Island Med Student

That’s what’s been going on in da life of Kendra. I’m STILL recovering from a cold, but feeling better. I went out on Wednesday to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, and had a blast. I received my “real” medical diploma in the mail on Thursday. Hopefully, I will be able to get it framed soon, before I spill coffee all over it.

Other than that, not a whole heck of a lot to say.

My apologies, readers, but being a bum just doesn’t stimulate me to write. But I promise to write some “real good” stuff soon. Promise. In the meantime, please enjoy these crappy iPhone pics.

1) A mural in Astoria, New York.
2) and 3) Cinco de Mayo fun.
4) My 100% legit medical diploma. Booyakasha!

So, I was super busy for a few days and forgot to take my daily videos for my “Pause: For 3 Seconds a Day” 2010 video project. I was going to just scrap the idea altogether but then I realized that there really was no need to do so. I could just pick up where I left off and simply exclude the days, on which I forgot to take a video. Yes, there will be “holes” in my daily project. Yes, that’s less than perfect. But beauty is in imperfection.

Enjoy my latest, updated video! I might soon be changing the style, but this is what I have so far!

I love you all…THANK YOU!

Click Here to View the Pics

It is finally official! I have fulfilled all of the requirements to be a medical doctor. I won’t receive my diploma for a few weeks, and my graduation ceremony isn’t until June 4th. But for all practical purposes, I AM a doctor!

I’d like to take a moment to thank EVERYONE for all of their support over the past 4 years. I DEFINITELY could not have done it without all of you. I love you all!

Now, to the oyster part. So, I want nothing more right now than to go out and celebrate all my hard work and medical degree. However, I have one teensy weensy little problem. I’m completely broke.

I know this is going to sound totally lame, but it’s the only thing I could think of. I am asking for a donation. If you’ve ever gotten any good advice from this website, if I’ve ever made you smile, if I’ve ever pissed you off: I’m asking you to make a small donation. I feel really stupid asking for this, but hey, you do what you gotta!

So, I know this AWESOME joint just down the road from me that has a happy hour with ONE DOLLAR RAW OYSTERS!! Right now, this sounds like the VERY BEST way to celebrate my medical degree.

So, if you can donate even just one dollar to my pathetic little self, you can buy me a congratulatory oyster!

If you click the link below, you can easily use a credit card (or Paypal account, but don’t worry, you don’t have to have a Paypal account, just a credit card) to donate one dollar to my empty belly. There is also a description field, where you can include your name (if you like) and a short message (if you like).

When I eat each oyster, I will take a photo, and then post the photo, along with your name and message (unless you tell me not to) on my website for the world to see.

I hope no one hates me for this silly idea!

Anyway, here’s to being a doctor! And here’s to so much more learning to come! Thank you, everyone for ALL of your support!!

“To predict the behavior of ordinary people in advance, you only have to assume that they will always try to escape a disagreeable situation with the smallest possible expenditure of intelligence.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche

“And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche

“I would believe only in a God that knows how to dance.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche

“Sometimes you just have to dance the polka to get things done.”
- Kendra Campbell

There are a million reasons why I love psych. Actually, probably over a million. But don’t worry, I’m not going to bore you to tears with all of them. Instead, let me use an example from today to explain.

As I was just walking onto the floors of the hospital to begin my endocrinology rotation today, I heard the sounds of polka coming from one of the halls. Of course, I had to explore this wonderful anomaly, so I hurried down the hall to find the source of the music. What I found was so very, very extraordinary.

I found three nurses and one physical therapist dancing in the hallway with an elderly patient wearing a hospital gown. One of the nurses was holding out her hand, with her cellphone playing some polka tunes. It was definitely a party. I definitely had to join. Without thinking, I jumped right in and started dancing with the crew. We all had entirely too much fun grooving the the music. Afterwards, I found out that the patient was demented and refusing his physical therapy. One of the nurses knew that the patient used to play in a polka band, so she had the incredibly brilliant idea to use polka to draw him out of his room, and onto his feet. It worked beautifully.

There is so much room for creativity in medicine. But sometimes it seems to me that psych might have the most room out of all specialities. And not only that, but understanding how someone’s mind works can help you in any field. This is the stuff that gets me excited. This is the stuff that drew me to medicine in the first place.

