Final Papers/Projects - Applying What I've Learned

Before I start, I wanna give a little plug for the GSE Admissions Web Chat Thursday (12/8) at 8 pm.  If you wanna join and ask questions of current students (myself included), click here to RSVP. 

It's that time of the semester when we're supposed to demonstrate to our professors all the information we've learned over the last four months...yup, that's right, its time for final papers/projects.  I'm actually kind of excited about them.  I get to apply what I've learned to things that are relevant to me.  While at times this semester I've grown frustrated with the lack of relevance of what I'm learning to medical education (something I knew would happen going into the program, as I'm not what you would call a traditional GSE student), my final projects will all be medicine related.  I'll be creating things that will potentially be publishable/applicable right now.

Before I tell about my final projects, I wanna go on self-indulgent rant about finals time though.  For many of my classes I have to write a paper, and do a presentation on the paper topic.  Seriously? Pick one.  Personally, I prefer the paper (not because I have a fear of presentations or anything, but because everyone has such divergent interests that rarely are people's topics interesting to other people.  My topics are no different - and perhaps even less relevant to my classmates interests given my own interests are pretty atypical for GSE), as I think you're better able to demonstrate the depth of your understanding. 

Anywho, here's a little preview of a few of my topics (after I've said how little interest others will have in them...):

For my Foundations of Teaching and Learning class, I get to present my rock climbing experience.  Here's a clip of me bouldering (videography courtesy of Christine) that will be the basis for that presentation.  I am then tasked with describing the experience in terms of the theorists/pedagogues we read this semester.  I chose Dewey and Progressive Education:

For my design of learning environments I'm proposing a simulation based accompanyment to the basic science curriculum at Perelman School of Medicine (a project I hope to pitch to the faculty in the near future).

For my evaluation class I'll be writing up a study I conducted the summer between my first and second year of medical school on how being out in nature affects kids attention span.  Empirically I noticed that kids with ADHD I took backpacking stayed on task much better at the end of the summer than they did at the beginning.  I wondered whether this was actually the case (or whether I got better at keeping these kids on task as I got to know them better/ I became less frustrated with them getting off task as I grew to expect it).  My old summer camp director, Ben Swan, agreed to let me run a study at Pine Island Camp (PIC), an overnight camp for boys 9-14 on an island in the middle of a lake in Maine with no electricity or running water.  The boys go on a series of 2-7 day canoeing, backpacking, kayaking and sailing trips throughout the summer (CLICK HERE for more info on the camp...especially if you have boys that age or teach boys that age, as its one of the best places on earth).  The summer of 2009, I gave the boys a computer test at the beginning of the summer and at the end of the summer that tested their attention.  I then divided the boys into two groups (high and low attention) based on a survey I had their parents fill out.  I'll finally get around to writing it up and really analyzing the data for this final project. 

All Good (?) Things Come To An End

Well, it is now December 1, so that means the end of No-Shave-November, and consequently...I shaved.  The beard grew rather well over the last 4 weeks, and I was somewhat sad to see it go, but also kind of excited to see my face again.  This morning going outside my face was a little bit cold. 

Here are a few candid pictures before during and after shaving:

 

Here's a montage of the progression of the beard:

Before

Week 1

Week 3

Week 4

After

As for Adam's Movember mustache, that too was shaved, but not before contributing $1216 to Prostate Cancer.  Here's what his final mustache looked like:

Taking control back (thanks Gutty)

Team Big Papi after our 3rd place finish with the Penn Dome in the background

So last night as our softball team finished up a systematic annhilation of the opposition to clinch 3rd place for the season, I was talking with my friend Dave about how I could tie together the three different things I wanted to write about in one blog post (Beginning to work out again, getting prepared to shave the no-shave-November beard, and dog sitting) without it being to lengthy or disjointed, and he suggested that I use the theme of taking back control of my life, I liked it, so here goes...

