Jaclyn Leeper (grad March 09)

Happy Halloween

In order to celebrate Halloween, I did something this year that I haven't done in a a long time.  I carved a pumpkin!  When I was younger, my brother and I each used to carve a pumpkin every year.  I think I was carving pumpkins until I graduated from high school and left for college.  It wasn't until I decided to do it this year that I realized how much help my mom had always been.  When I was younger, all I had to do was help clean out the junk in the middle (which I have to say is one of my least favorite parts) and draw the picture that I wanted on the outside.  My mom did the majority of the work, scraping the inside of the pumpkin to make sure it was good and cleaned out and cutting out whatever I had drawn.  I never realized how much work she really put into it until I did it myself last night.  Not to mention, she had to do double the work (once for me and then for my brother).  I now have a new appreciation for all that she did.  I have to say though, that despite the work that went into it, I really enjoyed carving my pumpkin.  Unfortunately, I have spent most of my day today in a Board review. Don't get me wrong, it has been a great review and I am very glad that I decided to do it, but it hasn't left much time for enjoying the holiday.  At least we get out fairly early tonight, so there will be some time to have a little fun (as long as we're not too exhausted) and maybe even hand out some candy to the trick-or-treaters that stop by.  For all of you who have plans for tonight, be careful and have a very Happy Halloween!!! 

Below are some pictures of me, my boyfriend Greg, and my little Maltese, Ripley, carving our pumpkins.

Mice On Main

A couple weeks ago, my boyfriend and I were looking for a way to enjoy the nice weather and decided to check out the "Mice on Main" in downtown Greenville, SC.  For anyone who doesn't know, this was an idea that a local high school student, Jimmy Ryan, had for his Senior project.  In doing so, he created a unique way to explore downtown Greenville.  His idea was based on the children's book Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown.  There is a bronze statue of the first mouse and the book in front of the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Main Street.  From there, you do a scavenger hunt down Main Street with clues that help you find the other eight mice scattered down the street.  It may sound childish, but we had a great time trying to find the mice and even turned it in to a competition.  I have to say, Greg was a little better at spotting the tiny bronze mice than I was. Some of them were very difficult to find which made it even more entertaining.  If you ever want to try it out, there is a list of the clues for finding the mice on the following website:  Mice on Main.  All you have to do is print off the clues and head to the Hyatt Regency and you will be good to go.  Below are some pictures that we took along the way.  If you plan on doing this sometime, you might not want to look too closely at the pictures, as the whereabouts of some of the mice may be pretty evident and I wouldn't want to spoil the fun!

Part IV Board Review

The first portion of the Part IV Irene Gold Board Review has come and gone.  After being at school for the review all day Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I feel that I am much more prepared for the X-ray portion of the Board which is all we covered all weekend.  Even though it seemed like it went on forever, I felt that it was well worthwhile.  I feel that I learned quite a few things throughout that portion of the review.  In addition, I had the opportunity to brush up on a few things that have gotten a little bit rusty.  For those of you who don't know, the Part IV test is made up of two tests, clinical and x-ray.  The next part of the review starts on Thursday and goes through the weekend.  This is when we are going to cover the clinical aspect of the test.  I look forward to it (even though it is going to be another weekend of long hours and hard work).  I hope that it proves to be as beneficial as the portion of the review that I just completed.  I still don't feel that I am ready to take Part IV (I don't know if I'll ever feel completely ready), but I do feel much more prepared after just four days of the review.  It is hard to believe that the actual test is only a couple of weeks away.  

Exit Exams have Begun

Today was officially the first day of the Exit Exams that my class is taking this quarter. The class we have consists of a series of reviews and tests throughout the quarter. There are about thirteen tests in all, some of which are written and others which are practical. Throughout the quarter, we will be tested on just about everything we have learned clinically and do on a daily basis in the health center. Today, we had our X-ray Analysis test. Now, we are anxiously awaiting the results to find out whether or not we passed. The test consisted of thirty different cervical and lumbopelvic x-rays which we proceeded to answer analysis questions about. It was a difficult test but didn't test us over anything that we had not previously been taught. It is exciting to finally be reaching the end of my time here at Sherman. It is hard to believe that I am in my 13th quarter taking Exit Exams. It is something I have been hearing about for so long but thought seemed so far away. Now it's here and I already have one test behind me (that is, if I passed!). Our next test is not until next week so we have some time to prepare as well as take care of our patients in the health center and start studying for yet another set of boards...Part IV.