Summer 2008 - Creighton University

Transcription

Volume XI, Number 4
Summer 2008
It’s Nagao’s World
By Brian Nagao
I
n my tenure at Creighton, I have evolved from a
naïve enthusiastic M1, to a cynical M2 malcontent,
to an M3 greenhorn, to a more confident and
efficacious M4, and come May, Brian Nagao, M.D.
First year was all about checking my ego at the door (I
think the hatcheck girl lost mine). Because medical
school classes are formed from the cream of
undergraduate premed students, many elite undergrads
will eventually wallow in academic mediocrity. I was no
exception. My undergraduate study buddies called me
the Baron of Knowledge, but in the M1 year I was simply
barren of knowledge. That year, particularly anatomy,
was so tough that I bought a self-help memory power
book and planned to read it over Christmas break. It was
a noble plan except that after purchasing the book, I lost it
forthwith. Equally of token value were the tedious
anatomy lectures, for which I rarely remained awake.
With the double sawbuck I squandered on the memory
book, I should have bought a pair of these:
They would have gotten a lot more use. These glasses
should be standard issue for all M1s or at least come in
those M1 survival packs. In reality, I probably didn’t
need them. My eyes are so distinctly Mongoloid that the
eyelid space difference between awake and asleep is a
matter of microns (To sleep secretly at any time is my
gift…and my curse). I hated many things about first year
but the Bone Room takes the cake. I can tolerate “femur”
and “humerus,” but roll my eyes at tubercles, grooves,
fossas, and other such minutia. In the 11th hour before the
first anatomy test, I became convinced that hiding the
bones or better yet firebombing the Bone Room was my
only way out. Thankfully, some sane classmates talked
me down from my arsonist plans and I decided to just
take the hit. I got majorly boned on those practical
questions and came to appreciate how the Bone Room
was so appropriately named.
The M2 year was clinically equivalent to major
depression with atypical features i.e. hypersomnia,
anhedonia, depressed mood, low energy, poor
concentration, increased appetite and weight gain, and
psychomotor retardation (though some would argue that
the psychomotor retardation was my baseline, especially
those who witnessed my Matrix-like faceplant while
playing frisbee in front of Hixson-Lied). Furthermore,
second year is an impetus for alcoholism.
The
memorization of a sh**-ton of information (most of it
clinically irrelevant) forms an endless cycle of anxiety
(Continued on page 4)
2
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
Meet Michele Millard!
Faculty Advisor:
Dr. Michael Kavan, Ph.D.
Editors in Chief:
Eric Peeples
Patrick Allison
This Issue’s Writers:
Dr. Michael Kavan, Ph.D.
Marcia Cusic
Michele Millard
Linda Pappas
Wendy Jones
Andrew E. Kummer
Patrick Millerd
Brian Nagao
David Soma
Danielle Ku’ulei Potter
John Morrison
Eric Peeples
Kara Watterson
Patrick Allison
Kaitlyn Wright
Maryal Concepcion
Jay Garrick
Mike Long
Laura McDermott
David Nash
JJ Schumacher
Wendy Jo Svetanoff
C
reighton University School of
Medicine and the Wellness
Chronicle would like to extend a
warm welcome to Michele
Millard, the newest addition to the Office of
Student Affairs academic success consulting
team. Millard is not new to Creighton; over
the last twenty years she worked in
undergraduate counseling, started the PeerEducation service, and taught in the
department of Psychology. She is a Certified
Professional Counselor and holds an M.S. in
Psychology. Millard hopes to bring her
experience and understanding of how
success and psychology are connected to
help medical students in finding their way to
academic success. She and Linda Pappas, an
Academic Success Consultant, have worked together in the past and have been
friends for the better part of the last twenty years. We had the chance to sit down
with Michele, and here’s what she had to say:
Place
Picture
Here
WC: Where are you from originally?
MM: I am originally from a small town in Minnesota called Eden Valley. It is a
lot like Lake Wobegon but with Germans instead of Swedes. Lake
Wobegon [the fictional town in Garison Keillor’s novel series where “all
the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are
above average”] is rumored to be about twenty minutes outside St. Cloud,
and that’s where Eden Valley is located.
WC: What made you interested in becoming an academic success consultant?
MM: I have always enjoyed working with students in all forms of development
and I am interested in helping.
WC: Can you explain the services your office provides and who can benefit from
them?
MM: I work with Linda Pappas to provide individual counseling for students, not
necessarily those in trouble.
WC: Any new and exciting changes planned?
Cris Crisler
What are your plans this summer?
I am going to Ghana with Project
CURA! If we make it back from that, I'm
working with a Dermatologist in
Mississippi and counting down the days
'til the parties of orientation week.
What are you most
glad to be done with
this year?
25% of Medical School.
Congratulations, Cris, 2008 winner of the Class of 2011 Aesculapian Award!
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
3
Hospital Practices Medicine...
And Other News.
By Patrick Millerd
I
In an unrelated story,
t may not be a shock to many, but the Creighton
secret plans were recently
University Medical Center hospital itself has
uncovered for renovations at CUMC by the Department
recently started practicing medicine. “It’s not really
of Surgery. The plans reveal a new Department of
too surprising,” says Dr. Fic Titious of the
Surgery suite, quite similar to the Greek Parthenon, to be
Department of Medicine. “We have, after all, long
built atop the medical center. Asked about the proposed
expected medical students to learn how to practice
renovations, surgeon Dr. I’majerk stated, “It has long
medicine by just watching other people do it. It was kind
been the intention of the Department of Surgery to
of a no-brainer that one day the hospital itself would learn
modify the architecture of CUMC to adequately reflect
how to practice medicine also.” Suspicions began to
our role in patient care.” The Department of Radiology, in
heighten as orders and consults appeared in patient charts
a tenuous alliance with the Department
without any traceable authorization.
of Medicine, has devised a clever plan
“The hospital, it seems, has learned
to thwart the surgeons. “We propose to
under what circumstances to order a GI
hide all of the scalpels in the last place
consult or DVT prophylaxis” says
surgeons will ever look. Using their
resident Dr. Lowon Tha’Totempole.
patient lists, and a group of highly
The Joint Commission on
trained infiltrators, we will place them
Accreditation of Healthcare
in the rooms of their patients.” We
Organizations has indicated that it will
asked Dr. Lowon Tha’Totempole if
support hospitals practicing medicine,
there is any concern about revealing
so long as there is appropriate
too much of the plan. “One of two
documentation. “It would be silly to
things must happen for the surgeons to
deny an entity with so many years of
find their scalpels: one, they must enter
experience the opportunity to help
The proposed look for the new
their patients’ rooms; or two, they must
patients. We plan to form a committee
Department of Surgery.
learn to read. We are confident the
that will appoint an exploratory group
probability of either occurrence is quite low.”
which will in turn make a recommendation for a panel of
Plans were also uncovered within the Department of
independent observers charged to best explore appropriate
Surgery to train chimpanzees to administer anesthesia to
documentation for hospital-authored orders,” says Joint
patients. This follows an unconfirmed sighting of a chimp
Commission representative Mr. Tin Y. Brain.
leaving the 3100 suites with an endotracheal tube and an
The National Board of Medical Examiners has
ambu bag strapped to its hands. Dr. I’majerk would not
indicated that it will not, however, furnish medical
confirm or deny the plans, but merely stated, “It is
licenses to hospitals until they take and pass Step 2 CS of
common knowledge that there are a number of monkeys
the USMLE. “We have seen that hospitals have abundant
present in the Criss buildings. Other than that I have no
clinical knowledge and they can apply that knowledge,
comment.” The Department of Medicine had no
but we question whether or not they can pander to patient
immediate comment about the use of chimps in patient
complaints, legitimize patients’ irrational feelings, and
care, but suggested a Zoology consult. The department of
question patients about smoking,” says board member Dr.
Radiology had no information about the plan either, but
Waste Ofmoney. He continues, “We will create a national
suggested that a CT scan of an endotracheal tube might
testing site in Anchorage, Alaska at which hospitals may
reveal more. The Department of Anesthesiology quickly
sit for Step 2 CS.” When asked about the feasibility of
shot down the possibility of chimps administering
administering Step 2 CS to hospitals, Dr. Waste Ofmoney
anesthesia stating, “No matter how good chimps may be
stated, “we at the NBME will go to any lengths to ensure
at anesthesia, they will never be able to state the obvious
the interpersonal skills of medical practitioners... they can
during surgeries as well as we can.”
■
pick up the little things like ventilators and central lines
elsewhere.”
4
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
(Continued from page 1) It’s Nagao’s World
and toil, brief reprieve, and repeat. My entire existence
shrank to this:
with an occasional departure from the tedium, like when I
was forced to buy a ladies watch at the hospital gift shop
so I could complete my OSCE. After nine months of
being gang-probed, the exorbitant USMLE Step 1 exam
was a fitting coup de grâce. The rest of M2 year is kind
of hazy, probably due to dissociative amnesia and its
psychoprotective benefits.
The M3 year was a breath of fresh air, except for the
necrotic pseudomonas-infected wound I encountered in
medicine. The surgery rotation did less to instill sound
surgical techniques than to convince me that I should not
be a surgeon. Carotidectomies are not compatible with
life or with impressing attending surgeons. Neither is
contaminating oneself within five seconds of hitting the
O.R. Fortunately for Creighton, I happened be doing
internal medicine at the VA instead of the surgery
rotation during their JCAHO inspection. A simple
coincidence or shrewd plan?…I’m leaning toward the
latter. Psychiatry was fun and a student can be quite
successful after one month of clinical exposure and
reading. Be warned the textbooks don’t mention to avoid
standing in front an obese patient with tracheotomy
during electroconvulsive therapy. Dodging high-speed
loogies is not my forte; again, the psychomotor
retardation. Another glossed-over point is handling the
advances of psychotic histrionic patients. One such
patient said I had the most beautiful eyes. Given my less
than generous Mongoloid endowments, she must have
been delusional or hallucinating. Daily offers of a “hot
date” followed. Though I am not forlorn enough to take
up the offer (maybe in another three years) it was still
flattering. After two years of troglodytic solitude, I felt I
couldn’t turn a head even if my hair was on fire. Similar
to surgery, OB-Gyn was a no-doubt-about-it no-go.
Doppler ultrasound without transmission gel is zero
percent sensitive for fetal heart tones. Thus, absence of
fetal heart tones with this, the Nagao Method, is
SUMMER 2008
inconsistent with fetal demise and virtually
pathognomonic of an imbecile operator. On another
occasion, I met a female patient and told her that my
name was Brian Nagao and I was the medical student
who would follow her delivery, blah, blah, blah. This
went on for some time until the doctor, who was dressed
casually and who I presumed to be the father, notified me
that the baby was already out…a glance at the patient:
small belly, no fetal monitoring equipment…awkward
silence…laughter at me…Brian goes away now.
Pediatrics was fun and with a lot less pitfalls but wouldn’t
do it as a career. I, like the ill-fated Bennett Brauer, tend
to “frighten children,”
but in the end, even with such pervasive ineptitude, I
emerged no worse for wear, save one pair of boxer shorts
lost in the VA on call room.
The M4 year was all about spreading my wings. I
focused on the things I like, namely pathology, forensics,
oncology, infectious disease, psychiatry, and anesthesia
with nary a hitch, save passing an orogastric tube into the
trachea of a ventilated patient…Whoopsie-doodle!
Fourth year is a sabbatical and would be perfect if not for
those onerous Step 2 exams. In August, I completed the
extortionate CS farce and cut a few more pieces of red
tape. And in November, they sunk their claws back into
me to extract another pound of flesh ala CK. My
residency applications and interviews went smoothly
except for getting stuck in Los Angeles rush hour traffic
after one of my interviews and having to urinate into my
drink bottle. That one-liter Diet Pepsi proved to be both
my downfall and my saving grace. I ended up dry
cleaning those pants.
