Scrubs, Surgery, and Colossal Cupcakes
Much to my surprise, Cleveland, Ohio is shaping up to be quite an exciting town. (And no, I'm not just talking about the occasional homeless person on the street asking for donuts.) I've had a jam-packed week full of lectures, clinicals, and as the title alludes to, enormous desserts.
Monday was our first dental anatomy class, which basically had me geeking out the entire time. Most pre-dents don't have the opportunity to learn about the teeth until at least their first year of dental school, so this was a great opportunity. Plus, our teacher is a hysterically funny pediatric dentist who keeps us entertained with her stories of working in a Cleveland dental clinic. (You could imagine what that must be like.)
On Tuesday I had the opportunity to shadow a CWRU Oral Surgery resident. Upon entering the room, my fellow student and I witnessed a man going at some woman's jaw with an enormous drill - appropriate bodily fluids flying everywhere and all.
"Morning ladies!" The oral surgeon resident took a break and looked up from his work.
"Uh....morning..." We responded, shocked at what was happening in front of us. He then proceeded to ask us if we were interested in becoming oral surgeons.
I looked at the drill head, immersing itself in the bloody mandible of the patient.
"Nope!"
Don't get me wrong, it sure was fascinating watching the procedure, (implants to be exact) but I don't think my future lies in anything other than general dentistry. Everyone in the Oral and Maxilofacial Surgery wing was super friendly and inviting, however, so we had a great time shadowing the procedures. (I even met someone from my hometown!) It was also fun to dress up in scrubs, but I forgot to take a picture! I think this image will suffice, however.
Tuesday evening we got a special presentation from Dean Goldberg, who is the dean of the dental school here. He presented on cleft lips and pallets and his time spent traveling to developing countries, fixing these deformities. He provided an inspirational look into what we could possibly be doing in our future.
We also had a speaker on Thursday, Dr. Andre Mickel, an endodontist who also teaches here at Case. His talk was especially interesting to me because he is a man of great faith, and attributes all of his success to the Lord. It was great seeing someone in the medical field with such a strong faith and the desire to share this with others, not to mention he gave a $100 bill to a kid who volunteered to name all nine dental specialties. (I didn't raise my hand fast enough or else I would've been $100 richer... No. I'm not bitter.)
The rest of the week was business as usual. On Saturday, a group of us went to Tower City in downtown Cleveland to go shopping and walk around the city. After walking around downtown for a while, we stumbled upon Colossal Cupcakes, home of the "Cake Shake."
What's a "Cake Shake" you ask? Well, it's the magical, mystical creation this store thought up involving the blending of one gourmet cupcake of choice, three scoops of ice cream and milk. It basically tastes like you're drinking cake batter. And what could possibly be wrong with that?
I could only finish half of it though. And when you think of what goes into it, this makes sense. Honestly, I just liked taking pictures of the cute little shop.
Temperatures sky-rocketed today, which was painfully obvious after trekking through the town to get Panera for dinner. We stumbled upon a garden near the new cancer center, however, which was a pretty oasis of sorts. Plus, it had this awesome double-helix wind chime.
Tomorrow, we get to visit the Cleveland Clinic which is a big deal, apparently, seeing as though it's one of the top clinics in the country. Hope all of you can stay cool and sane in this summer heat, because I might not be able to. (Did I mention we don't have air in our dorm? Because we don't.)
Until next time,
PJ
Monday was our first dental anatomy class, which basically had me geeking out the entire time. Most pre-dents don't have the opportunity to learn about the teeth until at least their first year of dental school, so this was a great opportunity. Plus, our teacher is a hysterically funny pediatric dentist who keeps us entertained with her stories of working in a Cleveland dental clinic. (You could imagine what that must be like.)
On Tuesday I had the opportunity to shadow a CWRU Oral Surgery resident. Upon entering the room, my fellow student and I witnessed a man going at some woman's jaw with an enormous drill - appropriate bodily fluids flying everywhere and all.
"Morning ladies!" The oral surgeon resident took a break and looked up from his work.
"Uh....morning..." We responded, shocked at what was happening in front of us. He then proceeded to ask us if we were interested in becoming oral surgeons.
I looked at the drill head, immersing itself in the bloody mandible of the patient.
"Nope!"
Don't get me wrong, it sure was fascinating watching the procedure, (implants to be exact) but I don't think my future lies in anything other than general dentistry. Everyone in the Oral and Maxilofacial Surgery wing was super friendly and inviting, however, so we had a great time shadowing the procedures. (I even met someone from my hometown!) It was also fun to dress up in scrubs, but I forgot to take a picture! I think this image will suffice, however.
 |
| Visual approximation. |
We also had a speaker on Thursday, Dr. Andre Mickel, an endodontist who also teaches here at Case. His talk was especially interesting to me because he is a man of great faith, and attributes all of his success to the Lord. It was great seeing someone in the medical field with such a strong faith and the desire to share this with others, not to mention he gave a $100 bill to a kid who volunteered to name all nine dental specialties. (I didn't raise my hand fast enough or else I would've been $100 richer... No. I'm not bitter.)
The rest of the week was business as usual. On Saturday, a group of us went to Tower City in downtown Cleveland to go shopping and walk around the city. After walking around downtown for a while, we stumbled upon Colossal Cupcakes, home of the "Cake Shake."
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| How could I not go in here? |
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| So. Good. |
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| It's like living in a Katy Perry music video! |
Temperatures sky-rocketed today, which was painfully obvious after trekking through the town to get Panera for dinner. We stumbled upon a garden near the new cancer center, however, which was a pretty oasis of sorts. Plus, it had this awesome double-helix wind chime.
 |
| DNA in the park. |
Tomorrow, we get to visit the Cleveland Clinic which is a big deal, apparently, seeing as though it's one of the top clinics in the country. Hope all of you can stay cool and sane in this summer heat, because I might not be able to. (Did I mention we don't have air in our dorm? Because we don't.)
Until next time,
PJ
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