Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Trip To Seattle-NAPCRG

What an outstanding trip to Seattle.

I flew out of Wichita on a late flight because of cost- and arrived to Seattle 1 hr before my presentation. God bless the iPhone as it allowed me to quickly pull up maps, train vs bus vs shuttle fares and schedules, contact our research director who was already at the conference, and listen to Screeching Weasel on the train ride in as a snapped a few pictures and texted them to Maryclaire to let her know I was here safe.

I checked in to the beautiful Westin and ran to my room with barely enough time to jump into my new suit and run down to the poster session. I was immediately grilled with questions regarding our research on the MedEncentive software that had been implemented by a large medical clinic in town. I was barely familiar with the latest version of our poster when the chair of our department, former president of the AAFP, and coauthor on the study came to check in on me.

We went out for some good Thai, and after getting a few postcards, went to the hotel gym to get a quick workout and hottub soak in.

I enjoyed Born to Run on my Kindle, and watched a little terrible television before passing out from sheer exhaustion.

It wasn't until the next day that I didn't feel discombobulated anymore. I think I've been fighting a low-grade virus for the past few weeks.

The morning plenary lecture by Jane Gunn from the University of Melbourne was excellent and inspiring. Equally inspiring were the number of international researchers in primary care who offered briliant insights of their own, as well as pressing questions. I walked away moved to continue with research as an important part of my career.

As there was no programming other than another poster session immediately after the lecture, I took to the streets. People make fun of me for my Mont Bell down jacket, but I love that thing. It was perfect for the wet cold drizzle of Seattle. I was very shocked that it really is that wet and grey- but it is! I wandered around town for about 3 miles then used Yelp! to find the best breakfast in town. The place with 609 5 stars was Piroshky Piroshky- a Russian pastry bakery. This led me to walk to Pike's Place- the market near the waterfront. A group of people at a Starbuck's 2 doors down let me know that that must be the first Starbuck's-and it was. A performer was busking out front and she was so amazing I figured she was somebody famous coming back to her roots, but I really think she's just someone who will be famous- some of the best guitar and singing I've ever heard. Across from the shops is the covered market of Pike's Place with organic produce, hand carved art, flower markets and more.

I met the others at the hotel and conference for lunch, and we set out to do it all again.

After, I put on my shorts and shoes and headed out for a running tour of other areas of the city. I simply ran until I saw something interesting- then would pop inside to look, talk, or eat. I went to the Seattle Art Museum, the Central Library (the highlight of my trip I think), the Space Needle, and many places in between. I loved moving quickly from place to place. It was my first significant run with the New Balance MT-101's, and I have to say I was very pleased with their performance. Soaked and cold, I arrived to the hotel in time to change and meet the others for dinner. We ate at a mall Mexican restaurant and I had the best (and first) vegan sweet potato and black bean tacos ever! Two of my companions had musculoskeletal complaints and I did some OMT before bed. Also before bed a quick hop into the hot tub with the latest issue of Outside Magazine, some TV (the new series Boardwalk Empire on MTV- wow is it good), and a few more chapters of Born to Run. It was a nice read not only because of the story, but because I was putting in 6-10 miles of walking and running in each day!

In the morning Paul Grundy spoke on the Patient Centered Medical Home. As it was my last day in Seattle, I chose to wander a bit more through the city immediately after. I hit the South Downtown area this time, eating, walking, and people watching. I also managed to get a haircut in with an hour to go! I mailed off my postcards, took the light rail back to the station, and sadly flew home with a very, very late (as usual) arrival in Wichita.

It was a wonderful trip. The conference was inspiring, the research was well received, and I loved Seattle. It is, besides Asheville, the only other city I've been able to see myself living. The outdoors, the food, the energy, and everything it had to offer (what limited amount I could see in my two days there), the strong sense of public health, primary care, and the established scope of practice (there is an OB fellowship at the Swedish Family Medicine Residencies) make it a very desirable alternative if for whatever reason I wasn't able to live in North Carolina.

Now it's back to work!

No comments: