Don't touch my feet, they are ticklish....

Here we go again, "learning" crazy and exciting things. Darn this education thing, it's killing my brain cells. Just kidding of course, I love this type of stuff. Today in Concepts in Therapeutic Exercise, Lab Professor johnson and Professor Guimond taught us all about subtalar neutral and its applications to gait re-education.
All of my classmates and I love it when we have fun stuff to do in class, because simply sitting in a chair for 2 hours at a time gets boring. Today was a fun day, because we got to challenge ourselves and each other at balancing. Naturally, I brought my camera to capture some of the fun for everyone. Enjoy the pictures!

Here we find Professor Johnson working with Sarah Cohen to determine subtalar neutral on Travis's nice feet!


If I did not know any better, I would say Mary was a shoe salesperson. Ok, it's a good thing I know what she is doing. She is always very determined when she works, just look at the expression!


After playing with each others feet for a while, we moved on to more advanced things. Here we see Toni watching Beth perform 2-leg stance with eyes closed, and of course her ankles in subtalar neutral. Believe me, this stuff is tough to teach and to do.


Jon makes this wobble board exercise look easy. Imee is guarding him well. (Good body mechanics, Imee!) Of course, Julie is fooling around (again) in the background of this photo.


Here is alicia guarding Frank on the BAPS board. This thing was one of the hardest exercises to perform, especially in a single leg stance with eyes closed. Frank is a great snow-boarder, so he is great at all of these balance exercises. I did pretty well too. I still think that doing the dynamic exercise stuff at LCHS with Daryl was harder. Maybe he was just more intimidating because he could do it too!


Finally we find toni on the mini-tramp performing single-leg balance with Travis guarding her. Beth is ready to begin some balance training with the basketball, and really wanted to start tossing it to Toni on the mini-tramp. Toni needs a little more practice before she can do that. Props to Professor Johnson for the mini-tramp hook-up. Not bad for $3 at a yard sale, eh? Boy, I feel safe using it...


This is the stuff that makes PT School so much fun, and even more fun to tell to others. This is why I have this site, and want you to pass it to as many people as possible. I especially want to get out to those who may be interested in pursuing a DPT or an MSPT in the future. This site is my gift and insight to show them the ups and downs of PT School. I feel that an inside look before they make that type of decision is important, so pass the word.

Off to the books for me....

See you next post!

Back in action...

I have finally recovered from my Spring Break Illness, and we are all still not quite sure what that was all about. I have returned to exercise and my sleeping pattern is once again normal. School was on again today and we were all very 'not-so eager' to return to classes. I am just happy that I can eat, keep the food down and actually function without a splitting headache.
This past weekend my family stormed NYC for the Broadway Hit "Spamalot"! It was my second time at this venue, but my family's first. It was a beautiful day in NYC and everyone was happy! I met my parents at the ferry and escorted them to the theatre, where we met up with Patrick and his lovely (and wonderful for putting up with him..) wife, Maura. I was very pleased that my dad was healthy enough to make the trip. Earlier in the week his strength was a question, but he is a McCrann and we are strong men. He powered through the whole day like a trooper, and I am certain he slept well that night.
While waiting in line for the show we spotted Jackie Mason among other celebrities taking a stroll down 42nd Avenue before their own performances. You will need to see Morag's Blog for those pictures.

As most of you know, my mother is NOT a US CITIZEN. (*Attention: INS).. anybody?.....
Anywho, I caught her and my father coming out of the "Passport & Visa" office on 8th avenue. Nothing like getting your US Visa in a 30 minute photo shop!


Once we made it to the theatre entrance, my parents wanted the "proof we were there" picture. So here it is. It was a great show, especially this scene!


Even though I know I am the "good son", Patrick and Maura always seem to make my mom smile even more. Maybe she realizes that it is Maura's turn to deal with Patrick, instead of her. Wait? I wonder how big she will smile when I get married?


Even after the show my family was all smiles. Nothing like an "action shot" of strolling through the streets on NYC, eh?


I know you could not see my mother in the last shot. *Hint: She is SHORT! So I give you another shot of her, just in case you missed her already.


Well, as they say "Life goes on"...and so it does. Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

See you next post!

Spring Break has come and gone...

