The first week

Well, the first week of medical school is over. That really doesn't mean all that much. It just means that I attended classes for the first week. And so far, it seems to have gone pretty well. As talked about in the last post, we started Gross Anatomy lab, and since that post, the dissection of the cadaver has begun. While I didn't make the first incision, I did spend some time peeling away the skin of our cadaver, and for the first 10 seconds it was definitely a little weird, but then, and this may sound real insincere for your non-medical people, but it got really interesting once we started digging deeper and found the different muscles of the upper back. The smell is something. Some of us have joked how we can only hang out with each other during this semester because noone else is going to want to even be in the same room as us. I feel like that might just be the right of passage for every med student, though.

Last Thursday, we had our Committment to the Community day. About 50-100 of the med students (including myself) went to Heritage Park, which is on the border of NE/SE DC. One notable person to come from this area, is Marvin Gaye, the prolific Motown singer. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, NE and SE DC aren't really the place to be, unless you are looking for drugs. Specifically, up until about 5 years ago, Heritage Park used to be on the news all the time, and not for the "feel good stories." To help illustrate the area we were in even further, a block away from where we met, the FBI busted up a Meth Lab 2 weeks ago, and in the field behind where we worked, there was a crackhouse being torn down. So that gives you an idea, I hope. We ended up cleaning out a ton of brush, and in the brush, I saw at least 2 needles, and heard about a bunch of other people finding them as well.

The brush we were clearing out was to help clear an area that was going to be set up to be an amphitheater for the community and the high school that sits right next to the park. Overall, it was really obvious that the people in this community really cared about where they lived and wanted to turn it around. This was apparent as we watched many of the community members walk up and pick up a rake and start working. It was definitely an experience that took me out of the places I am so used to (or, still getting used to) and made me realize how lucky I am to be in my situation. The group, Washington Parks and People, has made huge strides in this area to help. Check it out.

I then began the studying. I hadn't actually studied in over a year and it felt pretty weird getting back to it. After taking a year off and being in the working world, it has definitely been a transition back to the "go to class all day and study when you are not in class" mentality. My TV time is slowly declining, and the library time is slowly increasing (funny how that works).

As for what I am studying, right now we are working on the upper and lower limbs in anatomy (first 1/3 of anatomy) as well as the early stuff in Neurobiology. And, surprisingly, the Georgetown program did do some good for me. It turns out that if I got a B or better in their Microscopic Anatomy class, I do not have to take GW's Microscopic Anatomy class. That means that I generally don't have class on Monday, Wednesday or Friday mornings. I guess that helps me ease into this whole school thing. Plus, I hated that class so I am happy.

On that note, I don't have class until 1 tomorrow (Gross) so that means I can study tomorrow morning before class (or sleep, we'll see). Either way, I'm off to bed now.

still waiting,
-wait

Day 1, Gross lab

I survived day 1 of actual class. While in most cases this may not be something to write about, at GW, they take the opportunity to start Gross Anatomy, and take us into the cadaver lab so that we can look at our the body that we will be dissecting over the coming months.

Before entering the lab, we were shown a video that came from a school in the UT (Texas) system, where current medical students were interviewed about the dissection, but also a man who had willed his body to a medical school upon his death. This brought home the thought that the person we were about to meet had a full life before this. Now don't get me wrong, it's not like I didn't know that. But I think a lot of me wanted to separate this person's life from his body simply to avoid any emotional attachment that would come and make me not able to dig inside, so to speak. At the same time, it was also a good reminder of the respect that we need to have as these people did lead lives and they are giving us an incredible gift - a gift that is going to teach me, the rest of my classmates, and every other medical student in the country, more than we might ever learn from books. Even tough their lives have passed, they have given us the opportunity to learn about living, perhaps allowing them to live forever.

Upon entering the lab, the smell was recognizeable, and the 32 tables were around the room packed closer than they ever had been before as are the biggest class ever at GW. Each table had a large metal top to it, split in half, so that when swung down, the body was revealed. As we begin working on the back region, our bodies are all face down on the tables. Hopefully this eases us into the process.

Yesterday we were in the lab for about 30 minutes, meeting our the other members of our group, and, more importantly, getting over the initial shock of the body. Today is the first day we will put our hands on the cool body, and then make the first cut. The course director said he's never seen anyone pass out, so here's to hoping our class isn't a first.

still waiting,
-wait

Orientation

I haven't posted during orientation, and simply put, it's because it was so freaking long. We started at 8AM every day, and went til midnight some days. But, the most important part, it's been exciting. I have met tons (ok, like 150) people over the past week and these are the people that I will be working with over the next 4 years as we become doctors. Everyone that I have met has been absolutely amazing, and though I don't remember everyone's name, everyone has been incredible. It makes me real happy to know that these are the people that I am going to be working with.

In a nutshell...
Wednesday: Got to campus and did the ice-breaker stuff "Hi, my name is x, I went to y for undergrad, and z for grad school and I am from a. I am b years old, and blah blah blah." We had the deans and the provost and all of the important people that are involved in our lives as medical students. The coolest part may have been when the dean said "the competition is over." That felt pretty cool. That afternoon, we did the campus tour, and got our ID cards, and all of the other stuff. That night, we went to the Nats/Braves game, where the Nats won! Following this was a trip to Old Glory and Rhino Bar in Georgetown. And that's all I need to say about that.

