Where to next?1?

Hello good people!

Its been such a long time since I posted anything. The summer has been SUPER BUSY! I was in New York (Bronx, Queens, then back to the Bronx) since the end of May.  I had Family Medicine and Psych rotations. I was in the thick of my Psych rotation last time we chatted.  

Psych turned out to be a very interesting rotation.  To my surprise, I liked it much more than I initially thought I would. The patients were interesting, the Psych ER kept you on your toes, and there were lots and lots and LOTS of Psychiatry Consult requests.  My fellow Med Students & I were mini experts on "capacity to participate in medical decision making" consults.  We all worked really well together and kept each other from going insane...believe me, there were a few days that we thought that just may happen!

The summer was also spent taking my Step 2 CK & CS Board exams and the ancillary tests associated with them.  Boy am I glad they're over.  I had so many new grey hairs and extra pounds sneak up on me this summer it's unbelievable. But its all good because guess what??? I don't have any more exams during Medical School!!!  I don't know if I've fully grasped that idea myself...NO MORE EXAMS until Residency.....ayyyeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!

So, with all that craziness now behind me, I had 2 weeks off to catch my breath, soak up some sun, and attend the most beautiful wedding of one of my Med School Besties in Orlando!!!!!! The last 2 weeks made the hellish summer seem like a distant memory!

Now as I get into the home stretch of school, I can spend the next few months absorbing as much as I can during my rotations without the worry of studying for an end of rotation exam! yay!  That makes things so much better.  Studying will be on my terms based on the pathology I've seen during the day in clinics or on the hospital floors.  I may also have a bot of a social life again. That's actually a really exciting prospect.

Enough celebrating about no more exams...time to be excited about what's next.  As you all know, this has been one gigantically, crazy international adventure for me.  I have taken full advantage of the various international clinical experiences that were available.  So it's only fitting that I keep it up right??? My next rotation will be nothing like anything I've experienced so far...

                               I'M GOING TO UGANDA!!!

Seriously! I'll be doing a 6 week Global Health rotation thru an affiliation program my school has with Western Connecticut School of Medicine.  I can't even begin to express how excited I am!!! Of course there are some butterflies going on because I'll be out of my comfort zone but I have no doubt it will be an amazing experience! 

Many people think of Idi Amin and Warlords when they hear Uganda.  Things have changed quite a bit in the last 15 or more years in Uganda.  Uganda has so much more to offer!

• Its one of the starting points for the Great Nile River and Lake Victoria
• Queen Elizabeth National Park allows guests to see Elephants, Lions, Hippos, and Migratory birds up close
• Kebale National Park is known as the best place in Africa to see Chimps
• Blind Forest (known as the Impenetrable Forest) is home to half of the worlds Mountain Gorilla population

I'll be in a village called Nakaseke in Central Uganda about 1.5 hours from the Capital City of Kampala. The 2 of us going will be working with a program called ACCESS, the African Community Center for Social Sustainability.

"ACCESS is a community-based organization in Nakaseke district, Uganda, which is dedicated to working with vulnerable groups in resource limited settings through medical care, education and economic empowerment. ACCESS cares for and supports people living with HIV-AIDS together with orphans and other vulnerable children."

We'll be working at the ACCESS Lifecare Center Clinic as well as the Nakaseke Hospital.  
I'm sure this will be an experience I'll not forget anytime soon.  

I leave next weekend but I'll be sure to keep you guys updated as much as I can while in Uganda.   In the meantime, please keep me in your prayers :)

Until Next time...