Monday, January 19, 2009

Med Tech Ahoy! -- Part 2 -- The Beginning

So I begin my new journey into a new route for my future. Really, that's just a fancy way of saying, "My first plan didn't work, so let's go to plan B... Ahah! Plan B is go for action. All is right in the world again." But really, I am looking forward to taking these Medical Technology courses. The entire program is laid out in an extremely vigorous and organized manner that even I couldn't screw it up if I tried.

To recap, the whole idea of getting yet another bachelor's degree is fully an intention of my own to pursue both a backup route for my future career as well as to secure working (and training) experience in the lab. Erego, I can finally say that I have a plan and I can even tell those job search forensic lab places that I have worked in a lab, with lots of different fun lab instruments and machines, and have been taught in the way of bodily specimen analysis... hopefully.

I hate to say that I'm using Medical Technology for my own devious plans, but really, it's not like I won't be working for the greater good of the people if I don't stick with being a Medical Technologist, right? Okay, so now I don't even make sense to myself.

My ultimate goal in life is really to become-- in some way, shape or form-- a good forensic scientist. My next step after securing a steady income and lab experience is to head on into further education. A Masters in the Forensic Sciences, if you will. This, in the end, is what I truly want at the moment.

Maybe in a few years I'll feel differently, but I even have the school I want to go to picked out. It's just a matter of finding out what I need to do to get into said school, a la advisors, information, etc, etc, etc... Money has always been an issue as well, and I'm not quite sure how all the financial aids, work aids, working grants, and whatnot actually work. I'm ignorant, I will admit that. But at this point in time, I have a pretty straight tracked mind-- finish this, then worry about that. It's probably not the best way to think of things since it keeps me from realizing the bigger picture, but if I try to do too many things at once, I can easily confuse my feeble mind.

Then where would we be? Well, everyone else can happily do whatever, but I'm sure I'd be in a world of confused messiness.

Again, I'm simple and I'm ignorant. Yes, my world is sucky, but it's comfortable.

But anyway, I start classes tomorrow morning. Everyday from eight o'clock in the morning up until passed noon, I will be learning the tricks of this new trade. Again, I am quite looking forward to this new endeavor, not only because of the future groundwork I'm laying, but also because the classes just sound really cool.

This semester its the first parts of each base course: Hematology, Clinical Chemistry, Immunohematology (of which they call Blood Banking), Serology, Clinical Diagnostics and Lab Management. Along the way, we are to incorporate everything into one whole, which is something that high school has never taught us... individual courses in college don't do jack to help a student take things from one class and apply it to the next either...

In the summer, I will be hooked on Microbiology, as I will be taking ten credit hours of it, including a two week, vigorous, nonstop Special Topics in Microbiology course that I absolutely cannot miss. In this matter, I shall tearfully wave good-bye to my twenty-fifth birthday while being tied down to microbiology lab work.

Have I ever mentioned that Microbiology is one of my favorite subjects? It's only second to Genetics. Granted, I would have done much better in that class had I not gotten a full on case of Slack-itis, but I loved all the lab work we did for Microbiology. Genetics is just extremely difficult and so I didn't get much out of it, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless.

In mentioning this specific aspect to friends, I got called a nerd. I would take it a good way because I like being a nerd, but I'm not sure being called a nerd at that point had been intended for good... -_-

But anyway, the rest of the program ends with the second part of the classes I'm taking this semester, during the fall. And then next spring, I officially begin my five month rotations and get to do some hands on.

I feel a bit excited, but I don't know if I'm going to be able to force myself to keep up. I still have remnants of Slack-itis, and my study habits are not getting any better. I guess I just have to keep telling myself that after this one year and five months, I shall be scott free from school-- for awhile-- and will have a better chance at a better job than I have now.

Wish me luck? I know I'll need a lot of it. I just hope I don't screw anything up too early in the program.

On a side note, I get a nifty little name tag and a lab coat. I feel like when I was back in high school and got put into some significant, teacher's pet organization-- somehow like I'm suddenly more important than I was before.

Hell, I am some naive little nerd. Such a loser... but a proud one at that!

So everyone just carry on now.

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