The PNWU Health Blog offers insight and first-hand accounts of life here at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences.
It includes contributions from current and former PNWU medical students, physicians and various members of an ever-expanding community aimed at highlighting care for the rural and underserved. If you have any questions, comments, concerns or ideas, or if you’d like to pitch a blog idea of your own, please contact us at publicity@pnwu.edu.
Sitting with his wife in Seattle Children’s Hospital, second-year PNWU student Ryan Ostler was faced with a decision that would forever shape his world. In one of our most touching blogs to date, Ostler explains how one of life’s most incomprehensible nightmares — and all of the interactions he experienced throughout the process — pushed him to become a medical student.
Read MoreAs if transitioning into life as an osteopathic medical student wasn’t enough, PNWU OMS II Boone Rhinehart also entered into the world of fatherhood in the summer before he started at PNWU. Reflecting on his journey, Rhinehart offers tips and insight into how he helped his newborn son reach a series of developmental milestones while maintaining his hectic medical school schedule.
Read MoreDespite her young age, PNWU OMS III Thida Myint is already well on her way towards accomplishing her life goal of visiting every continent. Now, with over 30 countries worth of stamps in her passport book, Myint shares some tips on exploring the world solo.
Read MoreImmersed in the mouth-watering wonders of sprinkles and confectioners sugar since she was a little girl, PNWU OMS II Anastasia Bernhard offers readers an escape into the gentle hum of her KitchenAid mixer, and explains how she finds peace at the bottom of the mixing bowl.
Read MoreAs the demands of medical school mounted, PNWU student Hanna Mackie couldn’t seem to find time for anything but school. Frustrated and overwhelmed, she wished there were more minutes in the day. Soon, however, she realized that more time wasn’t the solution. Instead, what she needed was a break.
Now in her second year, Hanna shares her secrets for achieving balance and finding happiness as a busy medical student.
Read MoreAs the calendar rolled into November, a collection of PNWU students and staff members put down their razors to raise awareness in rather unusual way.
PNWU Marketing Coordinator Paul Bubluski visits with Movember participants to learn more about their month-long commitment to facial hair and, more importantly, their passion for men’s health awareness.
Read MoreAs he passed through the halls of Pacific Northwest University, a sign for bone marrow donations caught the eye of second-year osteopathic medical student John Rosasco. The process seemed simple enough, and after a cheek swab and a couple of minutes worth of paper work, he was on the list and on his way.
A few months later, when he received a call explaining that he was a match for a 62-year-old leukemia patient, that simple step of signing up became a monumental moment in Rosasco’s medical education.
Read MoreWorking as a nursing assistant, second-year student Richard Arroyo learned quickly that his job, above all of the duties that came along with it, was mainly to fulfill the needed role of ‘loved one’ for many of the patients he cared for.
“We try to maintain dignity as our bodies wither,” Arroyo explains. “I know that elderly patients need guidance through this transition. Perhaps more importantly they need the peace of mind of belonging.”
Read MoreAs a college student juggling his studies and a side-job, John Andrew’s schedule began to overwhelm him. When he got a job working from home, that hectic pace slowed, but so did he. Soon, wrapped in the comfort of a bath robe, he slipped into a cycle of stagnation that quickly spiraled into weight gain and bad habits.
In a blog perfectly timed for the calorie-dense holiday season, Andrew details his gradual decline into immobility, and explains how a return to an active life has ushered in a better life altogether.
Read MoreWorking as an EMT in Seattle, PNWU student A Chittenden was proud to tell her coworkers that she’d been accepted into medical school. When doctors started responding to to her excitement with “are you sure that’s what you want to do,” however, she began to worry. Soon, overwhelmed by the demands of her medical education, she began to panic, and even considered quitting all together.
Now in her second year, A reflects on the hardships that she experienced in her early days at PNWU, offering extraordinary insight into the overwhelming life of a medical student.
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