Keely

After taking a ridiculously long time to wander through college, I finally graduated with my B.S. in 2002 from good ol' Panhandle State -- where I had sworn up and down when I was in high school I would NEVER attend. It gave me what I needed to get into medical school though. As of May 13th, I'm now officially "Dr. Wheeler." Scary, isn't it? I graduated from medical school at OSU Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa, OK with my DO degree. FYI, there are 2 different kinds of medical schools in the United States: MD and DO. Since there is some confusion about this, let me explain. Both DO and MD programs have the same classes and same length of training (4 years after a bachelor's degree or equivalent), and once you're done you can take a residency and specialize in whatever you want whether you are an MD or DO. However, DO medical students have additional classes in the musculoskeletal system and learn additional expertise in manual medicine therapies, like manipulation. The philosophy is also somewhat different, as DO's are trained from day one to treat the patient as a whole, including mind, body, and spirit. So are there differences? Yes. And no. Most DO's and MD's work together side by side without much noticeable difference.So, now that I've got the degree, it's time for me to actually work as a doctor for ridiculously low wages for the next 4 years while I complete my residency in psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma -- Tulsa campus. Yep, I'm gonna be a shrink. A Prozac pusher. But is anyone really surprised by this???My husband is Dr. Jim Harrington (a DO too) and we've been married for 4 years now (it only took him 5 years before that to decide that maybe this crazy relationship might work out afterall and he should propose). Jim has stayed in Liberal to continue his orthopedic practice while I've been in Tulsa, and I imagine he will stay here while I'm doing my residency. We certainly never planned on having a serious relationship (in fact, he ended date #1 with the words, "It's not like I'm gonna marry you . . ." -- a phrase he has yet to live down!) Despite us being radically different in many ways, we are eerily similar in others. He's the love of my life, and I couldn't agree more with Blaise Pascal when he said, "The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing."