Empty Nest

Just getting a few more things packed. Our apartment looks creepy with fewer and fewer items in it. It's messy and yet empty. Soon, most of our kitchen stuff will be gone.

Anxiety thought dump

I am currently having second thoughts while attempting to kill brain cells while watching "What Not to Wear" on TLC. I know that my second thoughts are unfounded, but they exist. I am anxious, for example, about my age. I graduated college in 2006 and proceeded to take two years off. While I really needed the time off ( see www.caseaidediaries.net for more), I am becoming more and more alarmed that I will finish med school at the ripe old age of 28, only to turn 29 shortly thereafter. That's if I don't do an OMM fellowship, which I am seriously considering because of the teaching experience. Then, it's residency for 3 to 5 years (most likely 3). And what if I want to do a fellowship? Clearly, that's insane when paired with the stuff I want to do. Where do I have a life? I'm married, I want children. There are so many things that I want to do that have nothing to do with medicine.

It stings to think that I could just ditch this whole crazy adventure and live in a pretty place with sweet people and get my little family life started. My sister in law? She's just gotten married and is already talking about kids. For me, kids are far, far away. My biological clock is ticking. I know people have children during med school/residency/loan repayment programs, but how realistic is that?

At the same time, I know that I have a husband who loves and supports me, as well as in-laws who are amazing. I know that my husband would be a stay at home dad in a heartbeat, and that my in-laws and parents would be thrilled to have a grand baby to play with. I also know that if I don't at least try to make this work after all the effort I've gone to, I'll be seriously angry at myself for the rest of my life.

Why Osteopathy?

Why not? No, really. Why not? Osteopathic medical schools teach the same basic science curriculum as allopathic medical schools. They are accredited, their students are eligible for the same NIH research grants, their students are able to participate in all AMA and AOA accredited residencies, and they learn additional material that allopathic students do not.

Yes, I am referring to Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, or OMM. This practice includes soft and rigid tissue manipulation, similar to both massage and chiropractic medicine. Note that I did not say the same as. This is important, because most physicians will use massage and/or chiropractic treatment in concert with medical or surgical treatment. Osteopathic physicians, however, often elect to use OMM as a diagnostic tool, or as sole treatment for minor injuries.

As a diagnostic tool, OMM is very powerful. For one, it increases the amount of time a physician's hands spend touching the patient. All too often, doctors examine with their eyes alone, leaving whatever lies beneath the surface untouched. Instead of simply writing a script for some sort of neck pain, a doctor may discover a lump or a dislocation and be able to treat that instead. OMM has the potential to help all doctors treat not just the symptoms, but the cause of disease. This should be the ultimate goal, I think. Perhaps allopathic medical schools should teach some osteopathic methods as well; it certainly couldn't hurt a future physician to have more skills with which to help patients.

Interestingly, allopathic does not show up in Firefox's spell checker, but osteopathic does. This pleases me somehow.

'Allo, world

I am:
moving across the country in 20 days
going to medical school, starting in August
a member of a minority in the medical community, i.e. osteopathic medical student
the proud owner of double jointed elbows and thumbs

I am not:
single
aware of where, exactly I am moving to, which makes the process all the scarier
a fan of mushrooms
an excellent speller