Nevertheless, my aggressive
Southern California interview track paid off big as I am
off to UCLA for pathology residency in June.
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
5
M4 Intramural Basketball
D
Dynasties
By David Soma
championship.
ynasty is defined as a family or group that
In the elite championship game, it was the battle of the
maintains power for several years.
Dahls. Dan Dahl used intimidation and wisdom to show
Domination is to exert a supreme, guiding
up his younger brother. Despite struggling with a knee
influence on or over another. You could
injury all season, he saved a big-game performance for
choose either of these terms to describe the Dahl Stars or
when it mattered most. Justin Birge and Jim Nedrow had
Seattle Supersomas. The Dahl Stars were able to
a lot of fastbreak points. Soma and Mosiman used their
accomplish the oh-so difficult three-peat in the Coed Elite
timely shooting and world-class defense to stifle
league. The Seattle Supersomas rebounded after losing in
opponents. Nahas protected the hoop like an imperial
the championship last year to win the championship in
guard, and the Mckernan/Lindberg duo were unstoppable
Men’s Elite and complete winning the championship
scorers, putting on a highlight reel. The Supersomas
three out of four years.
played an additional championship game called the All-U
This year, the Dahl Stars consisted of Annie Knierim,
game. They were playing against an obvious B squad, and
Julie Ingwerson, Susi Hupp, Jen Nahas, Dan Dahl, Justin
proved that they
Birge, Joe Nahas,
were superior by
John
McKernan,
enforcing the mercySteve Lindberg, and
rule. As stated by
David Soma. The
intramural
beatteam was essentially
writer, The Voice,
unstoppable. They
“in all situations, the
faced
a
tough
Somas
looked
matchup against the
Great basketball dynasties throughout history.
bigger,
faster,
hot shooting M3
stronger and more skilled.”
team in the playoffs but were able to distinguish
There are some naysayers that think the championships
themselves in overtime. The game was hard-fought, but
were a result of recruiting, because the M4 class had a
as Billy Packer would say, “The return of the long athletic
lack of skill. They could not be further from the truth. Just
Justin Birge from a knee injury gave them the punch they
like the Rockets, Bulls, Lakers, & Celtics, great players
needed to win.” There were also key performances from
want to play with other great players in an effort to win
the twin towers of the Nahas siblings. Overall, it was a
the championship. We could not have won the
stellar performance for all.
championships without any individual, but one fact
The Seattle Supersomas were told all year that they
remains: over the course of four years there were four
were too old, too injured, too complacent, or simply had
medical students who were a part of all six championship
lost their edge. At one point in the start the season they
teams. They were Dan Dahl, Justin Birge, Joe Nahas, and
were referred to as the Seattle SuperSLOWmas. It was
David Soma.
also stated that “it seems that their time in the limelight
has come and gone, and that there will be no storybook
It is important to remember all of the great players over
ending for one of the great intramural franchises in
the years, including this season, so here is a recap:
Creighton history.” They should have known, however,
Dan Dahl: Dan Dahl was the leading scorer for both
that great teams refine their skills and use their savvy
teams in year one and evolved his game to be a true point
abilities and experience to overcome comments like that.
guard, deferring the scoring to others. He is a threat to
The playoffs were a no contest. In the first round of the
blow by you off the dribble or kill you with the jumper.
playoffs, the Seattle Supersomas beat the M3 team one
He played tough all fourth year, fighting through a knee
more time and vanquished their hopes of ever beating
injury.
them. The bright news for the M3 team should be that
Justin Birge: Justin started his career as a passive,
they will not have to face them next year and will have an
defensive-minded player, quickly becoming one of the
easy time winning the title, a little like Jordan retiring and
the Bulls losing, allowing the Rockets to win a
6
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
By Eric Peeples
W
SUMMER 2008
Summer Fun
Get a McJob – If you have never worked a job for
ell, it finally warmed up above thirty
minimum wage that involved wearing a paper hat and
degrees last week, so what does that
nametag, this may be a good time to
mean? It means that
see if you’re prepared for life as a
we have about four
resident.
more days until the onslaught of the
Do nothing – Remember what
sauna that is the Omaha summer. As
summer was all about when you were
many of you know, I am originally
in grade school? Wake up at 11 a.m.,
from Phoenix, where we don’t have
eat a huge bowl of Cap'n Crunch, and
the graceful transition from winter to
sit around in your underwear
summer that Midwesterners like to
watching black and white movies all
call spring (of course they fail to
day (for you budding radiologists,
mention that their precious spring
you might want to do something else
only lasts about eight days). Our four
with your summer since this is what
seasons in Phoenix consist of
you'll be doing for the rest of your
December, January, February, and
career).
summer. I will, therefore, go out on
If nothing else, it will teach you the three
a limb and say that this might be one
Second Year
M’s: McCompetence, McPunctuality, and
The Test-that-shall-not-be-named –
of the first articles that I have written
McService.
You guys will be spending at least a
about that I may actually know more
month of your “vacation” holed up in some dungeon
than the average person. Keep in mind, however, that my
somewhere, eating protein bars and tattooing Q-Bank
idea of summer and Omaha’s idea are a little different
on the back of your eyelids so you “don’t waste all of
(think fried egg vs. poached egg). But whether you’re
that valuable sleep time.” Relax afterwards. I dare
branding your wrist with the metal on your seatbelt or
you.
trying to keep from soaking through your shirt on the
walk from your front door to your car, we are all
Third Year
We have an extra week or so of break this
wondering the same thing: what does a
year, which is just seven more days that I
medical student do during the summer?
can feel guilty about not starting on my
Here are a few recommendations:
residency applications.
First Year
Fourth Year
Research – If you feel that you are way too
Who am I kidding? You’ve been on
tan…
summer vacation since March.
Project CURA – It will allow you to escape
your comfort zone, serve the
And finally, just in general, for those of you
underserved, commit at least one huge
staying in Omaha, there are quite a few
cultural faux pas which may or may not
diversions that the city has to offer during
land you in a Latin American prison,
the summer months:
and/or pick up a rare African disease
Shakespeare on the Green – This is for
that will cause your first-born to glow in
those of you who have been studying up on
the dark and have, instead of
your Peeples Supplementary Guide and
hands, adorable little flippers.
Saying football is better than think you know English. If you go, and
Clinical preceptorship – This is a great way soccer is punishable by what? you’re still struggling to understand some
to gain some extra clinical experience
of the dialogue, you might try the “von
early in your medical career, and you can even do it
Peeplestein’s Almanac to Ye Olde English” in the
close to home so that you can see all of your old
Fall 1592 issue of the Wellness Chronicle.
friends... of course you also stand the risk
of participating in all of their STD screens as well.
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
7
SNAPSHOTS
By Andrew E. Kummer
T
he past week has been the last week of my
Radiology rotation, commonly known to
fourth-year medical students as “Ray-cation”,
due to its 2-3 hours/week demand. While trying
to soak up as much daytime TV and lack of responsibility
as I can, I also began to fill out my entrance paperwork
for the next chapter of my life. On March 20, 2008, I
opened up my Match Day envelope and read the words I
desperately wanted to see: Hennepin County Medical
Center; Minneapolis, MN; Internal Medicine. Now, not
only do I get primo parking for Vikings and Twins games
for the next three years (actually, only two for the Twins,
since they will be in a new stadium in 2010), I get to train
in a system that will best prepare me for the next level.
Now, as I look ahead, hooding and graduation are
finally on the horizon, instead of tucked away in some
invisible land as they have
been for nearly four years. It
hardly seems possible that I’m
ready to graduate; it seems as if
I have so much more to learn.
Nevertheless, while that’s true,
I also know that I have
accumulated an amazing
amount of knowledge at
Creighton. It has been hard to
recall at times the progress I’ve
made throughout the
curriculum. On bad days I
wonder if I’ve learned anything at all. But then, there are
some experiences that bring it all back into focus.
I’ve had the opportunity to
teach the physical exam to a group
of six first-year medical students
this year, and it’s been great getting to know these guys,
if only a little bit. But, perhaps most importantly, the
experience has helped in reminding me where I was only
a mere three years
ago. All six of
these guys have
done a great job
learning, asking
questions,
and
performing
the
exam; it’s obvious
they care a great
deal in becoming
good physicians. I
can
remember
learning the same
exam, asking the
Fourth years often assume the role of same questions,
feeling the same
medical sensei (先生).
uncertainty as I
went through my first physical examination. Even though
I couldn’t see it for myself at the time, nor can these six
gentlemen envision it yet, I can see the path that lies
ahead of them: the winding road it takes, the necessary
stops and hurdles along the way, and their first snapshots
of patient care that provide the ever-important learning
experiences outside any textbook.
Eric Nelson
What was your most memorable moment
from the first 2 years of medical school?
I decided to rank my top three:
Which is the hottest med
3. Getting recognized at Village
school couple?
Inn after "whiting it out" boyRankings based off their ability to
band style for Halloween the
be found together at all times:
second week in a row
3. Kaige (Kyle Halverson and
2. First year post anatomy final
Paige Walter)
at the Upstream aka the birth of
2. Chrerin (Christian Sorenson
Dr. Eric Nelsen MD
and Erin Hamm)
1. First and only time going to
1. The new comers: Chrannie
Club Nico—you will have to ask
(Chris Neeley and Annie Haugen) me about it.
8
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
(Continued from page 5) M4 Intramurals
greatest players in the league on both ends of the floor,
using his long arms and vertical leap to rise above
opponents. He reminds some of a Shawn Marion with a
better looking shot.
Joe Nahas: Joe Nahas was the least selfish player on the
teams and the most dominant big man around. He did not
flash huge numbers but altered shots all four years and
had hundreds of offensive putbacks. He just always
seemed to be in the right place at the right time, including
hitting a memorable game-winner at the buzzer in Coed
Year Three. He was the best version of a scoring
Dikembe Mutumbo in the league.
David Soma: He basically was the football-playerconverted hoopster who tried to do the little things. He
hustled and did his best to play a role needed by the team.
He occasionally hit a big shot, but took pride in guarding
guys of all sizes and styles on the other team. He was the
league’s version of Bruce Bowen.
Jim Nedrow: Jim was a late addition to the Supersomas.
He surprised other teams with his quick spurts of scoring.
He is a great fast-paced player with solid D.
John Mckernan: The human highlight reel. He blocked
shots and dunked on opposing teams. Overall a
phenomenal scorer and much needed punch inside.
Charles Barkley-esque.
Steve Lindberg: He is the most complete offensive
By Jay Garrick
P
player in the league. He could drain threes all day or post
you up Shaq-style and drop step for an easy two. He was
always a reliable scorer who hit many big shots.
Bobby Mosiman: An intramural version of Derek Fisher.
He stepped up the scoring when needed, and absolutely
pestered the opposing team’s ball handler.
Susi Hupp: She was unafraid to hit the floor. She was
unselfish and played great defense.
Julie Ingwerson: She was a long armed and aggressive
rebounder who placed pressure on the ball.
Jen Nahas: The most dominant female in the league.
Swatted shots like a fly swatter and gave an added inside
scoring presence.
Annie Knierim: The full package. She could score,
dribble, defend and do it all. She was an absolute
superstar. Diana Taurasi skill set.
Being that I am the author and a member of the teams, I
will switch from third to first person and close with some
statements of gratitude to the teams. In sports, they say
you are only as strong as your weakest link, and this link
would like to say thanks to the rest of his teammates. It
was an absolute pleasure to play with these guys and
girls. Being the intramural coordinator and an avid
participant in intramurals, I thank all of you. I had an
absolute blast and enjoyed every minute of every game. ■
Balance this!
eople often ask why I am stressed. So I thought,
“What better way to exemplify the sources of
stress during spring semester than to write an
article about a day in the life as an M1?” Just
imagine it’s a beautiful April morning. By beautiful, I
mean that it’s raining outside. You are late. And you
have a half-mile walk to the hospital. Lucky Stars! Your
tardiness will go unnoticed because today our patient has
taken the liberty of the university setting to heart by
liberating himself, permanently. Shortly thereafter, we
make our way back to the fatherland for a vonderful
overview of everything in less than an hour.
