Med School Update: OB/GYN Rotation

Scott barely finished his first rotation of Year 3 - four weeks on the coast of Oregon at an OB/GYN clinic. Before the rotation began, Scott was pretty nervous to enter the clinical setting. While COMP-NW prepares their students for the clinical years by prepping them for board exams and having each student complete one clinical course each year, the students have limited exposure to real (non-actor) scenarios. Luckily the hospital in Newport did great job introducing Scott to the clinical world. The first week, Scott primarily observed typical procedures and cases in the clinic while answering pop quizzes from the physicians.

One week of easing was all Scott was allotted for his first rotation, as it was a busy baby season on the coast. He assisted with three vaginal deliveries, five c-sections, and a hysterectomy. The doctors also allowed Scott to conduct patient exams, collect complaint histories, and assist with vaginal exams.

I'm really proud of the habits Scott formed during his first rotation. Since he was living on the coast and I remained at home, Scott made himself available on-call every night. This allowed him to participate in many of the procedures I listed above. Though I didn't imagine he would be doing any studying while on rotations, Scott took the next day's visit schedule and would study key concepts the night before. He made good friends with the labor and delivery nurses, and they were kind enough to show him the ropes of surgery prep and delivery.

Rotations really give each student a good glimpse into what each medical specialty would be like as a career. While I don't suspect that catching babies has moved to this top of his list, Scott did mention that  OB/GYN has the potential to be an interesting career choice. "There's a good mix of surgery, deliveries, and clinic. You get the nine to five with office visits, no other specialty deliveries babies (exception of some certified family practice docs), and on top of that you could do some pretty interesting surgeries."

As for me, the four weeks apart was not as bad as I had anticipated. Scott and I have had extended time apart each summer (first year for ISAC, second summer for shadowing, and now for rotations). We were able to arrange our schedules to visit each other on two of the weekends. I also kept myself very busy as usual. Though Scott does have five more away rotations (two electives, and three more costal rotations) this school year. So we'll see if I'm whistling the same tune this time next year.

Heaven On Earth - Exit 86

Yes, this is a restaurant review and not instructions on how to find heaven in Oregon. Heaven On Earth is this log cabin restaurant I've seen along I-5 between Medford and Roseburg that I have been anxious to visit - mostly on account of their large sign stating they have world famous cinnamon rolls.

When I drive with Scott we avoid stopping anywhere, even if we see a sign that says world famous, final sale, raspberries, or any other phrase that would normally grab my attention enough to pull off the road for a peek. I've become so used to that routine of non-stop driving that I would have passed by Heaven On Earth again. Except, as fate would I have it, I was searching for the nearest pit stop for an emergency bathroom break on my way home. THE next available exit (Exit 86, or as my waitress suggested, "Just 86 yourself off the highway!") happened to be home of this restaurant and bakery. It's really out in the middle of nowhere!

The restaurant inside was exactly what you might imagine a log cabin that claims to have world famous cinnamon rolls would look like, with servers to match (not like Paul Bunyan, cute baker ladies and men). When I entered I was greated by pies and cookies and rolls of every sort, all homemade in the bakery next door. I was actually greeted with a woman who offered me a sample of their fine cookies, which I couldn't eat due to my diet SLASH increasing need for the women's room.

After exiting the ladie's room, I noticed how many people frequent this exit attraction and looked around at all the tables where I presume meals were served. The servers were INCREDIBLY cheerful and were the best chit-chatters I've met. Maybe it's a rural thing?

In any case, my purpose in stopping was to use the bathroom and purchase a world famous cinnamon roll for Scott. As it so happened, that day the first batch of cinnamon rolls had been rushed and hadn't fully risen to world famous heights. I was assured they were still delicious, but they offered me two cinnamon rolls for the price of one ($5.95). My Scott's lucky day!

Scott's review: the cinnamon rolls were tasty, but a little too much like a loaf of bread. Definitely better warmed!

It's likely their world famous title is derived from similar means as the pies of The Nugget restaurant in the Sitka, Alaska airport. The pies are good, homemade with love. What makes them famous, though, is not their ingenius recipe, it's the fact that they are sold to hungry hungry tourists.

