why. I guess..........

The thing is that having ADD as an adult means being all over the place (especially when you forget to take your supplements as often as I do) although I can easily concede that it's just not a cool look. Not at this age. I've just had to have plan A-Z my entire life such that it never once occurred to me that to others, I look like "I'm all over the place". But I don't think that's the real point here, I think the MUCH bigger point here is that a Physician/Scientist program is going to require the utmost in focus for at least 6 years (yeah, I'm planning on finishing my PhD in 2.5 years and med school in 3.5 with some academic reciprocity between both programs). So it's probably in my best interest to do my best to get focused NOW!!!

I also realized that I'm going to have too much on my plate beginning in January because I need to hit the ground running on my next research gig. So I decided that in addition to preparing final assignments due in a few weeks, I'd also better start reviewing every thing I've learned in bioinformatics over the past 2 years. And since there's no way in hell I can do all that, study for my Pharm cert in the next 6 weeks, and travel a LOT between now and January 2015,  I've decided put my Pharm tech stuff on hold indefinitely........

Speaking of research gigs, it's an ironic observation that my entire support system at my school is now entirely of Indian descent. My new PIs (2 MD/PhDs) are both Indian men and my new department advisor is a female Indian Scientist whom I've known for over a year. Add to that the fact that most of my business clients are Indian along with the fact that I heavily studied Hinduism in college (as an Eastern Philosophy major) and maybe that's not so ironic afterall. What I do know is that I'm taking support any damn way I can get it and I'm so very thankful for it! :)

You know some people say that you can never have too much of a good thing, in my case the opportunity to learn something new (or some of my awesome Thanksgiving dinner cooking, LOL!!). But what I realized is that for me, that's just not the case either with Thanskgiving dinner and especially not with my academic goals which must stay laser focused if I'm to be successful.

Get your a** to med school!!!

                                         *Image credit from the movie total recall

So this picture pretty accurately describes how I was feeling today (pain wise) after I left a group meeting upon the realization that for the upteenth time, I was being asked to essentially leave details of what I alone have created/discovered for my replacement to use. And that will happen the day after hell freezes over, I will NOT once again have something I busted my ass on be given to someone else, who will then take credit! HELLZ NAW!!! And waiting to see if my name is eventually added to the paper? Yeah, I'm still waiting from 20 years ago.

Needless to say that after I removed the thing from my nose...... errrrrr......... I mean left the meeting, I went with tears welling up in my eyes to see my grandpa advisor.

And after I'd talked about 30 seconds, he interrupted me and told me to "Get yourself in med school ASAP!!!!" Now the first thing that came to my mind was the following scene from the movie Total Recall:



ROTFL!!! And I dunno know, I ALWAYS try to find some humor in my not so humorous situations. So knowing how old I am, my advisor also told me that he thinks I have essentially NO chance at being admitted to a school in Texas because of my age and suggested I go the Caribbean route. His Family Practitioner had attended one of the big 4 med schools in the 2000's and had done a residency in Family Medicine at one of the top programs in Texas. Then he mentioned that his wife sat on the adcom of a Texas school and that that was where his info was coming from. My response was that with all the new med schools, residency seats will be limited in the future, then he responded "Not in Family Medicine, kids these days are going after the money, so there's ALWAYS going to be FM spots that go unfilled. Especially in Texas." Then he asked me to promise him that I would look into the school his Doc attended when I got back to my desk, and I did. I also chat online with them too for "information gathering purposes".

Now with all that said, I'm NOT changing from my current plan........at least, I don't think I am.............Hmmmmmmmm.

Deuces Spring 2014!!!

So this semester is FINALLY over and I'm sooooooooooooooooooooo happy! Honestly, I don't think I've worked this hard since I was taking med school courses. Now though, it's time for me to look toward my VERY bright future as things start to fall into place as far as my MD/PhD goals are concerned.

First things first, I will NOT be applying to the joint MD/PhD program this year for a number of reasons, the primary of which is money is just SUPER tight right now. Second, my new department and PI want me to spend ~ 2 years in their department, getting all the preqs for the PhD out of the way, before I go to the med school anyway. In other words, they want me to be sure I'm committed and given my track record in this regard, I can't say I blame them. Third, I AM Still taking the MCAT this year before the exam changes (and because my old scores expire for many schools this year).

So now my unofficial MD/PhD program looks like this:

F2014-S2016, PhD 1, 2

F2016-S2018 MD 1 &2, with PhD research in the summers, though I'm going to be busting my arse to finish the PhD before my clinical years.

