Friday, November 6, 2009

Medical update

I finally got some normal lab results and faxed them to OMS today along with the missing items from my medical packet. I spoke to the screening nurse and things are looking good. Hopefully full medical clearance will come soon (hint hint). After medical clearance there will probably be a looooong wait to get contacted by a placement officer since I don't leave for another 10 months!! But time has been flying by, so the next few months should go pretty quickly.
I really can't believe it's November! I'm already making plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas and (gasp) my 26th birthday. Where have my twenties gone?? It seems like just yesterday I was boozing it up on my 21st... these last 5 years have really gone by in a flash! In a few months I will be finished with my master's degree and practicum at the Board of Health and I really cannot wait. I'm starting to feel a little burned out with school so 27 months spent in the Peace Corps before I get my PhD I hope will provide a nice break (not to mention an awesome experience and the ability to practice public health in the field).
My practicum is going pretty well, getting good experience working with disease surveillance systems and injury epidemiology/prevention. Injury epi came totally out of left field for me, I've always been really into infectious diseases and social epi and never really thought twice about other areas of epidemiology. It's all thanks to a fateful class last spring that rocked my face off and determined my specialization.
My Peace Corps nomination was so vague 'health degreed program' that there are so many things they could want me to do. The website lists "Public Health Education" and I assume it's basically the same program I'm nominated for (they don't list 'health degreed' as a program specifically) but the duties are wide ranging. Everything from KAP surveys, teaching in the classroom, assisting in clinics to epidemiological studies (YAY!!) and social marketing are covered in the description. Truthfully, I would be happy to do any of the above and especially any epi work.

Now the waiting begins again....

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