(My first weeks at the best med school evaaaa)
As I write this, I can't help but feeling like I have been here at the med school for MONTHS. Friday was my first 3 hour anatomy exam and tomorrow I begin the cranial nerves and add more steps to my medical interviewing course... with another huge anatomy exam in just two weeks.
As an undergrad, I always wondered... what was the day-to-day medical student life like? Do I ever get to sleep? Can a real human being do this?
Day One: White Coat Ceremony
Holy. Crap. Everyone here is fabulous and smart. The resumes are unbeatable. Girls and guys are huddled up separately. I feel like I'm back in grade school.The anxiety is horrible and the imposter syndrome is all too real. You could feel the tension in the lecture room we gathered in before the ceremony. Everyone was making their stamp as quickly as possible... the low key elevator pitches... the loud bros, the perpetual perfectionists, the quiet ones. I was afraid this would be another clique dominated high school world I had happily avoided in college. Why were we freaking out? We just have to walk across a stage? Okay, maybe it's the thoughts of what our MD futures will bring. Horrifying. Exciting. All of the above
As an undergrad, I always wondered... what was the day-to-day medical student life like? Do I ever get to sleep? Can a real human being do this?
Day One: White Coat Ceremony
Holy. Crap. Everyone here is fabulous and smart. The resumes are unbeatable. Girls and guys are huddled up separately. I feel like I'm back in grade school.The anxiety is horrible and the imposter syndrome is all too real. You could feel the tension in the lecture room we gathered in before the ceremony. Everyone was making their stamp as quickly as possible... the low key elevator pitches... the loud bros, the perpetual perfectionists, the quiet ones. I was afraid this would be another clique dominated high school world I had happily avoided in college. Why were we freaking out? We just have to walk across a stage? Okay, maybe it's the thoughts of what our MD futures will bring. Horrifying. Exciting. All of the above
Week One: Orientation AKA ... No class, YET!
Here was our time to adjust, fill out (LOTS) of paperwork, and get to know each other. 90% of our days we spent introducing ourselves to the classmates we probably already introduced ourselves to twice... and yet still forgot their name. Damnit... aren't we supposed to be the smart kids? Who's that guy again? Can't remember. Move along I guess.
Orientation week was JAM PACKED. I was honestly more exhausted the first week of "fun" than I was for any of the academics to come. Lesson one in medical school: YOU CAN'T DO EVERYTHING. Even social events, you have to pick and choose. There's always tons of activities and things to do during and after class. You will exhaust yourself completely if you try to be superwoman.
Nights included bar hopping, bowling, the Carnegie Science Center, an Andy Warhol scavenger hunt, and on and on. Day events included an activities fair, MORE paperwork/fingerprinting, mask fittings, physician panels, small groups, and CPR training.
Here was our time to adjust, fill out (LOTS) of paperwork, and get to know each other. 90% of our days we spent introducing ourselves to the classmates we probably already introduced ourselves to twice... and yet still forgot their name. Damnit... aren't we supposed to be the smart kids? Who's that guy again? Can't remember. Move along I guess.
Orientation week was JAM PACKED. I was honestly more exhausted the first week of "fun" than I was for any of the academics to come. Lesson one in medical school: YOU CAN'T DO EVERYTHING. Even social events, you have to pick and choose. There's always tons of activities and things to do during and after class. You will exhaust yourself completely if you try to be superwoman.
Nights included bar hopping, bowling, the Carnegie Science Center, an Andy Warhol scavenger hunt, and on and on. Day events included an activities fair, MORE paperwork/fingerprinting, mask fittings, physician panels, small groups, and CPR training.
Week Two: Intro to Being a Physician... Okay really... hurry up, let's get to anatomy!
This week was surprisingly beneficial. It gave us more time to calm our nerves. Everyone was being themselves... finally! No more elevator pitches and stereotyped behaviors. We all pre-judged each other a bit too quickly. These people are actually... kind of awesome?
For the "class," the week was a bit more of the same. Orientation-like events and panels, discussions, etc. We got to talk to REAL PATIENTS - my favorite part by far. It definitely solidified why I am here.
Week Three & Four: ANATOMY... uh nevermind, can we go to Mario's again?
