Reflective Essay on Group Work

Being able to work well in groups is a very important skill to have that can be put to use often in everyday life. People work in groups, do chores and recreational activities in groups. Throughout this class we have had many group activities.
One of the group activities that particularly stands out in my memories is when we had the Lego activity. For the Lego activity, we split up into groups of six students. There was a structure made of Legos in the hallway. Our objective was to build an identical structure, but there was a strict set of rules that we had to follow. Only one team member could be in the hallway at a time, once we started building no one could go into the hallway, and there were several other rules. We decided what each team member was responsible for remembering and then took turns going into the hall. Once we all had our turns we started to put our structure together as we remembered it. This projected required much teamwork, it required us all to try our best and for us to trust each other.
I find group work to be fun and often prefer it to working alone. I would like to develop my group work skills more. I hope that we have more group projects in the future.

Reflective Essay on CBL Activities

During fall term of this class, we have occasionally engaged in some Community Based Learning activities outside the classroom. The first activity that my class took part in this year was the class trip to professor John Sollinger’s cabin. We have also gone to the greenhouse to work in it and we have held a plant sale. I have found these Community Based Learning activities to be fun, informative, and very engaging.
Going to professor Sollinger’s cabin has been my favorite Community Based Learning activity that I have taken part in this year. It was a fun way to learn, while bonding with classmates and make new friends. Our mission for this class trip was to collect plants, plant cuttings, and seeds that are native to the area. I was in the seed-collecting group. I learned allot about native plants doing this; I learned many plant names, what they look like and what their seeds look like. Some plant seeds were very easy to find, such as acorns, rose hips and snow berries. I found that the plant seeds that were the most valuable, were also the most difficult to find. My challenge was to find the hard-to-find seeds. I had some success when I found a couple of plants with seeds on them that I have never seen before. This class trip was a fun way to learn some information about plants.
The second Community Based Learning activity for this class was going to the greenhouse. Our objective of the trip was to take what we had previously collected at the cabin, and plant what was ready to be planted. We cut the plant cuttings smaller, took the leaves off (so that moisture wouldn’t escape from the cutting) and put them into soil in hopes that they would grow roots become their own plants. This trip taught me more about gardening and plants, which ties into the curriculum of our class.
The most reasent Community Based Learning activity that we had was the plant sale. The objective of the plant sale was to make money to fund a class trip that we will take latter in the year. We did not make much money from this plant sale but we learned what we can do to have more success for plant sales in the future.
I have found the Community Based Learning activities that we have had to be fun, engaging and very informative. I feel that I have benefited from them very much. I hope that we have many more in the future.

What Grade Do I Deserve?

Students in the class USEM 101 are graded on attendance, participation, and effort. I attended every class, participated often and put allot of effort into every assignment; which is why I believe that I deserve my grade for this class to be an A.
Although there were some days that I really didn’t want to go to class, I always did. I went to every class prepared, ready to work, and almost always ontime. My attendance record for this class is perfect.
I typically have a very shy personality, but during this class I made an effort to participate. I often spoke up during the group and class discussions. When were learning about slightly complicated ideas involving biology, I asked questions when I didn’t understand something.
Things such as writing and giving speeches do not come easily for me. I am sure that I spent twice the amount of time writing most of my essays for this class than many of my classmates did. I have tried very diligently to succeed in this class. I believe that I deserve an A.

Antibiotics and Bacterial Evolution

After reading the article “Antibiotic Resistance of Bacteria: An Example of Evolution in Action?” By Dr. Georgia Purdom, I have a new view on bacterial mutations caused by to antibiotic medications. In her article, Dr. Purdom claims that bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics, but that they aren’t evolving. Although I agree with most of what she illustrates, I am skeptical of her claim.
I learned many things about bacteria and antibiotics from Dr. Purdom’s article. One of the many things that I learned is that more than 70% of the bacteria that cause hospital-acquired infections are resistant to at least one of the antibiotics used to treat them. Bacteria are constantly changing so that they can survive in their constantly changing environment. The most important thing this article taught me is that there is very much to be learned about bacteria.
Antibiotics are capable of changing the bacteria’s DNA, in a process that we call mutation, which is why some bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics. Mutation and natural selection often result in bacteria with defective proteins that have lost their normal functions. Dr. Purdom claims that bacteria aren’t evolving, because resistance to antibiotics isn’t anything new and evolution requires a gain of functional systems. Although most mutations result in the bacteria losing functions, I believe that occasionally a mutation can occur that makes the bacteria stronger and better. I think that some strands of bacteria are currently evolving because of the mutations that antibiotics subjected them to.
There is not enough evidence to prove that bacteria are or are not evolving. Dr. Purdom has some good support in her article for her claim that bacteria aren’t evolving. She states “Bacteria that are resistant to modern antibiotics have even been found in the frozen bodies of people who died long before those antibiotics were discovered or synthesized”. This supports the idea that just because bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, doesn’t mean that the bacteria is gaining a new function and therefore evolving. This is good support, but it isn’t enough to prove that bacteria are not evolving.
After reading Dr. Purdom’s article, I am still too skeptical believe her claim that bacteria aren’t evolving. I believe that mutations of bacteria can give the bacteria functions, other than resistance to antibiotics, that we are not yet aware of yet.

Summary of Ghost in Your Genes

Genes are not the only things that are passed on from generation to generation.
Although genes take much time and several generations to change, the epigenome can change throughout a person’s life, and the changes can be passed on from generation to generation.
It’s proven that the grandchildren of men who experienced a famine during late childhood live longer.
Identical twins with the exactly same genes can be very different.
Genes can be turned on and off. Epigenetic changes are tiny chemical tags that accumulate over time and can turn genes on or off.
We have different kinds of cells because different genes are turned on to make them different.
Identical twins with the exactly same genes can be very different.
Cancer and some other diseases were thought to be caused by changes in the genome, but they can be caused by changes of the epigenome and/or changes of the genome.
Cancer tends to appear in people that smoke, that have certain environmental exposures or that are exposed to radiation. These things can damage your epigenome and your genome.
Cancer is more abundant with older age groups because epigenetic changes accumulate with age.

My T’ai Chi experience

Before this term I wasn’t sure what to expect of this class, I didn’t have much of an understanding of what T’ai Chi is, and I wasn’t even sure if I would attend this class more than once. On the first day of class, when I came to try it out, I learned about what T’ai Chi is and what it could do to improve me physically and mentally. I have always had an interest in the martial arts and yoga. With T’ai Chi being a sort of combination of the two, I found it quite appealing. I was excited to find that this class would improve my balance, would strengthen my self-defense skills and help relive stress.
I found several improvements that T’ai Chi had on me, physically and mentally. I had fractured my foot in several places last May. I was concerned that it would be a problem during my practicing of T’ai Chi. My foot pain did hinder my movement several days during T’ai Chi, but I eventually found that wearing shoes with good insoles made it okay. When I had first started walking again after my injury, my recovering foot had very poor balance. After a few weeks of T’ai Chi I noticed that my balance was dramatically improving in both of my feet. Another thing that T’ai Chi has been helping me do, is relax and distress. I have found that T’ai Chi class was at the perfect time, immediately after my two hardest classes. After class I walked away feeling so much more calm and relaxed, even if it was a terribly stressful day. T’ai Chi has also helped me become more flexible, and make a few more friends.
I very much enjoyed this class. I found that practicing this art was very enjoyable, even though when I practiced at home my roommate often laughed at me. I look forward to putting some of my new self-defense skills to use when wrestling with my two big brothers. Thank you for introducing me to the art of T’ai Chi Chaun.

