Month: August 2011

OUWB Orientation: Day 3 – PRISM Teamwork

Amanda Xi

Images from today:

How creative/symbolic/innovative [thanks for the words Caribou buddies!] were these “prism” table settings during our PRISM luncheon?

Mmm Caribou Coffee…

Last year as a member of the Executive Board for the Society of Women Engineers Section at the University of Michigan and while running the Ypsilanti Middle School Engineering Club, I got to know a lot about icebreakers. Some of them are really effective, while others are just plain annoying. While I cannot say that I absolutely love being a participant, by the end of the year I realized how much potential they have to teach communication and set the stage for a welcoming community.
I’m going to go a bit out of order to discuss today’s orientation events, so bear with me here. 
In the afternoon, all 50 of us participated in a challenge course. After a large-scale “icebreaker” [which involved making squares…] we divided up into our PRISM groups [there were 10 per group] and went through various obstacles. After a generic name game [though, I’m happy to say that I was able to name everyone in my PRISM group prior to the game], we worked on a challenge involving teamwork, following directions, understanding directions and communication [believe it or not… this was all done solely with the use of a Beanie Baby turtle named Timmy]. Because success came relatively quickly, we relished in its glory while moving on to the second challenge. 
Our next challenge entailed a pretty wild story about being shrunk down to ant size and navigating a way to the “sticky” nachos using a rope. I’m not really doing this challenge much justice, but we completed it on our first try, which led to a mutual feeling of accomplishment. Bring it on Challenge Course people! Group C can handle anything!

Then came the Helium Hula Hoop… since I had done this particular icebreaker before, I thought that it would be relatively straightforward. Unfortunately, I was very wrong. Somehow, this challenge proved to be the most difficult and frustrating one of the day. While in retrospect, I see that there were ways that we could have alleviated the tension running through our group with our numerous failed attempts and constant bickering, I have to admit that I was also caught up within it all. I believe that a large number of medical students have made it as far as they have because of their perfectionist tendencies and ability to lead. But the problems always arise when you tell a bunch of leaders and perfectionists to work together — who gets to lead the perfectionist leaders? [have you ever seen the words “perfectionist” and “leader” said so many times in 2 sentences?!]
Alas, we finally completed [well… mostly] the challenge and made it all better with a huge group hug and a cheer for our team. 
Next we lined up and formed a giant snake with every other person “blind.” The snake had to scale a number of obstacles [under a rope, over a park bench, through a hula hoop] with half of its members unable to see. It was definitely a fun challenge.
Finally, my favorite challenge of all was the spiderweb. I personally have never done this before, but here’s an example of what we were working with:
Don’t let the image above fool you — ours was a lot smaller than the example I found on the web. Anyway, the challenge was that we had to get everyone from one side of the web to the other without touching it and basically using every single space available [where you could only go through certain spaces once]. Also, we had combined groups, so we had 20 people to move from one side to the other. 
The reason that this challenge will remain ingrained in my memory is the fact that it took a lot of trust to let yourself be passed through a tiny hole by your peers. It was a very intimate moment to be held so carefully by a number of my classmates and looked after to ensure that I would 1. get through the hole, 2. not be violated, 3. not get my hair pulled out, and most importantly, 4. not get hurt. Thank you team, for taking care of me — I’ll make sure to return the favor as best as I can.
As you might have guessed, our team was successful in the challenge [even when we had to have a bunch of members blindfolded!].
The challenges lasted 3 hours [and I am now sunburnt…should have packed sunscreen!], but it really felt like time flew by [guess they didn’t lie when they said time flies when you’re having fun!].
Wow, I’m a bag of cheesy lines today.
To back up to the beginning of the day, we started with a session on Diversity and Multicultural Initiatives. Through a Powerpoint, watching a video, and a quick discussion, we received a great introduction to why diversity is so important in medicine. Afterwards we heard about the insurance plan available to students and the services available at the Graham Counseling Center.
Our [delicious] lunch was included as part of PRISM. Furthermore, each group had a mentor that joined us for the meal [ours was an Emergency Medicine physician]. Afterwards, we started the Challenge Course.
All in all, it was a really heartwarming day. I enjoyed it [even though I was exhausted] and hope that our TBL sessions will be this much fun in the future [maybe we can come up with a good icebreaker with our textbooks…]!

OUWB Orientation: Day 2/3

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

This is what my front door does to the sun when it wants to invade my foyer — woohoo prisms!