Okay so, yes, anatomy is hard. You are at school from 8AM to 4 or 5PM everyday (not including library/ study time). The start is a bit overwhelming and scary. You spend hours dissecting and working on your cadaver. And yes... it IS like drinking out of the firehose. You feel like everything you read and look at is just not sticking. It's incredibly frustrating as seen in the below images posted by my fellow classmates...
This week was surprisingly beneficial. It gave us more time to calm our nerves. Everyone was being themselves... finally! No more elevator pitches and stereotyped behaviors. We all pre-judged each other a bit too quickly. These people are actually... kind of awesome?
For the "class," the week was a bit more of the same. Orientation-like events and panels, discussions, etc. We got to talk to REAL PATIENTS - my favorite part by far. It definitely solidified why I am here.
Week Three & Four: ANATOMY... uh nevermind, can we go to Mario's again?
Okay so, yes, anatomy is hard. You are at school from 8AM to 4 or 5PM everyday (not including library/ study time). The start is a bit overwhelming and scary. You spend hours dissecting and working on your cadaver. And yes... it IS like drinking out of the firehose. You feel like everything you read and look at is just not sticking. It's incredibly frustrating as seen in the below images posted by my fellow classmates...
AND YET, you CAN do it. You realize you are meant to be here, things eventually start to make sense, and you surprise yourself.
The biggest change I felt in medical school is that you no longer have the feeling of not wanting to study when you get home... You just do it - you have to. It's your job now. I had NEVER felt this feeling before in undergrad.... I've had plenty of times struggling to push past my horrible procrastination.
But with my classmates, everyone subconsciously raises you up with their awesomeness and it gives you the energy you need to push forward. It's actually really cool! The comradery is amazing and it happens FAST.
I am not sure why this happens to be honest... is it knowing what you are learning will directly help patients? Could be. But some part of me feels like it's also the pure happiness and central goal that we all have at the medical school. We made it here... a top medical school in the U.S.... The hard part is done. Now we must work together and teach each other.
"See one. Do one. Teach one." My classmates are TRULY my main teachers.
Before my exam Friday, I definitely had MANY late nights, didn't sleep much, and memorized more (mainly dirty) mnemonics than I ever thought possible. It was hard... But worth it. I was either in class, dissecting a body, practicing interviewing standardized actor patients, studying, eating, or sleeping.
I didn't manage my time well, but hopefully for the next exam I figure out how to plan "real life" into my daily routine.
Medical school is even more amazing than I thought it would be. My brain is overwhelmed... but in a good way. It's definitely hard to talk to your friends and family not involved in medicine about it. This journey is something that is not easy to explain but just knowing that the people around you love you and support you no matter what keeps you going.
BUT, there are people that DO understand it... and they understand completely. My 147 classmates beside me. The people that surround me now will be my colleagues forever... Future doctors in the making. And, I gotta say... I like it.
p.s. scrubs are awesome
The biggest change I felt in medical school is that you no longer have the feeling of not wanting to study when you get home... You just do it - you have to. It's your job now. I had NEVER felt this feeling before in undergrad.... I've had plenty of times struggling to push past my horrible procrastination.
But with my classmates, everyone subconsciously raises you up with their awesomeness and it gives you the energy you need to push forward. It's actually really cool! The comradery is amazing and it happens FAST.
I am not sure why this happens to be honest... is it knowing what you are learning will directly help patients? Could be. But some part of me feels like it's also the pure happiness and central goal that we all have at the medical school. We made it here... a top medical school in the U.S.... The hard part is done. Now we must work together and teach each other.
"See one. Do one. Teach one." My classmates are TRULY my main teachers.
Before my exam Friday, I definitely had MANY late nights, didn't sleep much, and memorized more (mainly dirty) mnemonics than I ever thought possible. It was hard... But worth it. I was either in class, dissecting a body, practicing interviewing standardized actor patients, studying, eating, or sleeping.
I didn't manage my time well, but hopefully for the next exam I figure out how to plan "real life" into my daily routine.
Medical school is even more amazing than I thought it would be. My brain is overwhelmed... but in a good way. It's definitely hard to talk to your friends and family not involved in medicine about it. This journey is something that is not easy to explain but just knowing that the people around you love you and support you no matter what keeps you going.
BUT, there are people that DO understand it... and they understand completely. My 147 classmates beside me. The people that surround me now will be my colleagues forever... Future doctors in the making. And, I gotta say... I like it.
p.s. scrubs are awesome