As we wind down November, no-shave-November also comes to a close.  There'll be a special post next week exclusively devoted to facial hair (final mustache pictures of Adam and some before, during and after shave shots of me...sorry Mom, December 1 doesn't come til after I come back to Philly so you're stuck with a bearded son for the break), mostly in the form of a photo-blog with captions, but I thought that the beard sorta represented the evolution of my November.  At first, it was an idea born of being very busy (the first two weeks were filled with responsibilities from finishing up midterms to helping out in anatomy lab, putting together an anatomy review, trying to figure out what classes I'll take next semester), so truthfully, I just didn't really have time to shave.  The middle of the month brought the beginning of me "taking back control over my life" in the way it usually happens once all the midterm papers have been turned in, first I clean my apartment, then I start to take care of the things that have fallen by the way-side over the last few weeks (laundry, dry cleaning, grocery shopping).  Usually this includes shaving, but this month it included trimming the beard and cleaning it up a bit.  After that began the attempts to get back into working out (more on that later).  As the month drew on, however, I got into my usual pre-thanksgiving funk.  As the days drag on leading up to thanksgiving break, each day seems to get longer and longer (see what I did there with the beard analogy...), I greatly anticipate the upcoming break, relaxation and time with my family.  With thanksgiving break almost on us, I am now thinking about the home stretch after the break, the short sprint to the finish before the real break (winter break) and with that anticipation is one of being clean shaven again as I come back refreshed for that last sprint. 

I also got the opportunity to dog sit this weekend.  My friend Lauren was out of town for residency interviews and I took care of her dog, Kuma (he's pretty cute...) for the weekend.  I've been thinking about getting a dog for a while and have never thought it was the right time.  Having Kuma for the weekend was a great dry-run for the real thing.  Brought up some realizations about having a dog and the responsibilities that come along with it, but also how fun it can be to have someone who's so excited every time you walk through the door and who sits at your feet or curls up next to you while watching crappy TV (I think I've made Kuma a big ER fan this weekend)

Finally we get into how I've finally started working out again.  I had surgery last May and while the recovery went quickly, it seemed like one thing after another after another prevented me from getting back into the swing of working out.  First it was moving, then it was my sub-i's last summer at the hospital, then it was starting school and adjusting, then it was a pulled hamstring, then it was midterm papers.  Finally I'm at a place where I want to make it part of my routine again.  Two weeks ago when I went on my first run in six weeks, I woke up the next morning so sore.  I've been diligent though, getting back into it.  I need to get myself back on track so I'm in shape to run the Ragnar SoCal in April (from LA to San Diego) with my friends...for our last Ragnar before many of them start residency. 

Team Exams

Team Lumbar Jacks taking the anatomy team exam

So I've read a bunch about the importance of teaching students how to collaborate.  The importance of giving students the skills they need to succeed in the current workplace, notably how to work in teams.  Typically, if you talk to most high school and college students they HATE group projects (or at best, have no opinion on them).  In fact, when I give tours for the medical school one of prospective students biggest concerns is the medical school's emphasis on "team exams." For a bunch of type-A students who have gone through life begrudging group projects because they wind up doing all of the work and the others in the group merely tag along for the ride (in part because they have not been taught how to delegate, how to work in teams, and in part because less motivated students are content to let them do so), when teachers announce a group project, they let out a collective groan. 

Team Quaker Oatmeal taking the anatomy exam

Team Cesarian Section (most creative name) taking the exam

Based on some research pioneered at Wharton, however, the medical school has changed all that.  Ask most medical students at Penn and they'll tell you that the group test is actually a wonderful learning experience, that they trust the members of their learning team and the products produced from the collective effort are actually products they're proud of. 

Team Narwhal taking the exam

I bring this all up because today I proctored the first-year medical students anatomy exam, which is a team exam.  It was their first team exam, though they've been working in these teams since the beginning of the year.  It's a fantastic learning experience and Dr. Neal Rubinstein and Dr. Jim White should be commended for creating a learning environment in which this is possible.  The students break up into their teams and have six minutes at each block of cadavers to answer a set of questions.  With time being an issue, they're forced to work together efficiently to utilize their collective knowledge in a productive way.  While the tests tend to be harder than individual exams, the grades tend to be pretty good and it is great preparation for when these students will integrate into the teams they'll operate in once they start rotating in the hospital. 

You'll notice that they're all dressed up in costumes, part of that is because this exam used to be held around Halloween and Dr. Rubinstein has set up a competition between the learning teams for best group costume (winning team gets lunch at White Dog Cafe with Dr. White and Dr. Rubinstein on Penn's tab)

Quaker Oatmeal

Lumbar Jacks

Adams Family

Six Flags

Cesarian Section

Narwhal

No Shave November

Clean Shaven

So every year I participate in No-Shave November, where I grow a beard for the month of November.  In recent years I've altered it a little bit (for professional reasons), crafting my beard a little bit (by shaving the neck), so that it doesn't look quite as slovenly.  Last year I continued growing the beard on into December only to be forced to shave it when I had to go back into the operating room on my Obstetrics and Gynecology rotation (the alternative was to wear a ridiculous sterile hood (since apparently there is potential that my exposed sideburns could infect the patient) which seemed to be more of a hassle than it was worth.  Needless to say, this year I have no such restrictions.  Already a full week in I have a pretty respectable beard.