F2018-S2020 MD, PhD

And in the Spring of 2020, I'll be the ripe ol' age of 53, LOL!! WOW 53, if someone had said to me that I would be a new MD/PhD in my 50's, I would have laughed! But I'll be the one getting the last laugh here, better to have completed a lifelong goal in one's 50's, than not at all!!!

PS- Because I'm certain I'll have the letters "Dr." in front of my name by 2019, I don't feel especially compelled to change my name from Doc201X!!! ;)

PSS- I finished the semester with 2 A's and 1 B !!!:)

I wanted to become a what?!?!?

This was my first thought as the last lecture for my clinical healthcare class was being given by a Pathologist last Thursday, "How in da' HE!! did I EVER think I wanted to be a Pathologist, LOL"???

Being in the clinic/hospital for rotations these past few months, really honed in the idea that I need to work around "people people" with people/patients. And as much as I hate to stereotype Paths, they just usually ain't "people people"!!! I justified my stay in the field all these years because I thoroughly enjoyed the science in/of pathology. But in retrospect, I should have been looking for gigs with a balance between working with people AND scientific stimulation. The problem is that outside of being a Physician, I can't think of a field I could have had that combo in. Nursing, Physician Assistant would have given me a TON of patient contact but not so much about the science of the diseases I was seeing patients with. So I thought I had found a happy medium in Pathology which at the end of the day, was just "medium", as I don't have much "happy" to say about it outside of my love for science/medical research. And that's kinda sad given how short life is!!

Movin' on, I've also changed my interest in EM/IM to IM/???? And the ??? is feeling more like Peds these days. Again, all this early speculation is done in fun, I'm going to keep a reasonably open mind about speciality choices. It's just funny how my interests always gravitate to the most challenging things like a dual residency program. Go figure!!!

I've also started "lite" studying for the MCAT, randomly going through BS questions and doing extremely well on the ones I've done so far. I also did a VR problem and that was just ugly. But VR requires a certain kind of thinking process, one that has to be learned or relearned in my case. After my last final this coming Thursday, I plan to start MCAT review in earnest this weekend. I'm also planning to order my transcripts to send to AMCAS over the next 2 weeks.

Just HAPPY!!!!

So I decided to unofficially start my fellowship on Monday even though I haven't officially cleared the background check yet, LOL!! And I spent most of the morning working on an assignment that was just a LOT of fun! The best categorization of the work I do in my current position is ChemInformatics and Pharmacogenomics which means that for the first time in my ENTIRE career, I'll use what I learned in MS programs in Chemistry and Pharmacology. Now how cool is that?!?!

Yesterday was the last day of the semester for me and I have NO words for how happy I am about that. Yes, I enjoyed the academic challenges this semester and my clinical healthcare course couldn't have come at a better time. But it's an understatement to say that it was EXHAUSTING!!!

Yesterday was also the day that I finally let my department know what my academic and professional plans are (MD/PhD) and I'm VERY happy to say that they are behind me 1000%!! I'd be the first MD/PhD student from the department so there's that. But the fact that a few of the faculty in my department (including the Anesthesiologist I shadowed last week) are so involved in the interface between Health Informatics and Medicine, it's a just great surprise to me that no one else had thought of this earlier. Incidentally, I saw that prof yesterday and had forgotten that he and the other prof for my class both direct the class and well as the newly formed residency in Clinical Informatics the med school. And that put into perspective all the questions he asked me when I was shadowing him about my short and long term academic goals. It also turns out that he's an acdom member, so I've longed since saw all these blessings in my life as a coincidence.

Of course, I thought the "problem" would be that the official MD/PhD program at my school doesn't "recognize" my department as an academic option which is why I considered jumping ship to a new one a few weeks ago. But I've been told that my joint program just needs to be "packaged" properly for special approval.

At any rate, it's an understatement to say that I'm happy about the way things are going ! :)

Change of "specialty" heart?

With just one rotation (Anesthesiology/OR) left, I'm about as thoroughly confused as to which field of medicine I'm going to end up in as I've ever been. I absolutely LOVED Peds Inpatient but found Peds outpatient just so-so clinically speaking. But the really great thing about Peds outpatient for me was that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE babies!! Not only that, seeing so many of them well (save for the shots for their well baby check-ups) was especially nice! Of course, the flip side is that well baby check-ups are kinda boring clinically speaking, so I'd have to balance it with some inpatient duties to keep it mentally stimulating. One thing I do know is that if I choose this field, I'd do a combined residency in IM/Peds just  because I like the idea of having ALL my medical bases covered and because the two Black female Attendings that led the teams I was on suggested it. Speaking of Attendings, one of them is on the adcom of one of the schools on my list so obviously meeting her was an added plus.