A Surprisingly Good Time

I didn’t know what to expect the class trip to Professor Sollinger’s cabin to be like, except of what I was told about it. I was told that there would be good food, we would sleep on the floor, and we would collect seeds and plants from the woods. I didn’t know anyone in the class very well, and I was slightly scared that it wouldn’t be fun at all.
After my classes were over on Friday, I quickly went back to my dorm room to pack. Then I went to the parking lot where my class planned to depart. I expected to find many classmates there, but to my surprise there were only three (who weren’t the people in my prearranged carpooling group). I didn’t know where my carpooling group was at, so I decided to just go with the other group. We were waiting for the rest of the class to show up, but only three people showed during the 45 minuets that we were waiting. We looked up directions on the Internet, then we all jammed into a car and took off. My feeling that this class trip was a going to be a bad experience was deepened by the lack classmates and also because we got lost on our way there.
When we were trying to figure out where the cabin was, feeling completely lost, we discovered that the street numbers were getting closer to our destination! We eventually got to the cabin, and our pleasant surprise there was already a car full of people there. For a while we just played Frisbee and talked, getting to know each other better as more people arrived. I was already surprised by how much fun we were having. When it got dark outside we all went into the beautiful cabin and enjoyed good food and conversation.
That night we enjoyed sitting next to the campfire talking, which was very fun. We also played fun games such as cards and Apples to Apples. We never stopped eating throughout the night: we went from eating appetizers, to dinner, to chips and salsa, to cookies. After a long night of fun and games we decided to crash. I sleep downstairs with most of the girls; most of the boys sleep outside in the tent.
After a good night’s sleep I woke up to a wonderful breakfast already laid out on the counter. We had pancakes and made our own breakfast burritos. It was a feast. After the long wonderful breakfast, it was finally time to do what we originally thought that we were there to do: collect plants and seeds. We split up into groups. I was in the seed-collecting group. I wandered around the woods looking for any seeds that I could find. We only spent about thirty minuets in the seed and plant collecting groups. I enjoyed getting to walk around the woods and I think that I did well; I found some pretty unusual seeds.
After everyone was done doing his or her job, we went home. The drive home was much better than the ride there; we didn’t get lost and I enjoyed talking with my newfound friends. After we arrived at school, one of my new friends and I went to get Slurpees and we watched the homecoming football game together.
I am very glad that my skepticism about how this trip was going to turn out was not needed; it was a blast! During this trip I got to know many of my classmates better and I made several new friends. I learned from this trip that it’s okay for me to occasionally go out of my comfort zone. I hope that I have many more opportunities like this in the future!

Tai Chi Steps

First I move my legs into a good stance. Taking a breath in, I slowly raise my arms. I pull my arms back, concentrating on my elbows, and I move my hands down as if I was putting someone hands in my pockets. Then lift I push off of my left foot and pivot to the right and right hand goes into ward off and left rest on the pillow in right ward off. Then I put my hands into the beach ball position then I put my weight on my left foot and pivot turning into left ward off. Then I take a step with my right foot and extend with my right hand and the left rests on the pillow. The left hand goes to the elbow of the reached out right hand and then they swing across the body together: the right hand stops near the crotch and the left goes near the ear. They go into press position, left hand pressing on the right. Both hands come back then push out next to each other in the push position. Then I swing around 180 degrees to the left with arms extended while turning changing the hands so that the right hand look like its holding a tea bag and the left hand is low and palm facing in the single whip position.
11/11/08

From Single Whip I spread my arms and legs opening up. I then bring my right leg in and forward on heel, right hand extended and left palm at right elbow. Next I bring my hands down to my left hip and move my right foot back as if pulling someone’s arm down. Then I step forward with my right foot having my right arm down (hand protecting growing) and left hand on the right side of my chest (prepared to jab at someone’s eyes). Next I step with my left foot, my right forearm is parallel to the ground at head level (blocking a punch) and my left arm is above my left leg in the pose wide crane spreads wings.
12/03/08
From Wide Crane Spreads Wings, I bring my left arm up, fold over my right arm and turn my body going into Brush Knee Twist I. I lift my right leg and extend my right arm as if grabbing someone’s arm. Then I step back, having my left hand by my right elbow as if I am holding someone’s arm. I then swing my arms around and go into brush knee twist II. I then turn my body to the left and make a fist with my right hand. I take a step with my right foot, having my left palm facing my right fist. I take another step and extend my right arm as if punching someone. I then put my weight on my back leg and make a ball to the left, then I transfer my weight back to my front leg and move my hands so that palms are facing outwards as if pushing someone. I let my arms hang at shoulder-eye level while turning to the right and pivoting my left foot. I then bring my right foot in near my body while my arms swing down. As my hands cross, right behind left, I place my right foot down at shoulders with apart but don’t put weight on it. My crossed hands rise up to eye level and I pull them to their correct side as I center my weight upon my feet. I straighten my body as I bring my hands down to my sides in Wu chi. I angle my right foot out and then bring my left foot in at an angle. I put my right fist against my left palm and bow. After bowing I kick out my heals and return to Wu Chi.