Last night, myself and three of my peers went to a Beaumont faculty member’s home for dinner with him and his family. The dinner was definitely one of the big things I was looking forward to because it offered an opportunity to connect with a faculty member as well as my peers in a more intimate setting. Plus, it was refreshing to see a relaxed and happy physician [so, it is possible to have it all!].
As I drove home last night [very full from a delicious meal], I felt even more convinced that I had made the right decision — while I believe that small schools generally result in a pretty close-knit community, I also believe that there is a right and wrong way to go about fostering its growth. OUWB seemed to put a lot of thought into this, because everything seems to be flowing perfectly.
Today we have a session on Diversity & Multicultural Initiatives, Health Insurance & Graham Counseling Center then the rest of the afternoon is dedicated to PRISM. I have an awesome PRISM group so I’m excited to do the low ropes challenge course with them later on today!
Just this past weekend I was [understandably] concerned about starting school and how everything would fall into place. Now, I’m just relaxed and ready to embark on this journey alongside my forty-nine peers [/corny statements… for now].

OUWB Orientation: Day 2

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane images of the day:

My locker in the Medical Student Lounge… and yes, it comes with a lock!

Because I know that you are all so concerned about my health, I thought I’d show off my tasty lunch [I do love vinegar and thus, it makes sense that I also love Kombucha… do I believe in its healing powers? Eh…]

I apologize that today’s update won’t be as fabulous as my Day 1 entry, primarily because today is a laid-back day, but also because I’m still recovering from how full of a day we had yesterday. 
This morning we determined our learning styles [the majority of us were visual, including myself], wrote letters to our M4-selves, and were introduced to the AAMC Careers in Medicine resources. Afterwards, we took our laptops out and learned how to navigate through Moodle and then had a crash course on Mac OS.

After a lunch break, I returned to the library to do a scavenger hunt/self-guided tour and then settled into the Medical Student Library to listen to an orientation presentation [oh, that rhymes!]. Once that was complete… we were free for the day.

And so here I am…

OUWB Orientation: Day 1

Amanda Xi
All day I plastered this goofy smile on my face [I couldn’t help it… I was just so excited and happy to be there]:
Uhh, so I usually don’t smile so large and ridiculous — but hey, pretending to actually have my white coat [we were trying them on for sizing] was a lot of fun.

[You have been forewarned: this will be a long entry…]

Surprisingly, I got a full 7 hours of rest last night and woke up with an adrenaline rush. After popping out of bed and scrolling through my favorite morning websites [email, news, blogs, Facebook… etc], I got dressed and ready to head out the door.

As I drove toward the school, I panicked for a moment: time suddenly feels like it’s speeding up — wasn’t it just yesterday that I sat before my birthday cake candles and wished for a medical school acceptance? I continued to drive on and noticed an elderly woman walking. I couldn’t help but think: she looks satisfied — I hope that someday I will be able to look back and feel fulfillment. By the time this second thought floated into my head, I was merging onto I-75 North toward University Drive [Exit 79] and needed to direct my attention toward the trucks blocking my exit lane.

I wanted to arrive at the school early enough to write a full blog entry, but was caught off-guard by the numerous news trucks reporting either in the parking lot or right outside of the O’Dowd study rooms. Then, of course, one of my peers arrived and I settled for an entry dedicated to the breakfast they set up for us in the Medical Student Lounge. After hitting “Publish Post,” I put my laptop away and chatted with people as they came in [it felt eerily comfortable to introduce myself to my new peers because I almost felt like I already knew everyone from the Facebook group].

After filling out a couple of forms and checking that the lock on my locker can indeed be cracked using the code given to us, I received my new laptop in a functional computer bag embroidered with the words “OUWB Charter Class of 2015.” We also received USB flash drives. While I already own a 13″ MBP, I was excited to play with the new Mac OS, Lion. Since the day was jam packed with activities, I have only had the chance to turn the new laptop on, and change my password [oh, and take a pretty picture of it for you guys to see!].

Some of the photos are a bit blurry since I hastily took them in dim lighting…

Each of us received a laptop bag with our new 13″ Macbook Pro inside [along with a power cord… and an iClicker… and a blue piece of paper with a really long and complicated password that took 2 minutes to type in…]

You will always know who you’ve run into when you see one of our bags because we all have these laminated name tags affixed to the side…

Can you guess which one is my new one?

Our first orientation session of the day was a heartfelt introduction from Dean Folberg [his story is truly an inspiration and one of the reasons I was drawn to the school in the first place]. A couple of things that stood out to me during his presentation [I apologize if these aren’t perfectly quoted!]:

  • “characteristic of a mentor — making time for students” YES! I love the sound of this!
  • “no one has the right to embarrass anyone at anytime” I’m glad to hear that the climate of medical education is shifting away from unnecessary embarrassment
  • Dean Folberg also painted a beautiful image of who our Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education, Dr. Michele D. Raible, was before she passed away — I wish I could have met her myself; she sounded like a wonderful woman with a world of experience to share with our class
  • And finally: “we wish you abundant success…”

We were then introduced to the Dean’s Team, heard an enthusiastic overview of orientation week by Ms. Jean Szura [I love her last name because it’s the first that I have encountered that also has an “sz-” beginning, like my middle name] and took a short break before Dr. Nuzzarello introduced us to “The Profession of Medicine.”

