Hello from the District!

I can’t believe we’re already at the 3 week mark of rotation #4 – the time is FLYING by! And I don’t know if I’ve ever said this about any school-related event, but I really wish it would slow down. It has been an amazing 21 days thus far – I’ve always loved it out here on the East Coast, and I'm sad I only have 2 weeks left to appreciate it! 

One thing I’ve really enjoyed about my out-of-town rotations is living like a local for 5 weeks. It’s like a test drive of places to possibly live in the future. I’m still surprised when tourists come up to me asking for directions while I’m walking home or going for a run. I’m even more surprised when I can help them instead of, “Sorry, I don’t actually live here!” Although it’s starting to feel like I do, especially after commuting for 2 hours a day. God bless the Metro. 

Everything about this rotation is super chill – the hospital, my preceptor, the other rotations students, pharmacists and techs, the rotation itself; I love it. Up until today, I have been working with 5 students from different schools of pharmacy around this area, and it’s been an awesome experience comparing and contrasting our education and institutions. Today we sadly said good-bye to 3 of them, but there will be new students come Monday! Our preceptor is really cool too. He’s super busy, so, in his words, this is more of a “self-guided” rotation, and he’s not going to watch over us – aka, if you wanna learn something, you’re gonna have to seek it out for yourself. I think it’s a brilliant strategy.

The only thing I’m not a fan of is the 7 am report time. For anyone who knows me, I am not exactly what you would call a “morning person”. So to catch the Metro by 6 for my one-way hour commute, I’m waking up at 5 am. That means hitting the snooze at least 3 or 4 times at 4:30, cuz one alarm is NOT enough!

As for my free time away from the hospital, of which I seem to have quite an abundance, I’ve hit up some pretty fun sites. I’ve been here a couple times before, so I’ve already done most of the big museums and such, but I do plan on revisiting a few in the next 2 weeks. So what have I been doing then, you ask? So far, I’ve hit up both professional baseball and soccer games (my first MLS!), went on a 5 mile hike in the Virginia wilderness, and hit up a couple of pretty tasty wineries. And I’ve gotta say, the weather has been PERFECT for doing all of this! This weekend will entail a concert, some more winery fun, apple picking, and any other shenanigans that pop up. 

That’s all I’ve got for now. I think the Starbucks barista forgot my extra shot. So it's time to go get on Facebook/Pinterest/etc and pretend I’m being productive, as I’m not nearly caffeinated enough to actually work. Until next time!

 

The view from the patio of one of the wineries - we could have sat there all day!