So while I was home, I drove down to Houston to check out the Texas Medical Center and MD Anderson and TIRR Memorial Hermann, both places that I have my eye on for externships/future jobs potentially.
View from a walkway over the street.
Baylor College of Medicine is there in the middle.
More BCM. Sic 'em.
One of the main reasons for being down there was that I had an interview at MD Anderson. I really want to do my externship there in the head and neck cancer division.
UTMDACC
oh, acronyms.
The interview went really well. It was actually more of a tour and "let me tell you about the program" that turned into "so how do you do a Passy-Muir valve evaluation?" and "what do you do if a patient has copious, bloody secretions three days post-tracheotomy?" Good thing I can think fast under pressure. Hopefully.
pleasepleaseplease
I should be hearing back from them within the next two weeks, I believe. Every email I get, I jump and have to breathe a little bit just in case. Even at midnight, when I know there is no way they are sending me an email.
I recognize those names!
(Library, Family and Consumer Sciences building)
Before the interview, I got to eat lunch with Bekka! It was really great to catch up with her, and maybe someday we'll be working together! Our fields are kinda bffs in many settings - swallowing and nutrition have a lot to do with each other.
UT Medical School
Then, we took basically several hours and walked around the Medical Center campus.
It's a little overwhelming.
This little walk was over 4 miles around the perimeter (essentially) and took about 2.5 hours.
Only so much can fit in a camera shot.
To say this place is large is quite the understatement.
Large, and very impressive.
Literally awe-inspiring. Sometimes I just stood there marveling at the massiveness of the campus and, simultaneously, the legit-ness of the medicine and research here.
This is where Gabrielle Giffords had inpatient therapy. Including speech therapy. Bam.
I really love big, busy hospital areas. I love walking around the Vanderbilt medical center, passing by surgeons and nurses and nurse practitioners and dietitians and patients and all kinds of things. I love hearing the helicopters and helping lost family members find which elevator to go on. I like the busy, and the ever-present people running around importantly, and I love the fact that, while there is certainly sadness and death, there is also a lot of healing.
What a nice serene fountain in the middle of all of this. Also makes a great mister when it's a zillion degrees in all that concrete.
There is also a light rail train running to and through the Medical Center. I totally would take the train to work every day. I love trains like that.
More more more buildings.
I wonder how many people are here on a daily basis.
There was also random other stuff on the perimeter, like:
this really huge park
this log cabin having something to do with the Daughters of the American Revolution or whatever
and the zoo!
Also, the UT Speech and Hearing Institute. Take heart, Neill Morris Hall-goers, there is a building there that makes good ol' NMH look fantastic.
The trip also included a stop at the 59 Diner, which was delicious and fattening and delicious and worth it. Thanks to Lindsey for showing it to me a few years ago!
retro yumminess
And the road back included my first trip to Buc-ee's. It was pretty nifty, I'll give it that. Oh, and the fudge was good. But I still love me some QT.
Of course everyone wants a luggage tag with a beaver's face on it. And boxers, and a hat, and a cup, and a shirt, and the kitchen sink.
So, overall, the trip to Houston was a great success. I can totally see myself there for my externship (ihopeihopeihopeihope) and even potentially working there in the future.
Also, call me weird, but I like driving around Houston. It fits my aggressive driving style. :)
So, I don't know what's going to happen, but it was a good trip and there is some good hope for these plans for the future.
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