Thursday: Scavenget hunt. Let's just say we walked a TON. All over Georgetown, Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle, and the mall. We took 1 metro ride the entire day and otherwise we walked for all 6 hours. It was absolutley crazy, and at the same time, absolutely awesome. We had so much fun, even though by the end of the day, we were ready to saw off our feet. That night, we took a monuments at night river cruise (read: booze cruise). This was followed up by another walk up to Georgetown to 3rd edition. And that's all I need to say about that. (Catching a theme?)

Friday: This was only a half day, where we got to hear about our classes from second years, and about the whole professionalism in medicine. Good talks overall, but considering my state, I was ready to just go back to bed. We had the afternoon off and the night was taken up by the DC Improv. 2 of the 3 were funny. The headliner was just horrible. I can't even begin to describe, so I won't. And then we went to Lucky Bar.

Saturday: This was the white coat ceremony. This is the day that we recieved our white coats signifying our entry into medical school. (My sister is with me in the picture... and yes, I did white out my last name on the name card in case you were wondering) Overall, it's a very exciting day, a day of celebration. And it apparently means we are doctors. In fact, we went out to dinner in Georgetown following the ceremony, and as I walked in I was still wearing my white coat, and a waiter stops and looks at me and says "good evening doctor." I laughed, and mumbled something to the effect of "Who me? Ohhh no, not at all." Just because I have the coat doesn't mean too much. But it was a pretty surreal moment, signifying the trust and knowledge of what comes with wearing the white coat. And after dinner, we went to a classmate's house and well, yeah.

Sunday: Relax day! I went home to Baltimore to get some information on my grandfather for a scholarship, and also to go to Sam's Club for some food and to do some laundry and a free dinner. I also squeezed in a 2 hour nap. All around good day.

Today (Monday): We started with a Problem Based Learning (PBL) example. That was a pretty cool intro to what we will be doing, and since we weren't being graded on it, there was no stress or anything involved with it. We had some good laughs and it was just kind of a relaxed atmosphere. The tone after lunch was anything but. It involved money and how much we are going to owe. And that's really exciting. And I don't feel like saying anything else about that except that the session wasn't exactly worth it since all the decisions had already been made about the money, and it really doesn't matter because everything will get paid back and we most likely aren't being screwed because we are in this for the greater good.

Tomorrow we are really in for it as we start Gross Anatomy ("Gross") A couple of lectures and then I believe we meet our cadaver. I'll write more on that tomorrow.

So that's been my life in a nutshell (a seemingly rather large one). I've had a lot of fun, and if these are the people that I need to study and work with over the next 4 years, I can't say I have any complaints.

I am real excited to get this year under way!!

Twas the night before med school

I'm sitting here in a condo that is about 84.3% put together and am thinking about tomorrow. I am getting together what they want... immunization records, health insurance, money, etc etc etc.

But I moved on from the superficial things for tomorrow and started to try and grasp what is really happening tomorrow. Medical School, something that I have been striving for, going after, pursuing, whatever for 3 years, begins tomorrow. It is amazing to realize that my dream is finally becoming realized, and that tomorrow I will embark on a journey that will turn me into a doctor. I know that it will desensitize me to a lot of things, but at the same time, I know it is something that I really wanted.

I wanted to say a general thank you to all of you out there for the continued reading of this small section I like to call home on the internet. It's very cool knowing you all are out there reading up on me, seeing how I am doing and all of that. Thanks for all of the support over the past year (or many years if I actually know you). Just know that I am very appreciative of it all.

Now it begins.

Tomorrow, I will come home, and I will officially be a medical student. My intention is to keep this updated, and allow all of you to see what it means go through medical school. You went on the ride of applying, which was merely the warm up. Now we are in it for real. I hope you all will my growth as a person, as I learn more information then I ever thought possible. I don't plan on posting actual grades, just more of a "I did horrible... I did ok... I did amazing" kind of scale. That should give you an idea.

So, since I have orientation tomorrow, here is a little orientation to medical school for all of you. The first 2 years are in the classroom. At GW, it basically works that in the first year, you learn everything there is to know about the normal human body. Then, in the 2nd year, you learn what can go wrong. GW has a course called POM (Practice of Medicine) that allows us to follow a preceptor during our first 2 years, so that we can be reminded what we are really learning all of this information for, and so that we can begin to see what it means to actually be a doctor.

After the 2nd year, you take Step 1 of the USMLE's (United States Medical Licensing Examination). It tests all of your knowledge from 1st and 2nd year. This is one of the biggest tests every medical student takes. Obviously there will be much more about that in the coming years.

After that, you enter 3rd year and this is when you begin rotations through all of the different clerkships. These include Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Psychology, Ob/Gyn (my favorite... riiiiiiight) and most of the different specialties offered. This also continues onto 4th year, where you have many more electives (choose what you want to do). In the 4th year, though possibly also in the 3rd as I learned this afternoon, you take Step 2 of the USMLE's. This obviously tests you on all of the information you've learned in rotations. Again, more to come.

