in the Hands of the Potter: January 2007

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Speak their language

I've always thought it was important to learn the language of someone else, in order to effectively communicate. But I tend to think of it in terms of actual languages -- Lamba in Zambia, Spanish in Honduras, Mandarin in China, etc. It never completely occurred to me that there are many different forms, even within my own English language.

When I was finishing PA school, a colleague advised me, "use 'doctor talk' vocabulary confidently. You spent a lot of money on your education- show it off!" And when I am speaking to other practitioners, I use their language. Someone else might not know what I meant if I said "the patient is a G3P2 female, who is POD2 after an ex-lap and hysterectomy, and is complaining of RUQ pain...." If we didn't have a language to speak, it would take a lot longer to say, "the patient is a female who has been pregnant 3 times and has had 2 children born, presents on the second day after an exploratory surgery of the abdomen and removal of her uterus, who is complaining of abdominal pain in the right side up by her ribcage...."
See what I mean? Language is important.

I've talked before in this blog about the fact that people in other countries respond to Americans trying to learn their language. They are comfortable with it. They trust your motives, when you attempt to communicate as they do.

I discovered this again as I was talking with a patient yesterday. I had gone through her medical history and a physical exam, and we were just about done talking. She hadn't been too responsive to the interview in the first place -- a little suspicious of who I was and what my motives are (common in the psychiatric population). And as we were leaving the room, I said "girl, you need a shower" in the same tone of voice that she had been using with me (yeah, I'm blunt ... it's one of my not-so-endearing qualities). Not as a professional, but as a peer. Someone she could trust. Her face broke into a huge smile and she said, "you tell it like it is! I LIKE you! You're keeping it real."

Something inside her broke then, and she began to trust me. From that point on, she responded differently when I wanted to talk with her. I hadn't realized that anything I said would really have an impact. I relate to my patients like that often. And it really does matter. Language makes a difference. When I use the "wrong" language in a situation, it may create a negative, unhelpful environment.

It's a concept also very true in Christianity. So often Christians get caught up in their "Christianese" language. We are so used to saying things a certain way, and knowing what each other is talking about, that we forget when we are talking with someone who may not be familiar with the terms, doesn't know what certain things mean. We just expect everyone to.

God's really been showing me the last few days that this is something that is extremely important in relating to anyone - our coworkers, family members, friends, significant others, etc. We need to speak the language of others if we want to effectively communicate.

posted by emily @ 8:45 PM 2 comments

easy as A-B-C

Well, it's quarter after 1 am, and I'm still awake. Not really sure why I can't sleep. So many thoughts and emotions are in my head right now - something I try to avoid. :) It's times like this that I lie in bed, looking at the ceiling, wishing I could just turn those things off. So I'm doing this survey instead.

THE LETTER A
Are you available? depends on who's asking....... :)
What is your age? 25
What annoys you? when people tell me the same thing over and over ... or ask the same question over and over

THE LETTER B
Do you live in a big house? it's not huge. not tiny. kinda in the middle.
When is your birthday? July 2
Who is your best friend? Bee

THE LETTER C
What's your favorite candy? dark chocolate :) and mounds. and sweet tarts. and nerds. :)
Who's your crush? don't have one
When was the last time you cried? today, while driving to play practice

THE LETTER D
Do you daydream? yeah ... I used to do it more
What's your favorite kind of dog? husky! and cocker spaniels :)
What day of the week is it? Tuesday

THE LETTER E
How do you like your eggs? ideally .... in an omelet ;)
Have you ever been in the emergency room? many times
What's the easiest thing ever to do? be with my sister. :)

THE LETTER F
Have you ever flown in a plane: yeppers! and again soon ..... hehe
Do you use fly swatters? not usually. I usually just smack the flies with whatever is handy
Have you ever used a foghorn? nope

THE LETTER G
Do you chew gum? after I drink coffee, so I don't have coffee breath...
Are you a giver or a taker? a giver. pretty much. sometimes I'm not though
Do you like gummy candies? YES!! especially sour patch kids

THE LETTER H
How are you? awake, unfortunately.
What color is your hair? brown. kinda blah ... I'll have to do something about that ;)

THE LETTER I
What's your favorite ice cream? yeah, double chocolate chunk .... with sprinkles!
Have you ever ice skated? no :( I need to do that!
Do you play an instrument? trumpet ... that's it, sadly

THE LETTER J
What's your favorite jelly bean? oooh jelly belly! the margarita ones. :) and the Easter ones from Wegmans!!!
Do you wear jewelry? sometimes, if I remember and have time to put it on

THE LETTER K
Who do you want to kill? heavens, nobody
Do you want kids? I'm not quite sure. I think so. if I had the right man to be their father :) or if I could adopt cute ones from other countries

THE LETTER L
Are you laid back? yeah, pretty much. except when I get overwhelmed with people bugging me ... then I might get a little snippy
Do you lie? I try not to. but I do sometimes.