Unfortunately, Neuro is just Latin to me so I doze as the
(anti?)histamines kick in.
Our next lecture is taught backwards, literally.
Contrary to popular belief, this contralateral instruction is
actually beneficial because some of the slides are quite
bass akwards, making our understanding ipsilateral to the
proper texts. Apparently radiology trumps old school
pathology, and now everything is presented right to left,
and not left to right, but from left to right on the picture.
Is that clear to everybody? Good, because it’s not clear to
me. Although, I admit that blame falls squarely on my
doorstep. I clearly have not developed the technique of
interpreting CTs the size of my pen cap. Maybe we have
to wait for our rotations to learn that skill.
Speaking of skills, I’d like to believe that I am making
progress in patient interviewing. It has been weeks since
I have laughed in a patient’s face while interviewing in
front of 15 colleagues and a psychiatrist. That must be a
step in the right direction to make up for my generalized
neuro-ataxia. Neuro-ataxia presents as a generalized
apathy toward studying. Aggravating factors are the
months of March, April, May,
NCAA basketball, spring golf,
and deadlines for the Wellness
Chronicle. Currently there is no
known cure. Alas, we have
determined that this is the only
known form of ataxia to
increase in severity as you get
more balance.
■
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
9
Summer in the Big O!
This issue the Wellness Chronicle proudly presents a pair of articles centered around the sweltering, convivial season.
Rising M3 Kaitlyn Wright presents a host of events that Omaha residents may enjoy, and future M2 David Nash offers a
meditation on the fleeting medical school summer. For other ways to enjoy the season, see this issue’s Peeples Guide
and Summer Events Calender!
O
By Kaitlyn Wright
maha may not have miles of coastline for residents
to flock to on the weekends or mountains to hike on
a hot summer Saturday, but there is no shortage of
“Omaha Gems” to check out this summer. After
growing up in New England and spending two years in
Milwaukee before coming to Creighton, I wasn’t sure what a
summer in Omaha was going to offer. The summer I spent in
Omaha after my first year of medical school was filled with
good times, though, and it filled me with a great appreciation
for the city many of us now call home. Here are a few of
Omaha’s hidden, and not so hidden, gems worth checking out
this summer.
Liquid Arts Festival- Hot Shops, an old warehouse turned art
gallery located just north of the Qwest Center, features some of
the most talented artists, sculptors, and glass blowers in the
Midwest. Once a year in July they hold a Liquid Arts Festival
where local brewers bring in home brewed beer, wine,
champagne, and even root beer. This open-to-the-public
festival is a great chance to meet people and learn about the
brewing process while downing generous samples.
While you are there, take the time to walk around the
different galleries and meet with some of the artists. All of the
artists were happy and willing to show me around their studios,
and the crowd was even treated to a free glass blowing
demonstration. The heat from the furnace and the buzz from
the beer made this a day never to forget. One sculptor even
showed off his twelve-foot dragon kegerator made of wood
with a price tag higher than two years at Creighton! Even
though I have never thought of myself as an “artsy” person, Hot
Shops really has something for everyone to enjoy.
Don’t wait to hear about this event on the radio or in the
paper because it might just pass you by. A few dollars is all
you’ll need for hours of fun at this Omaha event.
Stir Cove Summer Concert Series, Harrah’s Hotel CasinoHarrah’s offers a unique outdoor music venue where you can
bring a blanket and lawn chair
and enjoy live music with a
relatively small crowd of
people. I saw Ben Harper at
Harrah’s last summer; the
show definitely ranks on my
list of top five best concerts.
Tickets usually run around
$30. Need a good dose of
Blues great B.B. King plays REO Speedwagon right about
now? They’ll be there this
the cove May 30.
D
By David Nash
uh duh duh duh! “I got my first real six string,
down at the five and dime. Played it ‘til my fingers
bled. It was the summer of…” Two thousand and
eight? So those may not be the right lyrics, but
those words are now cruising through your head along with
Bryan Adam’s solid gold voice. I mean come on. Summer of
‘69? Who wouldn’t want to be chanting those wicked lyrics
with the end of the semester at our fingertips? For the M1s like
me, this is the last great opportunity for us to hold onto the tail
feathers of freedom and fend off responsibility.
Okay, let’s try something. Close your eyes. No, don’t close
your eyes. You need to read this. Let’s skip ahead to May 9. I
can see it now. Roughly 120 first years are lining up with
cheery faces trying to get an open seat at the ever so popular
Let’s Evaluate session. As soon as the comments are made and
the evaluations filled out, students will beeline it to Eppley,
Cali Taco, and the Crescent Moon alike.
Shortly after the post-neuro euphoria and well-deserved
headaches subside, the reality of the summer sets in, and one
major question from families and friends quickly follows. “So,
what are you doing this summer?”
For many Crieghton M1s, the answer is spelled with five
letters. M-A-G-I-S. Each year, a large portion of the first year
class treks across the globe to gain perspective and provide
service to organizations and people that welcome the medical
student volunteers.
Other students answer the question with another one-word
answer: research. Whether for enjoyment or just to beef up that
old CV, many students find a spot in an office or lab.
Alternatively, some students prefer to travel, work a nonmedically related job, or simply relax and hang out by the pool
or in an air-conditioned basement in front of the television.
Let’s face it: we could spend an easy hundred hours trying to
catch up on the TV shows and movies we’ve missed this past
year.
Regardless of the choice, they all provide their benefits as
well as their opportunities for one very important aspect of the
final summer. Each option gives the student a chance to destress and recharge their batteries before the dreaded M2
gauntlet preceding the boards.
So, first years, as the summer rolls on and we find ourselves
engulfed in out activities, it is going to be important to
remember that this is the last one. I’m sure you all have friends
who have entered the working world by now and would kill to
have a few consecutive months vacation. I think we owe it to
them to appreciate the gift we’ve been given. Whatever you are
doing this summer, make sure you enjoy it, or at least enjoy the
weather. The Omaha winter will be upon us again before we
■
know it.
10 WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
BLESSED WITH STRESS?
By Linda Pappas & Michele Millard
Academic Success Counselors
A
stressful, the body perceives it as a threat, and your
s many students are already aware; Michele
sympathetic nervous system charges you up to prepare for
Millard, M.S. has joined Creighton
battle with increased heart rate, shallow breathing, tense
University’s School of Medicine as an
muscles and approximately 1300 other physiological
Academic Success Consultant. Everyone is
changes. At the same time, the parasympathetic nervous
very pleased, especially Linda Pappas! Michele brings 20
system, upon seeing that studying for a test is not
years of experience in higher education, providing
necessarily life threatening, tries to slow you down. It’s
counseling, advising, academic support, programming
like having one foot on the gas and the other on the brake,
and teaching. Michele has a Master’s of Science Degree
resulting in a rather bumpy ride. When stress becomes
in Psychology from Texas Christian University and is a
the norm, your body forgets to slow down the heart rate,
Licensed Mental Health Practitioner and Certified
breathe deeply and relax the muscles.
Professional Counselor. She is active in
Because it’s not made to withstand that
her church and community, providing
kind of “alert status” indefinitely , the
workshops and classes on a variety of
body lets us know through headaches,
topics to organizations, businesses and
stomach aches, irritation, chocolatechurches.
gorging, insomnia and friends and family
Michele has presented numerous
running for cover!
The really big
classes and workshops on stress
problem, especially for medical students
reduction, and we have asked her to write
is that stress inhibits cortical function. In
down some of her thoughts and solutions.
other words, you are definitely not “in the
We have asked Michele to submit her
zone” when it comes to learning and
thoughts on and her solutions for
recalling information.
decreasing stress. Here are Michele’s
Whether you are worried about Step 1
comments:
or running out of steam in Neuro, it’s
If you had a dollar for every time you
important to first understand your stress
heard or uttered the word “stress”
and secondly, do something about it!
throughout your medical education, you
Intervening in a stress response can have
would probably graduate debt-free! It is a
many benefits, like better sleep, increased
common malady in our culture as a whole
Stressed
about
something?
energy, friends actually liking to be
and particularly in your culture as medical
around you and amazingly. . . . increased cortical
students. Sometimes the competition is not so much
function! So. . . . a few ideas about nipping that stress in
about who got a better grade, but who is dealing with
the bud:
more stress. You might hear, “You think you’re stressed?
Balance: The best investment you can make in your
Let me tell you what I have to deal with . . .” It becomes
academic and personal life is to attain some kind of
like a modern badge of honor----but one that is killing us!
balance between academic work and the rest of your life.
Stress is a term used to describe the wear and tear on
If you study 10 hours every single day, you’re likely to
us emotionally and physically due to everyday tensions
burn out. Work out, go to church, linger in the grocery
and pressures.
While change, illness, relationship
store, watch a movie or hang out with friends. Make sure
problems and financial issues are common sources of
to sleep, eat well and get some exercise. You will be
stress, recent research shows that it’s the daily hassles,
more focused and productive upon coming back to
like too many e-mails, traffic slow-downs or waiting in
studying. If, on the other hand, you are waiting to study
line, that do us in. In reality, stress is a 6-inch problem
until the 10 hours before the test, make a choice to focus
that is found right between our ears; in other words, it is
and put the time in, even if you don’t feel like it. Balance
how we perceive the demands in our life that create stress
will make you more productive, help you perform and
for us and the emotional response that results from our
interpretation.
When you perceive something as
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
(Continued from page 9) Summer
summer, along with Willie Nelson, Styx, and the Black Crowes
to name a few. You may even choose to venture into the casino
and try your luck on the tables before the show.
Omaha Summer Arts Festival- From June 27-29 Farnam Street
will be blocked off from 10th to 14th street with small vendor
booths lining the street. Live music, artists selling their
masterpieces, cold beer, and even some free food samples make
this a festival worth checking out. My favorite memory from
this festival was visiting the Omaha Visitors Bureau at 10th and
Farnam. For a good dose of passion and information on
anything you’d ever want to know about Omaha, the Visitors
Bureau is a must hit. Just like most outdoor festivals, this one’s
free to enter and take in the atmosphere.
Village Pointe Saturday Night Concerts- This is a great event,
especially for those of you with children. These concerts are
family friendly with face painting and enough room for the kids
to run safely around. For the adult-only crowd, the music is
good, and there is no shortage of food or beer to sample. And
11
just like most of the events I’ve listed, this one’s free to enter
and enjoy. If you get bored with the music or the rain ruins the
atmosphere, Funny Bone is just around the corner. Sign up for
Funny Bone’s email list, and you’re bound to get dozens of free
tickets for you and all of your closest friends.
College World Series- Any article about summer in Omaha
wouldn’t be complete without mention of the CWS. Even if
you have no interest in attending a game, you must head down
to Rosenblatt and experience the madness of the fans. I
managed to get a ticket to the final game last year. Walking
around the beer tents and watching the fans could take a full
day, and it was just as fun as the game.
Many of us are transplants to the Omaha area and don’t get
an opportunity to truly experience Omaha during the school
semester, but Omaha has some great qualities that aren’t always
apparent until you look a little closer. Hopefully you all can
take some time this summer to enjoy the wonderful city you
■
call home.
Spotlight on Music
By J. J. Schumacher
Leslie Feist a.k.a
O
Feist
n April 8th, the mayor’s
office announced that the
performer of the free summer concert in
Memorial Park would be Canadian songstress
Leslie Feist. A few days later I was relating my
appreciation for the selection to my mother when she
interrupted me: “She’s the one that had
the song on that iPod commercial, right?