I have a feeling that Ms. Jean Szura arranged for this awesome color-coded orientation week schedule [it did not go unappreciated, I assure you]. She has been amazing every time I had a question!
Dr. Nuzzarello’s discussion included:
  • What is a profession? The example was, do you think that someone on the street corner selling newspapers has a profession?
  • Professionalism. This has become an increasingly important topic with slow decline in dress code enforcement.
  • Accountability
  • Respect for the learning environment
  • Social media. A very important topic to me!

But the part of her presentation that touched me was the video — she compiled a wonderful video of interviews with several Beaumont doctors who wanted to share advice from their journey with us. Each section was tied around the modern version of the Hippocratic Oath, known as the Declaration of Geneva. I won’t give more detail than that [you’ll have to be admitted to hear their wisdom], but I will say that I did hear some sniffles from my peers at the conclusion and I personally was moved by their words [serious kudos to you, Dr. Nuzzarello!].

Afterwards, we were directed to the activities fair and luncheon — let me tell you, I never expected to find a group of people applauding us as we ascended up the stairs of the Oakland Center. It felt weird. Anyway, during this time, I ate food, walked around and was interviewed twice [I know you want hear how fast I was talking during my interview]. We were also honored with the President of the Oakland County Medical Society, Dr. Sherwin Imlay. Oh, and we got the famous Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy as a gift from the Society. Thank you!

Hi, my name is Amanda and I am obsessed with textbooks. I love them. [Well… I say this now…]

Afterwards, we went into our Wellness session. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that we would not be staring blankly at colorful Powerpoint slides for 2 more hours, but would actually be running around campus. Say what?! Oh, and we got these spiffy GPS devices too:
Sorry it’s blurry… I took the picture while walking. Oh and yes, that’s GRASS you see in the background… because we were sent to the FIELD to retrieve an envelope [where I obtained 3 mosquito bites and very dirty toes!]
It was definitely a fun activity [and I very much appreciated the fresh air — even if it was humid]. While we didn’t win, I still had a great time AND we wrapped up the day earlier than scheduled.
Since I had a couple extra hours, I decided to check out the Rec Center. Sadly, I am disappointed that I have found such a wonderful facility to sweat in and it’s all going to be taken away from me for a week for maintenance! Why must you do this to me?! [By the way, the gym is everything everyone from Oakland raves about. Seriously. I cannot believe I’ve been working out in the CCRB for 3 years!]
Finally, I braved the traffic home [eh, wasn’t too bad today] and tried to unwind before heading to the OUWB Improv Night at GoComedy! in Ferndale. 
The stage area…

While I was pretty amused for the beginning of the show, the material slowly degraded [or my brain function did because I was exhausted from the day’s activities]. Either way, I enjoyed myself and found it to be worth the drive out [though, I got lost on the way back… who knew that you had to get onto I-75 to get onto I-696?! I didn’t…].
And here I am, extremely tired and so ready for bed. If you made it to these words [without cheating!], then I’d like to offer you a cookie because there’s a lot of text. Maybe after I learn how to actually bake cookies from scratch [that is, once I’m done with medical school and stuff…].
All in all, a successful day — thanks to everyone who made it awesome: the OUWB Faculty and Staff, my peers of the Inaugural Class of 2015, the media for publicizing my piece of the interwebs and finally you, the reader who I can always count on to listen to my rants. 

The calm before the pre-storm [i.e. orientation]

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

It’s good to be back and enjoying fresh yogurt parfaits in the morning!

Although we “officially” start school tomorrow [woah, what?! WHAT WILL I WEAR?!], I’m calling this week the pre-storm for various reasons:
  1. We aren’t actually doing much… work
  2. There’s a lot of free food involved
  3. There are a lot of social events
  4. We can’t actually be expected to bury our noses in our huge textbooks until we’ve officially been cloaked in our mini-white-coats
I’m sure once the week of August 15 rolls around, I’ll be wondering why I was excited for this whole study-every-waking-moment thing. Or, I’ll be in love [sorry Mike!] and rant about it in tiny little posts here!
By the way, SDN reports that there have been interview invites [oh, and the OUWB interview tracker has confirmed such reports] — I am so excited to meet the interviewees! If you have an interview and want to hang out with me in real-life, let me know!
Now for digging through my closet for that perfect first-day-of-school outfit…

Clean, clean, clean

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

Mmm I’ve recently become obsessed with Smart Water… so tasty! [YES, I assure you I can taste water!]

