Not one but two cakes, one chocolate and the other white - both delicious, were bestowed upon me by my anesthesia students during the last class (June 10th) of the academic year. In time for summer travels, I was also bestowed a fabulous “messenger bag” with a special laptop compartment and a plethora of other compartments that I am still discovering.
My students, incredibly busy in the three-year doctoral nurse anesthesia program, somehow found the time to show their gratitude (relief?) and celebrate together because they’re almost done with my courses. These courses include physics, biochemistry and molecular biology, followed by the anatomy and physiology of all the systems. Very intense!
The last lecture finishes Renal Physiology and the challenge of covering all the material in the available time usually preoccupies me so that these “ceremonies” truly are surprises. While I’m obviously feigning surprise in the photo, I actually was very surprised upon initially seeing not one but two cakes!
The chocolate cake was decorated with “Thank You Ronnie!” and a card explained why I was being thanked: “Dear Ronnie, The class of 2013 would like to thank you for your dedication and fostering all that we have learned our first year of training. Thanks for being available, encouraging, and tolerating our emails!! Regards, Class of 2013”
The white cake was inscribed with the words “Make It Sing!” This is one of the expressions for which I am famous. The students hear it often during the beginning of the year when I am reviewing proportionalities and exponential functions. “Make It Sing” means the equations they will be using in physics should be something they truly understand and that the equation is much more than a one sentence statement. “Make It Sing” means wringing out of an equation all that it holds - being able to determine the relationships among the variables, visualize the graphic representations thereof, and predict what will happen when a variable changes.
Now the students proceed into the second year of the doctoral program. I am confident that, like the many graduates before them, they will succeed in the career of nurse anesthesia and that they will “Make It Sing!”
