Bella the Great Dane Goes to Med School

As medical student Megan Charlton delighted over the 8-pound puppy she’d just adopted, her mom shook her head and offered the typical wise words of a caring, concerned mother: you’ll wish you didn’t do that when you finally get into medical school. Four-years later, having received her acceptance into PNWU, Charlton looked down at her 100-plus-pound four-legged friend and wondered: was mom right?

Having wrapped up her first-year of medical school, Charlton reflects on the amazing gifts that her Great Dane, Bella, has provided her throughout the intense and often overwhelming experience.

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Megan Charlton
First, Take Care of Yourself: Living with Depression and Anxiety

For years, PNWU student Arashpreet (Arshi) Gill spun herself in circles trying to answer one persistent question: what is wrong with me? Time and time again, a troubling answer followed: depression and anxiety.

Nearing the end of her first year of medical school, Gill explains her decision to seek out counseling, the process of finding the right counselor for her needs, and what she learned about herself through the experience.

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Arashpreet K. Gill
If You're Reading This...

As a third-year medical student completing her psychiatry rotation, Niki Mohammadi has discovered one common, uniting trait that all of us share: our humanity, and the emotions that come firmly attached to it.

Reflecting on her experiences, Mohammadi offers advice for medical students currently staring down the proverbial barrel of finals and boards, explaining how the acceptance and embracing our universal emotions can help us all to achieve beautiful things in even the hardest of circumstances.

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Niki Mohammadi
Pediatrics Day with Professor Charlie

Teachers come in all shapes and sizes. Proof of that arrived on the PNWU campus this week dressed in miniature overalls and sucking on a pacifier.

This week on the PNWU Health Blog, Marketing Coordinator Paul Bubluski takes readers on a journey through PNWU Pediatrics Day.

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Paul Bubluski
My FDM Miracle Moment

After suffering an ACL tear in high school, PNWU student Jessica Cole had all but given up hope that her leg would ever feel normal again. Ever since the surgery she’d suffered with a hard-to-describe case of parasthesia, and it seemed like there were no explanations, much less remedies, in sight. Then, as a first year osteopathic medical student studying in PNWU’s OPP lab, she discovered FDM.

Now on the PNWU Health Blog, Cole describes her struggles and explains how osteopathic medicine helped her to rediscover normalcy.

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Jessica Cole
Find Your Girl Gang and Conquer the World

For years, PNWU student Haley Heitzman’s self-worth and potential were dictated by the thoughts and feelings of others. Struggling with physical insecurities and an overwhelming lack of confidence, she found herself trapped in a cycle of self-doubt and sadness.

Now a first-year medical student, Heitzman explains how discovering a community saved her from herself and allowed her to take on the world.

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Haley Heitzman
A Dinner Date With Grandma

In his first appearance on the PNWU Health Blog, first-year medical student Jordi Pellicer takes readers along on a heartwarming dinner date with his grandmother and explains how the time he has spent with her since her Alzheimer’s diagnosis will go on to shape the type of physician he’ll become.

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Jordi Pellicer
Med to Mud: My 2018 Xterra Triathlon World Championship Weekend Adventure

Coarse sand, muddy trails and tempestuous Maui waves: as PNWU OMS II Stephanie L. Arnold dug her toes into the Hawaiian sand below, she closed her eyes and awaited to blare of the starting horn.

While the 4 hours and 39 minutes that awaited her were undeniably daunting — for Stephanie — every step, peddle and kick served as a reminder of the type of physician she is working so hard to become.

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Stephanie L. Arnold
Mental Health Lessons From Golf

When second-year student Logan Noone began considering locations for his study abroad experience, he skipped tallying up many of the typical determining factors — things such as culture and language — and instead let one of his greatest passions serve as the deciding vote: golf. After arriving in Scotland, the birthplace of his favorite pastime, it quickly became clear that the rolling greens of St. Andrews were not only an opportunity for some fun, but a vital tool to improving his mental health.  

In his first appearance on the PNWU Health Blog, the “Talk Mental Health with Logan Noone” podcast host shares how he uses the lessons he’s learned playing golf to overcome the often overwhelming yips and bunkers of life.

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Logan Noone