A Little Independence

Over the holiday Scott was on call for all the potential babies coming through his rotation clinic. I took that opportunity to travel south to visit my parents who were hosting my brother and his daughters. I hadn't seen those cuties (sure, Matt's cute too) in a year. They have grown up so much! I loved that they were excited to see me, though sometimes the littlest of them would forget my name. No biggie!

After breakfast, I spent the morning distracting the girls with card making and My Little Ponies. I instructed them to get dressed for the day and see if their mom had helped them to pack something patriotic.

All of a sudden I started feeling awful stomach pains right underneath my ribcage. My mind started racing to what I had eaten the day before. I've been so good on my new diet regiment - avoiding sugar and starches and instead eating mostly fruits, veggies, and protein. I hadn't eaten anything suspect that day or the day before!! Drowsiness overwhelmed me. I tried taking a short nap while the stomach pain lingered, but I woke up with more pain and, on top of that, nausea.

About the time I was anxious for any cause to blame, my mom called from girls camp. She was there as the camp nurse and was then caring six girls with the same symptoms as me. She diagnosed me with a 24 hour virus.

And what an awful virus it was!! I was seriously in so much pain and no medications made a dent in the problem. I was beginning to wonder how girls could even survive suffering through the same virus but in the wilderness (even if they did have the best nurse to wait on them)! That stinkin' virus caused me miss all the fun of the 4th of July - the BBQ, the swimming, the fireworks! Then as suddenly as it came, the pain was gone.

I still don't feel as good as I did traveling down for the visit, but there are no virus after shocks. Just sad I missed precious time with my nieces. When I came out from my slumber and completely sanitized, the girls were giddy that I wasn't sick any more. I had the best welcoming committee back to reality!

Checking Up on The Hubby

This last weekend I drove to Newport, Oregon to visit Scott. He just began his first rotation at the OBGYN clinic at the Samaritan Hospital. His first week included a lot of uteri and observation. So no med school update as of yet, except to say that he is learning beaucoup! Scott asked if I would come visit him and it seemed like the best timing, considering his next rotation on the coast wont be until the winter. Little did I know that I was also beating the 90 degree heat in Lebanon, in exchange for the comfortable 75 and breezy beaches of Newport. A fair exchange!

Scott had asked around at the hospital for local suggestions before I had arrived. He had our whole day planned out. First we would go to lunch at a local hot spot. All the tourists go to Mo's, he was told. Instead he was directed to a restaurant with Ocean in the name... except he forgot the rest of the name and we were on the coast. There were a number of restaurants with ocean as part of the name. When we walked down to the historic Newport boardwalk, we picked the restaurant with Ocean in the title that sounded most familiar to Scott. Lunch was good. Come to find out later, we had chosen the wrong ocean restaurant! So I will have to go back another time to blog about the local favorite.

It was Scott's idea to close the day with a tour, including the hospital he was rotating through and a walk to the beach with the puppies at his host home. I was surprised how much I loved hearing Scott talk about the clinic and all the tools he was using. Usually when he tries to tell me about medicine, it either grosses me out or more likely bores me to day dreaming. It was fun to see him so excited about what he's learning with this hands-on part of medical school. Scott looks at the schedule the day before to see what he needs to study at night in preparation for his visit. I'm sure this will help him make a good impression with his preceptors and patients.

On Sunday, we went to church in Newport. There is only one ward in Newport (other wards and buildings along the coast), and it is part of the Corvallis stake. It was the first time I remember being in sacrament meeting and there was no bread to break and bless. The presiding counselor stood up and announced that the bread they had in the building was rather inedible and we would sing and listen to hymns until new bread arrived. We heard a boy behind us ask his parents, "How is bread inedible?" The ward was really welcoming, even though we were among many visitors. We were told there were a few members working at the hospital, so Scott may have more connections there than he knows.

It was a great trip, well planned by Scott! Because we hadn't seen each other for a week, it felt a little bit like we were dating again. Fun, but I'm anxious to have my hubby home again.