I can actually say that now considering I am certified in ACLS (advanced cardiac life support)! Yeah, I’m a pretty big deal…ha ha.

I have always had this horrible fear I would be out in public somewhere and a person would go down, not breathing and I would have to jump into help…knowing full well I would freak out. I could just see it….someone goes down, I’m with my parents and my mom (being so proud of me) yells that I am a medical professional thinking I know what I am doing. When I on the other hand am thinking in my head, “RUN as far away as possible.”

Posted in Life in Des Moines, Physician Assistant, Student Bloggers, Student Life | 2 Comments

Just want to make sure all my lovely readers are aware of two upcoming awesome DMU events….

Mini Medical School begins Feb. 9 and runs each Tuesday evening after for 5 weeks. This is a series of classes for the public. It’s $25 for all 5 classes. If you miss one, it is ok – there’s no grades or tests! Students of any age (middle school through grad school!) get all 5 classes for $10! This year’s theme is “The Big Bad 5″ and each week will feature one of the top 5 causes of death in the U.S. It’s good health info you should know!

Posted in Des Moines Events, DMU Events, DMU News, Life in Des Moines, Prospective Students | Leave a Comment

I can, I can!!!!!!! So last Friday, the 15th, was a great day for me. My lovely parents came up to Des Moines for a fun-filled night with their precious daughter…ME.

First we headed to dinner at Flying Mango. If you haven’t eaten at this little hidden treasure….DO IT! Seriously, it’s delicious. There are great seafood dishes, brisket, pastas, etc. It may just be my new favorite place in the good ol’ Des Moines.

Posted in Des Moines Events, Life in Des Moines, Student Bloggers, Student Life | 1 Comment

So I think I mentioned in a previous post that I had a birthday over Christmas break. And if I can just jump on my soap box for one hot second that would be great.

For all of you near-Christmas babies you know what I am talking about….birthdays aren’t always fun! When I was little I got 1 present for birthday & Christmas from every person on the planet but now it’s just always being alone. Yes, I have my family (whom I love dearly) but it is no fun to NEVER get to be with friends on my birthday. Ever since I can remember I have always had my birthday parties at least 2 weeks late or 2 weeks early because everyone is traveling over the holidays. During college I was never with my friends over my birthday because everyone was back at home and now here at DMU it was the same story. I know….poor me.

Posted in Life in Des Moines, Student Bloggers, Student Life | 2 Comments

It’s hard to see people suffering and not know the best way to help. There’s a lot of information going around about what groups you should donate to or shouldn’t do to help those hurt in Haiti. I asked Dr. Yogi Shah, head of our global health dept., and he said truly the best thing you can do to help those in Haiti right now is to give money to the American Red Cross.

Also, stay tuned to Meals from the Heartland as they schedule an upcoming food assembly day to send sustenance to Haiti. DMU did meal assembly in the fall through MftH and it’s a great group.

Posted in Global Health, Public Health | 2 Comments

This month’s theme for cooking club is casseroles and I want to make one that’s somewhat healthy, in addition to satisfying the comfort-food-craving. I found this recipe on www.eatbetteramerica.com, a site a co-worker had recommended. I think I’ll give it a shot next week for the club but I’ll likely substitute in lean turkey and fat-free cheese to further healthify it. Let me know if YOU have a healthy casserole recipe as they’re somewhat hard to find!

“Healthified” beef enchilada pie from eatbetteramerica.com
prep time:15 min.  start to finish:55 min.  makes:6 servings

1    lb extra-lean (at least 93%) ground beef
1    medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1    can (10 oz) red enchilada sauce
1/2    cup frozen corn, thawed, drained
1    can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles, drained
1    teaspoon ground cumin
1    teaspoon chili powder
5    flour tortillas for burritos (from 11 oz package)
1    cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend (4 oz)
Fat-free sour cream, if desired

Posted in Healthy Cooking | 2 Comments