Lev Lazinskiy

Almost Done With Class

4 more tests to go and I will be done with the classroom portion of my C School. I could not be more excited. I am actually going to be allowed to touch the patients as early as next thursday! This will definitely make my days more interesting as I will be able to put everything that I have learned into practice.

This also means that I am about half way done with this experience and one step closer to a little bit of normalcy and stability in my life. These past few months have just been a rollercoaster. Relationship issues, work , school, adjusting to this environment, dealing with a lot.

I hope that four months from now everything will be as planned, I will be working in Bethesda, Living in Laurel, and going to school at UMUC again. I cannot wait !

I am sure that I will have a lot more to write about once I begin to actually experience things in the field.

Right now we are learning about autologous blood donation which is actually pretty interesting. It is when the patient donates blood for their own surgery. This is the safest method because despite all of the testing that is done in the blood bank, you are still able to contract diseases from blood. If you get your own blood then you do not have as much to worry about. This seems like a really good idea and I have never even thought about it before.

The only downside is that if the blood is not used it is thrown away. Since the donor is not technically a “volunteer” their blood cannot be distributed to the general population. In a way I understand the logic behind this practice but at the same time it seems like such a waste. Especially if the blood that is being thrown away is some sort of rare blood type that is high in demand. It seems to me like the patient should at least have the option of allowing their blood to be donated if they do not use it but that is not the case.

I have learned so much awesome stuff since I have been here and I can not wait to put it all into practice.

I am also only a few months away from my advancement exam. It is really creeping up on me and i have honestly been neglecting it. I definitely have to start cracking those books open and get a general understanding of what is going on. I am pretty sure that I will not make it this time and that is fine. But how AMAZING would it be if I did?

Either way I am going to study my butt off and not sell myself short.