Once again I have lost another Spring Break in my academic lifetime. I had a great first half, spending time with a "wonderful new special person in my life" (a.k.a.- girlfriend) and her family. The second half, I am still recovering from.... I am sick once again and really not supposed to be out of bed at all.
This post is short, but you all have been wonderful so far. Thanks for following along and leaving comments too! I am having a great time, and actually did very well on my last round of examinations. I look forward to the next break (in May for 10 days) when I will hopefully NOT be sick again.

See you next post!

The saga continues....

As the week of midterms continues I felt it was important to keep you (the general public) up to date on what is going on in the CU DPT World. Today was Day #3 of exams, and we had two tough ones today. The first was a PT Procedures practical examination. This class teaches us the "bread-and-butter" skills (right, Randy?) that we will use throughout our careers. We learn how to transfer, assist and mobilize patients in a safe and effective manner. We are challenged with diagnoses ranging from CVA to SCI and AKA/BKA (above and below knee amputation), each with it's own precautions and safety guidelines. By far this is the most physically demanding class we have had since we started in September. During my 20-minute practical exam I broke a nice sweat just getting my "patient" (David) up from supine to sitting and the to a wheelchair and finally a commode. It is a lot of work, but we sure do learn a lot.

Here is James studying before his PT Procedures practical, alone and with Chi Chi



Here we see Jon practicing his Salsa moves in preparation for his examination


In addition to transfer skills, we also needed to take the patient's vital signs (BP, RHR and RR)
Here we see Toni practicing on James and Rami practicing on Ilanit's "massive muscular arms!"



I guess I would not make a good Paparazzi, but I caught a "behind-the-scenes" and "in the action" photo of Sherry during her PT PRocedures exam.


We were not the only group subjected to questioning today. The DPT II class had their share of interrogations. Here we see Dr. Krasinski apparently in a stick-up for an "A" on their exam. I am sure they did well!


After our second exam (Kinesiology & Biomechanics II) I was pretty fried, so I joined my good friend Tom Walsh downtown for a burger and a beer at Duke's. It was a nice, college-like atmosphere with a cute serving staff. We laughed, had a few beers, laughed even more and ate a lot of food! After a few hours of this Tomfoolery (pun intended!), I walked to Penn Station with him to see him off on the train and catch the subway to 103rd to study at Starbucks. Upon arrival Courtney joined me and we reviewed Therapeutic Exercise for our impending exam tomorrow. After a while of this 'fun' my attention span drifted towards Spring Break and my trip to the Midwest. We discussed TE for a little while longer before I was overwhelmed with the urge to be goofy. Take a peek:

Courtney is so serious when she studies...me on the other hand....


Only in New york city will you find Christmas lights still up in a public park in MARCH! Strange people here..


Speaking of public parks... Courtney made a good point that the medians in the road are called "parks" in NYC! See for yourself...


On our way to the subway we ran into this poor little puppy who was tied to the railing outside of a store. He was a cute little guy, so we stopped for a little bit of TLC


We made it to the 110th Street subway terminal at Cathedral Parkway. I really do appreciate all of the hand-crafted moldings in all of the stations. They have withstood time better than most other things in the city...


Courtney was trying to escape my company (mumbling something about me being "crazy"), but I stopped her just in time.


She was heading somewhere she probably did not want to go... what do you think? Feeling clean today? Gross!!


We caught the #1 train and headed back home for some more studying and some sleep


I apparently did not want to wait until we got off the train to begin my sleep!


After dropping off Courtney I headed to our library to see how my fellow DPT I students were doing. I found Jody, Donna and Mary studying hard in the library. Mary was muttering something about drinking beer tonight while Jody and Donna were just stone-faced zombies studying their TE notes. I would show you a great picture of Jody (she is very cute), but apparently she has become the DPT I version of the Yeti. No, she is not some hairy beast, she is just impossible to capture on camera. I will be persistent and one day have proof that she exists!

Mary studying hard!


I think this is Jody, but I cannot be sure without a view of her face... :-)


Following my apparent and unproven "Jody Sighting" I returned to Bard Hall to find more of my classmates hard at work! Nothing like some late night studying with friends! Don't they look so awake and focused? We had to wake up Beth for this picture, she was sleeping and drooling on her TE book.


As you all can see, midterms is a stressful time filled with late nights and take-out food. If you are a family member or close friend of any of the students pictured here, please help them by sending money for more take-out Chinese. Without your pledges and donations, they will probably fade to nothing.