You also apply to residency in your 4th year. After going on interviews, there is a day in March, Match Day, where every medical student, at the same time, finds out where they are doing their residency. And again, you guessed it, more to come later.

So that is medical school in a nutshell. There are details I left out, or may not be exact on, but that is the general idea, and I am sure all of the minute details will be worked out over the next 4 years.

So now, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. (Hey, at least YOU can thoroughly enjoy it, I need to actually do the suffering part).

Let's roll.

-wait

Final days...

It's been a busy couple days, to say the least. I obviously got back to Richmond on Monday, and since then I have been meeting up with people in Richmond to say good bye (and showing Katie around since she just moved here and knows noone). All of my stuff is packed up and ready for the big move up to the big city of Washington D.C. (well, Arlington). And I guess even that is a little bit of an overstatement. I decided to go cheap and not rent a van, hoping that all of my stuff would be able to fit in Ian's and my car (Ian driving an SUV). Well we packed Ian's car this afternoon, and then I packed my car, and now there is a pile of stuff between the living room and dining room that still needs to be taken to DC.

So that means tomorrow I am driving to Arlington, unloading everything, and then coming back here to Richmond -- I thought tonight was going to be my last night here in Richmond, but alas, I can't stay away.

Tonight I saw Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, starring none other than Will Ferrell. I thought this movie was absolutely hilarious, but I love Will Ferrell, so I may be somewhat biased. There were numerous one-liners that truly made this movie memorable. I suggest you all go see it.

still waiting,
-wait

Germany, pt 2 of 2 (the last) and more

Yes I realized I haven't continued the stories from Germany. This is for 2 reasons. 1. My computer is going out. The screen turns all these bright colors and makes these really cool designs. Unfortunately for me, that means I can't use it. It has become very fickle and sometimes it even decides to drop the resolution down to something like 300x100. That's exciting when I could probably read the screen from across the street.

I also realized it would probably be pretty boring to hear about every aspect of my trip, and while it would be lots of fun for me, you'd be bored to tears. So tonight, while the computer is working, I will tell about the 2 mosst exciting things I did in Germany and that will be it. I will then move on to much more pointless matters, like what color my new couch is, and when things are all going to be set up in my new condo, not to mention all about the new condo.

On the second to last full day in Germany, I got to visit the city of Berlin, a city I have learned much about in history classes and German classes. It was partly weird, because the fall of the Berlin wall was one of my first memories where I recognized that there is a much bigger world out there, and that this "thing" that is happening is something that is huge. It wouldn't be until many years later that I would understand the true significance, but I knew it was important. Although I only had about 3 hours in Berlin to see the sites (not nearly enough time), it was definitely worth it. I got to see the major sites like the Reichstag, Brandenburger Tur, Segasaeule, and Checkpoint Charlie. I went through the museum at Checkpoint Charlie, and that was pretty awesome to see all of the different ways people attempted to cross the border. I also went into the museum "Story of Berlin" which showed a little of the distant history of the city, but then a lot more of the more recent history, with the rise of Nazism and Hitler, then through the Cold War and finally the fall of the Berlin wall. It was a truly eye-opening experience, especially going through the museums with Germans who actually lived during the Cold War. It was interesting to see those people walk a little bit faster through the Wars, but then when the video of the fall came on, they sat and watched it twice. You could tell it was something that they were really proud of.

The other hilight of the trip was driving on the German Autobahn. I got to drive my cousins BMW M3 on the autobahn, and while it was my second time ever driving stick, that didn't stop me from hitting about 140 MPH, and then driving over a "mountain" (read small hill with a couple switchbacks) doing the switchbacks at about 40mph, hugging the road like no other car I have been in. I also learned about rev matching (I think thats what it's called) ie: taking the car up to about 7000 RPMs, shifting down then, and back to 7000 RPM, etc etc. Too much fun. The world looked like it was streaking by. The car is so freaking fast, going from 0-60 faster than the 911. Worlds apart from the Toyota Avalon I drive.

So those were the 2 bigger events of Germany -- there was lots of other assorted things that went on - visiting the towns from which my ancestors hailed and finding the gravestones of some of very distant relatives (ca. 1700) and also getting the oppurtunity to just relax and not worry about anything.

That vacation was the first that I have had in a long time where I didn't need to worry about anything. I'm obviously not applying to schools, so I don't need to worry about that. All I have to do is make sure everything is straightened out for my new condo, and that's nothing to truly worry about. So this might have been one of the best vacations I've been on in a long time. I was definitely able to shift it into park, and recharge the batteries and gear up to start school out on the right foot.

So that's that about Germany. No longer will you be bored with my antics (about Germany, at least).

I start school 2 weeks from tomorrow. Yikes. (what was that about not worrying?) Soon I will start laboring you with all of the details of that. That was the initial intention of this blog when I started it about a year ago, so that you could see how much of a pain med school, yet also see how worth it is; though let's be honest, you might need to keep reading for about 12 years before you see the latter.

That's it for now.

still waiting,
-wait