Audiology Extern Week 2

I. Am. Pooped.

Week 2 of clinic was a busy one. The week consisted of regular clinic on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, training in the nursery for hearing screenings, SIGN CLASS on Wednesday for 2 hours after clinic, and a Symposium all day Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

I was finally trained in the nursery! I am responsible for doing the hearing screenings on the newborns one morning every week. They are so tiny I feel like I'm going to break their necks turning their heads to get to their ears! We test all the babies born the day before. I love it so far. It's a nice way to start the day. The testing itself is pretty simple. We hook up the babies and the computers do the rest of the work. I just hope I don't mess up the paper work. My favorite part of the week was Sign class! I was told about this class the week before and I mentioned to the Audiology director that I was interested in taking it. She hooked me up! K-Mo and I will now be attending Sign class every Wednesday from 4:30-6:30 for FREE! I love it. This is only a beginner class and I've already taken 2 beginner classes in the past, so the material is mostly a review for now. When this class ends, there will be another class offered at the intermediate level, and another one after that at the intermediate 2 level. As the current extern, I am able to take all 3 classes at no charge! I can't wait to improve my signing skills! Since the class is comped for me, I am in charge of helping out a little during class. There is a boy in the class who wears a cochlear implant and Engligh is his second language, so K-Mo and I take turns typing everything that is said during class as he follows along to help him understand. The rest of the week was the Marion Downs Hearing Symposium. The Symposium mostly consisted of topics related to pediatric audiology. I was excited to meet Marion Downs herself, as well as many other well respected individuals in the Audiology world. It was also especially fun to meet the man who is the voice of the recorded NU-6 and BKB-SIN speech tests! Once I found out he was the voice of the recordings, I was immediately reminded of Joey from "Friends" when he thought it would be a cool job to be the voice on the answering machine (Anyone recall this episode?... "You have 2 new messages...").

Wedding Weekend

Boyfriend and I had a great time on our weekend trip back to Ohio. We just moved out of Ohio about 3 weeks ago, but two of our very good friends were getting married!!! So we flew back to Ohio to be there for them. We got into Cleveland around midnight, Friday night and stayed with some friends Boyfriend met through his old teaching job. They truly rocked. They picked us up from the airport, gave us an extremely cozy bed for the night and they went all out the next morning to make a delicious breakfast for us. They also lent us a car to use for the remainder of the weekend. What more could you ask for? They were terrific and we appreciate everything they did for us!

Our host and hostess for the night!

Saturday was the big day! The groom was the first friend Boyfriend made when he moved to Akron and they have become very good friends. They also met through Boyfiend's old teaching job. The bride has also become a good friend of ours. I got to know her better while running in the park training to run a half marathon together. They are great together! The wedding was in a church in Fairlawn and the reception was at the Fairlawn Country Club. Everything was beautiful and elegant. Oh, and the best part was the sweet photo booth they rented! I will be having one of these at my wedding... someday. The guests could go in the photo booth as often as they wanted and keep their pictures, so it doubled at the wedding favors. Also, the bride and groom will get a CD of all the pictures taken in the end to serve as their souvenir for the night. We finished our short weekend trip with lunch at Rockne's on Sunday before heading back where we got to meet up with another work friend (who is also getting married in Ohio in a couple weeks). Unfortunately, his fiance (another awesome girl) couldn't make it.

You may now kiss the bride!

Was it worth it to pay a ridiculous amount of money to fly back for 2 days? YES!!! We had a great time with the newlyweds the Imagine School crew and the Mingo Junction crew!

Can we afford to do it again in a couple of weeks? Not so sure right now. Keep your fingers crossed that the price of tickets comes down.

Week 1 in the Real World

was awesome!!! I have been at clinic for over 1 full week now. Monday morning started off with a short orientation, some paperwork, meeting a ton of people whos names will take me forever to learn, and a few observations. The rest of the week I continued to meet more of the staff, did more observations mixed in with some hands-on clinic, received my badge, got a mini tour of the buildings on campus I should be familiar with, and learned more about the requirements and opportunities I have here at the Marion Downs Hearing Center. The Highlights: 1) Finally meeting the Director of the Audiology Department - she is every bit as wonderful as I expected her to be. 2) Getting to know K-Mo a little better - we have so much in common and are becomming fast friends. 3) Meeting and getting to know the 4th year extern who's about to leave us and some of the 3rd year students - since they've been around UCH longer than K-Mo and me, they've been very helpful showing us the ropes. 4) Getting my badge - this allows me special access to the 4th and 5th floors of the hospital where the nursery and NICU areas are for screening the newborns! 5) Training in the nursery - the testing is easy, but there is a ton of paperwork to keep straight. 6) Experimenting with an E-Scope - an electrical stethoscope that a special patient brought in. This patient is a doctor diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and is kicking it's butt so far! Unfortunately, the chemo has taken a toll on his hearing and he needs an amplified stethoscope to hear his patient's heartbeat. It came with headphones, which work great, but it is also compatible with his bluetooth capable hearing aids! We need to order a special cable to make it work with the bluetooth, and then he should be all set! It was fun experimenting with the new technology! I ended my first week scooting out a little early on Friday for a trip back to Ohio for a wedding! More to come on the wedding weekend festivities soon.