I really like that song.”
Feist’s musical roots greatly contrast
with her current genre as she played in
multiple punk and electronic bands
during her youth. As she grew, her style
developed into more of her characteristic
fusion of several different influences
drawing predominantly from folk, pop,
and jazz. She recorded several songs in 2001 that would
lay the foundation for her first record release, 2004’s Let
It Die. In the intervening time she became a collaborator
for the Toronto indie-supergroup Broken Social Scene.
The success of BSS’s debut album You Forgot It in the
People first introduced the music world to Leslie Feist.
Although her contributions were not readily apparent
throughout the album, her breathy vocals on “Anthems
for a 17 Year Old Girl” stood out amongst the baroque
pop/post-punk background. Let It Die consisted of both
original works and several innovative covers, mixing
aching folk tracks with French ballads and danceable pop
songs. For this record, Feist won the Juno award (the
Canadian Grammy, eh?) for best new artist in 2004.
Feist gained a great deal of worldwide notoriety over
the past year following the release of her second LP, The
Reminder, and achieved a sufficient level of stardom that
even my mom would recognize her name. The Reminder
has already sold over a million copies worldwide and her
song “1234” peaked at number 28 on the Billboard charts
thanks in part to its commercial appearances. The success
of “1234” is understandable as it is an
ebullient pop song featuring a
delightfully catchy hook. Overall, the
record is a little more explorative in its
song composition and stylings than Let It
Die. Feist’s sparse, folk recordings fit
easily beside the gospel-sounding “Sea
Lion Woman” or the jazz-rock of “My
Moon My Man.” Additionally, relying
more heavily on percussion and electric
guitars than anything on Let It Die, tracks like “I Feel It
All” and “Past in Present” would be comfortable in
Broken Social Scene’s discography. Feist brought home a
total of five Juno awards in 2007, including album of the
year for The Reminder.
Feist will be performing a free concert on July 12th at
Memorial Park.
■
SUMMER 2008
(Continued from page 6) Peeples Guide
(Continued from page 10) Blessed with Stress
The zoo - What can I say? Sweaty elephants, a desert
dome (since the scorching desert is just what you
want to enjoy when its 103 degrees outside), and tiny
monkeys throwing tiny monkey poo in your tiny
human eye. At
least you’re not in
lecture.
College World Series
– It’s like the
Mardi Gras of
college baseball.
It’s a chance to go
grill, drink, and
meet people from It could be worse. You could be
all
over
the
going to the L.A. zoo.
country. Oh yeah,
and I think they play baseball too.
keep you sane. Your grades will benefit and your friends
and family will thank you for it.
Reframe: One way to intervene in stress is to
cognitively reframe your assessment of the situation. For
example, if you are caught in traffic, you might think,
“This is horrible, I’m wasting all this time in traffic and I
need to be studying.” Instead of allowing that
interpretation of a traffic jam
(over which you have no
control) to create frustration
and irritation in you (which will
decrease later cortical
functioning), try to reframe the
situation by saying, “This
traffic is bad, but I’m going to
use my time to mentally review
material from class or relax and
listen to music”. Then when
you get to the point of studying,
you’ll be good to go. Learn to
control what you can control
and let go of what you can’t!
It’s not the library or the
Biofeedback: I have a new coffee shop, but it’s not
biofeedback device that helps as bad as you may think.
measure your heart rate
variability, reflecting whether your sympathetic and
parasympathetic nervous systems are fighting with each
other (erratic and out of sync) or working with each other
(synchronized and coherent). A finger sensor provides
feedback into what’s going on physiologically with you.
A simple 3-step technique is learned and practiced to
change both the emotions attached to stressful situations
and the physiology resulting from stress, helping you
reach coherence and find your “zone.” The result is a tool
not just to manage the effects of stress, but to circumvent
stress and is something that you can use in the middle of a
test, in a fight with your girl/boyfriend or waiting in line
at the grocery store. Interested? E-mail me to make an
appointment at [email protected].
■
As you glance through this issue of the Wellness
Chronicle, you will notice that I am not the only one
giving summer recommendations this year. So I would
encourage you to peruse the others as well, in hopes that
at least one of us got it right (since none of the other
articles mentioned monkey poop, though, I’m guessing
they might have better chances). Have a great summer,
no matter how you choose to spend it.
■
(Continued from page 4) It’s Nagao’s World
When people read my reflections, I hope they don’t
start questioning Creighton’s application standards. The
Creighton system works. They find good people and put
them in an environment to foster the knowledge and skills
to be compassionate skilled physicians. Every medical
student must experience frustration and awkwardness
before self-confidence and self-efficacy; that’s the deal.
Still, being a medical student has its benefits, namely you
get all the medicine without any baggage. I am nothing if
not self-deprecating, but after graduation I imagine that
all that will have to go away. It’s reasons such as these
why it’s so sad to graduate from medical school and have
to grow up.
■
Amber Wood
What are you most glad to be
done with this year?
The basic sciences like Biochem!
What are your plans
this summer?
To not think!
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
Class of 2011
FUN
DAY
April 16, 2008
8am Scavenger Hunt
1pm BBQ
As part of the scavenger hunt, we had to
write a Blumenfeld diagnosis on a human forearm...
Courtney Foote, Wendy Svetanoff, Ashley Lane and
Jennifer Beckman celebrate another 10 point “O!” pic.
Dr. Kavan and Thuy Koll celebrate a wishbone victory!
Laura McDermott beats Dr. Jeffries in arm to arm combat!
13
SUMMER 2008
CLASS OF 2008
MATCH RESULTS
Creighton University School of Medicine—Class of 2008
ANESTHESIOLOGY
2008 C.U. Grads in Non-Creighton Programs
Dobbs, Heather…………………………………………………………….U Virginia, Charlottesville VA
Gladding, Jeffrey………………………………………………..U Texas SW Medical School, Dallas TX
Ingemansen, Andrew………………………………………..U Nebraska Affiliated Hospitals, Omaha NE
(Prelim Medicine, Creighton Univ Affiliated Hospitals, Omaha NE)
Ladner, Benjamin…………………………………………….U Louisville School of Med, Louisville KY
Morris, Regina…………………………………………………..St. Barnabas Med Center, Livingston NJ
Ning, Peter……………………………………………………….Temple Univ Hospital, Philadelphia PA
Palmer, Andrew………………………………………….U Washington Affiliated Hospitals, Seattle WA
(Transitional Year, Sacred Heart, Spokane WA)
Ratino, Timothy…………………………………………..U Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City KS
Reisbig, Mark……………………………………………….U Nebraska Affiliated Hospitals, Omaha NE
DERMATOLOGY
Madson, Justin………………………………………...U Oklahoma College of Med, Oklahoma City OK
Wong, Judy………………………………………………………….UVM/Fletcher Allen, Burlington VT
(Prelim Medicine, U Nebraska Affiliated Hospitals, Omaha NE)
EMERGENCY MEDICINE
Bartman, Marc……………………………………....Drexel University College of Med, Philadelphia PA
Finlayson, Ryan……………………………………………………….Maricopa Med Center, Phoenix AZ
Godwin, Patrick……………………………………………………….Maricopa Med Center, Phoenix AZ
Mosiman, Robert…………………………………………………...Resurrection Med Center, Chicago IL
Parker, Sarah………………………………………………Univ of Pittsburgh Med Center, Pittsburgh PA
Patel, Reshma…………………………………………………..NYU School of Medicine, New York NY
Stevens, Andrew…………………………………………...Indiana Univ School of Med, Indianapolis IN
Tran, Ethan………………………………………...Long Island Jewish Med Center, New Hyde Park NY
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
CLASS OF 2008
MATCH RESULTS
FAMILY PRACTICE
Anderson, Emily………………………………………………..North Colorado Med Center, Greeley CO
Anderson (Hoffman), Katherine …………………………..Siouxland Med Ed Foundation, Sioux City IA
Cook, Anthony……………………………………………………Clarkson Family Medicine, Omaha NE
Dahl, Daniel………………………….…………………..U Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis MN
Holmquist, Brent………………………………………………….Clarkson Family Medicine, Omaha NE
Hoogesteger, Carl………………………………………..Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg NC
Lee, Cheng………………………………………………...Glendale Adventist Med Center, Glendale CA
Weidle, Kenyon………………………………………………………...St. Anthony Hospital, Denver CO
Yepes, Fernando………………………………………………..Lincoln Med Ed Partnership, Lincoln NE
INTERNAL MEDICINE
Beste, Jason………………………………………………….Einstein/Montefiore Med Center, Bronx NY
Birge, Justin……………………………………………………….Abbot Norhtwestern, Minneapolis MN
Eccles-Radtke, Caitlin…………………………………..Hennepin County Med Center, Minneapolis MN
Fasanya, Helen………………………………...………..U Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, Madison WI
Kreutz, Daniel…………………………………………………...Texas A&M-Scott & White, Temple TX
Kummer, Andrew……………………………………….Hennepin County Med Center, Minneapolis MN
Smeltzer, Jacob……………………………………………………Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis MO
Tajouri, Tanya……………………………………………..Mayo School of Grad Med Ed, Rochester MN
INTERNAL MEDICINE
2008 C.U. Grads in Creighton Programs
Cook, Anna
Gonsalves, Wilson
Hoang, Priscilla
Moore, Douglas
Nahas, Joseph
Tadros, Mary
15
SUMMER 2008
CLASS OF 2008
MATCH RESULTS
OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
Adams, Elizabeth……………………………………………………...Northwestern McGaw, Chicago IL
Chapman, Lisa………………………………………Brooke Army Medical Center, Ft. Sam Houston TX
Connors, Kathryn……………………………………………………..Maricopa Med Center, Phoenix AZ
Duke, Adam………………………………………………………..Eastern VA Med School, Norfolk VA
Fernando, Lea……………………………………………………..University at Buffalo-NY, Buffalo NY
Martin, Melissa…………………………………………….U Connecticut Health Center, Farmington CT
Morales, Kristy………………………………………………………..St. Louis University, St. Louis MO
Patters, Kristen………………………………………………………..Maricopa Med Center, Phoenix AZ
Roykhman, Margarita…………………………………………………St. Louis University, St. Louis MO
Simons, Marilee………………………………………….U Utah Affiliated Hospitals, Salt Lake City UT
Swank, Morgan……………………………………………………….UC Irvine Med Center, Orange CA
Than, Duong………………………………………….St. Peter's University Hospital, New Brunswick NJ
Tun, Christina……………………………………………………..Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown PA
Vaclavik, Alex………………………………………………Georgetown Univ Hospital, Washington DC
OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
Pugmire, Heather
OPHTHALMOLOGY
Basham, Ryan………………………………………………Rush University Medical Center, Chicago IL
(Prelim Surgery also at Rush University Medical Center)
PATHOLOGY
Bruno, Erin………………………………………………….U Nebraska Affiliated Hospitals, Omaha NE
Kerkvliet, Amy…………………………………………..U South Dakota School of Med, Sioux Falls SD
Nagao, Brian…………………………………………………….UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles CA
Nguyen, Quyen…………………………………………………..B I Deaconess Med Center, Boston MA
Snow, Anthony……………………………………Wake Forest Baptist Med Center, Winston-Salem NC
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
CLASS OF 2008
MATCH RESULTS
PEDIATRICS
Albert, Robyn…………………………………………….U Utah Affiliated Hospitals, Salt Lake City UT
Beffert, Kelly…………………………………………………...Phoenix Childrens Hospital, Phoenix AZ
Bornhorst, Miriam………………………………………………….U Michigan Hospitals, Ann Arbor MI
Hupp, Susan………………………………………………Nationwide Childrens Hospital, Columbus OH
Josephsen, Justin………………………………………………………St. Louis University, St. Louis MO
Kaufman, Jessica…………………………………………….U Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City IA
Ladner, Emily………………………………………………...U Louisville School of Med, Louisville KY
Miller, Rebecca…………………………………………………….U Michigan Hospitals, Ann Arbor MI
Muller, Janissa……………………………..Med College Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals, Milwaukee WI
Phan, Helen……………………………………………………...UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles CA
Richards, Kimberly…………………………………………...UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento CA