Global Warming

The United States has been using fossil fuels in large amounts ever since the industrial revolution. Now, not only are the factories pumping out carbon dioxide, the majority of U.S. citizens drive cars on a regular basis and many other countries have industrialized; the world population is pumping out more carbon dioxide than nature can handle. If world keeps putting out carbon dioxide like it has been, there will be devastating changes to our environment.
The carbon dioxide emissions were estimated to decrease in 2007, but the opposite happened; carbon dioxide emissions raised three present from 2006 to 2007. China produces many products that are require energy consuming machinery and shipped worldwide. Scientists said that China accounted for half of the worlds CO2 increase in 2007. The United States CO2 output had decreased in 2006 but increased two present 2007. Scientists said that the U.S. has the highest CO2 output per person. The large amount of CO2 the world has continued put out is quite frightening.
Although forests and oceans once sucked up enough of CO2 to prevent climate change, they can no longer keep up with humans CO2 output rates. The rate that forests and oceans suck up CO2 has decreased and the rate that humans produce CO2 has increased. If we continue to produce more CO2 than nature can deal with, there will be harsh temperature changes, which will cause the oceans to get warmer. There will be an increase in the number and in severity of storms. Glaciers will melt and oceans will rise. The amount of CO2 that humans have been putting out must be decreased in order to prevent these harmful events.

Pros & Cons of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”

Pros
-An Inconvenient Truth informs people about the importance of stopping global warming.
-There has been an increase in hybrid cars since this movie came out.
-More people have been buying eco-friendly products.
-There has been an increase in the usage of public transportation and bikes.
-There are very few theories against the Global Warming.
-“Gore does an excellent job of explaining the basic science behind climate change and the accelerated rise in temperatures since the 1970s.”
-The material could have been presented in a dry, boring way, but it made interesting by Gore's geniality and desire to share the information.
-This movie has informed a large number of people about global warming.
-Al Gore was already well known and trusted by most of the US, which helped the movie make an impact.
-Many businesses have become more eco-friendly.
-The movie’s goal, to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide, was meet.
-“Gore is excellent at drawing the American public's attention to issues that do matter.”
Cons
-Al Gore and his decades-long crusade to curb global warming is "alarmist."
-Almost everyone believes the Global Warming theory, when perhaps it should be questioned more.
-Many people didn’t watch the movie.
-Movies can easily dismissed as fiction.
-Many factory workers choose to ignore the facts presented in the video: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."
-Gore “relies on controversial and alarmist claims” in the movie.
-It is difficult to tell if the move is what actually made people decide to live more eco-friendly or if was something else.
-Some people think, “What we need is an open, balanced debate, wherein the public and politicians actually start paying attention to what scientists do have to say, instead of basking in the rays of our all-too-American anti-intellectual blind ignorance.”
-Many people haven’t watched it because it is a documentary (which means that it may be boring).
Sources: http://www.fandango.com/aninconvenienttruth_95961/criticreviews, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0497116/, http://www.amazon.com/review/RCAM4L3N8B2LV/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#RCAM4L3N8B2LV

Using External Assessment Tools to Evaluate Student Achievement and to Guide Curricular Improvement

There are many things that can only be taught by experiences. The most important things that we learn, we learn outside the classroom. Why don’t we take school outside the classroom then? Schools could easily teach and evaluate their students in external environments. If this was done, students would learn more valuable lessons and their school experience would be more enjoyable. Universities should use external assessment tools to evaluate student achievement and to guide curricular improvement.
A good example of how people learn important things in the external environment is figuring out which career to pursue. Nothing will help you figure out if you like a career more than experiencing it hands on, which is something you can’t do in the classroom (unless your pursuing a teaching career). During my senior year in high school, I had to do a Senior Project. For my Senior Project I got to choose a person of any career to job shadow for 25 hours. I choose to shadow Dave Mcallister, a Surgical Assistant RN at my local hospital. I have always had an interest in the medical field and thought that this would be a good choice for me. During this experience I fell in love with surgery and Dave’s job. After I was done shadowing Dave, I wrote an essay and preformed a presentation about my experience, on which I was accessed. I learned much more preparing for that assessment than I have ever learned preparing for a regular test. I found that project to be a life changing experience. Because of this project, I am now perusing a Nursing degree.
I believe that external testing shows more about what the student has learned than in-class testing does. Having students do a standardized test only shows how good a student is at cramming and standardized-test taking. When a student is assessed in a different way, such as in a real life situation or giving a presentation, they are forced to learn the material. Standardized testing is not something that people need to know after they graduate from school, so is there any reason that students should be forced to become good at it?
Assessment is a very important part of the school system. Because of assessment being so important, the best way should be used. Students don’t want to sit in a classroom all day taking standardized test that will make or break their grade. If universities decided to use external testing the students and professors would be happier and the students would feel like there were getting more out of their money. If universities want curricular improvement they should use external assessment tools to evaluate student achievement.

