I have many pet peeves. Some that are very unreasonable and I'm a big enough person to admit that. As I mentioned before, I went to a trade school when I was 19 to become a Medical Assistant. I was foolish and racked up debt for a piece of paper that certifies that I am trained in the fine arts of 'brown-nosing'. I accrued thousands in debt, never broke the 30k salary mark--just to find out in a couple of years that there were places that offered the training for FREE. I immediately ended up hating medical assisting with a passion. What's really bizarre is that I've developed an even greater hatred for those dreaded scrubs that I see women prancing around in. 'You really think you're making a difference? You really think this is the bees knees, don't you?' I think it also has to do with me living in an area where people are ignorant to certain roles in the health care field and model their scrubs all hours of the day, even when they are not working. They are Medical Assistants but insists on telling people that they are nurses.
Why does this bother me so much, you ask? Because I'm a miserable, nit-picking individual, and because of this:
I came across a Youtube video, quite accidentally, which inspired my annoyance and anger about this subject not half an hour ago. There is this woman, who is very grown-up (meaning in her early fifties) who decided to document her 'journey' as a non-traditional student in, wait for it, 'Medical Assistant School'! Honestly, I didn't even make it to 30 seconds before clicking the whole goddamn thing off. Listen, I'm no Oprah. I'm no spring chicken. Hell, I haven't even worked for a living since 2004, but it pains me to the core when I see women similar to myself that don't want...more in life. Is it really all about praying, hair, clothes, and men? I am fully aware that there are some women that want more that either go for it or want to but can't. I realize that I'm fortunate to be in a position to say I'm going for it and have the emotional and financial support of a spouse...but still...I see the whole picture and it goes beyond what my words can express.
I'm sorry (I'm not) if I have offended anyone with what may seem as a 'hoity toity' disposition and even sorrier (I'm not) to say that: Being a Medical Assistant is NOTHING to be excited about. At all. It's a shitty trade that shouldn't exist. There is nothing in that office that can't be done by someone else that didn't take out loans to complete the program. What do we really do as medical assistants? We take history (oooh), we hold the cup so that the MD can drop the biopsy in (oooh), we take blood (OOOH), and let's not forget the huge responsibility of calling in scripts or calling patients to tell them 'everything was normal.' My favorite responsibility of all was being entrusted with the Doc's lunch order...oooh, the glory days.
~Surly
Friday, February 22, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Change of Plans?
I explained before that I thought majoring in Biology made the most sense as far as reaching my pre-req goals but wasn't very excited about it. I was perusing Old Pre-meds (I love it there!) when I came across a post about the very subject of choosing a major. This post led me to another member's blog, http://40yearoldpremed.wordpress.com/, and not only was it very informative but he put me at ease as well.
I'm going to re-evaluate the majors that are offered at the 4-year college and speak to a counselor some time next week to see if this will be feasible without falling behind in graduating or even worse, suffering academically. Old Pre-meds is actually a really good site. They are so humble and down to Earth there. Hopefully, I will work up the courage one day and post ^_^
I think I may have found the 'class pairing' schedule I've been searching for but again, I will wait until I've spoken to a counselor about this. The thought of Gen. Bio and Gen Chem with their respective labs, makes me a tad nervous.
Welp, off to check that online class of mine. The Judaism debate is winding down (Thank God!)
~Surly
I'm going to re-evaluate the majors that are offered at the 4-year college and speak to a counselor some time next week to see if this will be feasible without falling behind in graduating or even worse, suffering academically. Old Pre-meds is actually a really good site. They are so humble and down to Earth there. Hopefully, I will work up the courage one day and post ^_^
I think I may have found the 'class pairing' schedule I've been searching for but again, I will wait until I've spoken to a counselor about this. The thought of Gen. Bio and Gen Chem with their respective labs, makes me a tad nervous.
Welp, off to check that online class of mine. The Judaism debate is winding down (Thank God!)
~Surly
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The Plan & Misc. Complaints
So, since I've decided to go through with this 'going to med school' idea, I figure that I should have some sort of plan or guidelines to go by. I have done my research on SDN, Old Pre-Meds, MOM MD and various individual blogs but yet, I still feel some what lost. I plan on transferring from my CC to a four-year college in September and reluctantly have decided that majoring in Biology may be my best option. The pre-reqs needed fall under the Biology major anyway and from what I have read, those pre-reqs alone take what? Two to three years to finish? If I were to major in say, Anthropology (which I love) then I am looking at more years finishing my undergrad alone...Do Not Want. The only thing that is making me nervous about that is...well, it doesn't seem very fun. Right now, I get to take the classes that I believe are 'hard' while also taking an online class that is easier. Balancing it out.