I also thought a LOT this week about how much my interest in ANY lab based research is pretty much nil and that may be a problem for the MD/PhD program at one of the schools on my list. Plus, I'm getting ideas all the time about Health Informatics flavored dissertation projects and that's great!! Not surprisingly, I have my clinical rotations to thank for that because I really didn't have much in the way of ideas about how to make something happen and now I do!

So if I had to pick a specialty today, I would pick......................................

ER MEDICINE, and here's why in NO particular order of importance, with a list that is FAR from exhaustive:

1)  I'd be on the "front lines" of providing care to people of color in emergent situations.

2) The absolute most chillest people I met were ED Docs.

3) I thrive in high pace/high stress environments combined with periods of calm.

4) It appears to be a speciality that's easier to balance with a research career/academic medicine.

5) NO call, when you're "off" you're "off".

6) The field doesn't appear to be "threatened" by mid level providers like some specialities such as Anesthesia or Family Medicine.

7) The opportunity to do some procedures.

8) I'm a "night owl" who also doesn't mind working weekends/holidays.

9) The chillest folks in medicine, closely followed by Pediatricians, my second residency choice at this point in the form of Peds/IM.


"Cool people" is listed twice because I've had a lifetime of working with people who are so NOT chill.  And at this point in my life, I'm looking for something MUCH different. So for example, my MICU rotation was fantastic from a clinical point of view, but the "intensity" of the environment and the people who work there, was a little too much for me. ED also seems to be handling the transition to EMRs MUCH more smoothly that any of the other specialities I observed and given that EHRs/EMRs are such a HUGE part of my life right now, it seems like it could be a great fit.

Now for the list of things I "worry" about being a Doc in the ED:

1) Making the wrong clinical decision with the limited info most ED docs have initially.

2) Body fluids that are green.........and smell..............REAL bad.

3) My biggest concern, drug addicts seeking their next "fix" at my expense. But I think I have just the personality to look a patient I think is addicted square in the eye, and say "Hellz Naw, here's some tylenol, now get ta' steppin'"!!!!


Once again, this is obviously VERY premature but it's kinda fun to think about it now! :)

On task, on point.

"So my interview went very well and I left recommitted to earning my MD/PhD. Not that I ever really gave up on the idea as crazy as it is for a middle age woman, but when you know your professional "calling" you just KNOW it no matter how crazy it sounds...............Of course, I let my interviewer/new mentor know that I had familial obligations that I didn't want to disrupt right now, though I would certainly consider it in 4 years when my kid finishes high school."

Doc201x's blog post on March 18, 2011.


So here I am, almost 3 years to the day after I wrote this post following a meeting with one of my east coast sista' PhD mentors about my plans to earn the MD/PhD back in 2011. And my first thought after rereading this post was the stupid and pathetic anonymous recent comment by a female long term reader which was IMO, an attempt to crush my dream. I guess I use the term long term reader VERY loosely in this case since I've been damn consistent and clear for years now about my  time frame for pursuing my professional and academic dreams. At any rate, it STILL pisses me off that people feel so comfortable discouraging other people which is why I tell my clients and anyone else with a professional/academic dream, to tell ANYONE who discourages them to kiss their a$$! TWICE! On BOTH cheeks!!!!

Movin' on, I've got about 4 clinic days this week and I'm really looking forward to it as usual!!! My rotations include Peds, IM outpatient, then 2 rotations at the county hospital next Friday and Saturday. The Peds rotation is the one I'm most curious about mainly to see how it's going to compare to the last Peds rotation I did back in the early 90's. Unless my appts with my kid counts, LOL!! And I'm certain that Saturday night at a county hospital is going to be real interesting clinically. That said, I've thought a LOT about the idea of "compassionate care" I observed at the county hospital and I still don't think I could deal this on a day to day basis knowing I could do more, but also knowing that the financial circumstances won't allow it. In fact, I think I'd rather for example, not be able to give a patient dialysis because the clinic I worked in lacked the equipment, than to have it and not be able to use it. Unfortunately, these are real life issues for Docs at public hospitals and may God continue to bless everyone who works at one.

Lastly, I finished my second Bioinformatics methods course with an "A", though I didn't have the 100% perfect average I had going into the final exam (I ended up with a 95% average). And because talking about my grades feels so "gunnerish" and silly, I think this is the last time I'm going to report on stuff like this.

Can a sista' get some clarity?

