Monday, August 27, 2007

2 Weeks Down, 16 to Go!

Well, I'm now 1/9 of the way finished with this semester. And already I've:

1. cut through human flesh - a lot of it.
2. learned how to take scalpel blades off without maiming myself or classmates
3. figured out that going to class is overrated.

That's about it, in a nutshell. I didn't do so hot on the 1st test, but thank goodness it's a miniscule portion of our final grade. I've figured out a new study method that seems to be working so far, so that's good for the classes other than gross. Everyone seems to be freaking out about gross, but thanks to my love of grammar and spanish, the words just stick in my head. If you think about what they mean, it's pretty obvious where they should be. Of course the serratus posterior superior is on the upper portion of the back! And that means the serratus posterior inferior is on the lower portion. It's not so bad yet, but I have a feeling all those nerves and vessels are going to get a bit confusing as we move into the head and neck area - or even the brachial plexus. Oh well, I'll worry about it when we get there.

So obviously I've started gross anatomy for those of you who didn't know. The first cut was pretty creepy (from ear to ear across the back of the head). The scalp is just not a fun place to cut. Thank goodness my lab partners were eager to do that. From then on, it's been fine. The only problem is that after we leave, I don't get my appetite back for about 4 hours. Everything tastes like formaldehyde - even after a shower.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

I survived the 1st week - sort of!

Well, I'm 1/18th of the way finished with 1/8 of the path towards attaining my M.D. Nice, huh? I made it through the 1st week - went to every class, took 3 quizzes, and ate 4 free lunches this week. That's right, medical school = free lunch... from the government no less. The air force came one day to recruit us, the national guard another day, family medicine one day, and I honestly can't remember who the other group was. I'm about all turkey-sandwiched out though, since they all fed us the exact same lunch. Anyway, today in order to get on track and ready for the test (which is Wednesday, pray y'all!), I have to memorize 20 amino acid names, abbreviations, 1-letter abbreviations, pka's, and bonding characteristics. This will probably account for about 5 questions on the test Wednesday which will probably have 75 Biochem questions. Maybe that gives you an understanding of how the week's been. Anyway, on to happier things.

I'm in CUPS right now taking a study break and the couple who made my coffee earlier came back in about an hour after they got off work to tell their other coworkers they were engaged. However, they barely even looked at each other the whole time they were here because they were alerting all their nearest and dearest via text message. Just seemed a little strange to me, that's all. This week in wedding planning I've managed to order the napkins with our names, wedding date, and giant monogrammed initial on them - quite the Southern wedding staple. I figure if I can get one thing accomplished per week for now I'll be fine. For those of you who don't know, I've already got my dress and the bridesmaids have theirs. I found mine in 1 hour! I'm quite the power-shopper. Anyway, it hasn't been altered yet, but I think I'm definitely going to wait more towards the end of this year of school since I've lost 3 pounds just this week due to stress and a steady diet of turkey sandwiches and coffee.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Something VERY HARD begins tomorrow - we get it!

So, orientation for medical school was last week and I lost count of the number of times my classmates and I were told, "It's going to be HARD!!!" Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence everyone. Thanks for royally freaking us out. Seriously, do they think that by telling us how hard it is going to be is going to ease our pain or make it any easier? Do they think we don't know it's going to be incredibly difficult?
I'm sure none of us realize exactly how difficult it is going to be yet, but the truth is it probably won't be as hard for some people as it is for others. Unfortunately, I do not think I will be included in that group. I predict many sleepless nights and drained coffee pots in the future. Speaking of...
We have a quiz tomorrow - on our first day of class, so I have to go study!