Back in February, I visited and had a fairly miserable experience. At the time, I thought Emory was the school I would be attending. The point of my visit was to get a feel for the school and the city, and to figure out which program would be the best fit for me.
I spent quite a bit of time searching for what I want to be when I grow up. Once I decided on becoming a women's health and adult health nurse practitioner, I applied only to schools that offered that option.
A month after applying to Emory, I was informed via informal email that the program was not actually available, and what would I like to specialize in instead?
I also found out that the school knew even before I applied that the program was being eliminated and decided it wasn't worth the trouble of notifying potential applicants.
That was the beginning of the end for me.
My concerns grew as little issues piled up into a big heap of evidence that the school doesn't pay enough attention to details.
Some evidence:
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| FAFSA Worksheet in "Spainish" |
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| Hello "Shoshanna" |
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| Emory "Scool" of Nursing |
Misspelling was one of the main reasons I chose not to apply to Vanderbilt University. An encounter with "recrods" and "inforamtion" let me know to apply elsewhere.
As isolated incidents, each of these might be excusable. But they add up to a pattern that isn't acceptable when it comes to learning a profession that is all about detail.
Would you want to be treated by a nurse trained by a school that doesn't bother to use spell check? (Because ALL of these mistakes would have been caught by any basic word processing program.)
Medications can differ by just one letter and I expect the school that I attend to demand attention to detail from me in the hospital, just as I expect them to care about the details that represent the school.
Misspellings and mistreatment by Emory have been boiling in me since my last visit and have only reduced to a simmer since I decided to attend the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions instead. The name may be long, but they can spell every word of it correctly!
I realized that if I returned to the Emory campus, I would still be angry and it would likely be a less than productive visit. I decided not to go.
Instead, I had lunch.
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What wasn't a question was where to have lunch. I headed to my third and final Richard Blais eating establishment, FLIP Burger Boutique. As with his two previous eateries, the design is fresh and fun. The interior is bright, outfitted with silver, white, and off-white elements with red accents.
I walked in and the woman behind the hostess counter smiled and waved at me. I thought, "Gee, this a friendly place." Then realized it was the server who had talked hair with me the night before at the Spence!
She works at FLIP, and the Spence, as well as being a wedding photographer. We talked about my road trip and the one she hopes to take in an Airstream. (I wonder if she would fix it up like a chicken.) She assured me that Atlanta is usually not 110 degrees in the summer and I assured her that the Pacific Northwest is a pretty darn great -- and temperate -- place to visit. She was absolutely lovely to speak with (and she confirmed that the gentleman from the night before is quite the talker).
For eats, I had a fauxlafel, coffee barbeque sweet potato tots with blue cheese foam, a Diet Coke, and a Krispy Kreme milkshake. The milkshakes are served with great fanfare as a splash of liquid nitrogen is poured on top before joining you and the table. (You are encouraged to let the nitrogen evaporate before consuming.)
Most of the nitrogen was gone before I could get a good picture, so the server was kind enough to bring out some more so I could get a good shot.
I've eaten at many a restaurant, but Richard Blais's are the first where I consistently saw patrons taking pictures of their food.
The server explained that I truly was drinking donuts. Why hadn't anyone thought of this before?! Apparently, they have a great relationship with the donut delivery guy and the staff helps make sure that none of the donuts go to waste. I greatly enjoyed my lunch and was so surprised and delighted when she brought me a soda refill for the road.
Clearly, Richard's name brings in customers, but it is an awesome staff of cooks, bartenders, and servers that makes these places such a pleasure to visit.
I returned to the road well fed and hydrated.
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As I drove north, I noticed that the scenery started to change.The tall buildings and signs for outlet malls were replaced by signs for the rodeo and church. Again, I could pick up my anti-choice tally -- but this time I'd had some warning. (Thanks to the bartender at HD-1.)
I pulled into my hotel in Sevierville (named after the first governor of Tennessee and pronounced "severe-ville") at about 5:00, apparently a very popular time to arrive. I listened to the people in front of me check in and learned that I can get a discount on Dollywood tickets if I buy something at McDonald's, there's a trolley that will take me to Dollywood and back, and the Bubba Gump Shrimp is two towns over. I'm sure I'll find some of that information useful.
After having such amazing meals for the last three days, I'm ashamed to admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for some of the more ubiquitous chains I've found here on the road (Outback Steakhouses are everywhere!). I was considering going to one of them, as I thought they might be my only option, but checked for nearby restaurants anyway.
I read several glowing reviews for Bistro 109, a non-chain restaurant in the downtown area I didn't realize Sevierville had. I drove over and found a charming little bistro that lived up to its reputation.
Per a reviewer's recommendation, I had the fried green tomatoes (which were way crispy) and topped with an unexpected combination of fresh red tomatoes, capers, and goat cheese. Had I gone to one of the chain restaurants, I had veggie pasta with a cream sauce in mind. Instead, I found a veggie crepe smothered in a delicious cream sauce and I knew I'd made the right decision.
After dinner, I wrestled with the Internet connection at the hotel until I admitted defeat and went to bed.
Tomorrow, I say hello Dollywood and then I'm off to Virginia!
Odometer Start: 39945
Odometer End: 40205
Miles Driven Today: 260
Miles Driven Total: 6367
Today In/Around: Atlanta, GA and Sevierville, TN
Tomorrow: Roanoke, VA
States Visited: 14 (Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee)
Instances of "Spainish" on the MGHIHP Website: 0
Instances of "Recrods" on the MGHIHP Website: 0
Instances of "Inforamtion" on the MGHIHP Website: 0
Instances of "Thier" on the MGHIHP Website: 5 (but it's actually a guy's name)
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