Well, I guess that's a relative thing to say. No one's ever really done practicing their ultrasound skills, after all.
But I AM almost done on the short-term front. Practical on Thursday sometime. I'll go in, do my two patient scenarios, and serve as a patient for two of my classmates, and then I'm DONE for the day.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Back from Busy Week!
I know, I know. In my last entry I said I was back, and I mean it this time. Having two practicals in one week means you don't really want to spend any free time doing anything BUT study and practice. And because of the way my personal life was set up at the time, I had zero time for anything outside of studying.
That'll probably happen again. And again, and again. Just the nature of the beast, I suppose.
We started doing ultrasound, and our teacher is understandably nervous about our being able to perform with little supervision -- hence the necessity of practice, practice, practice. I've probably put this much effort and practice into little else in my life, and had better results (since early youth I've spent many hours in front of a television playing video games, for example, and had much better results with those!).
Outside of that, school's going well. Making roughly mid-B's for everything, which is about what I expected.
That'll probably happen again. And again, and again. Just the nature of the beast, I suppose.
We started doing ultrasound, and our teacher is understandably nervous about our being able to perform with little supervision -- hence the necessity of practice, practice, practice. I've probably put this much effort and practice into little else in my life, and had better results (since early youth I've spent many hours in front of a television playing video games, for example, and had much better results with those!).
Outside of that, school's going well. Making roughly mid-B's for everything, which is about what I expected.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Day Fifteen: So it's been a day...
...or two since I last updated. Sorry. Been busy! You understand, right?
Two practicals are coming up next week. I took a test today and did a presentation on my book I mentioned in a previous update ("The Horse Boy" by Rupert Isaacson). Think I nailed both of 'em. But THEN we had an "open lab" session with the teacher we're having practicals with next week and it made me pretty nervous to think of all the practice I still need. Worse still was the message I received through our online school forum with all the rules regarding practical day: our lab is one full day in the week, so on practical day we have to randomly select a time from a hat and prepare ourselves for it. Everyone will eventually go, but some will have more time to prepare for practicals that morning/early afternoon than others, so it's important to come to class prepared to go right away.
My lab day (and therefore my practical day) is Wednesday -- for that class, anyway (Clinical Kinesiology). I have another practical the following day (Therapeutic Procedures), with the same type of standards.
Basically I saw that message and it hit me that this is definitely happening.
I hope I don't come off sounding whiny or griping about the wonderful experiences I'm getting. But man. These practicals are 5-6 days away and I'm ALREADY feeling nervous.
I'll try to think of it like Russell Brand once said: "I feel nervous! It feels good to feel something."
Yeah. Maybe!
Two practicals are coming up next week. I took a test today and did a presentation on my book I mentioned in a previous update ("The Horse Boy" by Rupert Isaacson). Think I nailed both of 'em. But THEN we had an "open lab" session with the teacher we're having practicals with next week and it made me pretty nervous to think of all the practice I still need. Worse still was the message I received through our online school forum with all the rules regarding practical day: our lab is one full day in the week, so on practical day we have to randomly select a time from a hat and prepare ourselves for it. Everyone will eventually go, but some will have more time to prepare for practicals that morning/early afternoon than others, so it's important to come to class prepared to go right away.
My lab day (and therefore my practical day) is Wednesday -- for that class, anyway (Clinical Kinesiology). I have another practical the following day (Therapeutic Procedures), with the same type of standards.
Basically I saw that message and it hit me that this is definitely happening.
I hope I don't come off sounding whiny or griping about the wonderful experiences I'm getting. But man. These practicals are 5-6 days away and I'm ALREADY feeling nervous.
I'll try to think of it like Russell Brand once said: "I feel nervous! It feels good to feel something."
Yeah. Maybe!
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Day Twelve: More tests + practicals!
WHOA was I wrong when I wrote that I had no more tests yesterday. We're having one Friday (not to mention a five-minute presentation) plus two practicals and another test next week. It's been pretty much a solid string of tests since last week, really.
Sometimes you get so busy you forget you're taking seven classes with seven unique exams to take each time!
Gotten some of my test grades back. So far so good. Making pretty solid B's mostly. When I got in, I told myself to try to reach for the lofty goal of all A's each semester...