As far as the pre-reqs are concerned, I haven't even taken one of those yet. No, not one. Math and I have had a tumultuous past and I decided to mend that relationship before delving into anything else. From what I've read, I'll need that good rapport with math. The only thing that I'm having trouble with is deciding which classes to take first and which ones pair together the best...know what I mean? Like for example: General Biology and...what? General Chem? I can't decide. And I'm way too chicken shish to post my inquiries on any of the forums. As far as my EC's go, well I'm actively searching and I may have to do majority of my volunteering during the summer. I know it may not seem very extravagant to some but I still have my duties to my family and I have to consider that when working out schedule.
Now to my complaints. One of the classes that I'm taking this semester is World Religions. There really is no rhyme or reason why I took this class--I just thought that it would be interesting. The reading is brutal, long, and boring but some of the discussions are pretty interesting. I often wonder what most of these online classes I take would be like in the actual classroom. I swear that the Professor purposely asks 'hot' question to get the online students going. Anyway, this class has it all. It has gunners, religious fanatics, bots (those that aimless follow the lead of others), and those that are just trying to pass the class. Where do I fit in, you may ask? I'm the one who says whatever she wants without anyone being able to call me out on my douchery unless they want to look crazy. Well, one of the discussions was on Judaism and which of the three events that had an impact and significance on the development of the religion: The Exodus, the destruction of the temple by the Babylonians, or the Holocaust. Just take a wild guess what some people in the class picked?
The main and most annoying gunner, whom I shall call gunner and the religious fanatic, whom I shall call bat ish (as in bat shit crazy) and the guy who sweats gunner's sack, whom I shall call bot--all chose the holocaust. I did not. The question is pretty clear and hopefully there are people who will understand why I didn't, IF they have critical reading and thinking skills.
These people, especially gunner, are the ones responsible for me acting like an a-hole this semester. I was fully prepared to play nice--stay off the radar--write my paper and log the eff off but now jerkinism is activated and I can't stop until I get my fill of annoying the ish out of each and every one of them. I have a knack for innocently making people extremely angry. Gunner isn't at full capacity anger yet but I know how to get to gunners. She likes to turn her assignments in a week before anyone else, so because I have no life and am petty, I did 2 assignments that were a few weeks apart and posted them :) waaaay before she did. I'm sure she's scurrying to catch up and to do the others not due for a month but it doesn't matter...the damage has been done.
Allow me to play the song of my people.
~Surly
As far as the pre-reqs are concerned, I haven't even taken one of those yet. No, not one. Math and I have had a tumultuous past and I decided to mend that relationship before delving into anything else. From what I've read, I'll need that good rapport with math. The only thing that I'm having trouble with is deciding which classes to take first and which ones pair together the best...know what I mean? Like for example: General Biology and...what? General Chem? I can't decide. And I'm way too chicken shish to post my inquiries on any of the forums. As far as my EC's go, well I'm actively searching and I may have to do majority of my volunteering during the summer. I know it may not seem very extravagant to some but I still have my duties to my family and I have to consider that when working out schedule.
Now to my complaints. One of the classes that I'm taking this semester is World Religions. There really is no rhyme or reason why I took this class--I just thought that it would be interesting. The reading is brutal, long, and boring but some of the discussions are pretty interesting. I often wonder what most of these online classes I take would be like in the actual classroom. I swear that the Professor purposely asks 'hot' question to get the online students going. Anyway, this class has it all. It has gunners, religious fanatics, bots (those that aimless follow the lead of others), and those that are just trying to pass the class. Where do I fit in, you may ask? I'm the one who says whatever she wants without anyone being able to call me out on my douchery unless they want to look crazy. Well, one of the discussions was on Judaism and which of the three events that had an impact and significance on the development of the religion: The Exodus, the destruction of the temple by the Babylonians, or the Holocaust. Just take a wild guess what some people in the class picked?
