Hi, readers! A LOT has happened since my post from last month. First, after a difficult week of final exams the Class of 2017 became THIRD YEARS! Starting tomorrow we will be in the clinic regularly – finally doing what we’ve been looking forward to since the beginning: seeing patients! Third year will be exciting and busy and definitely a little different from first and second year which both have a heavy emphasis on academics.
Between second and third year we got a two-week long break. The first Monday of the break is when we had our Clinic Orientation and had the opportunity to hear from different doctors and staff in The Eye Center as well as meet the 2 staff doctors we’ll be working with during the summer semester in Adult Primary Care. This was really exciting to me because these staff doctors will be the first to shape how we will practice ourselves. It will be very interesting working with different doctors who have different approaches to performing an eye exam and different opinions. My suite (which includes myself and three of my classmates) was assigned Dr. Borgman in the mornings and Dr. Sparks in the afternoons – two great doctors who gave a wonderful first impression during Clinic Orientation. My first day in APC is this coming Thursday and I can’t wait! My lab group has our Optical assignments on Tuesdays and our other rotations (including Technology, Teen Clinic, and Nursing Home assignments) on Wednesdays.
After Clinic Orientation, my break got even more exciting! Ben and I headed home (to The Woodlands, Texas – a suburb of Houston) on Wednesday to visit our families and spend a little time relaxing before beginning our third year. Little did I know, there was a lot more to this trip home than I thought! On Monday, May 11th Ben took me to a spot on the Waterway in our home town – the first place he ever said “I love you” to me many years ago – and asked me to marry him!!! Of course I said yes, and after dinner he took me to his parents’ house to “tell his parents about our engagement.” When we got there, our families were all there and they had planned a surprise engagement party for us! It was a night full of excitement, love, and happiness. Ben is my best friend and the love of my life and I can’t wait for him to be my husband!
Since we only had a few more days at home before we had to head back to Memphis, we tried to do some speedy planning before the craziness of third year sets in this week. We already set a date, made a tentative invite list, and narrowed it down to 2 venues! This past week has been one of the best weeks of my life and I can’t wait to celebrate with our friends and classmates now that we are back in Memphis.
Next time I write I’ll have some stories from my first weeks in clinic! Until then, enjoy some pictures from the proposal and engagement party. :-)