Mexico

On the cruise to Mexico there were many dining options. Almost every day my cousins and I decided to have breakfast (if we ate it at all), along with lunch in the buffet. For dinner we usually ate in the dinning room with all the family. We occasional ordered room service for a snack or for breakfast (because it’s free and we’re lazy). There was always a large variety of food to choose from, most of which were very unique, and quite exquisite entrées.
The buffet had a very large selection of foods. There was always fresh fruit, amazing deserts, and many foods to choose from. The presentation of the food was phenomenal, everything was presented perfectly. The unusual foods were made attractive enough for me to put on my plate. I noticed that the food was prepared just as I had leaned it should be in catering class. The fruits and vegetables were all cut consistently into the same shape, and everything was laid out over platters in way that made it more appealing. The quality of the food was higher than that of a typical buffet, and it looked great, but it wasn’t nearly as good as the food in the dinning room.
The dinning room had a large variety of foods from all around the world. Even though I enjoyed some dishes more than others, I was satisfied with every single idem that I ordered throughout the cruise. I tried many foods that I typically wouldn’t have at home (such as Escargot), which I found to be much better than I had anticipated.
I only had time to eat two meals when I was off the ship in Mexico.  The first meal I had in Mexico was lunch in Mazalan.  We went to a somewhat Americanized restarent, I ordered chicken tacos and a margarita.  The tacos were very good, but perhaps slightly too spicy for my taste.  The margarita was by far the best part of the meal, and it perhaps making the food taste better than it should.  The only other food I ate in Mexico was lunch in Cabo San Lucas.  I had Shrimp Fajatas at a resturant called the Shrimp Bucket.  Both meals were good, but I didn’t find them to be much better than the Mexican food in Eugene.  One big difference that I did notice, was the alcohol (18 is the legal drinking age in Mexico).  Their tequela is exelent, quite superior to most of whats available in america.  I also loved the margaritas, they were very strong, and made with fresh ingredients.  Throughout this cruise I experienced many cultural, and traditional foods which were new to me. I enjoyed and learned very much from this culinary experience.

Senior Project Essay

Although I have known for a long time that I wanted to work somewhere in the medical profession, knowing where in this field hasn't come easily.  I used my senior project to focus on one possibility: would I like to have a career in a surgical specialty?

David McAllister, RN First Assistant was my community advisor.  He is the father of one of my friends and I was always interested in hearing about his surgical cases.  He works at Sacred Heart Medical Center (SHMC) through Northwest Surgical Specialist.  He is 1 of 3 first assistants for a group of 10 surgeons. David helped me apply for SHMC privileges so that I could observe in the operating room. It was a long application and took several weeks to process.  He was instrumental in me obtaining these privileges.  I was able to start in July and can use my privileges for up to a year.

I was slightly nervous for my first day in the Operating room, I had no idea what to expect. I meet Dave in the staff lounge of the O.R. at 10:35.  He took me to get an I.D. card, then he had a nurse show me the changing room and tell me what I needed to do before going into surgery.  I changed into scrubs I put on shoe covers, a hair net and face mask, then I went to meet Dave in the operating room.
When I walked into the room they had already began the operation.  The patient had a tumor in her lower intestine.  The objective of the surgery was to remove the tumor by cutting off a portion of her intestine.  They inflated the woman's belly with carbon dioxide, which made her look like she was nine months pregnant, so that they would have space to work. Several small incisions, each about a inch long, were made in different areas of the belly.  They inserted laparoscopes into these incisions; one was a camera which was connected to televisions, the others were tools for pulling and cutting.  On the televisions, everyone in the room could see her insides of that area, which was really fascinating to me. Dave and the surgeon used the camera to see where their tools were and what they were cutting, grabbing, etc.  After they found where the tumor was, they cut away fat and loosened the intestines, which took quite a bit of time.  After the intestine was loosened, they took their tools and camera out of the incisions. Then they cut an incision that was about three inches long, where they actually pulled the intestine out of the body!  They cut off the portion of intestine with the tumor, sewed it together and pushed it back in. She was then put all back together, and the first operation that I’ve ever watched had been completed.
Some other observations were that they had approximately 100 tools (like the one that has rows of staples on both sides and a knife in the middle, they used this many times when cutting the intestine), which they spread out over a long table by the patients feet. They played music all through the operations and talked almost constantly. The people were kind and explained everything for me.  They were very careful to keep things sterile, anything that’s blue you can't touch, unless you’re wearing a gown (which was difficult for me). It was an absolutely amazing experience.
Over lunch, Dave and I talked about what I thought of it. He gave me tips for observing other surgeries and I asked him questions. After lunch it was time to begin the next surgery. I was still nervous but not as much I was for the first operation, it was intimidating to be the least experienced person in the room. I was also excited, the last surgery was more fascinating and intriguing than I had ever imagined.
The patient was a smoker and had developed a tumor in her lung.  The surgeons took out a rib, cut through the chest wall, and took out the lower right lung.  It was difficult for me to see because of the size and the angle of the incision (there wasn't a camera like there was in the other surgery).  They had to be very careful because they were working very close to the heart, the aorta, and many important organs.  I got to hold the lung afterwards, which was an unexpected, very cool experience.  It felt like a wet sponge, and it had black spots of tar on the outside because of her smoking. The tumor felt like a bouncy ball, the lymph nodes were smaller but felt similar to the tumor.
The next day that I went to the hospital to shadow Dave I had to get up early to be there by 7:15, way too early.  I meet Dave in the staff lounge again. He had been on the computer doing research on one of the operations that he was scheduled to do that day.  I learned that researching procedures before the operation is a large part of the job of being a surgical assistant or a surgeon. It’s very important that they review so that they know exactly what they will be doing. Dave explained a few cases to me before we went in, which was very helpful in understanding what was going on.

