Holidays already. I know, lucky hey. Had the long drive back yesterday with sarah and charlotte. but its nice to be home for a bit. Ive had a busy couple of weeks. I finally got to see a surgery which was pretty cool. And I even got to take one guys' stitches out (he knew it was my first time). Neurology is an interesting place, lots of different things to diagnose and brain CTs to try to read. the 2 doctors there are very different. One is like House, and the other is the kinda guy you would acutally want as your OWN doctor. Both great teachers in their own way. Theres also a lot of disabled kids at their consult rooms, which is pretty sad. but theyre such great kids.
We spent the second week doing fitness stuff. and read an article saying that it was fitness and not weight or BMI that was the best predictor of mortality etc. The punch line is you can be fat and fit! we went to TAFE for a go on the exercise bikes and lets just say that I have the two criteria back to front.
Skills tutorials are my favourite, there seems to be a simulation for everything. they have a crazy dummy - which i name johnny. and you can feel his pulse, listen to heart murmers, his breathing, give him a drip, put tubes down his throat, do cpr. etc. hes like a full size one that you would use for CPR but with arms and legs. My latest acheivement is learning how to intubate him- thats probably the most commn procedure in med shows.

Higlights of week 1

Good start to the year (start? yeah i know its march).

Favourite patient: Carpal tunnel
Best Diagnosis: brady-arrhythmia causing syncope
Favourite Talent: reading ECGs
Fav Roadtrip: wagga for thursday friday.
Guest Lecturer: Dr Vu for an update of anatomy and dirty jokes
To Do List: Put together a desk.
Most exciting moment: helicopter at albury base.

Miracle: it rained... did we break the drought?

For the community: protested at wagga for their new hospital to be built soon.

Day 1

Suspense. The year has finally begun! are we the last ones to get back to uni.. probably. So sarah and I arrived yesterday at the Albury Rural Clinical School, collared shirt, new skirt, sensible shoes, and lunch packed like we are starting kindergarten.

Positives
-Staff and teachers are great.
-The hospital is nice and new
-our student lounge has a kitchen and piano. And I got a key to my first locker!
-the 4th and 5th and 6th year students are all lovely
-Dr Vine really wants us to get to see everything that goes on in hospital.
-We get to go to the races in a week! no really, they scheduled it in our timetable.
-Heaps of trips between wagga and albury are planned. with accomodation and BBQs included.

Negatives
-Lots of work to do
-Too much to remember from 1st and 2nd year
-Tomorrow we are at hospital for 12 hours.
-charlotte (sarah's pug) is sick :-(

Wednesday we learn how to 'scrub in' so that if/when we are asked to join on surgery we wont look like fools!
I promise to get some more photos from Albury soon.

Body and Soul

I found this great quote from Plato, stuck in the bottom of my drawers at home. It reminds us to begin the year again by thinking of patients as people, not statistics, diseases or bed numbers. I guess its a bit like Patch Adams; I should really get that DVD out. I reckon more than half of 'how you are feeling' when you leave the doctors office, depends on how the doctor 'treats you' as a person not how s/he 'treats you' medically.

On the flip side we have Gregory House for the Negative team:
"What would you want, a doctor who holds your hand while you die, or a doctor who ignores you while you get better? I guess it would particularly suck to have a doctor who ignores you while you die."

PLATO
'As you ought not to attempt to cure the eyes without the head or the head withought the body, so neither are you to attempt to cure the body without the soul. For the part can never be well unless the whole body is well. Therefore, if the head and body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul'

Fresh Air

Friday, packed and ready to hit the road. The Cruiser is full to the brim, with lots of goodies to fill out my new house. I've had lots of hugs and good-byes over the past week, one of the highlights was my dancing buddies who baked me a cake saying 'good luck'. thanks girls! Then they proceeded to sing from the sound of music 'So long, Farewell'. They will certainly be missed.

Saturday, got my room sorted out. but i will have to go out and buy 100 coat hangers. Did the first grocery shopping trip today aswell. Lots of furniture to put together (kinda like ikea), and my desk comes during the week. some of our neighbors came and said hello. we all share a cute little driveway off the road. thats all for now.
exhausted.

Olympics 2000 to year 10 graduation

Cox kids in the Aussie spirit. I think we came down for a few days of atheletics. How tiny is Tyler! Dance Unlimited presents The Wizard of Oz. Starring Kathy as the witch, Danika as Tinman, Amanda as Dorothy, Lauren as the Lion, Haley as Scarecrow and Sally as Glenda. Congratulations to Danika who is now travelling and performing in exciting things like the Canncann. And Lauren in America continuing to get her degree for dance teaching.
Coxs and the Moores go skiing. Nice to see everyone together at Hotham I think. Makes me cold and sore just thinking about it.
And finally, we graduate in year 10 with the School Certificate in 2001.

1997: Year 6 CVPS

*Appology to anyone who appears in these pics and doesnt think its cute!. Im sure 10 years on we all look back with some regrets! and a huge improvement in our fashion sense.

First picture is with Ragan, my next door
neighbour, at our Australia Day celebration.
Our school had a float in the parade down the
main street and we all dressed up. Looks like a pretty hot day, especially in long skirts and bonnets.











My netball team!!
Coahc is Penny. Gillian, Ragan, Bethany, Sophie,
Bec, Amanda M,
Connie and ME. Must have been
taken after a final or something. Go team! Im still not tall enough for Defense, but what they hey.








Next pic is our year 6 farewell. what a group!
should have a 10 year reunion. sophie, sarah, me and laura. Back in the day where we'd pic which spice girl each person was. and dream of the day when we'd be able to drive! I remember thinking
'in 2000 i will be 15!'
Where are they now? After leaving us for boarding school in year 11 - sophie (aka stella) ended up doing physio at sydney uni. clever chicken. Sarah (aka sard) was captain at highschool and is in mudgee now i think.? Im off to do med in albury. and Laura (aka Trevor) is in Crowsnest and is studying business or about to change degrees.






Last one... Code! I think this was taken after our

presentation day for Cudgegong, which was at the highschool. Cody and I got a principles award or something equally nerdy/cool (depends how you look at it). They couldnt choose between us (of course!) so we both ended up being winners. Ready to take on high school.