Today...

I officially became a medical student at DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine at Lincoln Memorial University.

Today.. I received my ID, parking tag and some kickass swag.
Today.. I received a piece of paper stating my present indebtedness. ((gasp))
Today.. I was recognized by the Dean of Students as one of the first accepted to the class of 2013.
Today.. I met a lot of neat people from completely varying backgrounds.
Today.. I was fitted for my White Coat and stood in a mirror with it on. I nearly cried.
Today.. I was told by DCOM's benefactor, Pete DeBusk, that the next few years would be like trying to drink from a fire hose.

Today.. I said, "Bring it on. This is my blessing and I'm ready for it."

So here's to my calling.. and becoming a medical student. :)

It's almost here...

So, the last time that I posted was in April... and I still had a few months to go before school started.. I was dealing with financial aid issues at the time.

Welp, I have those straightened out.. and I have an apartment.. and nearly 60k in loans.... and...

School starts in 9 days.

Yeah, I'm incredibly overwhelmed. I'm nervous.. anxious.. excited. I can't wait to see what this adventure entails, but at the same time, I'm afraid of all the changes I am making to my life. Change isn't something that I deal with very easily right now.. but I'm working on it.

There have been many hardships over the past few months... and still more that I have to face. But I'm getting there. One day at a time. That's all that I can do.

Wow, well.. here's to this rollercoaster. Hopefully I'll start blogging more once I have more interesting things to blog about. :)

Quote

Via itsonlythewind.

When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always be worse. And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad they have to get better. — unknown

Couldn't be more accurate.

Ghosts from the past...

I always knew my past would come back to haunt me. Always.

When I was 18, I ran off with a boy in the military and got married against everyone's wishes. We moved to California, bought a car, lived on base and all that jazz. He was deployed to Iraq and came back to father three children (none of which were mine) prior to our divorce. During the time that he spent sewing his seed, he defaulted on the car loan (I was not in possession of it) that I had cosigned on. That's been five years ago.

Well.. now, when my life is semi-on track, it comes back to bite me. Right on the ass. I applied for my Grad PLUS loans, which will help to cover cost of living while I'm in school this year... and my credit wasn't automatically approved. I was notified that my credit would be reviewed and action would be taken based upon the decision. Fail. My entire cost of living is in that loan..

I'm angry. I'm hurt. I'm annoyed. I'm disappointed. And I'm doubting myself. I'm doubting that this is my path. My mistakes are so many but I have always prevailed despite them. Until now.. But what now? and WHY now? why couldn't it have bit me on the butt when I was going through the rest of my life?

And my mom, bless her, isn't the most optimistic person. She's the queen of demotivation. I told her yesterday that it was based on a credit check and I was worried about his car being on there. "You're screwed." she said. Thanks, mom.

So, now I'm lost. I don't know what to do. Waiting is always the hardest.. but I already know they'll say no. I guess I am screwed.

Hopefully..

"I understand feeling as small and as insignificant as humanly possible. And how it can actually ache in places you didn’t know you had inside you. And it doesn’t matter how many new haircuts you get, or gyms you join, or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with your girlfriends … you still go to bed every night going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong or how you could have misunderstood. And how in the hell for that brief moment you could think that you were that happy. And sometimes, you can even convince yourself that he’ll see the light and show up at your door. And after all that, however long all that may be, you’ll go somewhere new. And you’ll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again. And little pieces of your soul will finally come back. And all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life that you wasted, that will eventually begin to fade."

http://littlemiss.tumblr.com/post/59696157/i-understand-feeling-as-small-and-as-insignificant

An abode.

Well -

I now officially have a place to live when I go to medical school. Hip hip hooray!

Now I just have to come up with rent for the next few months.. blah.

My experience with EMR

When I was originally hired as a "file clerk," they hired me because they were at least two months behind on their charts. Referring physicians were not receiving their OV notes until at least a month after the appointment. This was in early 2005. That summer, they moved to another building with "more" space for their records (as well as to accommodate their growing practice). This included shelving on tracks that would allow a more space-efficient filing system. Before we moved charts to the new building, our office manager had us to do a estimated count of charts. From the years 2002-2005, more charts were counted than space was available in the new building's space-efficient filing system. This was before we'd even moved in! Within months, we had the 2002 charts boxed up and moved to the basement.

As a file clerk, I would spend many of my Saturdays and after-hours faxing office notes and binding them into the charts. We were seldom ever caught up on paperwork. After all the charts were bound and ready to be filed, it would take an entire day to file them into our new shelving unit.

In January 2007, we began the transition to EMR: preparing our computer system, speaking with representatives, implementing software and training. Six months later, we "went live." What a fiasco.

In the end, it took about 6-9 months to iron out the wrinkles. Three months later, I was laid off from my job as "file clerk" due to lack of work. There were no charts to bind, office notes were faxed via the computer in about 20 minutes, and no charts to file in the ridiculous space-efficient shelving system.

Despite the fact that I lost my job, I cannot tell you just how much EMR helped my former employers' practice. From a receptionist point of view, it makes phone calls, refills, questions, and records requests so much more efficient. From a clinical point of view, it's a lot easier to mark check boxes, type abbreviations and review patient history with the touch of a button.

As a student of the class of 2013, it is my hope that by the time I am ready to practice (~2017) that EMR will be a permanent, essential component to medical practices across the country.

Whew, mouthful.