THE LETTER M
What's your favorite movie? there's so many I like! hitch?
Do you still watch Disney movies? haha, only if it's the emperor's new groove ;)
Do you like mangos? depends. I like mango flavor. I'm not incredibly crazy about fresh ones.

THE LETTER N
Do you have a nickname? yeah ... although I've decided "Em" is pretty much just my name, since everyone calls me that! :) but other nicknames ... Emmy, Emma, Mook, Mung
What's your favorite number? 3
Do you prefer night over day? I'm more awake at night. But I love sunshine

THE LETTER O
What's your one wish? that I can fulfill the things God made me to accomplish
Are you an only child? nope, I have the best sister in the history of the universe

THE LETTER P
What one fear are you most paranoid about? people I love dying - and having my last memory of them NOT being a hug
What are your pet peeves? the sound of people clipping their nails ... when guys call girls "chicks" ;) people who drive slowly, especially in sports cars
What personality traits do you look for in people? able to have a deep conversation, like football, funny, willing to be crazy and do silly things

THE LETTER Q
What's your favorite quote? "Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you yourself shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God. "
-- Phillips Brooks

THE LETTER R
Do you think you're always right? well, no. I've had people tell me that I think I am, though ... maybe it's something I need to work on.
Are you one to cry? not usually. I have been crying a little more often lately, though, which is kind of disturbing.

THE LETTER S
Do you prefer sun or rain? SUN.
Do you like snow? I like to look at it. and play in it. that's about it.
What's your favorite season? SUMMER. bring on the heat, baby!

THE LETTER T
What time is it? 1:09 am
What time did you wake up? 5:30 ... because my nose was bleeding
When was the last time you slept in a tent? this summer .... camping at the yacht club

THE LETTER U
Are you wearing underwear? actually, I do happen to be wearing underwear at this moment
Favorite "u" word? ubiquitous ... it's true :)

THE LETTER V
What's the worst veggie? not a fan of mushrooms
Where do you want to go on vacation? Thailand? ;) hehe. I've heard Singapore is pretty great

THE LETTER W
What's your worst habit? procrastinating. being a slob. staying up late.
Where do you live? with my parents ;)
What's your worst fear? that people I love will die without me being prepared for it

THE LETTER X
Have you ever had an x-ray? I had a chest xray when I was 8. and I've had 'em on my teeth
Have you seen the x-games? no idea what that is
Do you own a xylophone? hehe no ... I wouldn't know what to do with it

THE LETTER Y
Do you like the color yellow? I do! it's one of my favorites
What three things do you yearn for? my loans to be paid off, warm weather, and to meet my niece!

THE LETTER Z
What's your zodiac sign? Cancer
Do you believe in the zodiac? No
Favorite zoo animal? Polar bears :)

posted by emily @ 12:39 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

leavin' on a jet plane ...

In less than two weeks I will be on a plane to Thailand! I can't believe it. When I went to Zambia, I didn't think I'd get to go overseas any time soon. Starting a new job, I figured I wouldn't get vacation time in the near future. But when I was hired at the hospital, I told them that I was planning a trip to Thailand, and would that be ok? They said, sure no problem and just to tell my supervisor.

So I did. I told him that I'd be going to Thailand for two weeks, and that the people in HR told me it would be fine. And so everyone is planning on me going. I found out yesterday that this doesn't even count for my vacation time! So I STILL get my 4 weeks of vacation, along with a week of paid holidays and a week of CME days. So altogether, I get 8 weeks away from my job this year. Amazing!! :)

All that to say, I'm really excited. I can't WAIT to see what Asia is like; I've heard so much about it. I can't wait to see for myself ... smell the smells, eat the spicy food, interact with the people.

