There’s a reason I haven’t posted in a while: contrary to popular belief, medical school is hard. Anatomy hit me like a ton of bricks…it adds about 10 hours per week to our schedule, and I can’t sleep through it like other classes. This place isn’t a joke anymore: we had two 13-hour days last week, and afterwards I went back to the hospital to study. You really have to study every day (of course I don’t because I’m a slacker) because it’s so easy to fall behind.
First Final
I had my first final at 8AM on Monday (I think it was my first time waking up before 9:30 in a few weeks). The way it works here is you learn one subject intensely (equivalent to one college course) in 2-3 weeks, take the exam, and then you’re done.
Everybody was over-studying and stressing out. I had to get away from it, so I decided to go out on Friday night. I saw a few college friends and had fun catching up; it’s nice that people outside of school are always up for hanging out. On Saturday night, I met up with my parents, my sister, and my brother-in-law for a nice family dinner. It felt great to know that while everyone was over-stressing and studying, I was being my usual laid back self and not letting this place get to me.
On the day of the test, the students around me were visibly nervous: they spoke louder than normal and laughed a lot. One girl’s computer wasn’t working (the test was on laptops) and her hands were actually shaking because she was so nervous. It was fun to watch people freak out, seeing as how I love awkwardness.
I thought I knew the material pretty well the night before (I got 3 hours of sleep) but made a LOT of educated guesses. It was a weird feeling but one everyone shared, so I’m sure I passed.
Anatomy
As much as anatomy is a lot of work, it is hands down my favorite class. Our professor has a great sense of humor. The body is extremely fascinating and I feel so privileged to be able to do what I am doing, something few people will experience in their lifetime.
I don’t feel much emotionally when I’m dissecting our body except when I hold the cadaver’s hand. Several times now, I have had to hold the hand so that we can get to part of the body, and for some reason that touch makes the body seem human and alive. I think that if I ever get to feeling like being a doctor is just work at any point, I will grab my patient’s hand and it will bring me back. It’s nice to feel that sometimes, because most of the time it’s like we’re mechanics working on a car.
Oh, by the way, we use power tools on the body. We have a special bone saw which we use on the spine, and we use things like a hammers, picks, and garden shears, depending on what we need to cut. I’m considering going on Wikipedia and seeing how many mass murderers were have been to medical school, because it almost feels wrong. Sure, we mostly use scalpels and scissors, but there’s something about putting a saw to a body. I know, sometimes I scare myself too.
The worst part of anatomy is the smell of the preservatives. I love how people will just come up to me after anatomy and tell me that I stink. Sorry, people I ride elevators with, I’m just trying to get to a shower as soon as I can. Some advice: triple glove, people. Today was the first day that I used 3 pairs of gloves per hand (it’s like a game now, how many pairs will fit), with soap between each pair. My hands still smelled a bit after lab, but it was infinitely better than using 1 or even 2 gloves. It’s definitely no fun eating a beef sandwich while smelling like that cadaver you’ve been cutting up. Oh, did I mention that I’m always hungry during and after anatomy? That’s weird too, isn’t it?
Dealing with Lots of Work
Yeah, med school is a lot of work, but I’m writing this at 3am after going out on a Tuesday night. As much as people complain, everyone here does lots outside of school. We go out together, go running around Central Park together, go to dinners and plays and museums together, play board games together, and anything else we can think of to get away from studying. I’ve been playing guitar and working out a lot since I’ve gotten here since both are amazing ways to clear my head and relax when I’m sick of work. I’m all caught up on Entourage and Weeds and a few of my other favorite shows. I’ve also been reading a lot, something I decided I wanted to do more of recently.
I almost feel pushed to become a well-rounded person just because I don’t want medical school to define me; I will still hang out with my HS and college friends, and fight the forces trying to make med school my life. I’ve changed the subject a lot when talking to fellow students because I don’t want to become someone who can’t have a normal conversation with anyone but the medical community.
Keeping In Touch
If you’re reading this, I want to know how you’re doing too. Send me an e-mail, find me on AIM, whatever, but I miss my old friends and want to keep in touch as much as I can. I’ll make the time, so go ahead and distract me.