Understanding the human (and non-human) mind and behavior has always been a passion of mine. It’s what motivated me to get a degree in psychology. As a psych tech, I put all of my knowledge and education to good use. You want a very delusional patient who doesn’t believe he’s sick to take a psychotropic medication? You HAVE to get creative. You have to understand people. You have to have a desire to understand behavior and motivation. And this is a worthwhile skill in any profession. And yes, this is why I am so excited to be soon starting my residency in psychiatry. I can’t wait to develop more skills, and more understanding. And I love putting those skills and knowledge to good use. And not just in medicine, but in my daily life as well.

Perhaps we would all be a little happier if we took the time to dance the polka with a stranger every once in a while. It certainly worked for me.

Photos: From my “Improv Thanksgiving Dancing Routine” with friends, two years ago.

I went on my very last residency interview today. I am intentionally refraining from giving away all the juicy details, but let’s just say that right now I have a good idea of where I’d like to go for my residency. I just hope the fate fairy and god of luck is on my side! I’m keeping my fingers and toes crossed!

In other news, it’s supposed to start snowing tonight, and potentially accumulate 6-12 inches of snow. There’s a chance I won’t have to go to the hospital tomorrow, which excites me immensely because I have fallen dreadfully behind in my email correspondence, laundry, and other assorted items. I’d love to have a snow day to catch up on everything.

Enjoy the photos with this post (the few that we managed to take), of my 31st birthday party celebration in Manhattan on Saturday night.

Click Here to View the Full Album

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
-T.S. Eliot

It is quite evident that I am getting older. While the rest of New York City rang in the New Year 2010 with champagne, fancy outfits, confetti and noise-makers, I slumbered away in the comfort of my bed, squished between 2 doggies and another human. I considered going out for the celebration, but ended up opting for popcorn and a movie marathon instead.

I do think I made the right choice. Although I only made it to 10:30 last night, I woke up this morning feeling super refreshed and ready to tackle the new year. I have spent the day cleaning, organizing, and going for a nice long run into Manhattan, none of which would have been possible had I stayed up super late last night partying on the city’s streets.

It’s not that I have found myself too old for some good ole fashioned partying. It’s just that I have found myself doing less and less of it. It’s all about the balance of things.

There was also something strangely exhilarating and slightly mystifying about running in a blur with my dogs past folks on the street this morning who were obviously still quite intoxicated and/or hadn’t yet gone to sleep from the night before. It makes for a fun and speedy juxtaposition of things.

The top photo in this post was taken in Brooklyn New Years Day 2005 (which one is me?!). The second photo was taken on the way to New York for New Years 2006 (Micah and Me). The last one is my doggy Scope’s squished face last night while awaiting the New Year 2010. Evolutions galore.

I’m thoroughly enjoying my infectious diseases rotation. I feel much more confident about being able to choose the appropriate antibiotic. I am feeling totally lazy right now, but I promise to post some more “stuff learned” soon.

Last night I had a wonderful time in Bedford. My good friend Midori was in town for residency interviews so we met up for sushi, drinks, pool, and nachos. Click here to view the photo album from the night (all taken by my iPhone, of course).

In other news, it’s definitely winter! Although I haven’t seen snow yet in NYC, it has been cold enough lately to freeze water on the sidewalks. Luckily, this frigid weather has not deterred me from my intense running schedule. So far, I’m still on target to make my marathon a week running goal!

I have some ideas I’d like to share with everyone, but right now it’s time to put the clothes in the dryer. Will return again!

Like mother, like son.

As I mentioned before, I just got back from visiting my family in Luray, Virginia for my sister Corina’s wedding. If you don’t already know, I have 3 sisters and no brothers. I am number 2 of 4 daughters. My oldest sister Julena got married a few years ago, and the youngest, Corina was next in line. The ceremony took place on my parents’ farm, and was absolutely beautiful. I helped set things up for the wedding for a few days prior.

You can check out a very small selection of photos by clicking the link below. Micah took around 8 hours of video before and during the wedding, so I will soon be posting some of that footage, and there are also many other photos, including the ones from the wedding photographer, which I might be posting in the future. For now, enjoy these. Oh, and you might be confused by some of the captions on the photos, so let me explain. My whole family uses nicknames for each other. I am Kevin. My sister Julena is Jork. My sister Briana is Bruce. My sister Corina is Cork. My Mom is Bob. My Dad is Daddio. It’s confusing, I know. But don’t ask how we came up with the names. It really is a very long story!

Click Here To View The Pics