"Two Lines Means You're Pregnant"

I was debating when I wanted to share this joyous news with the blogging world, but since my husband spilled the beans already on his blog I thought I should as well. According to my calculations I am 4 weeks along, and according to the nurse practitioner I saw on Friday I will be due the end of September. We are of course overjoyed with the thought of having a baby, but it is really scary at the same time. I just hope all goes well. I know it's not a bad idea to wait until after the first trimester to tell people, since the chance for miscarriage is so high in the first few months, but we just couldn't help but share the news. I am more than a little scared that something will go wrong, but I'm trying not to dwell on it. Following you will see the first evidence that I will be a mother in the near future.

I Love So Cal

Only in California can you drive from the mountains to the beach in an hour, have lunch in Chinatown, go to Disneyland a few days later and be a movie extra for a part time job! I am so happy to be back in California.
On Friday I went to visit my parents in Orange County and we went to Chinatown in downtown LA for lunch. We went to have dim sum, but they were no longer serving lunch when we got there, so we went to the famous Hop Louie restaurant. It was so good. I also picked up the cutest Chinese style dress, shoes and parasol for my 4 yr. old niece (all for under $30 I might add).
Then on Monday we went to Disneyland with my sister in law and the kids. I had a annual pass for 5 years in high school and college and it was fun to go back after some things have changed. The new Space Mountain is really fun, a lot smoother and faster. I love Disneyland!!
I found out that my sister has decided to be a movie and TV extra for some extra cash while she peruses her music career. Only in So Cal!!!

Is Empathy A Skill?

I just started a new class this quarter. It is titled understanding Your Patient and I really love it after only having it a week so far. It claims to be able to teach us new and ignorant doctors how to empathize with our patients. As far as I know this is revolutionary in the medical curriculum. I don't think most schools teach it. In this class we will learn to see things from the patients point of view, to step into their shoes and truly understand their situation. We will also learn to give bad news, to take into account cultural differences, and how to motivate a patient to take charge of his/her own health.
I am so glad that at least one medical school is teaching this. I believe that the mentality in the past has been to learn this by the trial by error method in rotations and residency. What my school is doing is getting us to think about patient interaction before we ever see one. This will hopefully help train us how to properly and efficiently talk to patients, and to understand why it might be hard for a patient to listen to our instructions.
The teachers keep saying something to us that is really starting to hit me. They say "sure you are all healthy now, but one day you will need a doctor too." They assume that we have not been in circumstances where we are under the long term care of a doctor. The reason this is surprising to me is not that I will one day be a patient, believe me I have seen my share of doctors already in my life, but that some of my classmates have not ever really been sick. Since I practically grew up in a doctor's office because I was sick so much I know exactly what it feels like to be a patient, to try and get doctor's to understand my situation, and I have felt the frustrations of the healthcare system. I am very glad that my school is attempting to teach those who don't know what it feels like to be a patient how to empathize with patients.
So, can empathy be taught as a skill? Or is it an inherent trait that some people have and others don't? I guess I will see through taking this class, although I think we all have the capacity to empathize but that all people may not realize how to do it.