Beard as of 11.8.11

Beard as of 11.8.11

When I do shave my beards I usually do it in two parts, the first is to shave some crazy design (I've done lightning bolt sideburns, a fu-man-chu, a three pronged goatee) which I then sport at a happy hour of some sort, and then shave the rest of the way the next day.  I'm taking suggestions for this year's ridiculous look as well as locations for said happy hour.

Adam's Movember Mustache

My roommate, Adam, on the other hand is participating in Movember, in which people grow mustache's for the month of November to raise money for prostate cancer awareness.  It's a big thing at Wharton (to me it seems a bit too "Bro" for my liking, though the cause is a good one.  He's got a pretty good start on his mustache (He's given me permission to post the mustache's progress and we'll contrast it with the progress of my beard).  Oh, and if you'd like to donate to prostate cancer, here's his link: Movember

Missing the hospital

Last night I went out with my girlfriend and a few of her friends, Sarah, Steph, and Len for another belated birthday celebration for Lindy (girl has more birthday celebrations than anyone I've met...she's got some great friends).  We had a really great time out at Dimitri's, good company, good food, a healthy amount of wine, all in all a great Thursday night.  Steph, Sarah and Len are all practicing nurses, so, naturally much of the conversation was hospital-centric.  I haven't noticed it much when hanging out with my med school friends lately, but during dinner I really found myself missing the hospital. 

I haven't noticed it when hanging out with my medical school friends because they're mostly either doing research or interviewing for residency programs, or taking classes (Frontiers), but hearing Len talk about his encephalopathic patient in the ICU, or Sarah talk about her 91 year old patient who tried to escape the hospital very slowly using his walker, or hearing Steph talk about the Labor and Delivery floor made me really miss being in the hospital and taking part in patient care.  I miss the challenges of using what the patient tells you, their exam, the lab results and imaging to come up with a diagnosis.  I miss that intellectual challenge.  I miss getting to help people.  I miss the camaraderie of the other students, interns, and residents on the team. 

While I'm definitely learning a ton during this year, enjoying the change in the type of thinking that I have to do for my GSE classes, I also know I made the right choice for me as far as my profession.  While I know I want to teach medical students and residents, part of that stems from my love of teaching, but part of it also stems from my passion for medicine. 

Philly Beer Scene

Our First Round of Beer

Boston Beer Works Website: http://www.beerworks.net

First off, this weekend on Saturday, November 12 there's a GSE On-Campus Information Session from 10-12 in Bodek Lounge of Houston Hall RSVP Click Here.

Before I moved to Philly, I lived in Boston.  My plan for the year I spent there was to work as an EMT to prepare myself for medical school.  Unfortunately, the state of Massachusetts had other plans for me.  Getting my license proved to by more challenging than expected and took almost six months.  In the meanwhile I got a job waiting tables and beer-tending at a bar next to the stadium for the Bruins and Celtics.  The bar was associated with a brewery, and did not serve commercial beer, only that brewed by its brewers.  In order to actually wait tables you first had to go to brew school and then take a brew test...thus my interest in beer was born.  I learned the differences between different beers, the types I liked and those that I didn't. 

So this blog posting is about the Philly Beer Scene.  It's inspired by a trip I took to Monk's, one of my favorite Belgian Beer Establishments.  Monk's has a number of beers on tap, as well as one of the most extensive collections of bottled beers I've seen.  True to form, each beer comes in the appropriate style glass to fully appreciate its flavor to the fullest.

Kash's Stout

 Kash's first beer was a stout (Guinness is also a stout style beer).  Stouts are some of the darkest beers around, but contrary to popular belief, not at all heavy.  They're given their color because of the type of malts used to brew the beer.  They can be infused with coffee, chocolate, and caramel flavors in the brewing process.

Dave's Lager

Dave, on the other hand is a hoppy beer fan.  He enjoys pale ales, ESB's (english style bitters or extra special bitter), and IPA's (india pale ale).  The hops are spicing added to the beer during the fermentation process to add flavor.  The fermentation time is when flavorings such as fruit get added to beers.  IPA's especially tend to be high in alcohol content because of the amount of sugars available during fermentation.  This time however, he threw a curveball and went with Mahr's Ungespundets Keller, an unpasteurized, unfiltered lager.