Skrypek, Mary…………………………………………...U Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis MN
Soma, David……………………………………………….Mayo School of Grad Med Ed, Rochester MN
Swedean, Sandra…………………………………………………………..SAUSHEC, Lackland AFB TX
PEDIATRICS
Dawson, Michael
Lankhorst, Abby
PEDIATRICS AND INTERNAL MEDICINE COMBINED
Brewer, Melody……………………………………………………Baystate Med Center, Springfield MA
Roope, Willa………………………………………………………Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami FL
PEDIATRICS AND PSYCHIATRY COMBINED
Jones, Gwendolyn……………………………………………………..University of Hawaii, Honolulu HI
17
SUMMER 2008
CLASS OF 2008
MATCH RESULTS
PHYSICAL MEDICINE & REHABILITATION
Armendariz, Rebecca…………………………Virginia Commonwealth Univ Health Sys, Richmond VA
(Prelim Medicine also at Virginia Commonwealth)
English, Steven………………………………………………….…….UC Irvine Med Center, Orange CA
Ingwerson, Julie………………………………………………UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento CA
PSYCHIATRY
March, Natalie…………………………………………………………….Hartford Hospital, Hartford CT
Rudersdorf, John…………………………………………………..Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis MO
Wagner, Gerhardt………………………………….Wake Forest Baptist Med Center, Winston-Salem NC
RADIOLOGY—DIAGNOSTIC
Ahmed, Shawn…………………………………………..U Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis MN
German, Sarah…………………………………………………..U Iowa Hosps and Clinics, Iowa City IA
Godinez, Brian……………………………………………..Indiana Univ School of Med, Indianapolis IN
(Transitional Year Riverside Regional Med Center, Newport News VA)
Konrad, Aaron……………………………………………..Mayo School of Grad Med Ed, Rochester MN
Millerd, Patrick……………………………………………...U Nebraska Affiliated Hospitals, Omaha NE
(Transitional Year St Lukes Med Center, Milwaukee WI)
Nguyen, Ho…………………………………………………...UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento CA
(Transitional Year Univ North Dakota, Fargo ND)
Tanner, Dawn…………………………………………………UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento CA
Vaughn, Lonnie ……………………………………………………….Maricopa Med Center, Phoenix AZ
Walter, Jacob………………………………………………….Univ Colorado School of Med, Denver CO
(Transitional Year Broadlawns, Des Moines IA)
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
CLASS OF 2008
MATCH RESULTS
SURGERY—GENERAL
Atay, Scott………………………………………………………..B I Deaconess Med Center, Boston MA
Barker, Adam……………………………………………………………Baylor U Med Center, Dallas TX
Barnard, Kayla…………………………………………………...U Oklahoma College of Med, Tulsa OK
Cleary, Andrew………………………………………………………………..Easton Hospital, Easton PA
Graham, G. Peter…………………………………………………...U Kansas School of Med, Wichita KS
Grotz, Travis………………………………………………Mayo School of Grad Med Ed, Rochester MN
Klemens, Anne………………………………………………………..Maricopa Med Center, Phoenix AZ
Lopez, Joseph……………………………………………………Abington Memorial Hosp, Abington PA
Percival, Thomas…………………………………….Brooke Army Medical Center, Ft Sam Houston TX
Rudersdorf, Patrick……………………………………………………UC Irvine Med Center, Orange CA
Thorson, Chad…………………………………………………….Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami FL
SURGERY—GENERAL
Engstrom, Nicholas
Rivera, Edmundo
Wolpert, Joseph
SURGERY—ORTHOPAEDIC
Downes, Jessica………………………………………….U Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis MN
Gomez-Leonardelli, Dominic……………………………………...Naval Medical Center, San Diego CA
Grant, Michael……………………………………………Oregon Health and Science Univ, Portland OR
Wilkofsky, Ian……………………………………………..SUNY Upstate Med University, Syracuse NY
SURGERY—ORTHOPAEDIC
Knierim, Ann
TRANSITIONAL/PRELIMINARY YEAR
2008 C.U. Grads in Creighton and Non-Creighton Programs
McDonald, Carolyn……………………………...Medicine, U Nebraska Affiliated Hospitals, Omaha NE
O'Keefe, Kevin……………………….......................Surgery, UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento CA
Samee (Farooqui), Nausheen………………..Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood IL
19
By Kara Watterson
W
SUMMER 2008
IT TAKES TIME
hat are you going to be when you grow
up? A firefighter? A teacher? A pilot?
An astronaut? We have all been faced
with this question at one point or another
and apparently answering, “a doctor,” is no longer
sufficient.
As the M4s match into their chosen
residencies, the M3s are struggling to create their ideal
fourth-year schedules.
And with this process, the
question of specialty inevitably looms in on the horizon.
Six weeks ago I was
almost certain of my
answer; I wanted to be
an OB/Gyn. What could
be more rewarding than
spending my life
delivering babies and
taking care of women?
Oh, but that was six
weeks ago. Since that
time I have reconsidered,
and in some cases
considered for the first
time, almost every
possibility.
Maybe I
should be a pediatrician,
or maybe internal
medicine is the way to
go. What about family
medicine or psychiatry?
For a few weeks I was
seriously questioning my Bun out of the oven or bun out of
the oven? Hmm...
decision to become a
doctor at all. Why not drop out and open a bakery? It
would be far less stressful, and I would be bringing plenty
of joy to the world. Yes, opening a bakery, that’s what all
this time in med school has been working toward.
Thankfully, it appears that I am not alone. There are
those lucky few who know with complete conviction
what they want to do, but for the most part it seems that
the M3s are in a state of uncertainty. Besides my bakery
idea, I have heard people consider becoming a park
ranger, a chef, and a flight attendant to name a few. If
this keeps up the graduating class of 2009 will be quite an
eclectic group.
And as we struggle with finding our “perfect”
specialty, the people in our lives have plenty advice for
each of us. I have been told to make pro/con lists, to talk
to people in each field I am considering, to pray, to listen
to my heart, and to just give it time…talk about
agonizing.
Now, after weeks of debating, I think maybe OB/Gyn
is not for me. As I lean closer to a decision I am left with
an awkward new feeling… relief. Of course there are
times when I fall back into that dreadful spiral of what-ifing. What if I made the wrong decision? What if I get to
residency and hate it? What if this is not what I am meant
to do with my life… ah, what if? I may never be one
hundred percent certain of my choice, but I am starting to
see an end to my struggles.
In the end, all of those who bestowed their heartfelt
advice on me were right. I did make the pro/con lists. I
talked to countless people about their thoughts on the
matter. I tried to give myself mental breaks from the
Tom Kennedy
What are your plans to
celebrate finishing boards?
Eric Nelsen and I got
the idea of buying a
breathalyzer after
boards and seeing
what we can do. Other
than that, my schedule
Most cohesive: Chrannie (Chris Neeley and Anne Haugen) is pretty wide open.
Which is the hottest med school couple?
I don't know about hottest couple. I
would hate to offend any really self
conscious people out there like Adam
Linck. So, I have made my own criteria:
Laziest: Adam Linck and Meggan Kroeker
Drunkest: Eric Nelsen and Carolyn Green (mainly Eric)
Annie Haugen replies, “Rumor has it that Tom and Eric are just bitter about
the breakup of their boyband!”
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
21
(Continued from page 2) Meet Michele Millard
A Message
from Marcia
By Marcia Cusic
CUSOM Chaplain
A
s we begin to wind down another busy
academic school year, I have started to reflect
upon the year, what was accomplished, what
was exciting, what was stressful, and so forth,
and then I heard about Randy Pausch, a computer science
Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. At first glance,
he seems to be like so many of our professors here at
Creighton, committed to his teaching and to his family,
and then I read an excerpt from “His Last Lecture” as
printed in the April 6 Parade magazine. Professor Pausch
is dying from pancreatic cancer and wrote his thoughts in
this last lecture, for his wife and three children.
Randy Pausch’s last lecture has more to do with “How
to live life” than anything else. I’d like to share with you,
his ideas, which are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Always have fun
Dream big
Ask for what you want
Dare to take a risk
Look for the best in everybody
Make time for what matters
Let kids be themselves
There have been so many “ordinary” people in my life
and I am guessing in your lives as well, that can teach or
have taught me/you life lessons. And so, as we wind
down this academic year, consider Randy Pausch’s
thoughts about how to live our daily lives.
■
May God Continue To Bless Your Lives…
Reflect. It’s good for you.
MM: We’re working on further developing mentoring for
students—both faculty and peer mentoring. Also,
we now have a biofeedback machine which
measures heart rate changes, which can be a
measurement of emotions. We aim for students to
understand when they are having negative emotions
and to switch to a different emotional state (see page
10 for more details on what Michele is doing for the
students of CUSOM).
WC: What do you like best about Creighton?
MM: I like the holistic approach to education, the care for
the whole person. I also like the idea of working in
an environment of progress and learning.
WC: How about the School of Medicine?
MM: I like that it is connected to campus but also in its
own world. I enjoy professional students, the
collegial support provided in this environment. I
also like the idea of seeing people develop into
medical professionals and playing a helping role in
that process.
WC: What’s your Myers-Briggs personality type?
MM: I am an INFP and Linda is an ENFP. We get along
and work together well.
WC: What is the most common mistake students typically
make?
MM: Anxiety interferes with academic success. It can
create a negative cycle where anxiety leads to fear
of failure, which leads to further anxiety. This can
unfortunately be a self fulfilling prophecy.
WC: What is the best way to prevent or overcome this
mistake?
MM: Manage the anxiety, breathe deeply, reframe the
issue, shift environmental response.
WC: What sorts of services do you offer for M3s and
M4s?
MM: We help them to succeed in clerkships, be it through
assistance in helping learn material or navigating
working with doctors and patients. Also, in the
spring, setting up M4 schedules and Step 2 study
schedules plays a role. My son is a third year at
UNMC, so I understand how much anxiety plays a
role in setting up fourth-year schedules.
WC: In the unfortunate event a student finds him or
herself at risk of failing a class, what do you
recommend?
MM: We customize our approach for each student be it a
study schedule, time management, tutoring, or
supplemental instruction.
WC: What’s the best way to reach you?
MM: We have been trying to use Patti for setting up
appointments, but we always welcome people to
stop by and see us or contact us via e-mail.
■
SUMMER 2008
By Dr. Michael G. Kavan, Ph.D.,
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
A
s many know, losing a loved one can be an
emotionally stressful experience. Most people
who lose someone close experience a variety
of emotions that may include sadness,
numbness, a longing for the loved one, and possibly guilt
and anger. It is important to understand that these are
natural feelings. It is also normal to think about or reflect
on the many positive and possibly not-so-positive
memories you have of your loved one. This more likely
occurs immediately following the loss, but may also take
place at other times such as on the anniversary of your
loved one’s death, on special days such as birthdays and
holidays, or just out of the blue. These memories and
feelings are natural and a sign that the loved one was
important to you. To better understand this process, I
thought it would be helpful to discuss some myths
associated with grieving and then to provide information
about what a person may do to cope with grief.
Myths of Coping with Loss
Although most of us have learned that grieving typically
follows a particular order (Denial, Anger, Bargaining,
Depression, Acceptance) and that you must feel depressed
after a loss, and that if you do not that this is indicative of
pathology, research actually shows that that our
assumptions regarding the grieving process may not be
true. So, let’s look at some of the myths of coping with
loss (Wortman and Silver).