 The first operation that I watched that day was a Nissen Fundoplication procedure. This is an operation in which the stomach is wrapped to prevent acid reflux into the esophagus.
The next two operations were cholecystectomies (gall bladder removals). They were very quick surgeries (less than one hour) and the surgeon was very good at it because she does this operation quite often.  They used x-rays to make sure that the stones haven’t moved into the common bile duct. They also used a camera in this surgery and didn't make an incision (which was very small) until it was time to remove the gall bladder.  The gall bladder had many stones in it and was very enlarged; the surgeon had trouble removing it because of its size.  I got to hold the gall bladder afterwards. The lining was slimy and the stones were hard but could be broken and crumbled. The second cholecystectomy was basically the same as the first. The only large difference that I noticed was that the gall bladder was much smaller compared to the first one, and it was easily removed. 
The last surgery Dave wasn't assisting in, but they let me watch it anyways because I really wanted to. It sounded like it would be really fascinating. The patient’s carotid (main artery in neck) was clogged with plaque which was caused by smoking. The surgeon went very slowly and carefully (because it's so easy to hit the wrong vein or artery, or another important part when working on the neck) cut through layers of muscle, small veins, etc.  When he got to the carotid artery, he cut it open down the middle.  He cleaned it out, removing the plaque and debris, and removed some of the veins inside layers of tissue.  When he was done he closed it up with a patch (I learned that they use a patch instead of just sewing the sides together because it allows the vein to be even larger than it had originally been to help prevent future clogging).  When he was about halfway done putting on the patch, suddenly blood started pouring out of the vein like a fountain.  One of the clamps had come off the vein.  Both the doctor and the assistant were surprised. They leaned back for about half a second figuring out what had happened, and then the doctor quickly put it back on.  During that moment of time there was much panic, it was scary.  There was blood everywhere; the surgeon had to leave to get cleaned up before finishing the surgery. The tech mopped the floors and wiped the blood off the assistant’s face.  Luckily, I had stepped back when this had all happened and had only gotten a few drops of blood on my shoe.  I never thought that I would see anything like that. It made me realize how greatly the life of the patient lies in the hands of the surgical team.  If the problem hadn't been resolved within a few seconds, the patient would probably have died. But it was resolved and the surgery was successfully completed.
On the third day of my observations, the surgeons were all easy going and just matter-of-fact in doing their job.  I left after 6 hours of this procedure; I had another appointment and felt sorry for the surgical team that was still working.  Sometimes they are on their feet 8-14 hours at a time and have to have other surgeons relieve them so that they can eat or use the rest room.
I loved seeing all the anatomy that I have studied in books, in the flesh.  The human body is so amazing and is wonderful.  I think that it will help me in my Anatomy class that I'm taking this year.
I acquired a wealth of skills and knowledge from these observations; starting with the application process, the hospital procedures and all the personal that keep the hospital running.  The requirements of the O.R. were overwhelming at first.  Scrubbing in, gowning, gloving, masks, hats and foot covers were just a few of the requirements before entering the O.R.  Once inside knowing where to stand, what to touch (nothing) to try to understand what I was seeing proved to be difficult to do.  These are all things that will be useful to any work in the medical field, which can't quite be appreciated until you've experienced them.
In conclusion, I think that the time I spent shadowing David McAllister in the Operating Room was very enlightening.  I loved the surgeries but I’m not sure I want to be a Surgical Assistant.  The long hours and difficult cases might not be what I want, but I'm certain that I want to work in the medical profession.  My senior project did help me narrow down my areas of interest for college and a career. I plan to apply to colleges that have a School of Nursing and I might focus on a career in a surgical specialty.