See you next post!

Midterm Blues (and snow!)

Once again midterm exams are upon the DPT class of 2007, and we are all a little stressed out. The round of exams has us suffering through 7 of them this week. I was hesitant on posting this week, but I decided to post so that everyone who is following my "adventure" will not be left without humor for the week.
The first exam was Physical Modalities last Friday morning. We all enjoy the professor and his teachings of the class, it's the fact that it is from 5-7PM on Monday night that is rough. The test was fair and as a class we did very well with a 92.2% average. After a weekend worth of studying and a little bike ride through Harlem to Central Park and back it was on to more tests.
Monday began with an 8:30 AM Cardiopulmonary Exam, which most of us feel was pretty hard, and had some questions that seemed to have more than one correct answer. It's ok, this happens with every test. I am confident we all did well.
In the afternoon we took turns with each other in pairs for our Therapeutic Exercise practical examination. This class is a great leaning experience. The lecture portion teaches us conceptual thinking related to treatments of orthopaedic conditions, while the lab portion allows us to learn hands-on skills and apply them with the knowledge from lecture on each other. The exam was fair, challenging and a little repetitive, but it was good all around and I am certain our class did well as a whole.
I am sure most of you who follow this site religiously (Dr. Evander!) remember that during the first semester final exams our class had a few "breakdowns" during study sessions and exams. Well, it seems as if the trend does not stop at the first semester. I have only seen two thus far, and know that those involved were not sacked and did just fine on their exams. I guess I did not realize just how much stress we are ALL going through during exams. Sometimes I get caught up in my own little ball of stress that I forget about the 32 others who are going through the same thing. I can tell all of you with confidence that while this DPT Program is challenging, we all will pass and will ALL become great clinicians by May of 2007. (I guarantee that!)

Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment. The first few are of my classmates, Candice and Sarah. they were studying auscultation (listening to breath sounds) yesterday in preparation for today's examination. While they were trying to be serious, Sarah decided to belch while Candice was listening. It was very funny to watch!

Serious DPT Students at work


Listening to bronchiovesicular lung sounds


So much for being serious....




Finally, the weather took a major turn South today dropping from 58 degrees at 7AM to a chilly 24 degrees currently. Needless to say, it's snowing again! :-( Well, I thought I would show all of you (especially those in NM) what is keeping me inside and hitting the books tonight.

Ice on my window...


Believe it or not, the George Washington Bridge is somewhere out there.


The street outside my building...


See you next post!

Shoveling and snowmen on a SNOW DAY!

Monday afternoon in class Dr. Granick (DPT Program Director) announced that today's entire class schedule was to be cancelled due to the impending snow storm. She was right, and did a great thing because I was able to get down to NJ just before the storm hit hard to surprise my parents for the evening!
It was great to stop in, catch-up and eat free food! My mom made these awesome cookies. I ate almost all of them, they were sooo good! Since I am on the "college" diet/budget, any food I can get is great. I took a bunch of pictures, so follow along....


I caught my mother watching television, reading a book and knitting all at the same time!


Marmalade likes to sit under the curtain and "watch" my mother do all of her crazy things at once.


Morag enjoys sleeping in her comfortable bed


My mom was happy to see me. Can u tell?


The next morning I awoke early to a lot of beautiful snow! Of course, I had to shovel such beautiful snow... ugh...


I dug a path for the dog to take her morning "constitutional"


This weathervane tells the story of the storm


These trees are "painted" with snow. How beautiful...


The traffic lights show how much the snow was blowing through the night


I built a snowman by the basement door to keep the racoons away!


I caught up with my friends Bonnie and Brad and their kids Danielle and Benjamin. I stopped by for some free food and fun..


Danielle is such a silly girl!


Bonnie and Benjamin and Danielle. They look so cute!


I took Danielle and one of her friends (Elizabeth) to Brad's office to build a snowman out front..
Danielle was hungry and started to lick the snowman.... girls are gross!


Elizabeth and Danielle posing by their snowman. It's as tall as they are!


Brad (Danielle's dad) came outside to take a look and pose for a picture. He liked the snowman b/c he is a huge Yankees fan!


Wow! It was such a fun day. If I have a daughter, or two, I want them to be as cool and as much fun as Danielle and Elizabeth. Well, I am back at school and back to the books! Midterms are next week, then Spring Break!

See you next post...