Myth #1 – Depression must occur once the grieving
person confronts the reality of the loss and he/she
must then “work though it.” In their study on this topic,
Parkes and Weiss (1983) stated, “We might suppose that
people who avoid or repress grief are the most likely to
become disturbed a year later, yet this is not the case.”
They go on to say that high initial yearning for the person
who died or being preoccupied with thoughts about the
loss (often referred to as working through the loss) was
associated with poor outcomes even 2 to 4 years after the
loss.
Myth #2 – It is assumed that after a loss that a person
will experience intense distress and will then achieve a
state of recovery and return to normal functioning.
There is growing evidence that a substantial minority of
individuals continue to exhibit distress for a much longer
period of time than would commonly be assumed (see
complicated grief below).
Myth #3 – Over time and as a result of working
through their loss, individuals will achieve a state of
resolution (or acceptance) regarding what has
happened. In reality it is difficult for many people to find
meaning in the loss and people are not always able to
achieve resolution regarding their loss and to come up
with an explanation for the experience that is satisfying to
them. Particularly when the event is sudden, a majority of
individuals appear to have great difficulty in coming to
terms with what has happened.
Zisook and Shuchter indicate that “there is no prescription
for how to grieve properly for a lost spouse [or loved
one], and no research-validated guideposts for what is
normal vs deviant mourning.” The key – everyone
handles the grief process somewhat differently, so, it is
important to respect this and do what you can to cope
effectively.
Coping with Loss
In order to cope more effectively with loss, once again, be
assured that grief is natural and that it is normal to think
about your loved one. Allow yourself to feel sadness and
the sense of loss. Also, allow yourself to experience joy
and happiness as your reminisce about your loved one.
Talk to family members and friends who share your
memories. You may even want to do something positive
in your loved one’s memory such as donating to his/her
favorite charity, volunteer on their behalf and memory,
and so forth. Be aware that it is also okay to move on and
to enjoy life as well. Most grieving people would agree
that the loved one would not want the surviving family
member or friend to continue to wallow in despair.
Instead, I try to get survivors to focus on taking control
and accomplishing things in life in honor of the one they
have lost. In doing this, you live out their legacy as best
as possible.
Complicated Grief. One hears more and more about a
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
23
Aberrant Auscultation
By Patrick Allison
A
ll good things come to an end. Sadly, this will conclude the publishing of those
wonderful gems of verbal entertainment that keep us plugging away in lecture. We’ve
heard some truly outstanding orations in the past two years, and here’s a look at the
most recent and final batch.
“So when it comes to, um, pregnancy, there’s an abundance of advice out there for free women… or free advice for
pregnant women, I mean. Huh, huh, damn.”
Dr. Wolff, catching himself as he reverts back to an older time. February 20, Endo/Repro: L18 2:00.
“Alright, HPV. I don’t really talk a lot about HPV, um, because you guys probably get HPV up the ying-yang, but…
um… I didn’t mean it like that, um…”
Dr. Newmyer, slipping and having a laugh over it. February 20, Endo/Repro: L52 37:59.
“Inevitably, you and I will show up some day, and the clinicians won’t show up. So on those days, I’ve got a bunch of
YouTube things that we’ll watch, and, uh, political of course, and uh… So, uh, today’s
topic—this first hour—is to uh, reintroduce to you, uh, some of the characteristics of
joints, and uh, not the kind of joints that President Clinton, uh, uh… interacted with…”
Dr. Yee, shooting the breeze one more time with reference to the infamous
class of 2010 whining incident. April 1, MSI: L1 7:52.
“So, think about it. You got cocaine laid out on, on the counter; uh, you put the, uh—in
my case it’d be a dollar bill—in your nose, and you snort the cocaine, um and I now
give that to the next person.”
Dr. Zetterman, choosing his weapon while explaining a possible route of
transmission of the hepatitis C virus: sharing cocaine paraphernalia.
March 13, Gastrointestinal system: L 16 23:32.
Didn’t inhale? Really?!
“Ya’ll are too young to recognize that as you get older—you know, I wake up every morning and just… s*** just hurts!”
Dr. Yee, impressing on the class the importance of learning well the medicine regarding the musculoskeletal
system. April 1, MSI: L1 3:10.
“Notice the Scotty dog. Do ya’ll see it? Kay? You see the Scotty dog? Come on, take a hit…
take a shot.”
Dr. Kenik, encouraging the class to expand their minds so as to recognize the classic
shape present in articular facets of the spine. April 1, MSI: L4 14:45. Thanks to
Eric Marty, future MD, for pointing this one out.
“So, the most important thing you can learn as a, as a medical student and certainly in
preparation for residency is if you don’t know the answer, you go, ‘I don’t know.’ Actually, if
you go, ‘F***, I don’t know’ then they know you’re from Creighton.”
Dr. McGuire, bestowing a pearl on the class of 2010. April 2, MSI: L5 5:50.
Last issue’s winner was Dr. Dunlay’s “Psych-Path Smack Talk.” Submit your vote for best
Aberrant Auscultation to Patrick Allison at [email protected]. Find other auscultations that didn’t make this
short list on the 2010 web page. After this last winner has been chosen, the readers will then vote online for Quote of the
Year. The winner of this prestigious award will be recognized in the Fall 2008 issue of the Wellness Chronicle. Keep an
eye out!
■
SUMMER 2008
M1 Intramural Sports Update
By Wendy Jo Svetanoff
T
he M1 class had three teams participate in
intramural basketball this season. Our first
guys’ team, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em, started the
season off in full swing, showing great
chemistry and teamwork throughout the regular season.
Andy Schemmel and Adam Stibbe were the team’s
downtown threats–there was even one game where Andy
had four three-pointers–while Rob Van DeMark was the
go-to guy down in the paint. Mark Hsiao and Matt Straley
did a great job establishing the tempo of the games at
point guard, while Mike Stetz, Jim Ramig, Zach
Torgersen, and JJ Schumacher were all invaluable
contributors to the success of the team. At the end of the
regular season, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em had an undefeated
season and was placed in the elite bracket for playoffs.
In their first playoff game, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em played
the number one team in the league (which fellow M1
Gregg Anazia was a part of). Despite being a little beat
up, the team played strongly throughout the entire game.
Unfortunately, the Ballers were a little too strong towards
the end of the game, and Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em saw
themselves out of the playoffs.
The second guys’ team to play in the league was
Moose Knuckles. Although it took them a little while to
find their rhythm as a team, Moose Knuckles came on
strong in the end to finish the regular season 2-2, earning
the second seed spot in the Competitive BB division. Dan
Pease was one of the most impressive players throughout
the entire season. Making great use of his aggressive style
as a post player, Dan racked up 74 points to be the top
scorer on the team. Moose Knuckles also had a great
downtown threat in Billy Pederson. Billy was the second
highest scorer, and led the team in three-point baskets
with thirteen. Munib Sana and Zach Joos were aggressive
both on offense and defense to lead the team in the
rebound category, while Brendan Thelen played well
throughout the entire season.
However, it seemed like Moose Knuckles used the
regular season almost as tune-up for the real part of the
season – the playoffs, for it was here that Moose
Knuckles really came together as a team and showed their
true potential. Led by point guard, Adam Mitchell, who
seemed to turn the intensity up a couple notches in the
post-season, Moose Knuckles mercy-ruled their
opponents in the first two games (71-46 and 60-40). With
amazing passing from Adam to the open players, no one
could stop Moose Knuckles on the road to the
championship. Adam also turned in a fine performance in
the shooting category, including making five three-
Adam Mitchell looks for the open man as Moose Knuckles
play McLovin’ in the championship game.
pointers in the semi-final game. The championship game
found Moose Knuckles playing McLovin’: two teams
with opposite personalities. While one of Moose
Knuckles’ main weapons was their three-point play,
McLovin’ was able to counter that with unmatched height
down low. This mismatch, along with foul trouble that
started early in the game, proved to be Moose Knuckles’
undoing. Despite battling back into contention many
times, they would end up losing the championship, 56-46.
The third team to play intramural basketball was the
girls’ team, Mighty Medics. Despite getting off to a slow
start in the regular season with many line-up changes and
some inconsistency, the Mighty Medics were happy to
f
i
n
d
themselves in
the C bracket
p l a y o f f
division. Just
like
Moose
Knuckles,
it
wasn’t
until
the post-season
that
the
Mighty Medics
were truly able The Women’s “C” Division Winners –
to find their
Mighty Medics! From left: Meagan
g r o o v e . McCarthy, Kylie Clark, Caitlin Renn,
M e a g a n Nicole Nolan, Michelle Roenfeld, Wendy
McCarthy led
Jo Svetanoff.
the team, not
only at the point-guard position, but also in points with
thirty-seven in the two post-season games. Michelle
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
LAUNCH!
(Continued from page 22) Shrink Rap
phenomenon referred to as complicated grief. Signs and
symptoms include extreme focus on the loss, intense
pining for the deceased, problems accepting death,
numbness/detachment, preoccupation with sorrow,
bitterness, inability to enjoy life, withdrawal, depression,
difficulty moving on, irritability, and a lack of trust in
others. Complicated grief can affect a person physically,
mentally, and socially. For those of you who continue to
experience complicated grief, make sure that you are
using the coping strategies mentioned above. In addition,
make sure to stay active, exercise regularly, practice
stress management strategies, participate in recreational
activities, socialize, and reach out to your faith
community. In addition, plan ahead for special dates or
anniversaries by finding new ways to celebrate or
acknowledge your loved one in a way that provides
comfort and joy. Finally, if you continue to experience
problems, seek help from a psychologist or counselor.
Joining a support group may also be helpful. The key is to
take action so that you may learn new coping skills and a
way to live life with loving memories.
■
Resources
Mayo Clinic Website: www.mayoclinic.com
Maciejewski PK, Zhang B, Block SD, Prigerson HG. An
empirical examination of the stage theory of grief. JAMA
2007;297:716-723.
Wortman CB, Silver RC. The myths of coping with loss. J
Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1989;57:349-357.
(Continued from page 24) M1 Intramurals
Roenfeld and Nicole Nolan were great post players as
Michelle was able to get many easy baskets in the paint,
and Nicole was our leading rebounder throughout the
playoffs. Kylie Clark and Wendy Jo Svetanoff played
great on defense and at the shooting-guard spot, while
Caitlin Renn also stepped up her play during the postseason. In the first game of playoffs, the Mighty Medics
played a Delta Zeta team that would not seem to go away,
keeping the lead under double digits most of night. In the
championship game, however, it was no contest. The
Mighty Medics started off the game with a bang and
never looked back as they overpowered the Rock Stars
and won the championship with an impressive score of
47-16. All of the M1 teams played great throughout the
entire season, ending the season with hopes of even more
impressive seasons next year.
■
25
Moms in Medicine
hits the web May/June 2008!
By Laura McDermott
L
ast Fall during a meeting, CMSG decided a
Moms in Medicine website would be a great
asset for current and incoming medical
students. Most people won’t have to worry
about starting a family during medical school or during
their residency program.
However, some may
contemplate starting a family while others are wondering
how to have better balance with their current family.
Questions such as: What year is a good year to have a
baby in medical school? How can I balance going to
school, studying, and having a family? Which residency
programs are geared towards family-work-life balance?
What if I have a difficult pregnancy?