As they say ..... BRING IT! :)

posted by emily @ 11:22 PM 0 comments

Saturday, January 6, 2007

"I'm not crazy, just a little unwell...."

At this moment, I am sitting in my bed, listening to my iPod, cozy under my Bills blanket. I haven't enjoyed the weekends this much in a long time! That's one of the few down-sides of not having a job ...... all the days ran together and I didn't appreciate the ability to sleep in on Saturday. But now I am taking full advantage of my responsibility to sleep in! :)

My body definitely had a shock coming to it when I had to start getting up at 6 am again. It's funny because I can do it when I have to. When I was doing surgery, I got up at 4 am every day ... and went to bed around 10. And loved it. I guess my body was used to it. I've realized that I had gotten used to actually sleeping, during the wonderful 4 months of unemployment. I had forgotten what it felt like to be chronically sleep-deprived.

On the other hand, however, I am enjoying being back in the swing of medicine. I do feel that I have forgotten a lot of the things I'm supposed to know ... but I'm hopeful that I will learn them again - and more! I've been told that the first year of work is usually just as much of a learning experience as the two years of school. And I'm looking forward to that.

Working with psych patients is definitely interesting, that's for sure! I have a special place in my heart for psychiatric issues, for some reason (probably has something to do with Bob and his bipolar patients!!!) and so I like this. I find myself sitting and talking to the patients about non-medically related things, trying to encourage them, and figure out how to approach them and change their behavior. I know that isn't my job .... but listening comes easily to me. Some of the patients seriously crack me up. There is something about interacting with people that I simply love! I find myself walking down the halls smiling or laughing .... you just can't make some of this stuff up! :)

I do have one patient at the moment that is driving me crazy (no pun intended). :) I honestly can't tell if she's seriously sick or if she's just trying to get attention --- on one hand, I want to make sure that she's ok ... and on the other hand, I can't find anything wrong with her. It's making me frustrated because the nurses think she's just making it up, but I don't want to just assume that and then find out something really is wrong. :-P

I hit a possum on my way home last night. :( It was dark. I had looked down at my phone. I looked up and there it was, huge, hanging out in the middle of the road. I don't know what I was thinking, but I thought maybe it was short enough that if I drove over it in the middle of my car (instead of swerving around), I wouldn't hit it with my tires and it would be ok. THUNK. Nope. Maybe if it had ducked, it would've been ok .......... I just hate that feeling of hitting things. And the look on it's face when it saw me coming at it - seriously, it looked SCARED! (how does a possum look scared, you ask?? well, you would know if you had seen this possum ......)

That's enough for now. More at a later date :)

posted by emily @ 10:51 AM 2 comments

Monday, January 1, 2007

Celebrating 2006

Even though this is my Zambia blog, I thought it would be fun to do a quick recap of each month of 2006. It's always nice to look back on where the Lord has brought me and the things that I've been able to do. I feel as though this year of my life has been very blessed, and I pray that the Lord would continue to help me do His will in 2007.

January: I was in the middle of my pediatrics rotation with Dr. Ragonesi in Canandaigua. I got to help Bee and Tom look for houses, and we fell in love with one. Toby and Micaela got married. I was still depressed about some things that had happened, and I cried a lot. I started my OB-GYN rotation at Strong and got to practice my Spanish. I had decided to go to Zambia for a rotation, and I was in the process of getting everything settled to go.

February: The Steelers beat the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, and I actually was happy (go Ben!). I got the flu for the first time ever. I was still depressed and still cried a lot. We started our "community group" at church, and I got to know a lot of great new people (.... Shelly ....) I decided that I was sick of being depressed. My HIV project was nearing it's due date, so I was doing a lot of research and planning for that. Bee and Tom bought the house that they had fallen in love with. I finished up my OB-GYN rotation.

March: We had ACLS at school, so I learned how to do all the cardiac things when people go into cardiac arrest. My family practice rotation started, so I moved down to Beaver Falls to live with the Griecos. I finalized the details for my flight to Zambia! I started doing pilates and running at the Griecos. Family practice was fun - I learned all about bipolar disorder and lots of other diseases. I got my Zambian visa. Finally, I started feeling a happier and stopped crying so much.

