Judgment Day(s)

My last grade is in. I am happy with my grades this quarter. Not that I want to get all pre-med-competitive about it, but I am applying to very competitive programs. So I need to show that I take the pre-requisites seriously, and can do the work. I think I showed that this quarter.

I also was evaluated for practical skills in the hospital. I got "Satisfactory" on everything (on a Pass/Fail scale) except "Provides restorative care to residents" and "Applies critical thinking in clinical situations". My clinical teacher gave everyone in our cohort a grade that means essentially "Not enough information to answer the question", as it is her position that our practicum does not provide the opportunity to do either in the time we have available and under the responsibilities we are required to carry out. (UPDATE) The two specific things she said about me were that I am "eager" to take on new tasks, and that I "tend[s] to get anxious" about unfamiliar situations, a state that she expects will resolve itself with practice and experience. That sounds right; I remember visualizing all kinds of awful things, like accidentally dropping a patient, that never happened. Once I had done it successfully a couple of times, the anxiety disappeared. I got a mail today from a physician friend making the same point, "I had no doubt you will be excellent in your patient interactions. Only you doubt you, Ravensara!". Which means I need to get that experience, and sooner rather than later will be a good thing. So that's all good, too. All that remains now is passing the state certification practical exam.

Not only has this week been one of student evaluations, but the publisher of the textbook I'm writing on massage literacy got a batch of reviewers' comments back to me. Overall, they are very good (a lot of praise, which is nice, and even the not-praise is constructive and on-point), and while massage schools are unlikely to make critical thinking and massage literacy a curriculum requirement anytime soon, it looks like the book has the real potential to make a splash as the basis for an elective course. So I am happy. And sleepy. I worked very hard last quarter, and slept like 18 hours today, catching up.

On the 29th, it begins again, this time organic chemistry and biochemistry survey class, nutrition, and some intro medical classes that I need, not for the content, but housekeeping/bookkeeping/pre-requisites.

Until then, WOO-HOO! SPRING BREAK!