Whether you are a single parent or have a spouse,
trying to answer these questions can be a difficult and
daunting task. Often, the expertise of being a parent in
medical school is gained from “on-the-job” training, and
the information leaves when
students graduate and leave for
residency programs or to
practice medicine. Searching for
answers by asking fellow
students or looking all over the
web may not always be the most
productive use of time. The
solution is the Moms in Medicine
website. This site is specifically
tailored around the wants and
needs of Creighton Medical
students and residents so that
questions and specific needs can
Need some help with the be addressed proactively. At this
baby thing?
time, the site will have links to
other sites. The goal in the future is to post information
from past and current students to answer questions such
as the one’s posted at the beginning of this article. For
the dads in medical school, have no fear, we will have a
dads’ corner on the site and look forward to your
feedback as well. Please look for the website to be
launched in May/June 2008. Laura McDermott, a current
M1, is responsible for the site. This is a website for the
students, so input and suggestions are welcome. If you
have any ideas or comments, please email Laura
McDermott at [email protected].
■
I
By Wendy Jones
SUMMER 2008
Up, Up, and Away
residents were incredibly overworked and the facilities
’ll summarize the main points of my article right at
and staff support were lacking. Interestingly enough,
the beginning: traveling on externships can be very
although I got the best evaluation from this residency
helpful for applying to residency, and it can actually
(compared to my other externships), I did not get an
be quite affordable too.
interview from this program.
I did three away rotations in programs that I was
My last externship was in Honolulu. I really enjoyed
interested in for residency. I started looking at various
the program. They had several unique features to their
programs in January of 3rd year, and found three to apply
program as well as
to whose rotation
excellent facilities,
dates were compatible
faculty and residents.
with
Creighton’s
The residents would
d a t e s .
T h e
pick me up for their
applications
social events, so I
themselves
were
went snorkeling, to
posted from February
karaoke night, and out
to April for the
to several dinners with
programs I applied to.
them, which was very
Knowing externships
useful to learn about
were filled on a first
Spending a month in Honolulu. Rough...
what the program and
come first served
residents were like. On my first day of the rotation, my
basis, I, in a typical obsessive compulsive medical student
attending (who was also the program director) asked what
way, checked some of the websites daily for two weeks
I was applying for, and told me she would arrange for me
trying to see when they would actually post the
to interview while I was there! After all the talk about
applications. Rotating on away electives has two obvious
professionalism at Creighton, I found it hilarious that I
advantages: if faculty like you it can be very beneficial
met four of the people who would interview me (the
for getting interviews and matching (especially if you do
following week), dressed in my Halloween costume! I
it in the summer or fall), and it is also a good way to see if
ended up matching in this program, and I don’t think I
the place is a good fit for you and what the program is
would have if I had not done an externship there.
really like (which is sometimes hard to determine on
During my 4th year, I did rotations in
interviews when they always put their
best foot forwards!).
two countries and six different states
I loved my first externship in Rhode
which certainly made for an interesting
Island. Everyone was friendly, there
year. And surprisingly enough, it was
was an emphasis on teaching, and the
quite affordable. I moved out of my
residents were great advocates for me
apartment June of my 3rd year (i.e. I
and tried to tell me how to get into their
have no rent to pay each month!). The
program. They also suggested meeting
ten weeks that I was in Omaha, I stayed
with the residency coordinator during
with a good friend in my class who
my externship and said this was a
graciously offered me her extra
standard procedure for visiting students.
bedroom. I spent most of the year going
I found this to be true at other schools
from one state to another. Only one of
Externships are a great way to see
as well. I suspect doing an externship at
my externships offered student housing,
how other programs run and
that school was a significant factor in
which meant that I had to find my own
whether or not you would be a good
my getting an interview there.
housing for a month in New York and
fit there.
My second externship was in
Honolulu. Surprisingly, though, this was
Queens, New York. This proved to be just as useful an
not particularly difficult, and I found cheap, furnished
externship but in different ways. While my attendings
housing close to the hospital without much work. I admit
were very nice and I learned a lot and got a lot of
that they were noisy, somewhat dirty, and in one case
experience doing H+P’s, I realized it was not the
rather infested with ants, but for a month I could live
environment that I wanted to do a residency in; the
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
27
O S R
Organization of Student Representatives
By Danielle Ku`ulei Potter
A
Update
re you thinking, “What the #@!% is OSR?”
Well, although you’ve received emails from
Andrew Stevens and myself, I also know
there’s a lot of you who delete every email
with the heading “med-20XX.” Think of OSR as your
middle men (student representatives) to the AAMC
(Association of American Medical Colleges). As your
OSR representatives, we will be updating you on hot
topics pertinent to you, including things that affect that
“heavy debt you’re accumulating” (i.e. things going on in
Washington like the College Cost Reduction Act),
programs/tools being developed by the AAMC to
simplify our lives (e.g. VSAS, Charting the Outcomes in
the Match, etc.), promote diversity (e.g.
www.aspiringdocs.org), and much more. Below you’ll
find some highlighted topics. If you’re interested in any
other topics mentioned, please ask one of us or check out
the AAMC website.
Have you ever asked yourself the following questions
(especially M2s studying for Step 1):
How will USMLE Step 1 help me become a b e t t e r
physician?
Will all these detailed facts I’m memorizing r e a l l y
help me to help my patients?
If you have, you are not alone. In fact, the NBME is
currently undergoing a Comprehensive Review of the
USMLE. A Committee to Evaluate the USMLE Program
(CEUP) was established and has been compiling a final
repot, due spring 2008 to the NBME. Some previously
reported themes include the following:
1. Redesign of USMLE to better reflect the
competencies important to medical practice
2. Reconsider current, independent assessment of the
basic sciences (Step 1) in favor of an integrative
approach to the scientific foundations of medicine
across all components of the USMLE program
http://www.aamc.org/students/medstudents/start.htm
Special Hotel Rates for Clinical Skills Exams: M3s, are
you getting overwhelmed with the rising cost of
fourth year: $1,500 for Step 2, travel costs to
externships/interviews, money for a new suit (cause
you don’t want to be like Tommy Boy)? Well, there
is one small consolation and, like saving coupons, it
all adds up. So check out the following website for
special AAMC-negotiated rates at hotels in close
proximity to each of the Clinical Skills Exam sites:
http://www.aamc.org/meetings/clinicalskills/
hotelrates/start.htm
VSAS (The Visiting Student Application Service) – Pilot
year with ten schools: This is a brand new AAMC
application currently in the design phase, intended to
streamline the process of applying for “away”
electives typically taken in the fourth year of medical
school. The service is a web-based system that
requires students to submit just one application for all
schools, effectively reducing paperwork,
miscommunication, and time spent by students &
staff. On April 15, 2008, the program launched its
pilot year with ten “host” schools participating. So
M3s, check out the website to see if they are
including some of the schools you’re applying to for
externships, and use this to simplify things: http://
www.aamc.org/programs/vsas/start.htm
For more info, visit http://www.usmle.org/
General_Information/review.html. If you have any
questions, contact us, your OSR representatives: Danielle
Ku`ulei Potter (M3), Aaron Pannier (M2), and Andrew
Stevens (M4).
■
(Continued from page 20) It takes Time
decision. Ultimately it took some very honest selfreflection about who I am and what I want out of
medicine. That’s right, it took time.
Now, for those of you still struggling with your
decision, do not take this article as any form of advice. I
know each of us will come to choose a specialty in his or
her unique way, and I promise that until that happens for
you, I will try to avoid asking that panic-inducing
question, “What do you want to be when you grow up”?
Ultimately, we will all make a choice, but along the way,
there is nothing wrong with a little what-if-ing.
■
SUMMER 2008
motivations of its youth,” she says. “Our generation is
certainly far from being completely defined, but slowly,
there is an outline already forming. I don’t know what our
generation is officially supposed to be called, but the
disturbing events of our times will most certainly be the
Devoid of cause or motive
central focus of our history.”
a faith in reason quakes.
This dark prediction sums the effects of the prevalence
Then, foreheads fall in open palms,
of violent acts in recent history. Perhaps more troubling,
and hearts, downtrodden, break.
the search for reason amidst the bloodshed broods ever
more challenging with every event. Theories abound.
Chaplain of the School of Medicine Marcia Cusic sites
he pews of St. John’s Parish filled in painful
a basic problem in values. “I do think there is a lack of
silence March 22, 2008. Hundreds gathered in
respect for life in general, from birth to death: a lack of
support of those in the front rows, the familiar
appreciation for life, as we take for granted the miracle of
faces of the parents: two of Creighton
new life, the medical advances that can now give people a
University School of Medicine’s most honored and
longer life and literally bring people back to life.” She
treasured faculty downcast by the tragedy that had
also notes a fault in society’s exemplars. “We see
befallen them. To this day, a reason behind the source of
leadership choosing killing as a way to
the Hunters’ anguish remains enigmatic.
dominate and ‘reel people in’ rather than
It seems that such stories define our
dialogue, understanding, considering the
times. Words like “terrorism,” “murder,”
perspective of another... [There is] no
and “massacre” frequent newscasts and
consideration of the greatest commandment
conversation so much that it seems hardly a
of all: to love others as God loves us.”
day passes without their intrusion. Was it
The breakdown of society’s cohesion
always like this?
also finds blame. “Those who commit
“I was in high school in September,
violence seem to be somehow disconnected
2001, and I remember sitting in my senior
from their communities, families, peers,
Spanish class, watching the news footage
etc. Access to weapons is definitely a
of burning buildings and knowing that
factor. But perhaps more of a factor is a
everything was going to change – and
culture that finds little value in life, in
everything did change around the world,”
community, and in alleviating social ills,”
says M2 Kashmir Singh. “My college years
explains Eric Marty.
were defined by wars in Afghanistan and
Still others find meditating on reasons
Iraq, bombings in London and Madrid,
Grief. Linda Branch Dunn
distasteful, even distracting. M2 Brittany
chaos and inept governmental action in
Willer claims, “It is as if an explanation for the
New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and genocide in
unspeakable violence that was committed seems to make
Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo. But it still
people feel better, safer, more distanced from the evil in
seems so remote, so far away and unreal when we
the world. But there is never a sensible explanation for
consider how isolated we feel here in the Midwest. It is so
violence. The search for a cause only seems to obscure
distant until the violence comes into our own community
and distract from the mourning process. It makes it seem
and impacts our lives directly .”
like there was a reason for the violence, like on some odd
Unfortunately, that encroaching violence seems to be
level it was to be expected given the background of the
mounting. “It would appear so,” agrees Eric Marty. “It
perpetrator. And that doesn't make any sense to me.”
may also be that media coverage of these events has
It remains a fascinating point, however, that just as
increased.”
the weaknesses of our culture suffer onus for the violence
Marty, a rising M3, furthermore notes a change in the
that pervades our lives, so too do the strengths of that
tide. “We should also consider that the venue of violence
same culture promise recompense. “It is the strength of
is changing. Violent crime is down in urban areas, yet
the community that can be the driving force to change this
seems to be on the rise in middle America and in new
violence,” stresses Singh. “At Creighton, we have already
demographics (elementary school children, college
witnessed the healing power of community in the past
students, middle and upper class Caucasians).” Singh
month, and if we take that bond and actively reinforce it,
echoes this transition to violence in youth. “Every
we can move together to help solve the problem.”
generation has its defining theme in history, drawn by
Marty likewise seems optimistic. “We do not feel
those events that shape the outlook, perspective, and
Senseless
T
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
SUMMER 2008
responsible for those around us so we do not reach out to
those at highest risk of committing violent crimes. So I
think we ought to reach out to victims, listen to them, and
empathize. And if enough people deem it worthwhile, we
can work from the bottom up in our families,
communities, and cities to invest in an infrastructure of
prevention.”
Both M2s emphasize the individual as the spark: Singh
says, “It is time to change and time to come together to
redefine our generation’s history – and this change starts
here, with each of us,” and Marty concludes, “We can do
a lot of good in this area as physicians. And we have a
responsibility to. More of a responsibility than the
average community member. Be the change you want to
see.”
Still, the pain caused by the disregard of the value of
human life extends beyond the loss of that life and into
the most basic foundations of those who do value it.
