APPEs at Wind River Wyoming

 This week we started by having Martin Luther King, Jr. Day off, a much needed break. The optometry student in the house booked us a trip to go see the Shoshone buffalo heard in Morton, WY (about 30 minutes from the house). This was such a unique experience since it was just us, the sweet couple who were in charge of the heard, and their two fearless dogs. We were able to get within 10 feet of the bison (we learned buffalo is a misnomer for these animals). We got to learn about the desires to grow this heard and the history of the bison herds in Wyoming and in the Shoshone culture.  We spent Tuesday out in the garage giving vaccines. This was such a busy day, we gave close to 50 vaccines over the span of five hours! We had a good system set up where one of us would take the paperwork to the patients while the other prepared and administered the vaccines. This definitely made the time go by much faster. The nurses helping were so nice and grateful for our help.  Friday we ...

We arrived at the Ethete (E-th-E-T) clinic Monday morning to start off week 2. This clinic is the smallest of the three Wind River clinics. Sadly we had to cut Monday short as we found a screw in one of our tires and had to go get it patched. One of the pharmacists recommended a place out in Lander (about a 15 minute drive) that turned out to be friendly, fast, and surprisingly cheap! We had a great time getting to know the staff at Ethete who were all so friendly and generous with our learning experience. We gave vaccines, removed and replaced Freestyle Libre sensors, and even did some inventory on the slower day. The Ethete clinic is about half the distance from the house as the Arapahoe clinic so we got to leave a little later in the mornings. This let us see some gorgeous sunrises on our way in each morning.  We also got the chance to try out the famous Ethete pretzels across the street from the clinic. We only got the regular size to split but it was still pretty big already. ...

  Week 5: ●      This was our last and final week at the Arapaho clinic in Wyoming. Our preceptor was very generous and let us finish up early this week, because Thursday was Veterans’ Day (a government holiday) and she knew we had a long drive. Be sure to communicate any and all travel plans up front at the beginning of the rotations and the preceptors are very flexible to accommodate. ●      In addition to our typical day-to-day activities, this week we completed an antimicrobial stewardship project for the MDs at the hospital, as a quick reference guide for common antibiotics used at their practice site. ●      One night this week our preceptor Dr. Katherine Baker invited us over to her home for elk taco dinner that her fiance (a big elk hunter) fixed for us. This was my first time having elk and it was so good! So try lots of new food and wild game while out West! ●      One night we treated...

  Week 3: ●      During this week, we had our typical daily activities, and we completed an educational bulletin board for Diabetes Awareness Month in November! ●      This weekend Nina flew back to an important wedding she had back in Mobile, so we drove her up to Jackson for her flight out! ●      While Nina was in Mobile, Ada and I rented an Air B and B in the lovely little town of Victor, ID. Just over Teton Pass. P.S. It is typically cheaper to stay in ID side of Jackson but if the weather is bad I would be cautious about driving over Teton Pass.  ●      Ada and Olive Weekend: ○      Wednesday: sidewinders, stayed in Victor, Snow Teton pass/south pass, moose on road (watch out for wildlife while driving in the dark!) ○      Thursday: Hiking tetons ■      Leigh lake ■      Jackson lake ■  ...

Week 1 : by Olivia Hammond We decided to stay close to home our first week/weekend and explore what Wind River Reservation has to offer!   We visited Sacajewea’s gravesite after rotations. The site is a short drive from the house and the view is incredible.     Other Fun Facts:   -        17 mile road, longer than 17 miles -        Several ways to get to clinic from house (watch the speed limits because it does change frequently)     The first day of our rotation, we waited to buy groceries until after work, so we went to The Breadboard for lunch in Riverton—what quickly became a Monday tradition for us.     First snow of the year on Tues (Oct 12th)— Make friends with the other students. One of the other students with us, Tyler, went to Wyoming University, so he was our chauffeur to work the second day, as we were not comfortable driving in the snow yet. - ...

  Wyoming Women Fall/Winter Packing List Fall for the locals feels like winter for us Alabama girls! ●      Rotation outfits -        Business professional Monday-Thursday, jeans on fridays! ●      Pajamas -        Also good to think about house slippers (cold floors) and/or a robe (only one bathroom so nice for walking to your room) ●      Casual clothes -        T-shirts, sweatpants, sweatshirt ●      Hiking/outdoors clothes -        Think lots of layers. You might get hot and sweaty this time of year on your hike or it may start spitting snow. Have to be prepared for all the elements. ●      Workout clothes ●      Student ID ●      Hiking shoes ●      Tennis shoes ●  ...