Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

Week 1

Do you ever have those self-scrutinizing moments where you reflect and try to pin-point at what time in your life you messed up? If so, yay I am glad I am not alone. If you need more "inspiration", I highly recommend conducting research as a seventeen year-old. Because the material is so unfamiliar and difficult, research really makes you analyze everything...including your life choices. So the other day, I figured out where I went wrong in my life. I didn't go to medical school.

Since this blog is supposed to explain my research experiences, I thought I'd take the time to chronicle my newest challenge: understanding medical literature. This was me when I first started reading articles for my research. Yes. I was a bit overwhelmed.

WHY DO I NOT UNDERSTAND??! I SHOULD HAVE GONE TO MED SCHOOL!!

When the literature is peppered with words like "osteotomies", "percutaneous screw fixation", and "cauda equina compression", how am I supposed to react? More importantly, how am I going to be able to write a five thousand word paper about all of this material I currently don't understand? Key-word currently. In another less scrutinizing self-reflecting moment, I realized that while I currently don't understand the material, it doesn't mean that I won't be able to eventually (even though it feels like I never will). 

I realized that in order to understand more complex articles that are related to my research, I needed to have a basic understanding of the spine anatomy. So like a true BASIS student, I went looking for resources. Fortunately, the Flagstaff medical community is so supportive and willing to help high school students like me. I reached out to a local neurosurgeon, Dr. Bradley Nicol, M.D., and he loaned me two of his medical school text books! So over the next few weeks, these guys will be my best friends!

Receiving help has restored my optimism and enthusiasm for this new, challenging adventure.  I actually really enjoy perusing the text books and learning about the spine. I feel like an actual medical student, which makes me feel super cool! I am excited that I have been given this opportunity as a senior in high school to explore and apply my skills to a foreign field of study.

This week's yoga pose: Sphinx Pose. According to the Yoga Journal, this pose helps mitigate stress and strengthen the spine. Click here for step-by-step instructions on how to do the pose. Comment down below if you tried this at home!


See you next week,

Hannah

P.S.  I am sorry for the pedestrian moral!