Brain Off

I think my brain just turned off. This term is all about perservering and effeciency and not burning out. But when you can only concentrate for 20 minutes and then need 2 hours to recover - well, welcome to term 4.

I have a great big list of things I'd rather be doing, including blogging, listening to music, finding new music, reading more Lovecraft, playing with my Google Reader, watching movies (anything), playing nintendo8.com, working on various personal projects(enviro-med school review), making some of my ideas at Global Pulse become a reality (re: map of archives), write a grant proposal to fund some of these ideas, beg the Dean for funding for another project that is somehow going to come together in 2 weeks while I'm "studying" (re: waiting for term to end). Oh, Term 4.

And there is a lot to write about what transpired over the past few months, but for some reason every time I sat down to do it I would end up passing out and then waking up with my computer asleep and the light on. But, I will update! I need to look back on this when I'm really busy and laugh...I think.

Ingrown Toenails and Funny Bones

Distractable has a great post on the relevance of Physics to clinical practice - it's on old post but a good one and it came back to mind cause a friend got an ingrown toenail. Dr. Rob (distractable) discusses the physics of ingrown toenails and also gives us the following clinical rules (yes, this is on the USMLE):

This is why the presence of an ingrown toenail, which is evidence of a hyper-gravitational podiatric state, is invariably accompanied by the following:

People step on them – scientists have proven that a foot with an ingrown nail is 10 times more likely to be stepped on than those without.
Heavy objects are kicked – careful analysis has shown that objects such as coffee tables, lamps, and even large appliances move into the path of a person with an ingrown nail.

I would like to add to this the Ulnar Rule, which is observed by anyone who has taken Anatomy. Once you learn that the Ulnar nerve (or mulnar as some like to call it) is in fact your "funny bone" you are doomed to a life of hitting it at least once a week. What was once an annual event is now a regular part of your life. Thank you Gross Anatomy.

That's all for now - time to get back to Renal.

Multiplicity

Ever feel like you need to be in three places at once? As a med student, I often feel as though I could spend my entire time on one class - and there are usually three going at a time. I also have this habit of getting myself involved in multiple activities while in school or even when I was working in cubeland. At first I wanted to dedicate myself solely to my studies, but then I noticed I have something like 4 hours of free time per week and that just needed to be filled. Which I proceeded to do with research and most recently as a new Editor at AMSA's Global Pulse Journal. Global Pulse also has a blog, and a rather addictive twitter account, so apparently my electronic life needed to reflect my real life and be split into multiple pieces.

I truly enjoy involving myself in a myriad of activities and the different perspectives it gives me at any one task. I wonder how it will play into my medical career and what specialties engender this kind of a lifestyle...Anyone have insight into that?

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Oh, FYI, Global Pulse is taking submissions year-round for publication...so check out the website and submit or feel free to ask me questions. We publish lighter research (not bench stuff, but comparative studies see the site), opinion pieces, book reviews, and reflections on experiences as well as art work... pretty diverse, and we want med students (and pre-meds! and public health folks!) to contribute so send in your stuff!