Panic

> Ever since I was a child I’ve been afraid of injury. I fear for the safety of my family, friends and of myself. I’m not sure how this fear started, it could have been from when I got stung by a bee, when I witnessed a gruesome car accident many years ago, or maybe it was just something that I was born with. It doesn’t really matter how this fear was initiated, but it does matter that it affects me everyday. Having a fear of injury isn’t always a bad thing. It has prevented many people, including myself, from doing very stupid things that would have resulted in serious injury, but not havig a fear of injury would make somethings in life alot nicer.
> I learned about injuries at a very young age, and of course I found that I didn’t like them. My first personal experience with a somewhat-serious injury was when I was jumping on a bed and fell off, landing at a bad angle and breaking my arm. Having two older brothers, I have grown up surrounded by injuries. My brothers started play fighting and wrestling with me when I was just a toddler. They never meant to hurt me but were often too rough and throughout the years have given me countless bruises and scrapes. They said it was fun and it would make me tough, sometime it was fun, except for the injury part of it.
> Both of my brothers have had serious injuries from playing sports. My oldest brother, Ian, one time tore many ligaments in his knee when playing football. My other brother Neal was also injured playing football. He fractured his ankle very badly, and had to have three bolts permanently screwed into the bone and was on crutches for several months recovering. Neal also permanently damaged his knee when wrestling with a friend.
> My family has a large yard and is always doing yard work and using chainsaws, tractors and other potentially dangerous equipment. Throughout my life serious injuries and deaths of people I know have not been uncommon, people are always getting hurt. One would think that growing up around so much injury would have made me more comfortable with it, but the exact opposite has happened. I am always scared that a friend or a family member will be seriously injured or worse.
> One day my friend Sarah and I were hanging out. It was getting late and we were wondering what we should do for dinner so I called my mom to find out what she was planning. She answered the phone and quickly said “I’ll call you back in a minute”, there was a bloodcurdling scream in the background; the kind of scream that you only hear if someone is seriously injured. The scream sounded like it was coming from a large man, it was loud and powerful. The scream made a tremble of terror shoot through my body. Sarah, who was sitting right next to me when I made the phone call saw the panic in my face as I was staring into nowhere, wondering “what happened, who’s hurt, are they okay?”. Sarah asked “What happened Lauren?” and I told her about the scream. The thought that someone I know could be seriously injured terrified me.
> My brother Ian had been in town that week. The time that I saw him injure his knee during a football practice flashed through my mind. It was the first time that I had ever watched one of his practices. I was in the bleachers socializing when I heard a scream, just like the one I heard when I called my Mom. Faster than I could take it all in, I was standing next to my brother who was in a hospital bed. “Maybe it is my brother” I thought as my heart started beating faster. Every possible scenario was going through my head as I was waiting for my mom to call me back, which seemed to take an eternity.
> When my phone finally rang, I answered, trying to sound cool-and-collected but failing, I blurt out “Hey, WHAT HAPPENED?”. My mom answered “Hey Sweetie. What do you mean what happened?”. I said “When you answered the phone I heard a scream. Who was it? What happened?”. She answered “Oh, I’m just watching 300 at the movie theater”. My panic was instantly relieved, everything was okay. We laughed about my misconception for a long time. I learned from this experience that I shouldn’t worry so much, and I’ve tried to not panic in during similar situations since then.

Arlene Blum

Throughout her life, Arlene Blum has overcome many challenges, and has achieved many things much greater than a typical person. Growing up as a Jewish female in a poor family situation was tough, but it helped develop her into the person that she is today. The challenges that she faced during her childhood gave her skills, determination, and many other attributes that have helped her excel later on in life. Because of her difficult childhood, Arlene strives for achievement in both mountaineering and in chemistry.