A New Era

My last FREE weekday has officially come and gone. To make sure I made the most of it, Boyfriend and Baby C took me out for a surprise day trip to the Denver Aquarium! Around noon, we headed out and took the light rail into downtown Denver and walked to the Aquarium from there. It was a long walk, but alas, we made it. It took about an hour to get through, and we had a late lunch at the Aquarium Restaurant afterwards. before heading back. My overall take on the Aquarium is 1) It was a TERRIFIC way to spend my last free day. 2) Their food was delicious and in a sweet looking room with a huge fish tank with sharks along one wall. 3) Not as spectacular as the aquarium in Chicago or Dallas, but still very enjoyable!

The following Monday, July 12 marked my first day as an Audiology Extern at the Marion Down's Hearing Center at the University of Colorado Hospital!!! A new era has begun - I am now a working woman! Eight years out of highschool, I could not be more excited to be out of the classroom and into the workforce. The only thing that would make it better is if the work actually included a paycheck.

In a nutshell, for those of you who have no idea what an Audiologist is, it is a professional who specializes in diagnosing and treating hearing and balance disorders. At the hospital where I am carrying out my externship, I will be exposed to pediatrics through geriatrics, diagnostics, hearing aids (and numerous manufacturers), cochlear implants, vestibular (balance) testing including VNG, rotary chair and posturography, electrophysiology, newborn hearing screenings, etc. I will also be responsible for presenting at Grand Rounds every first Thursday of the month and coordinating Team Clinic every second Friday of the month (I will explain these better in a future post). Yikes! I feel very overwhelmed, but also extremely excited and lucky to be here.

My first day was pretty much what you would expect: orientation, paperwork, meeting the staff, and observing. I met most of the Audiologists already (there are 13!). They have been great so far and they maintain a very friendly and comforting atmosphere in the department. The best person I've met so far is my fellow Audiology Extern, K-Mo!!! We actually met the night before our first day so we would show up Monday morning at least [sort-of] knowing one person. She is awesome, we get along great, and we actually have a lot in common!

Day 1 is officially done and I am happy to say I am not afraid to go back tomorrow!

Independence Day

July 4th was a non-work, no cleaning, zero-unpacking kind of day. It's America's birthday, so we took the day off and headed out for our 2nd day trip since moving here.

Trip #2, first stop: Garden of the Gods

Baby C, Boyfriend, and myself - first picture of the 3 roomies!

Garden of the Gods is a park with many large, red rock formations and a backdrop of mountain views. It is without a doubt the most beautiful park I've ever been to. People travel near and far to walk, hike, mountain bike, or go for a horseback ride along its numerous trails. We followed the only paved trail, "Perkins," and hiked one of the shorter trails off the main drag. This park is also a popular site for adventurous rock climbers. They were all over the place! I wish I had the muscle to do that!

This landmark is a MUST SEE!!! Please come visit me in Denver and I WILL take you here!

A few words of advise: 1.) Wear sunscreen - the sun is ALWAYS out here, we are a lot closer to the sun, and there is 23% less UV protection. 2.) Drink lots of water - again, the sun is ALWAYS out here, you'll get dehydrated more easily, and headaches follow. 3.) Wear appropriate shoes if you plan oh hiking - flip flops may be okay for the main, paved path, but not for the side trails that involve steep steps and and angled walk ways.

The whole group!

Trip #2, second stop: Seven Falls

Seven Falls is also located in Colorado Falls, so we thought we'd check it out as long as we were in the area. Although it was another beautiful area, this site does not make my "must see" list. We had a long wait because the parking lot was full and we had to wait for people to leave, and it costs about $10 per person. Once parked, there is a short walk up to the bottom of the waterfall. From there, you can ride an elevator built into the mountain to what they call the "Bird's Nest." It sits about half way up the waterfall. It was nice, but unless you want to climb what looks like a thousand stairs, followed by a mile long hike to a picturesque spot overlooking the city, there was nothing else to do or see.

Another view from the "Bird's Nest" (obviously not of the falls)

I just thought this picture looked cool!

That evening, to celebrate the 4th of July, we cooked out on the grill for dinner and went back to the hotel the parents stayed at hoping to watch the fireworks from their rooms. It was storming outside and nobody was up for sitting in the pouring rain and lightening. Unfortunately, we couldn't see very much. Overall, it was a great day!