Conceiving of a mind where such things are possible
strikes most as impossible. It defies reason, as does the
ease of the physical act itself. How terribly facile it is to
move one finger and squeeze a trigger, and how profound
is the impact from such a minor motion!
But, perhaps the squall of violence that plagues our
community, nation, and world should rather be viewed in
the light of hope. It does not seem impossible that
violence may escalate, so why then can the situation not
instead improve? If only the courageous can remember
their lost brethren or as Albert Einstein once said:
Any intelligent fool can make
things bigger, more complex, and
more violent. It takes a touch of
genius—and a lot of courage—to
move in the opposite direction.
■
29
(Continued from page 7) Snapshots
My residency starts June 24, roughly two months from
now. The prospect of this very sentence quite literally
excites me to the point of oblivion, and sends shivers
down my spine all at the same time. I will return to the
point of being the new guy, someone with the most to
learn. And while I’m not sure of the course that my
training will take me, I do know two things. The first is
that I will look for every opportunity to learn, especially
from my patients. Those snapshot moments are invaluable
to any doctor’s development, and by the end of the next
three years I should have enough to take the next step.
The other thing I’m sure of: I’m ready. I’m ready because
of my education, and I have all of the teachers, doctors,
and administration at Creighton to thank for that. But I
know I’m ready mostly because of the six men in the
Class of 2011 who have reminded me who I once was and
have shown me what I can become.
■
(Continued from page 26) Up, Up, and Away
almost anywhere!
One of the best parts was the built-in vacations with
the externships. Completely by chance, two of my
rotations happened to have no weekends or call. On my
other rotation I slept through the night (9 hours or more!)
on most calls and subsequently had the next day off. So I
had lots of mini vacations! In Providence, Rhode Island,
the city is obsessed with water-fire celebrations that
include gondolas and fire throwers. In New York City,
there was so much to do it is hard to even start, but
several $20 tickets to Broadway shows definitely
brightened my life. In Hawaii, as well, it’s not hard to
find things to do (especially when it is 75 degrees there
while it is snowing in Omaha!)
I wish all of you graduating in the years to come good
luck, and I hope sharing my experiences with externships
was helpful to you.
■
2011 Class Mascot Turns 1
By Laura McDermott
Austin Matthew McDermott was born on May 2nd, 2007 to current M1 Laura
McDermott and her husband Paul McDermott. On May 2nd, 2008, Austin
will turn one. At 3 months old, Austin debuted as the class mascot and has
enjoyed this position for the past 9 months. During the past school year,
Austin sat in a few classes and attended various school functions. His latest
trip to school involved chatting with Marcia Cusic, playing with Dr. Jeffries’
football, and meeting with Dr. Kavan. He has also been very “helpful”
during study groups turning pages - ask Cris Crisler, Thuy Koll, and Maryal
Concepcion. He is looking forward to rooting on his mommy’s classmates
for the next three years until they graduate in 2011, and is proud to serve as
the class mascot.
■
SUMMER 2008
Service to Patient:
Building Vocations in Medicine
By Mike Long
G
ood physicians
are dedicated to
serving others;
i t
i s ,
admittedly, an ideal of
broad scope. It was with
this perspective that I approached this year’s Creighton
medical student spring break trip to the Pine Ridge Oglala
Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. I organized and
participated in the March 2008 weeklong Project CURA
immersion experience with eight fellow students.
To plan, I prioritized the immersion experience on the
Rez as a service experience in its strict sense. In so doing,
I set off expecting an experience foundational to my
medical education. It is not enough for nine medical
students to arrive at a place like Pine Ridge, to pile out of
a van, to only provide a week of—ultimately—trivial
labor and aid assistance. Instead, we experienced the
necessity for being physicians in service. It is by such
lessons that we become enriched to influence real change
in the lives of any of our patients through compassionate
treatment. The results of service might not be immediate,
but they have the potential, in time, to be profound.
Medicine is dedication to human service. Creighton’s
philosophy is rooted in the Jesuit principles of magis
(“the more”) and cura personalis (“care for the whole
person”). Medical education at Creighton transcends the
classroom to stress care for the whole person. We must
learn who our patients are to accept them with
compassion, patience, empathy, and humility; we aim to
communicate these values by how we care for them.
Such care invites our patients to trust our efforts on their
behalf and to rely on us as part of their community. We
become invested in each other for a common outcome.
Project CURA (Creighton Medical Students United in
Relief Assistance) is one of many venues for Creighton
medical students to experience, learn, and practice the
human aspect of medical care. Most CURA experiences
are international; but one does not have to travel far for a
potent experience.
Pine Ridge, located about 350 miles northeast of
Denver, is steeped in history. The Lakota are proud of
their heritage as one of the strongest and most influential
tribes in the Great Plains. Strongest among the defenders
against westward expansion, the Lakota defeated Custer
at Little Big Horn. Tensions between the United States
and the Lakota peaked at Wounded Knee with the
cavalry’s massacre of over 300 men, women, and children
who had surrendered and were surrounded by cavalry
guard. The legacy of this history remains: there is intense
cultural pride, but also the residual effect of justifiable
distrust. The marginalization of reservation life has
created a legacy of poverty and its ills. Alcoholism
proliferates; diabetes is epidemic; life expectancy is short;
the list goes on. Ills aside, there are forces of change
riding on tradition, pride, and optimism. As physicians for
our patients—with appropriate identity, empathy, and
caring effort—we can support the restoration of
autonomy and positive direction for the future.
As physicians, however, it is inadequate to come to a
place like Pine Ridge to provide a limited duration of
service, but then to pack up and return to our own
agendas. Effort and interest must be taken to learn a
patient population’s history, culture, and norms; we
cannot truly care if we choose to remain outsiders. For
example, we learned that to the Lakota there is a language
behind a handshake. We need to be sensitive to nuances
to such commonplace pleasantries. Who would have
thought a firm handshake and direct eye contact might
alienate a patient
and compromise a
doctor-patient
relationship? To
some Lakota it
may. We are
taught of the
adverse
health
effects of tobacco
usage; but for
some Lakota there
is a difference between traditional tobacco usage in
healing or ritual prayer and that of tobacco abuse.
Physicians must be culturally competent to differentiate
between the two and be respectful in their queries. It takes
investment of time and effort to learn, understand, and
come to practice appropriately in a given culture—by
immersing ourselves, even briefly, in life at Pine Ridge
we become aware of such cultural courtesies.
I had previously spent time on the Pine Ridge prior to
this most recent excursion. Over the course of a year I
WELLNESS CHRONICLE
spent about a month’s time there while visiting a
volunteer. This time around, in a trip of one week, no one
in our group nor I expected to come away from the Pine
Ridge experience
h a v i n g
proficiency
in
understanding
Lakota culture or
the nuances of life
on a reservation.
However,
the
uniqueness of that
community, its
challenges related to health care and the complexity of
possible solutions to them did become apparent. Mindful
of our primary commitment to service, it was clear to us
how necessary it is to form a foundation of understanding
of a people and their place—their history, their culture,
their struggles, their strengths. It was good for us to spend
time listening, learning, watching, and reflecting
throughout that week on the Rez.
In medicine we serve our patients by investing
ourselves in their care. We owe our patients an honest
commitment to understand their ailments. So too we have
to honor the responsibility of sharing in the lives of very
real human beings who look to trust us. Though we did
not have any patients in a clinical capacity while on the
Rez, we could still empathize, a caring skill of openly and
intentionally being engaged and attentive. On any single
day on the Rez, one witnesses the consequences of history
and betrayal, the frustrations of federal bureaucracy, and
the disenfranchisements of life on the reservation.
However, one would be short-sighted to focus only on
these ills. There are rich and vital assets on the Pine
Ridge. Family, tradition, spirituality, and community are
all strong. In the community one finds grassroots
organizations and trusted, passionate individuals forming
its pillars. Pride in the past is palpable, and activity is
directed to the future.
From our brief stay on the Pine Ridge, the most
important lesson that impressed us was the need to
demonstrate our trustworthiness as physicians. People
must know that we are invested: we care about their
health, their environment, and their cultural community.
We must give respect. We must acknowledge their
dignity and integrity.
Mitakuye owasin is Lakota for “we are all related.”
This reference extends universally. We are one in the
family of mankind. Should we, the members of the 2008
Project CURA Pine Ridge group, never return to the Rez,
lessons learned there have enriched our medical
education. I can say confidently that each member in our
group saw the need for sincere personal investment in the
SUMMER 2008
31
medical care provided to patients and so given also in
context to their community. Remembering this will surely
enhance the care we will give any patient.
We are grateful for the generosity of everyone who
facilitated our experience, particularly to those who let us
into their lives. The members of our group and I would
welcome spending more time on the Pine Ridge, either by
rotation during the remaining years of medical school or
in commitment to service thereafter.
■
Wellness Chronicle
Acknowledgements, 2007-2008
Faculty advisor: Dr. Michael Kavan
Faculty contributors to every issue: Dr.
Kavan, Linda Pappas, Marcia Cusic.
Patti Marsh and the Office of Student
Affairs for help in distribution.
Loretta Zuck, Shane Morris, and the
Medical Copy Center for their help in
publishing.
Andy Kummer, editor for two years,
author of Snapshots for four years.
Brian Nagao, author of It’s Nagao’s World
for four years.
David Garcia and Maryal Concepcion,
roving reporters, responsible for the
short M2/M1 interviews.
And you, the reader!
SUMMER 2008
Summer Events Calendar
If you have managed to make it through this entire issue and still don’t have a clue what you’re going to be
doing this summer, here’s just a few more of the great things that Omaha has to offer to those of us choosing to,
or required to, stay in town. For the sports enthusiasts, there are many options to choose from: either of the
area’s indoor football teams (Omaha Beef and Iowa Blackhawks), NCAA baseball, or WWE wrestling. Also, for
those of us who need our musical fix, there is a wide variety of acts coming through town this summer that are
sure to satisfy almost any musical taste.
April 29
May 2
May 2-3
May 3
May 10
May 13
May 14
May 15-16
May 17
May 18
May 19
May 20-21
May 25
May 30
May 31
June 1
June 4
June 7
June 6-8
June 11
June 13
June 13
June 14
June 14-24
June 27
June 27-29
Sick Puppies
Gin Blossoms
Rent
Omaha Beef vs. Wichita Wild
Iowa Blackhawks vs. Springfield Wolfpack
Iowa Blackhawks vs. Missouri Minutemen
Forever the Sickest Kids
Creighton Baseball vs. Nebraska
The Police with Elvis Costello
Colbie Caillat
Creighton Baseball vs. Louisiana-Monroe
Omaha Beef vs. Billings Outlaws
WWE : Judgment Day
Cursive
Rilo Kiley
Styx
Iowa Blackhawks vs. Kansas Koyotes
B.B. King
Honda Civic Tour
The Roots
Modest Mouse
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Hatebreed
Ferret Young Guns Tour
Reba McEntire
Omaha Beef vs. Sioux City Bandits
Iowa Blackhawks vs. Springfield Wolfpack
Cobra Starship
2008 NCAA Men’s College World Series
Willie Nelson
Omaha Summer Arts Festival
Sokol Underground
Whiskey Roadhouse
Orpheum Theater
Omaha Civic Auditorium
Mid-America Center
Mid-America Center
Sokol Underground
Rosenblatt Stadium
Qwest Center
Sokol Auditorium
Rosenblatt Stadium
Qwest Center
The Waiting Room
Slowdown
Stir Cove
Mid-America Center
Stir Cove
Westfair Amphitheater
Stir Cove
Westfair Amphitheater
Omaha Symphony
Mid-America Center
Sokol Auditorium
Sokol Underground
Mid-America Center
Mid-America Center
Slowdown
Rosenblatt Stadium
Stir Cove
Gene Leahy Mall

Summer 2008 - Creighton University

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