Here it went: Week 15. This has been finals week for many and for me, coming to the end of my fifth trimester for the Master of Acupuncture program! The decision wasn’t that easy for me to transition from the Master of Oriental Medicine program to solely the Master of Acupuncture program, but the support from my deans, professors, and classmates have given me hope. Instead of finishing nine trimesters at National, it will shorten my studies to only seven trimesters. Not many things that we would like to have in life will go the way we planned. In any part or aspect of life, there will be ups and downs, but in the end, making the right choices is what’s best for your highest good.

This past week I had the greatest experience attending my first birth as a doula!

There are so many things happening in life, and we need to understand that they’re not all under our control. I am one of those who puts every detail of my life in my phone and paper calendars--especially the academic countdown to when I graduate!

I am nearing the halfway point! In about a year, I will be done with the MSOM program at NUHS. Honest truth: it wasn’t easy to get this far, and many times I have wanted to give up and go back to the hospital working at my old job. Even though there are other programs at National everyone says are more difficult (the Doctorate of Chiropractic, or Doctor of Naturopathic medicine), I can both agree and disagree.

If someone came up to you and asked, “Are you happy?” Would you be able to answer that without pausing? There are no right or wrong answers.

Week five is when many students are starting to take their first exams of the trimester, an early assessment to see how we are doing academically. At the end of last week, I felt very satisfied with how this trimester has been progressing. On top of my regular classes...nine to be exact…my greatest satisfaction has been in the clinic.

Here I am halfway through the program and it is the summer of 2019. This trimester I am taking eight classes and four clinic shifts to keep up with my goal of graduation. The last few trimesters were just taking classes and doing observations; however, I now have to train my brain to not only be an intern, but at times function as a therapist to my patients. Each patient is coming in for pain or stress, but what is the cause of that condition?

Here we go, the last stretch for spring 2019...FINALS! The past couple of weeks and weekends have been filled with cramming 15 weeks worth of nine classes into one to two hour exams for the last time. Success in learning is to keep practicing and reviewing until it becomes second nature. One of the classes I took every Friday evening this trimester was Tai Chi.

Have you ever wanted to be a superhero? To be able to use your eyes to fix things, fly around or cool equipment to battle? When I was growing up, boys wanted to be Superman or Batman. Girls probably idolized the same as the boys, because there weren’t that many female superheroes when I was growing up. But, then again, male superheroes were cooler. Nowadays, Wonder Woman or the most recent, Captain Marvel are popular. You idolize them, and would do anything to be their shadow. You mimic their actions, dress like them, and eventually try to change yourself to be a mini version of them. 

Another blur in my life at NUHS, but a good reminder that I am in medical school. The past couple of weeks were busy preparing for midterms. Along with papers and projects, many of us had to take boards or entrance exams to prepare for the next step for advancement in the program. Being in school is go...go...go non-stop; but, all of us continue to have each other’s backs!