My Amber Ale

I went with an amber ale for my first round which was a bit sweeter than I expected.  I'm not a hoppy beer fan, and tend to really like the seasonal offerings.  In the summer, I appreciate a good wheat beer or summer ale.  In the fall I like both the Ocktoberfest Lagers as well as the pumpkin beers and amber ales.  In the winter I'll go with a heartier beer such as a Belgian Trippel or a Dunkel.  The difference between lagers and ales is one of the key differences in beers.  Lagers are more simple crisp beers.  They are brewed with a bottom fermenting yeast at colder temperatures.  This is in contrast to ales which have a wide array of flavors depending on the blend of malts, hops and other flavoring.  They're brewed with a top fermenting yeast and brewed at room temperature.

My second beer, a Kolsch

While Kash didn't go for round 2, and Dave went with a repeat of his first, I decided to try something different.  After the overly sweet first beer, I decided I was more in the mood for something a little more crisp and refreshing, so I went with a Kolsch.

Philly actually has some great beer bars in addition to Monk's.  Local 44 in West Philly is known for having one of the widest selection of beers on tap.  Nodding Head is a brewery/restaurant in Center City that serves its own brews (and has a great Quizzo on Sunday evenings).  Tria, predominantly known as a wine bar (and a great date spot) has a great selection of craft beers on tap as well.  Perhaps most importantly though is Philly Beer Week, which happens every year in the spring/summer (It's the first week in June 2012) in which various bars all around philly have events dedicated to beer.  They bring in brewers from all over the world, have elaborate dinners pairing beers with food, among many other events.

As American As Apple Pie

What to do with some leftover apples from apple picking a few weeks ago on a chilly Friday night...Apple Pie.  I'm not sure how this delicious treat became associated with being wholesome and all-American (feel free to comment below with the answer to this mystery), but they certainly are fun to bake.  A group of us gathered at my apartment Friday night to put those soon to be wasted apples from apple picking a few weeks ago to good use.

Katy Prepping the dough

Christine and Aaron having fun putting the lid back on the pumpkin

In preparation, I found an apple pie recipe on Epicurious and went out to Wegmon's in Cherry Hill to pick up the requisite supplies (amazingly I forgot to pick up ice cream at this visit, but fortunately Aaron saved the day with a Friday afternoon phone call from Trader Joe's).  Everyone came over around 8, and we began to make our pies.  Aaron and Dave were on peeling, slicing and coring the apples using Aaron's fancy apple coring machine (see video, music accompaniment by Aaron himself...) while Katy and I set about using Epicurious's less than stellar recipe to prepare the crust.   In the meanwhile we heated up some of the Apple Cider I'd brought back from our apple picking trip adding in cinnamon sticks for added flavor. 

Christine, her pumpkin and pumpkin seed

Christine decided to make it a full on fall festival evening by bringing over her pumpkin to begin carving, so while she was busy scooping the goop out of the inside of her pumpkin (and later separating the seeds to bake for a snack while the pies were in the oven), Lindy kept her company. 

Covering the pie

Once the dough had been sufficiently refrigerated, Dave and Katy attempted to role it out into the appropriate shape and size for the pie crust.  The dough proved to be more challenging to work with than expected (we blame the recipe) but through their blood, sweat and tears they did manage to roll it out into a solid bottom, then pouring in the apples, cinnamon, sugar and butter to make the apple filling (though Aaron was skeptical about merely placing the butter on top as opposed to interspersed throughout).  Then came the truly challenging part, rolling out the top to the pie and getting it onto the pie.  After a few failed attempts, the pie was topped and placed in the oven.







Not to be outdone, however, Christine pulled up our friend Phil's apple pie recipe (we miss ya buddy), and decided to whip up her own apple pie with Dave's help.  They decided to go one step further, not simply settling for a regular pie crust top, but to try to make a pie with a lattice top.

Dave and Christine's Lattice Pie

The Apple Pie From Epicurious

While the pies were in the oven, we relaxed on the couch, enjoying the company of friends snacking on the baked pumpkin seeds from Christine's pumpkin and enjoying some spiced cider.  The pies both turned out to be delicious (though the lattice pie looked infinitely better).