...we'll see!
Sometimes you get so busy you forget you're taking seven classes with seven unique exams to take each time!
Gotten some of my test grades back. So far so good. Making pretty solid B's mostly. When I got in, I told myself to try to reach for the lofty goal of all A's each semester...
...we'll see!
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Day Eleven: No More Tests + Ultrasound!
Took the last of my handful of tests today. I feel really good about this one. It was in Therapeutic Procedures I and consisted of everything we'd covered in both class and lab from the beginning up until our current stopping point (bed mobility and transfers). I actually feel better about this one than the last two. I had a moment though where I went into the student lounge and the 12-13 other students were all standing around chatting about correct/incorrect answers (something you'll find in pretty much every school, I suppose). Usually I go in and nervously check my answers against theirs, but in this instance, I felt more confident that I was right about the majority of the questions.
I think my studying is getting a lot better. I'm always nervous about my habits at the beginning of a new class -- you just don't know since you have no data.
After that it was just a matter of starting our newest section on heat and cold, plus our newest lab (for Thursday): Ultrasound! Apparently my teacher gets notoriously nervous about teaching new students how to perform ultrasound procedures (she supposedly even screams at people while they're trying to learn), so while this seems like a pretty cool section, we'll see how we fare.
I think my studying is getting a lot better. I'm always nervous about my habits at the beginning of a new class -- you just don't know since you have no data.
After that it was just a matter of starting our newest section on heat and cold, plus our newest lab (for Thursday): Ultrasound! Apparently my teacher gets notoriously nervous about teaching new students how to perform ultrasound procedures (she supposedly even screams at people while they're trying to learn), so while this seems like a pretty cool section, we'll see how we fare.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Weekend Article: Tripping seniors to keep them from falling?
Researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago have devised an experiment to help prevent falls in senior citizens, according to a report by Lindsey Tanner of the Associated Press. While conventional research methods have included exercises to boost stability and balance, a research team from the university - led by physical therapist professor Clive Pai, PT, PhD - has devised an experimental moving walkway that acts like a treadmill - except in that it includes shifting jolts in different directions to keep the user from getting too used to walking in that direction. The user will also be outfitted with a special harness to keep them from actually falling while "tripping" on the walkway.
Preliminary research found that 24 similar "trips" in just one walkway session taught older adults to learn to catch themselves and reduced their chances of falling outside the lab, during everyday living, by 50 percent up to a year later (Tanner 2014).
Pai is optimistic about the preliminary findings, which have proven more effective than standard conventional fall prevention techniques. "His research is focusing on building subconscious learning," the report said, "and evidence so far shows it can happen surprisingly fast. 'This is all implicit learning. We don’t give any instruction. They don’t have to be motivated — they’re naturally motivated because they don’t want to be on the floor,' [Pai] said" (Tanner 2014).
Pai's team received a $1 million, five-year grant from the National Institute on Aging to study and develop the treadmill system, and plans to enroll 300 participants within the next five years (Tanner 2014).
Tanner, Lindsey. (2014). Tripping seniors on purpose to stop future falls. The Associated Press. Retrieved from http://bigstory.ap.org/article/tripping-seniors-purpose-stop-future-falls
Preliminary research found that 24 similar "trips" in just one walkway session taught older adults to learn to catch themselves and reduced their chances of falling outside the lab, during everyday living, by 50 percent up to a year later (Tanner 2014).
Pai is optimistic about the preliminary findings, which have proven more effective than standard conventional fall prevention techniques. "His research is focusing on building subconscious learning," the report said, "and evidence so far shows it can happen surprisingly fast. 'This is all implicit learning. We don’t give any instruction. They don’t have to be motivated — they’re naturally motivated because they don’t want to be on the floor,' [Pai] said" (Tanner 2014).
Pai's team received a $1 million, five-year grant from the National Institute on Aging to study and develop the treadmill system, and plans to enroll 300 participants within the next five years (Tanner 2014).
Tanner, Lindsey. (2014). Tripping seniors on purpose to stop future falls. The Associated Press. Retrieved from http://bigstory.ap.org/article/tripping-seniors-purpose-stop-future-falls
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