Fifth Week

Kinda in a rush this weekend because of the holiday. Here are my week highlights though:

Monday- Last day of my HIV research rotation because my supervisor is going on vacation. For the rest of the program, I will be working in a Hepatitis C clinic and a HPV clinic in Chelsea rather than Upper East Side.

Tuesday- An elderly couple came in with a history of migraines. They just started botox injections several months ago to treat their headaches. The injections looked terrible because he stuck the needle around various parts of the head about 20 times. I'm pretty sure this would be a nightmare for people that hate needles, but I think the treatment is well worth it if the regular medications don't work.

Wednesday- Went to the United Nations for our lecture. The guest lecturer was from Uganda and he has some high position on the board. He was mostly talking about the Millennium Development Goals, which is a set of 8 goals all member nations hope to accomplish by 2015. So far, some of the goals have succeeded such as reducing extreme poverty.

Thursday- During my neurobiology research rotation, I saw another perfusion on 2 mice. (SKIP THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ SOMETHING GROSS) The PI first anesthetized the mice to a point they counldn't respond to simple reflexes. Then, he opened the chest with some scissors and inserted a needle sending paraformaldeyhe into the head while the heart was still beating. After the blood came out and the head stiffened, they cut off the head and removed the brain using scalpels. These brains would be kept for histology to be sectioned later.

Friday- I followed the rheumatologist I was shadowing to the detox unit for a medical consult. The area looked really secure because you needed a key to get in and get out. The patient we saw in the unit had purple fingers and the doctor told her that if she doesn't stop smoking cocaine, she will lose it.

And Happy Fourth of July everyone!