What I Really Learned in Med School

I did my first physical activity post-concussion last week! Craig and I hiked the Spring Bay trail and it felt amazing to be active and outside. Now the only other trail left on my Saba/Caribbean Bucket List is Sandy Cruz. Other things on that list: scuba diving and more island hopping.   But for now, to get through 6 more exams. Then I am leaving this hot and sunny weather for below 0 temps in Canada for Christmas break!! I can't wait to meet Baby AuCoin and see everyone at home. Then NYC vacay and X girls Toronto reunion. So much to look forward to!   Here are some pictures from our hike... 360 view from Spring Bay Flat View from the beginning of the trail We went past the clearing you can see in this picture and then Craig went all the way up to the peak The King and Queen officially opened the trail when they were here a couple weeks ago so it was actually marked nicely CACTUS Mt Scenery Remnants of a sugar cane plantation from the 17

Christmas picture!     Phung's birthday supper at Swinging Doors!     Celebrating American thanksgiving!   17 med students watching a video on how to carve a turkey... Turkey with gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, dressing, spinach salad, garlic bread, cranberry sauce, veggies, and pumpkin spice soup Wishbone Dessert table My aero bar squares weren't made for Caribbean heat but they were still delicious Birthday boys cutting the chocolate/pumpkin cake   Doctor-patient relationship exam day     View from our house        

One thing I love about studying medicine is that we get to learn about some popular cases that show up in the media. One case that comes up over and over is the study by Andrew Wakefield that "proved" that the MMR (combined measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine causes autism. This is the tirade that is now primarily led by Jenny McCarthy.   And unfortunately, some people still believe that this is true. I’ve been thinking about doing this post for a while now, but it was the combination of watching videos of children with whooping cough (because their parents were anti-vaccine) coupled with  the fact  that one of my best friends is expecting soon that tipped me over the edge to write it. Basically, I thought someone else might be interested in what the truth is just like I was. So here are the facts as we learned them. By the 1990's, 91% of children were vaccinated with the MMR vaccine. Cases of measles, mumps, and rubella all decreased over 99%. To put this in perspecti

I have been so fortunate to experience and learn about different cultures during my time studying abroad - and last weekend was no exception. We celebrated Diwali (the Festival of Lights) which is a Hindu/Sikh holiday. Trincy lent me an outfit - it was burgundy pants with a gold embellished dress. It also had a matching shawl that Trincy said was intended to cover the breasts but that no one actually does that. I thought that was pretty funny. There was a dinner and classical Bollywood dancing and even the profs got up to do a performance. Big thanks to everyone involved for inviting us to celebrate with you!   The King and Queen of the Netherlands were here on Thursday. They drove by our house and then we watched them fly out. There were people and activities everywhere including a Parade of Flags. The parade included over 40 countries with both locals and students. Not bad for an island of less than 2000.   It is block weekend yet again right now. 3 exams on Monday - micro,