November - Pulmonary and Pumpkin Rolls

Thanksgiving with Alli

Although I don't know much about Hinduism, I came across a common symbol of a deity, depicted with many arms. It apparently represents a supreme power for multitasking acts of immense strength... November has been quite the balancing act for me, and I felt like I was trying to accomplish a superwoman or super-being level of activities. Aside from a constant argument with the HVAC man who was "fixing" my air conditioner (for 3 weeks, I might add) as well as some other personal issues, of course I had to study and get some volunteer time in, and get everything in line to go home for Thanksgiving!

Our main academic topics were renal and pulmonary pharmacology. Now, I am so excited to be done with blood pressure! Although it is super important, I was pumped to get into some interesting topics like Tuberculosis, Hansen's disease, erectile dysfunction, asthma, and benign prostate hyperplasia. Some of the drugs that have these clinical indications hold bizarre side effects like changing your vision to see transient shades of blue, struggling with red-green differentiation, turning your skin a red-brown color, etc. Coming out of the CV module prior to this, I figured out some study methods that worked well for me that involve further tailoring of the material. You receive a bulk of knowledge, and you have to be able to continuously break it down until you can explain it in basic terms; so I came up with a system that does that [without driving me crazy either]!

I have been quite active in philanthropy this month! As an academic advisor, I have been much busier in November than I anticipated. I've been doing it for a few years now, but have never been so active late in the semester. Due to the nature of this position, everything we do is confidential. But I can say, I have been in some long sessions this month! and have been encouraging my ladies to do their best, and reach out if they need someone to talk to through some difficult experiences. Aside from my upfront work, I am going to spend my Thanksgiving break [downtime] organizing paperwork for this. With school, it's easy to get behind on organizing and many of my procedure documents are outdated. I also transition into working with newly slated officers on Sunday! I will be meeting with them to transition from my current women and explain how everything goes when we set probation terms, and how I conduct meetings. 

I have also wanted to branch out and get involved more "hands on" with a local non-profit. Several have been dead-ends with needing help or getting back with me, but I will be starting with Cancer Association of Greater New Orleans! I am beyond excited about this, because cancer has been a huge component of my life, and a major factor in why I am pursuing medicine. I met with their team and will be updating cancer resource lists for patients in Louisiana including support groups and education sessions, as well as working on a Cancer 101 group for our patients. The organization does a lot of outreach in the community; including nutritional assistance to patients who can't afford protein/vitamin  supplementation. If I have free time, I can meet with patients to help them try on wigs and post-mastectomy bras. In the spring, they are actually taking over the annual bike race to raise money towards helping Louisiana oncology patients. 

I'm most excited to see my Eloise though! I haven't seen her or most of my family since August 1st (July since I've seen my siblings!) We are going to enjoy our holiday with amazing food and put up our tree on Black Friday. I hope your Thanksgiving is full of love and pumpkin rolls!

Have a blessed holiday,

Ms Ashley Krininger

(Nov. Hours: 7.5)
Volunteer hours: 13.5