The main and most annoying gunner, whom I shall call gunner and the religious fanatic, whom I shall call bat ish (as in bat shit crazy) and the guy who sweats gunner's sack, whom I shall call bot--all chose the holocaust. I did not. The question is pretty clear and hopefully there are people who will understand why I didn't, IF they have critical reading and thinking skills.
These people, especially gunner, are the ones responsible for me acting like an a-hole this semester. I was fully prepared to play nice--stay off the radar--write my paper and log the eff off but now jerkinism is activated and I can't stop until I get my fill of annoying the ish out of each and every one of them. I have a knack for innocently making people extremely angry. Gunner isn't at full capacity anger yet but I know how to get to gunners. She likes to turn her assignments in a week before anyone else, so because I have no life and am petty, I did 2 assignments that were a few weeks apart and posted them :) waaaay before she did. I'm sure she's scurrying to catch up and to do the others not due for a month but it doesn't matter...the damage has been done.
Allow me to play the song of my people.
~Surly
Greetings & Such...
I've had this blog for almost a year, but never got around to posting anything. I just didn't know how to start. Not so much what to post but how to begin justifying wasting as much time as I did before finally succumbing to the fact that I need to try to make a go for Medical School.
I felt foolish to say the least. I'm in my mid thirties (35 to be precise), I've been a home maker for almost a decade, and I have no college degree--I'm literally starting from scratch. I have been going to my local college for the last 4 years...I mean to be fair, it has been on and off and on a part-time basis. Besides, when I started taking classes, it was never my intentions to go pre-med. I started out taking classes to apply to a nursing program. My second semester in, while taking Anatomy and Physiology, I had an epiphany as I dissected a sheep's brain; I want to know more. I need to know more. I want medicine. See, my whole foolish thinking was that I have no time. Even when I was 19, I felt I didn't have enough time. The honest truth is that I have suffered with immense guilt (then and somewhat now) over my selfish desires. I want to be a doctor when I grow up :)
Before you ask, yes I have considered the Physician Assistant route...and I even tried to use that career to substitute for the fact that I missed my chance at medical doctor, but it didn't work. Physician Assistant is a great role and I believe that we are going to see more of them in the very near future, because they are needed and play a vital role in the health care field. But I've decided that if I'm going to spend a total of 7 years in school to become one, then what difference does 11 or 12 years mean to a person like me? Virtually uneducated with just a GED and crappy Medical Assistant certificate that I've had since I was 19. I refuse to wake up 10 years from now, wondering yet again, how far would I have been? I could have been practically done by now.
It won't be easy. The odds are something fierce but at this point I don't care. I can't take my needling sub-conscious anymore. My resolve is firm. I may fail but this is something that I HAVE to do for me. If I fail, it will suck! but at least I know that I went for it with everything I had.
~Surly
I felt foolish to say the least. I'm in my mid thirties (35 to be precise), I've been a home maker for almost a decade, and I have no college degree--I'm literally starting from scratch. I have been going to my local college for the last 4 years...I mean to be fair, it has been on and off and on a part-time basis. Besides, when I started taking classes, it was never my intentions to go pre-med. I started out taking classes to apply to a nursing program. My second semester in, while taking Anatomy and Physiology, I had an epiphany as I dissected a sheep's brain; I want to know more. I need to know more. I want medicine. See, my whole foolish thinking was that I have no time. Even when I was 19, I felt I didn't have enough time. The honest truth is that I have suffered with immense guilt (then and somewhat now) over my selfish desires. I want to be a doctor when I grow up :)
Before you ask, yes I have considered the Physician Assistant route...and I even tried to use that career to substitute for the fact that I missed my chance at medical doctor, but it didn't work. Physician Assistant is a great role and I believe that we are going to see more of them in the very near future, because they are needed and play a vital role in the health care field. But I've decided that if I'm going to spend a total of 7 years in school to become one, then what difference does 11 or 12 years mean to a person like me? Virtually uneducated with just a GED and crappy Medical Assistant certificate that I've had since I was 19. I refuse to wake up 10 years from now, wondering yet again, how far would I have been? I could have been practically done by now.
It won't be easy. The odds are something fierce but at this point I don't care. I can't take my needling sub-conscious anymore. My resolve is firm. I may fail but this is something that I HAVE to do for me. If I fail, it will suck! but at least I know that I went for it with everything I had.
~Surly
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