April: I was still at the Griecos, loving it and feeling like a part of their family. The LCS drama club performed Up The Down Staircase, so I drove home to see it. I got to ride on a motorcycle for the first time ever. My family came down to Beaver Falls for Easter, and I got all my shots for Zambia. Living at the Griecos' was awesome, and I was absolutely loving family practice medicine! I actually started to feel joyful inside, which was a big difference from the way I'd been feeling for a long time. I did my HIV lecture at school, and I started applying for jobs. Gen colored my hair RED.

May: I went to see Monica in her musical at BCCS, and got to help do her hair for her Jr/Sr Banquet. Elisa came home from California and started working at the office with us. I went to Philly for my school's official graduation. My time with the Griecos ended ... and I cried because I loved living with them and being part of their family. I flew to South Africa and then ZAMBIA!!

June: I started going to the Mushili clinic and learning about malaria and TB and pinworms and all kinds of other things. I learned how to play Farkle, and hung out with Amy, Jimmie, and Kevin. I ate nshima and learned some Bemba and Lamba. I went to Lusaka and Livingstone and got to see Victoria Falls (so amazing!) and drive around and see rhinos, zebras, giraffes, elephants, etc etc. Jessica came to Zambia and we got to hang out. I also met a whole bunch of people from a church in Las Vegas and another church in Kansas City and we had lots of fun together. I discovered that I was finally free from all of the stuff that had been depressing me for so long. We realized that my passport said "business visa" on it, and I thought I had to leave the country ...... so Kevin and I spent a whole day waiting for someone to sign a piece of paper to say that I could stay 4 extra days.

July: I turned 25 in Zambia - and felt very blessed and special by all my new friends in Zambia. I flew back to Philly and took some crazy exams - the OSCEs and comprehensive finals. Bee and Tom got the cutest puppy in the world, and discovered that they were pregnant! I started my last rotation in Newark with Dr. Mead.

August: I finished my last rotation and graduated from PA school! While I was there, Julin told me that she was having a baby too! I went to a Bills/Browns preseason game and dubbed it the "best game ever." We went to Duff's for the first time and had their wings. We had our fantasy football draft ... and I got a bunch of players who were supposed to be good but turned out to be icky. I had a few job interviews but didn't feel like any of them were really the right thing to do. I was studying like crazy for my certifying exam.

September: I took my national board exam and PASSED! Bee decided to do You, The Jury as the fall play at LCS, and we started play practices (she let me come and hang out and help) ... and I loved it. I had more job interviews. I started doing more stuff with Campus Target - blogging, emailing, etc. I also became a youth leader at church. The whole Campus Target team left for Asia. I got to go to the doctor with Bee and hear the baby's heartbeat. I started "working" for Paul and Phil. I went to Toronto with Becky and some of her friends to a Red Sox/Blue Jays game.

October: We went to a Bills game and watched them beat the Vikings. Andre Reed got put on the Wall of Fame. I spent a lot of time with Genevieve, letting her use my hair to practice for her cosmetology boards. Dr. Mead called and asked me if I wanted to work for him ..... and I felt like it was where God wanted me, so I said yes. I went out to Kansas City for a week to visit Amy and Jimmie - and met lots of awesome people.

November: The LCS drama kids performed You, The Jury, and Andrew proposed to me at the cast party. I went into withdrawal after not seeing the kids every day! :) Bee and Tom had their first ultrasound and discovered that they were having a GIRL! Gen and Joanna passed their cosmetology boards. Joanna left for China. I was still doing a lot of Campus Target emails and blogs and whatnot. I discovered that ice cream is better with sprinkles.

December: I became an actual NY-state licensed PA and started working on the psych unit at the hospital. My fantasy football team won its championship game - and therefore, the league! The Bills didn't make it to the playoffs. Kevin was home from Zambia, and we got to hang out. We got our plane tickets to go to China in February. I got an iPod for Christmas. Matt came home from China. I started co-leading a "cadre" group - a Bible study for some youth group girls.

So that's all I can think of at the moment. When I look back on the year, I realize that I'm in a different place than I was a year ago. I'm actually a professional now, with a job, but I have a different perspective on life and my future. I am a lot more joyful and peaceful than I was a year ago - and I praise the Lord that He has brought me out of a lot of emotional junk. He truly is faithful! I know that the things He brings me through are designed to strengthen me and make me more like Jesus, and I pray that He would continue to refine and stretch me in 2007. My desire is to be like my Savior.

posted by emily @ 11:27 AM 1 comments

about me

: Name: emily; Location: United States

Then I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

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