So I found out today that the paperwork for my fellowship in Health/Biomedical Informatics is being formalized which means I should start sometime next month. I also realized that I need to stay in the department I'm in for now too (I wasn't really feeling leaving now anyway) and take my elective classes in the department I plan to get a PhD in. Right now, that's looking like a basic science 'ish department because I need the MD/PhD to be FULLY paid for and that's the only way they'll roll. But since I'll still get to concentrate in Bioinformatics, I'm not unhappy about how things are coming together. More than that, I don't think it's wise to get a PhD in ANY basic science field alone, so having a formal degree in Health Informatics too would be a nice "fall back" plan in case I needed one.

The really great news is that I only need a few more courses to sit for my orals/cums for the PhD based on what I've already completed. And in the nicest piece of irony EVER, 2 of the major courses in my TBD PhD program are in Pathobiology (with medical students). Yeah, I'm gonna pretty much slam dunk that, ROTFL!!!! But what I'm starting to question is the logistics of taking my cums/orals after only 1 year of classes knowing everyone else normally takes them after 2 years. I'm also trying not to let my prior experience with these things lead to me to make a less than logical decision course load wise, but then I'd also kinda hate to be taking cums/orals at the end of my first year of med school too. But perhaps the summer between MS1 and MS2 could work?

Oh well, I'm going to "slow my roll" so to speak, 'cause I ain't hardly got admitted yet, LOL!!! But in my mind, this summer is going to be my unofficial MD/PhD year 1. :)  So I'm planing for the intensity of my courses beginning this summer, to be VERY med school like since I'm going to be blasting away at the requirements in both my current department and my future PhD department too!!!

Change departments and Go!

So I'm happily moseying (is that a word?) along when I get an email from the program coordinator of the MD/PhD program I recently visited and it basically says: "Our program does NOT support a PhD in Health/Biomedical Informatics". So with that, the fact that the fellowhsip I'd been "offered" in Health/Bionformatics is now "up in the air" as of late last week, the news that I would need to change departments "stung" MUCH less.

And in the strangest irony of all, there IS a Biomedical Informatics division of my NEW department of choice (Translational Science) which just happens to be directed by the Prof of one of my courses this semester. Now, I'm almost ready to get my happy dance on because he's also looking for grad students starting this summer too. The fact that I can transfer almost ALL of my med school and some grad school coursework is just an added bonus!

Hmmmmmm, it's funny how things work out and FAR more funny how when things appear not to work out, they actually DO in the end! Still, I think I'm going to save my next "I gotta fellowship speech" for the day after I start it, ROTFL!!!! :)

So I'm gonna change clothes  departments and GO!!!!

Road Trip: MD/PhD pre-interview.

So I'm pretty certain that the title of this posts catches some of my readers by surprise (especially the cynical ones, I see you "miss negative anonymous"), but some plans really aren't worth speaking about until after the first step has been taken. And my pre-interview is the first step in my plan to be accepted MD/PhD for the class entering medical school in the Fall of 2015.

Now you're probably asking the question, what in the world is a pre-interview? It occurs when you make an appointment to speak to MD admissions personnel about being admitted to their program. But after talking to you, they refer you to a member of the admission committee for the MD/PhD program without you having to ask. This person was clear that my undergrad GPA would be a problem because they use computers to screen MD applicants, but that my graduate work combined with no computer screening for the MD/PhD program makes that my logical choice for a multitude of reasons. AMAZING!!

So I go meet with the MD/PhD adcom member and I got the traditional questions, what type of research have you done, what are you doing now, why the combined program, ect. ect. Then I got this question, " have you thought about where you're going to be when you're done?" Which I translated to mean "have you thought about how old you're going to be when you done, lol??" And because I was prepared for this question, not only was I NOT angry about it, I had the BEST answer EVER: "Yes, I have thought about where I'm going to be when I'm done, I'll be 6-8 years older with an MD/PhD!!"

And from that point the "interview" was conversational and quite frankly a LOT of fun. I talked about my daughter which is a significant change from before when I felt that talking about being a Mom could count against me, I talked about my current research and how I hope to be able to apply it to a PhD program, and how all that ties to my desire to work with and conduct research beneficial to underserved populations. Blessedly, I was told that I was a competitive applicant and to apply early to their program, but to make sure to apply to other programs too!

Needless to say, I was beyond excited because quite frankly, I didn't really expect a "traditional" student favoring, highly ranked program, to give me the time of day. But they're open, and I'm glad!

So the moral of the story here is that anytime you meet with someone who may have an influence in your career, it's an interview, point, blank, period!!! Second most important lesson is to not exclude ANY school because the school you least expected to support you actually does just that!!