Facing challenges as a child, such as learning to get around obstacles helped her develop skills that she would need later. When she was a child, Arlene badly wanted to learn to play an instrument. When she asked her grandparents they replied with a solid “No”, despite her pleading. She learned to play the piano anyway. She went to her neighbor’s house every day after school and practiced compulsively, without her family’s permission, her “thrill of learning a new skill was intensified by the delicious thrill of doing something forbidden” (p. 35). There were many things that she wasn’t allowed to do when she was a child because she was female, Jewish, poor, and her grandparents were very strict. She took these seemingly pointless regulations as challenges and she learned to find ways around them. Another example of this is when she wanted to learn to swim. Her grandmother didn’t want her to; she said that “Public schools are dangerous, you could get a disease... And what does a Jewish girl have doing at the Young Men’s Christian Association?”(p. 141). But Arlene was determined. She first persuaded her mother that swimming would be good for her health. Then she convinced her grandfather that it would help her make her make new friends. Then she finally succeeds in getting her Grandmother to give in. She used the skill of persuasion along with many others that she developed when she was child, in many situations when she was older. If she didn’t learn these skills so well when she was young, she wouldn’t have had so much success in her life.


When Arlene was young many people didn’t believe that she would go far in life, which gave her the determination to do her best, simply to prove them wrong. One hot summer day Arlene retreated from the sun to play under the porch with her dolls. Her aunts were sitting on the porch talking about Arlene, not knowing that she was sitting underneath them able to hear every word that they say. When Arlene hears her name she listens and hears her aunt say “Arlene… that child will amount to no good…” (p.1) Arlene remembered those words and they hurt her for a long time, but they also gave her determination: “She is wrong. I’ll show her. I’ll show them all.” Arlene is determined throughout high school to do well in school and she does, earning a scholarship, which is a ticket to success and to much needed time away from her family.


During college Arlene discovers a new passion, which was first initiated when her friend took her to hike Mt. Adams. She happily accepted her friend, John Hall’s, invitation, excited at the opportunity to hike a mountain. She was out of shape and the hiking was difficult for her but she loved it anyways: “This place is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been.”(p. 3). Later she learned that the only reason that she was invited was to keep Mike (John’s friend who gets altitude sickness and couldn’t make it to the top) company; as John told her “I thought that by ten thousand feet you’d have had enough and be ready to come down. That way, Mike would have company”(p. 3). Arlene disregarded John’s ignorance and kept hiking, that was when she fell in love with the mountains. She climbed many more mountains, her successfulness in climbing these difficult peaks was made possible by motivation to prove that she, and females everywhere can do just as well as men. Arlene fought many battles throughout her life, from sexism, climbing many of the most difficult and dangerous mountains in the world, to proving that chemicals in children’s pajamas cause cancer. But if it weren’t for Arlene’s difficult childhood, which gave her motivation to prove that she could succeed, along with the skills she needed to overcome her challenges, she wouldn’t have won the many of the battles that she fought during her life.

The article The Makers Eye, by Donald M. Murray, has some informative writing advise in it, but I am skeptical of many of the claims that Murray makes. I feel that the article isn’t great writing, so why should I trust his advise on writing? Murray claims in his article that most good writers “usually feel that they don’t start the real writing until after the first draft is done.” I don’t think that his claim is true; I think that the first draft is the biggest milestone in writing. Of course editing is important, but the better the first draft is, the less time is needed to be spent editing. I will take some of Murray’s writing advice, but some of it I feel is rubbish.
Murray is very hypocritical throughout his article. His article says that when editing, one should be making sure that the writing is about the subject, not the writer, but then Murray talks about himself for many paragraphs. He also makes it seem that writers should spend more time editing than writing their first draft. Murray’s article isn’t any more interesting or in any way better than most articles written by amateurs, so obviously he doesn’t know how much time he needs to spend writing compared to editing. Murray needs improve his editing skills by just deleting the details that don’t matter. The Maker’s Eye is a boring and overly detailed article.
There is some very helpful editing advise in Murray’s article, but I feel that much of it will not work for me. Not all writers write the same; not all good writers spend more time editing that writing, or stay on subject. I usually spend more time writing my first draft than I do editing, and I will continue to do so despite Murray’s advise. Something that Murray needs to understand is that writing is more of an art than it is a science. Because writing is an art, some of Murray’s advice that doesn’t work for me, may work for someone else.