What did you do at school today?

I have officially finished my first week of classes for the semester!  And I have A's in all of my classes so far!  (Hey, it's a very demanding schedule, I think I'm allowed to brag a little!)

I mentioned in a previous post that I am taking three classes this semester:  Intro to Pharmacy Technician, Medical Terminology, and Medication Administration.  My goal is to enter the Pharmacy Technician program so I can become a certified Pharmacy Technician.  My long-term goal was to go to pharmacy school to earn my Doctor of Pharmacy degree, but the fact that K will be getting out of the military about a year after he gets back, has led me down this path so that I can be finished/almost finished with school when he gets out, because who knows where we'll end up.

When I was little, whenever my parent's asked me what I did in school that day, my reply was always "Nothing..."  Typical, right?  Well, now I have an answer!  So to celebrate the end of my first week (and gearing up for the many more to come), here are 3 things I've learned so far:

1.  The meaning of anesthesiology:  "an-" is a prefix meaning "without"; "esthesi" means "sensation"; "-ology" is a suffix meaning "the study of".  So you put them all together it literally means "the study of not having sensation"!  (Also, if you weren't sure, an anesthesiologist is the person that knocks you out during surgery.)

2.  Diet supplements do not have to be evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  They do not have to be proven safe or effective before being sold.  So think about that before buying some fad diet pills.  (Although if they turn out to be harmful, the FDA can pull them.)

3.  I have started learning how to read prescriptions.  For example, if your doctor writes something like "i tsp po q8h" on your prescription, your pharmacist will read it as "Take one teaspoon by mouth every 8 hours."  It's like another language!  Whenever I looked at my prescriptions, I swore the doctor wasn't writing in English... apparently they're not!

Anyway, my classes have been very fast-paced and exciting and I am learning a LOT.  I don't know about all of you, but when I see a doctor or am getting a test done, or any sort of medical thing, there are always seems to be so much stuff that just flies right over my head.  But now I'm learning what some of that stuff means!  (I feel like a genius with secret knowledge that us "regular people" aren't supposed to know!)