goniometry

Hello.
I am done for the week! The cool thing about this short quarter is - we don't have class on Fridays, except when we have to come in to take a test. The sucky thing is - the majority of the OT class don't have school on Thursdays. Why is it sucky then, you ask? Because I'm not in that majority.
Whatevs, I'm just going to keep telling myself I'm being productive and that climbing the freaking 1038-degree incline up to our OT building in 100+ degree weather is totally fine.

On a serious note though, I am loving my classes. I can't believe I'm in grad school, STILL. I can't believe that the classes I'm taking are actually relevant. I can't believe the 4982 textbooks I am going to be owning throughout my years here are going to actually be helpful in my career. (I can't believe I won't be able to sell any of them....... goodbye $$).

Today was my first day of lab for Functional Kinesiology and we learned Goniometry, which is the measurement of the angles created by the bones of the body at the joints. We got these small protractor-like instruments called goniometers and measured each other's range of motions in our arms, elbows, fingers, wrists, etc. (We do this because there are patients who've had strokes or injuries and cannot move their joints to their full potential.) It's so cool to finally be learning this because when I used to observe an occupational therapist at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla during my undergrad years, she'd tell me to write down all these angles on a post-it and I'd have NO idea what I'm writing down.

"Sarah, write 'PIP= 65 degrees... MP=32...'" blah blah blah and I'd be like... "Wait-- sorry-- T.I.P.? Wait-- N.P.? What was the number again??" (I remember feeling so dumb and useless.)

Practicing today for the first time made me admire her even more. I don't know how she measured/read all those angles on the goniometer so fast. (Okay, I do know. She's been an occupational therapist for over 10 years and I've only been an OT student for 8 weeks. Yay you're so smart, Sarah.)

Anyway, this all makes sense now! Kind of. I mean, it's pretty confusing and I still need to study hard, but it's also very exciting (do I sound nerdy yet?). If I'm this excited and it's only the first quarter of the real stuff, then I can't wait for the next 2.75 years. (Actually, I can.)


I need to perform goniometry by memory next week as a part of my test -- in 15 minutes.
Any volunteers willing to let me practice on them? :/