Insane in the Sarcolemma: test week #2

So we just started test week #2 - musculoskeletal aka f-load of anatomy.  For non-MUSC readers, before every test we get a week off from classes and small group discussions to focus on studying.   I thought the last study week was crazy.  [link to test week #1]  Turns out that was only the beginning.  

don't waste your time

The last test went well - the class average was an 88.  That block was mostly a review of undergrad, but this musculoskeletal block has been completely different.  The material is almost all new, and there's a TON of it - one of my friends estimated 650+ powerpoint slides of anatomy - slide after slide of muscle, nerve, bone, ligament, artery, repeat.  It's hard to describe how hard it is, but I consider myself a fairly intelligent guy, and I've had to wake up at 5 AM just to cram in enough time to study.  And I just scored a 40% on the metabolism self-assessment.  

In a sense, this was the block med school got real and lived up to the hype.  It definitely got hard.  

exactly how I feel

But.. how real is it?  Anatomy seems pretty useless, although you could maybe sell me on it - I guess we should understand the structure of the body.  On the other hand, I'm about 200% sure glycolysis has nothing to do with being a doctor.  Personally, I want to be a cancer scientist - and glycolysis/TCA cycle/oxidative phosphorylation is even meaningless to me.  Sidenote - I'm pretty sure the Warburg effect is controversial, which isn't surprising considering Otto Warburg came up with it 50 YEARS AGO.  I would not be happy to see it on an exam of modern science.  Anyways, It might help to have a general understanding of metabolic principles - but to know the exact name of each enzyme?  Absolutely useless - just wiki that shit.

So why do we learn this?

Maybe we're trying to develop a crop of doctors that's planning to dominate bar trivia - I swear my classmates would be the top 160 trivia masters in Charleston.  We are REALLY good at memorizing facts.  But if any of you have complaints about your doctors not spending enough time with you, or not having a human side - don't hate the player, hate the game.  I'm surprised any doctors come out of this training system with a lick of humanity left in them.  

But anyways, here's my simple answer to why we're trained in this outdated style - because the class of 2015 learned it, and the class of 2014 learned it, and the cl...  It's the status quo.  But is producing trivia robts really what med school should try to accomplish?  Do patients want robot doctors?  Should students be investing $200,000+ in loan money for this?  Don't we deserve to get training that will actually help us be better doctors?  

See you on the other side,

from ken

What is sidenote?

This post is for all of you who have wondered - what is Sidenote?

Here's how I define the writing tool "sidenote": A few years ago my friend Amulya and I had an epic email chain where we rambled about our relationships and life philosophies.  In the middle of our email, if we had a more interesting idea we'd simply write "sidenote" and take our rambling on a 180.  Sometime these sidenotes would be completely off the wall and only interesting to one of us, but other times it'd turn into the best part of the email.

for some reason beautiful places
produce lots of ideas

And similarly, here's how I define the blog "Sidenote": it's about a lifestyle where it's ok to stop whatever you feel like you should be doing and instead follow random sidenotes, because that sidenote might be more interesting, and interesting is better than important.  

Here's how I reached that conclusion:

During college I read one of my top 3 favorite books ever - Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains.  The short synopsis - biography of Dr. Paul Farmer - who provides American quality healthcare to the destitute poor in rural Haiti.

After reading it I was immediately convinced that this was what I HAD to do with my life.  I started organizing a service trip to Haiti, wrote about Haiti for the school newspaper, blah blah blah - by the end I had became a major social justice advocate at Kenyon, but I was also left burnt out.  

Near the end - I hosted a group conversation called "What is Social Justice?"  It brought together campus leaders to discuss how we ought to live out a life of social justice.  

Here's what I came up with:

"Ask not what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."   - Howard Thurman, civil rights activist

The point was that Kenyon didn't need more people giving money to Haiti, but it did need more people who were really engaged in their lives. 

Since then I've been trying to shape my life to be consistent with that belief - interesting is better than important.  My life is looking less and less like a traditional activist - I have minimal interest in working at homeless clinics, I don't vote in elections, and I'd rather read Bill Simmons or Cell than the New York Times - but I still consider myself an activist.  

i might have analyzed this too much

Thinking that the world can be fixed by simply giving more money to the poor or showing up to church on Sunday is simplistic at best, and counterproductive at worst.  I think there's a truth out there somewhere that could turn the world around, but it's complex and I have no idea how to get there.  I feel like if anyone's ever going to get there it's going to be people who are on fire.  And I think sidenotes are life's way of showing us what we care about.

Uh but anyways, that's what sidenote is.  I might have analyzed this too much.

from ken

Why Kenyon College kicks ass

from Liberal Arts

Top 3 question I've been asked since moving from Portland, OR to Charleston, SC for med school - Where'd you go to college?  

I've learned that this question has three right answers - Clemson, USC (hint: not LA), or token small Christian college in South Carolina.  I feel like the odd one out.. my answer: uh, I went to a small liberal arts school in Ohio called Kenyon College - it was mostly rich hippies' kids.  

For all of you that don't know Kenyon - I thought I'd explain why Kenyon College kicks so much ass.  Here's the top 4 coolest things produced by Kenyon College:

4) Liberal Arts

The latest film from the star of How I Met Your Mother Josh Radnor (Kenyon alum).  Liberal Arts is about an alum of a small liberal arts college that at age 35 still can't figure out what to do with his life.  If it sounds like your life - you just might love this movie.  Plus, it was huge at Sundance.

3) Artists

HUGE shoutout to my friends who are seriously pursuing art.  Kenyon has a knack for incubating young people who say - I don't care about having a normal 9-to-5 job/2.5 kids/white picket fence, I just want to do something COOL with my life.  

I admire that attitude of not giving a shit what the world wants you to do.  

Follow Your Heart

Matt Davis [link to his website], - to explain Matt - whenever I hear about one of his projects I say to myself - only Matt Davis could come up with something that weird.  

My favorite - a collage entitled Follow Your Heart, in which Matt ran from Gambier to Granville - a full marathon - while wearing an EKG device that recorded every beat of his heart.

Sarah Dougherty, living in NYC (sidenote - I'm super jealous, is there any better city for an aspiring writer?) and repping her English major on her blog - Salt That.  She is passionate about language's right to absurdism.  

Geoff + Kathy = heart

2) Geoff Anderson

Another Kenyon artist, but one that deserves a special shoutout for just getting engaged to Kathy Lin, which he means he made his fiance the luckiest woman in the world.  He also put up with living with me for two years.  He doubles as a teacher and published poet - "Amen" [link here].

1) Walk The Moon

Sidenote - it's easier to be an artist when you're in the safe environment of the Kenyon College bubble, but after picking up that diploma it gets a lot harder - college loans pile up, your parents email every other day with temp job websites, all while your friends are getting paid and living large.  Except Walk The Moon didn't conform. They said fuck the world and kept doing what they love.  And they blew up.  

Maybe you've heard their song Tightrope on the new HP commercial.  Their first hit "Anna Sun" is equally amazing - it's named after a sociology professor I had at Kenyon.  In the words of lead singer Nick Petricca: 

"It's about college, don't be afraid to play."  

Huge shoutout to Walk The Moon, Matt, Sarah, Geoff and all the other unmentioned dreamers from Kenyon College.  Please keep playing.

See you on the other side,

from ken

Newton/Noguchi tackle theology: Why do bad things happen? pt 2

Heath Newton loves Texas, basketball, and winning.  He also loves people and relationships, but those topics are not quite as interesting.  We met at the Agape Church of Christ in Portland, watched lots of basketball, and analyzed life’s big questions along the way.  

This is part 2 of a virtual coffee date with Heath.  [pt 1 here]

The topic: Why do bad things happen?

Ken: Interesting – what about Africa taught you the “suffer together” point?

there's something special about people you suffer with

Heath: One day (and sadly many days, this just happened to be the first of its kind) we went to a village and a family was in mourning because their child had just died. Their customary way is to have guests sit with them. Just sit with it. Just feel heartbreak together.

The level of connection in that moment was immense. To simply sit with someone as humans. As people who experience things in similar ways.

We did not ask for bad things to happen, but once they did we were bonded by a shared experience because we were with each other and we have the capacity to feel what others feel.

They also have a phrase of mourning that I always think of when I'm in a situation of immense suffering. I don't know how to spell it so I won't attempt it, but it was an actual word that translated to "oh no." Most of the time it was difficult to even muster up that word, but it was the only one that was ever appropriate beyond simple groaning of shared pain.

what's the point of having friends?

K: Powerful story - regardless of who we are, we are all human and we all fundamentally feel the same emotions.  I once read somewhere, maybe in an Anne Lamott book, that chicken little already proclaimed the sky was falling, so we needed to spend the rest of our time comforting each other about it.  

This is definitely a powerful plug for your job as a counselor - would you say this idea of being with other humans is a strong driver for you being a counselor?

H: I wouldn't necessarily call in comforting. I would call it validating. People sit across from me, knowing I have nothing at stake or reason to comfort them (I guess you could argue money), and when they are validated because I can grasp, understand, and perhaps share those "bad" feelings its a powerful thing. To know that you are heard and to feel that someone gets that. I think it shares the burden and allows you to not have to hold the weight of the badness, which itself may not be understandable or controllable. 

Maybe that's one reason why pain and suffering bonds us together so well. We are forced to say we are not in control. And when others bear that truth with us, we can cope better with a truth that is hard for us to swallow. By the way, I'm thinking out loud and I'm not sure if I will believe any of this in 5 minutes.

K: Money - I love the idea of validating way more than comforting.  I wish I had thought of that.  Empathy is so much more powerful than sympathy.  And maybe that's why relationships are so important, so we can share the truths and struggles of life?

We didn’t even break into the God stuff, but we’ll wrap up here.  Thanks Heath!

See you on the other side,

from ken and heath

Why do you think bad things happen?  Please share!