How did you celebrate this year?

Exploring Colorado

The parents came a long way to help us get settled into our new place, so we couldn't have all work and no play! We took a break to enjoy a few day trips and check out the area while they were still here.

Trip #1: Coors Brewery

I guess we couldn't resist the urge to "tap the Rockies" so we headed for Golden, CO. We had a long wait outside in the blistering heat before making it onto the shuttle to get to the brewery tour (perhaps that's why I actually drank my free samples). It is one of those self-guided tours where you listen to a pre-recorded audio, allowing you to go through the brewery at your own pace. About half way through, they tease you with a small cup of Coors, or Coors Light. At the end of the tour, the give you up to three free samples. I had Blue Moon with an orange slice, Honey Moon Summer Ale, and straight up Coors Light. Not too bad if you ask me, but if you ask anyone else in our group, coors beer is only ok. It must be the fresh, natural mountain water they make the beer with that does it for me.

Moving Day

I was so excited on July 1st because it was the day I was FINALLY going to see my new home. It was moving day! We drove into town the night before so we would be ready to meet our landlord first thing in the morning for our walk through and to hand over the keys. Our moving truck was meeting us shortly after. So happy we made it all the way to Denver with no problems, we took off for our last 20 minute drive to our new home. About 3 minutes into the drive, just before I hit the highway.... "CRASH!!!"........ F-ing semi decided he wanted to use both of the left turn lanes, and I found myself pinched between a semi to my right and the curb to my left. I guess we spoke too soon, we did not make it safely the whole way. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. I was mostly just annoyed because Mr. Semi-trucker was keeping me from seeing my new fabulous house! Dad stayed with me while Boyfriend and Baby C continued on to meet the landlord and moving company. Once the drama subsided, the work began. I finally got to see my new home and it is every bit as cute as I imagined it would be! Everyone helped unload the truck and cars. The girls did some heavy duty cleaning in the kitchen, living room and bathrooms, and the boys took care of the building/assembling and electronics. It has taken a long time to get settled in (there was a LOT of cleaning to get this place ready), but Boyfriend, Baby C and I are seemingly happy in our new home. Once we are completely unpacked and the decorations are up, I will try to get some pictures up for you to check out. ***Thanks Mom, Dad, and Momma J for all the help!!!! We are so glad you could make it out here to see our new home and help us get settled.

Goodbye Akron, Hello Denver!

Hello everyone! I am new to the blog world, but I am determined to keep family and friends updated on my new life in the Denver metro area. We moved to Colorado for a position I accepted as the Audiology Extern at the Marion Down's Hearing Clinic at the University of Colorado Hospital. My new home is located just East of Denver in the Aurora suburb. My roomies include my boyfriend and his brother (referred to as "Baby C"), my cat "Ruffy" (also known as "Orange" or "PR" by some) and my rabbit "Linus." We officially moved into our new home on July 1st. We've been here for nearly 2 weeks, and I love it! We are mostly moved in and have done a bit of sight-seeing already. Before I get to the Colorado fun, I should properly say "good-bye" to Akron. The top 10 things I will remember about Akron, OH: 10) The Polsky Building - This is the building were every class was located when on the UA campus, but let's be real... I'm not going to miss this building at all. 9) Clouds, clouds, clouds and more clouds - It is always cloudy in Akron. One of the most gloomy cities in the US. The only good thing about it was I didn't have to buy new sunglasses for the past several years. 8) Rockne's - The restaurant I was a waitress at for nearly 2 years. I will not miss the job. I hated the job. The food, however was fantastic and it will be missed greatly. I would personally recommend the cheesy ham and potato soup. 7) The JAR - We attended many Akron Zips basketball games at the James A Rhodes Arena. Gotta love those fierce kangaroo eyes. 6) The Barley House - A fantastic Irish pub in downtown Akron we visited on occasion. It is also, conveniently located across the street from the Polsky Building where I had class, so many "End of the Semester" celebrations took place there. If you ever get the chance to go, you should definitely order some pretzel bites with jalapeno cheese dip. YUM! 5) The Winery at Wolf Creek - Had delicious wine and an even better atmosphere at their charming outdoor picnic area. Good times with good people. 4) Our apartment - This was our first place together, and it was in a great location. We had some sweet views surrounding us, we were walking distance to the local pubs, and if we drove about 15 minutes in any direction we had hundreds of shops and restaurants to choose from. 3) The Valley - We frequented at the pubs in the valley of Akron. Our complex surrounded them, giving us a safe and quick walk home at night. 2) Sand Run Metro Park - A short walk from my apartment where I liked to go running. I also enjoyed driving through the river that runs over the road. 1) The awesome friends we've made over the last 3 years!!! - Love and miss you all. Please keep in touch!!! What is everyone else who moved for their externship going to miss about their old town?