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.