Man oh man where has the time gone? I feel terribly negligent for going so long without sending you all shoutouts. I had foolishly thought that once midterms were over I'd have some smooth sailing and be able to kick my feet up and relax.Yeah, not so much. I had two big papers due this week, both of which involved some serious procrastination and involved quite a bit of time when I finally got around to doing them. The good news: it's only Wednesday and they're both now done. More good news: I did very well on my midterms....all praise goes to the mighty flashcards. They really do work!! I was flipping through them on the train, before classes started, my friends and I were quizzing each other with them. I won't go as far as to say that it was "fun", but it certainly helped!

I was thinking last night of a few things that I wanted to share with you all on today's blog, and what I would say if I had to offer up any advice to you at this point. Here's what I came up with: get involved! I've made deliberate efforts to involve myself with school-related activities, and I find it really helps connect me to Baltimore, to the school, to friends, etc. It all has such an interesting ripple effect, too. Take, for example, the International Social Work Organization, of which I am part of its Leadership committee. (don't ask what that means, not quite sure yet!!) This past Monday, ISWO had a guest speaker come in from a local organization that deals with international social service issues. It was a fascinating discussion and I have already contacted the director of the organization and will be meeting with her this Friday to discuss possible ways in which I can become involved in what they're doing. To say that I'm excited about all of this would be an understatement. (For those of you who might not be interested in international social work, there are other student group orgs as well: one that promotes peace and equality, one that focuses on Latin America, one on GLBT, etc. My point: you can find your niche!)

Alright friends, I have to cut this short...need to meet with my professor. Have I explained that yet? I'm a research assistant for a professor here--it was a scholarship of sorts that UMB offered, and provides some tuition assistance. I work with my professor weekly, on a variety of tasks. More on that soon. We're just now getting into some really interesting work.

And oh, if any of you ever have questions about something that I've written or want additional info, just let me know. You can comment on my blog, and I'll get back to you with the quickness.

Take care, everyone. Happy Halloween!

Posted by Kim at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For those of you who don't know (and I realize that "those of you" means most of you), I'm 29 years old. That means that I've been out of school for a relatively long time. Only problem with that....I forgot how to study, how I used to study, how best to study. I did well in undergrad and do remember that I studied, but the details of it are blurred. Did I just read and reread materials? my notes? the book? Well, since I really couldn't answer any of those questions with 100% certainty, I decided to make flashcards. (tada!) One of the things that seems really different between undergrad and grad school are the powerpoints that professors pass out at the beginning of class---meaning that you only really take notes on that which isn't already there. In thinking about it now, the practice of taking notes used to be very helpful for me, and so it makes sense that writing out flashcards is also very helpful. The stack's pretty big and takes me about 20 minutes to read through, but it's worth it. (I hope). First midterm is today; second is Wednesday. It's been CRUNCH time as of late, friends. Last week I had two papers due and now...midterms....already??? I can barely believe it.
In other and more exciting news, I'm going to an informational session this afternoon on the India program. I know very little about it right now, but apparently UMB has a relationship with a university in Southern India that has a social work program, and last year for the first time they sent a small handful of social work students there for 6 months to study/do fieldwork. Right now it seems almost too good to be true: doesn't set you back any in terms of graduation, doesn't cost any more in terms of tuition, etc. I'm having to remind myself to keep my feet on the ground....haven't even applied yet. But I know that I will and I also know that until I hear otherwise I will pleasantly assume that I got it! My best friend was recently telling me that's the secret of the universe. If you see it, if you want it badly enough, if you will it to be it will be. Do I really believe that? Hmmm..not sure, but it's worth a shot. Anyway, yes, India. It's been near the top of my "must see" list for quite a long time and I can't wrap my brain around how fantastic it would be to live there, and on top of that, to be taking classes and be working in the field there. Breathe, Kim. Get through this week and these midterms before you begin packing....

More soon, friends. Take care.

Posted by Kim at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi everyone. Hope weeks have been good, short, fun...all that jazz. I figured it was only fair that I finally explain to you what my field placement is all about. Here goes: So I'm on B6--the oncology/gynecological surgery ward of Sinai Hospital-- apparently MD's third largest hospital. In addition to that, I'll be involved with a project there at Sinai that deals with organ donation. My role in this will be pretty minor, and from what I understand I'll just be shadowing the social worker as she talks with families, figures out if they'll give consent, etc. So far I haven't been able to see any of this happen, but I'm learning a lot about organ donation, and it really is interesting. I'm actually incorporating this piece of my fieldwork into a research proposal (albeit hypothetical) that I'm working on for one of my classes. Love the overlap.
Okay, back to B6. Most of the time is spent doing discharge planning. Not exactly what I expected, and probably not what I'll end up doing once I'm avec degree, but there's value in it nonetheless. It's a lot of logistical support--making arrangements ("referrals" if you're up on the hospital slang) for someone to safely go home, for someone to go to a nursing home, a rehab facility, for someone to go on home hospice, making sure that they have everything they need: e.g. hospital bed if necessary, a walker, wheelchair, things of that nature. It's a very fast-paced, ridiculously busy environment and I often wonder how the social worker with whom I work manages to get around to it all. The unfortunate part is that the interaction with the patient and his/her family never fully seems to develop: there's just not enough time for that. It's also very sad to see people so sick, some who are so near death that you can almost feel it coming, others who are just way too young to have deal with all that a cancer diagnosis brings.
I lost my mom to non-Hodgkins Lymphoma almost seven years ago. She died in a hospital, and I so a lot of what I see is sadly familiar...and though ours was not a success story, I know that they exist. I know that some treatments do work, people can get better. I can't wait to see that side of it all.

On a brighter note, friends....I got a job! As anyone in grad school can attest, the stress of having to take out so much in loans is considerable. I figured it couldn't hurt to line the ol' pocket a little, and so landed myself--just today, actually---a little catering gig. I've never catered before, never even worked at a restaurant serving tables, but I couldn't be more excited. The perks seem plentiful: decent money, super flexible schedule, opportunity to widen the friend network a bit, eat good food for free, and see a lot of weddings and other events that make people really happy. I'll keep you all posted on how it goes. I start tomorrow. Yowza!! That makes Sunday my read/write papers day. But it's still Friday....and on that note, signing off.
More soon.

Posted by Kim at 3:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)