After a solid hour of breathing bathroom cleaning chemical fumes [a robust combination of Scrubbing Bubbles, bleach and 409 — don’t judge my chemical choices!], I decided that it was time for a Smart Water and blog update break. Whew, who knew that I could accumulate so much mildew gunk in my year of living in this apartment?! 
It looks like I’m mostly done with the cleaning portion of my visit — these old apartment units really need some better air filtration systems… I’ve probably cleaned off at least a pound of dust from random surfaces that I never used while I was inhabiting the space. Plus, my air filter needed to be cleaned at least 3 times to get all of the dust out!
While I cannot say that I’ll miss this particular unit [so much more cramped and old smelling than my previous unit in the same complex], I definitely made some great memories in here. 
Uh oh, my air conditioner is making weird noises… better go tend to that and move on to Phase 2 of cleaning my apartment…
[More on OUWB later today or tomorrow!]

Getting things done

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

My new OU ID card! [I am a bit embarrassed at how my photo looks so I cut that out…]

The fact that I’m starting school on Monday is slowly starting to set in — I know it’ll feel surreal until the moment that orientation activities begin, but I finally feel more ready to take this new challenge on. 
On the tasks front, so far I have only gotten my immunization form and accompanying documents done, but now that I have my coffee, I feel slightly more ready to slowly chip away at all the other things piled up on my to-do list.
I just finished up Dr. Michelle Au‘s book, This Won’t Hurt a Bit (and Other White Lies) while I was flying back from L.A. yesterday. I absolutely loved the book and recommend it for anyone entering medicine, especially women who are looking “to have it all.” While I recognized a lot of the book from reading her blog [I have almost read it completely from the first entry to the most recent — I think I have the entries from 2009-2011 to read], I still enjoyed reading her words. One of the things I love the most about Dr. Au is her humor and very down-to-earth way of writing. I truly look up to her and aspire to be as successful as she is.
We’re supposed to get one more OUWB Admitted Student Update soon — I’ll be sure to post an update when it reaches my inbox.
Time to stop procrastinating…

Preparing for the start of a new chapter

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

Did you know these diagonal crossings existed? Well they do in L.A. and they’re awesome!

Aside from mentally preparing myself for the start of a new school, I am swamped with several tasks in order to move forward with this new chapter of my life. Such things include:
  • actually completing my move out of Ann Arbor [kind of scary with a potential serial rapist on the loose]
  • tying up loose ends with the Engineering Club [this is so overdue…]
  • preparing my SWE Annual Conference presentation [also so overdue…]
  • finishing my lab data analysis and presentation [only slightly overdue…]
  • settling in at my new place [much of my life is still in plastic garbage bags thrown in various rooms]
  • various OUWB things including, but not limited to: immunization form, online orientation, anatomy primer… etc [the forms never seem to end!]
I’m hoping that by listing these things on a public space, it will motivate me to kick it in high-gear and get everything done before Monday. Obviously there are certain things that have more stringent deadlines than others and I’ll have to prioritize, but it’d be amazing to be able to cross each of these things off my to do list.
Help motivate me to finish these tasks!

Roadtrip update: from Duarte, CA

Amanda Xi

Today’s inane image of the day:

We had a fireplace in our room at the Colony Palms Hotel.

It’s sad that I have a fear of fire because just looking at a fireplace really has a calming effect on me. There was this cute little fireplace in our room as well as a cozy sitting area near a fireplace to dry off from the pool — both of which were really relaxing to sit in front of. Mmm, I’m already missing my resort time!
Currently I’m sitting in Mike’s new apartment in Duarte, California [the city is about 15 minutes from Pasadena]. Sadly, this is my last full day here [CA weather has not disappointed and neither has spending endless hours with Mike] so we’ve planned an adventure out to see the blocky Hollywood letters [I’m a tourist… what can I say?!] then to relax and walk around in Beverly Hills. I’ll be back to visit Mike during the Labor Day weekend, so hopefully I’ll get to slowly chip away at seeing various sites in L.A. during my future visits [and maybe even spotting my favorite reality TV star, Lauren Conrad].
In the meantime, I feel like there’s a huge dark cloud of tasks that I need to complete before starting orientation on Monday [I seriously cannot believe that I’m only 5 days away from being a real medical student!]. Unfortunately, my vaccination forms are taking longer than they should to complete and I’ve been neglecting the various tasks that I had planned to do during trip downtime [finishing my lab data analysis, making a lab presentation, looking into the Anatomy primer, doing the online orientation, filling out various other forms… the list goes on!]. Hopefully when I return tomorrow, I’ll be ridiculously efficient with my time and get a ton of things done.
Anyway, time to get moving — Mike’s making us a tasty breakfast of french toast and eggs… mmm I’m excited.