We have officially finished our 3^rd week of quarantine and online coursework. It is very different to be learning some of this material over the internet instead of in our very hands-on lab classes. I am so thankful for current technologies that are enabling us to continue our education and learning during this world-wide pandemic. I figured I would take this time to express my gratitude for a handful of the things in my life I am thankful for. Similar to the type of post I do for Thanksgiving every year:

Week 8 of every trimester is Diversity Week. And, Week 13 is always self-care week as it falls right before final exams kick off. But for Diversity Week this trimester, Dr. Coe (who is the one that took the photo) had an idea that she wanted to do for a photo.

Let me start by saying the Post-Grad Department at National University is amazing! They host some great events for alumni and local doctors that provide some of the required continuing education credit requirements for maintaining licensure. And, they offer a discounted rate for current students, which is greatly appreciated. 

I took my first set of board exams a couple weeks ago. It was HARD! I felt very prepared for it, both through the coursework I have completed so far at school, and through my dedicated study time. I don’t know that it was enough, and I may have to take it a second time (which isn’t super uncommon). Now begins the long, six-week waiting game to find out. 

I know I mentioned getting to work with standardized patients in the last few months. I am so grateful for the experience we get by having the opportunity to interact with standardized patients in our Primary Care course. I seriously LOVED the experience so much and feel that I learned a lot about how to improve my interactions with real patients in the future thanks to that experience. 

We had an entire month off for winter break, and it was glorious! Although, I have to admit that I used most of my break studying for my Part I Board Exams which are on February 4^th. I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to get the studying done that I needed to, so I decided to apply for a Reader Card at the Library of Congress in downtown Washington, DC. This way, my family and friends couldn’t call me at the last minute to meet up. I knew I would not be able to say no to spending time with them, but if I was downtown, there wouldn’t be the opportunity for me to say yes. I ended up studying there quite a bit! It was wonderful, and not too crowded due to the holiday. 

I drove home to Maryland for the Thanksgiving break, and I am so glad I did! I originally planned on staying on campus, especially since our final exams start the Monday after Thanksgiving, but I decided my sanity was important to survive 14 pending final exams. 

This trimester, I decided to go full-track for Phase II. That put me with over 30 credits, and to be honest, I didn’t know if I had it in me. I have made it to week 12, and am so glad I stuck it out!  It has definitely been challenging, but I also believe it will be worth it when I get to graduate in August of 2021 instead of December. I don’t think I would be able to get any of my family out here if I was graduating in a December month! (Have I mentioned how cold it is here?!) 

Apparently, Chicago weather has gone on a record-breaking spree since I moved here. First with the polar vortex last winter, and now, with record-breaking snow fall on Halloween. Prior to this year, the only recorded snow in the city on Halloween was in , when the city recorded one tenth (0.1) of an inch. We definitely broke that this year, and we had two to three inches of snow appear in Lombard! Literally the night before the snow started, I took Lily for a walk and the fall leaves were so pretty I had to take her picture in front of them. The next morning, I took a picture of another tree on campus that was dropping some leaves on the fresh snow. It was really pretty.

It has been an eventful couple of weeks.  While in the middle of midterms, our campus had a few big events.  I’ll start with World Spine Day. The Student American Chiropractic Association (SACA) hosted an event during lunch that had different carnival type games, such as pin the sacrum on the spine, and limbo with a skeletal leg.  Functional Neuro Club tested the cerebellum.  It was really fun, and they had prizes as well.  Each student received a ticket for the raffle every time they participated in one of the games.