AboutMe

A little background

I'm a first year medical student. I have little experience with horses (I have ridden twice: once when I was four, and once when I was 19), but I like them very much. This class was particularly enticing to me because I don't have too much clinical experience, and I want to do everything I can to be a more effective communicator with patients (and people in general).

Intro - by Kaitlin Medeiros

Hi everyone,

For those of you who weren't in class the first day, or who are visiting the blogs, I'd thought I'd prepare a little introduction. My name is Kaitlin Medeiros, and I have been riding horses for nine years. My first real ride on a horse was at Webb Ranch as a teeny little third grade girl scout.

Of the nine years I've been riding, most of my time was spent being a lesson helper at the ranch, making sure horses were ready for lessons, taking care of the horses, etc. I have also leased a few different lesson horses in my lifetime, and I am very partial to ponies.

When I first graduated highschool, I went off to college in Virginia. I went to Virginia Intermont College, the only college in the nation that offered both Equine Studies and Photography degrees. They are also home to the top IHSA riding teams in the country. (http://www.ihsa.com/article.asp?GroupID=4&ArticleID=638§ion_id=20) However, after a semester and a broken wrist from a bad fall while riding, I realized that I didn't want to be a stable manager or photographer. I'd rather keep those as personal hobbies and pick up psychology. So I decided to come back home and find a college closer to home. I've been attending Foothill College since then, and getting all my general education requirements out of the way. I plan to go to University of Denver in the fall, or maybe a school in the Bay Area.

I'm very excited for the opportunity to assist Dr. Beverley Kane with this class! It will definitely be a learning experience for me. It also fits well into my plan to somehow incorporate psychotherapy and horses into my own practice someday. I hope that everyone can take away useful and practical information and experiences from this class. I know I will!

Introduction - by Beverley Kane, MD

I am a physician and horsewoman and the instructor for Medicine and Horses. Please visit the website for my practice, Horsensei Equine Assisted Learning and THerapy (HEALTH), to learn more about me and about Medicine and Horses.

Welcome to HOOFPRINTS, the Medicine and Horses Blogspot

This blogspot will contain entries from students taking the medical school elective, "Medicine and Horses," as well as entries from me, the instructor. Medicine and Horses draws on the sensitivity and social dynamics of horses to teach nonverbal communication and other interpersonal skills that contribute to good bedside manner. In this way, we train and become physicians who are empathetic, sympathetic, and compassionate. These qualities make us better diagnosticians and healers, as well as better people.

Students taking M&H are required to publish at least one blog entry for each week of the four week class. Blog entries will describe their experiences with the course and the horses; any encounters with patients, colleagues, and others that are relevant to what we have learned; and of course any thoughts, associations, and questions that come to mind. Maybe someone will write a poem. I'd really like that.

Tomorrow is our first class. I am always excited to meet the new batch of students--whether medical, corporate, or community. My belief is that there is a certain kismet to who shows up--both people and horses. It's as if each person is fated to meet a particular horse and vice versa. Virtually every one who participates in equine experiential learning has one special encounter with a horse that he or she will never forget. Often, no one in the class forgets the encounter, it is so powerful! I still remember Bixby, the first horse I ever worked with in equine assisted learning. That's a story for another day.

This quarter we opened the class up to healthcare professionals. Tomorrow we are expecting 3 medical students, a resident, a fellow, a nurse, and a cardiologist. In the words of the recently late Kurt Vonnegut, we are all in eachother's karrass.