In hopes that blogging will stretch my writing muscles and make it easier to start my boring-ass 15 page paper.

The big event of yesterday was finding out my summer rotation zone (made even bigger by the fact that we weren't supposed to find out until Monday).

The way UNC structures its curriculum is that you have two summer rotations - one after PY1 year and one after PY2 year - and then spend your PY4 year doing ten one-month academic rotations. This summer I'll be doing my H-IPPE rotation (pronounced "hippie", stands for Hospital Intermediate Pharmacy Practicum Experience. During my fourth year, I'll do my "happy", or Hospital Advanced PPE. Next summer will still be intermediate, but I'll be in a community setting instead of an acute care setting.).

For your rotations, NC participates in an AHEC system, which basically divides the state into 9 zones, and you can be placed into any one of these nine zones. we get to rank our preferences, but they are just that - preferences. Through a random lottery, people get assigned to their first, second, etc.etc., on through ninth choices.

I got my second choice, and I'm pretty darn happy about it. My region (Greensboro) was the one I wanted most, actually - I only ranked it second for housing reasons. You see, they used to provide housing for you at your site as part of your summer tuition. Due to the difficult economy, however, housing was going to be taken away for this year. So I ranked the Duke region as number one (since it's the region I live in), and Greensboro as number two (since it would only be about ~1 hour drive away, and I really like the health systems there). I'd be fine in that region even if housing weren't an option, but they informed us yesterday that housing *might* be available during the first rotation block(month), and available for the later blocks for $5 a night. If this is the case, I'll probably go for housing and drive home on the weekends - which sounds like an absolutely agreeable situation to me.

Now on to the rotation itself. I'm nervous as hell. For those of you who don't know, I pass out - a lot. By a lot, I mean probably at least 20 times in my life (plus a good handful of other times when I felt it coming on, laid down, and stopped it). I'm pretty certain I'm genetically predisposed to it, since my dad is the EXACT same way. Here's a little more information for you: Vasovagal syncope.  It pretty much describes it to a T.
So, as I said, I can prevent myself from fainting, but only if I actually, physically lay down - which is difficult to do in most situations, and more than a little awkward pretty much all of the time. 

Some of the things I'll be doing won't make me pass out: stocking carts, learning about distribution/ordering/computer systems, making IV's, fillng Rx's, etc.
Some things most definitely will.  Cases in point:

• The OR.  Apparently it's not uncommon for a student to participate in a pre-op interview of the patient for relevant medication history, scrub up, go into the OR, watch the anesthesiologist administer anesthesia (up to this point, I probably wouldn't pass out.  The OR environment + needles might do it though, it's hit or miss), AND THEN STAY THERE THROUGH THE OPERATION TO WATCH HOW THE PATIENT RESPONDS TO THE DRUGS. (>melissa on floor<)  Of course, if I could watch it from a recliner, I'd probably be fine, but something tells me that's not going to happen.
• (Straight from one of the preceptors who came and spoke to us, in response to what types of things we'll be doing/what types of things we'll be shadowing) "Well, obviously you won't be administering drugs to a patient who is crashing (sigh of relief from me), but we want you to be right there so that you can see what we'll be doing." Dear heavens.  I'm hoping sheer adrenaline (which counteracts vasovagal syncope, btw) will get me through that one, but I'm not counting on it.
• Chemotherapy.  I'm not sure what steps of chemo I'll be around for (I know I'll be learning how to make it, but will I have to, like the OR, watch how the patient tolerates it?  I know how some chemo is tolerated, and I just don't want to be around for that, thank you).  Plus, seeing someone with end-stage cancer could be one of those emotional triggers that, again, makes my head go all fuzzy, my skin go all clammy, and winds me up on the floor.

We'll just have to see how it goes, I suppose.  Still, nervous as hell.  There's a type of medication that they give to cardiac patients for various things (heart failure, blood pressure mostly) that can be helpful with my condition, and I'm considering asking for some.  I've got about 6 months to debate on that one.
I know these are all really cool opportunities, and it's not that I don't want to do them - I don't want to pass out.  The side effects of passing out are somewhat physically uncomfortable, but primarily it's really embarrassing and a hassle to boot .  If I could do these things without passing out, I would love to (enter the meds: beta-blockers) - in fact, this whole deal is part of the reason I didn't want to be a doctor.  Guess I didn't do a very good job of getting out of that one, did I? :)

Off to try my hand at my paper.  Another post later, to make up for my lack of one yesterday (be prepared for whininess after a full Saturday of studying).

(P.S. I thought the quote of the day was immensely fitting, and I'm copying it here since it changes day to day on each post [as opposed to putting the quote of that post's day and then leaving it]:

Quote of the Day
Nobody can be successful if he doesn't love his work, love his job.
David Sarnoff

Good, no?)