I just had to post this. Since I read it, these words keep haunting me:
"If you can't eat 5 pancakes one day, you're sure as hell aren't going to be able to eat 10 pancakes the next day."
That's pretty much how STEP review is making me feel. Say I'm supposed to review 40 pages a day, but some days I just don't have time or don't feel like it and I only make it to 20 pages. Well, how the heck am I going to do 60 pages the next day if I couldn't even do 40 the day before? Grrr....
This is from http://therumorsweretrue.wordpress.com.
Med School Metaphor: Pancakes Every Morning
I have a lot to learn. By Friday, anyway. I have a Pharmacology exam followed by a Pathophysiology exam this coming Monday. Once again, I find myself behind. It’s the funny kind of behind where you look at the stack of notes on your desk (2″ of one, 3″ of the other) and sort of chuckle. “Ha. This is going to be funny.” Cue despair.
Looking at it now, I’m tempted to start the passive bragging of impossible odds. “You have no idea how hard it is,” I’d say. “Medical school is like trying to take a drink from a fire hose,” I’d brag.
And that’s total bullshit.
At the beginning of each course, we’re given a syllabus telling us how we’re going to be graded, the question break-down for each test, and the schedule of lectures each day for the next 4-5 months. Nothing is going to sneak up on you unless you can’t read the print on the page (in which case you’re blind and things sneak up on you all the time).
But it’s sunny outside or snowing outside or Tuesday. Whatever. You’re in medical school to become a doctor, not to be in a classroom (scheduling conflicts here) and you find yourself out on the weekends, maybe catching a movie on the weekday, and so on. You blow off the first week of any course because the material is supposed to be introductory and you certainly blow off the first week after any exam to recuperate. Maybe you take off two weeks if it was especially difficult and draining.
Eventually though, the next exam is closer than the last exam and you have to return to the desk and pretend to be a serious student. The first week back studying, you won’t be as efficient and as familiar with the material as you were leading up to the last test, so there’s some built-in catching up to do. You can’t understand the material taught TODAY because you blew off the introduction, so until you catch up, you keep falling behind. By the time you’re back in your stride the exam is so close you can feel it’s breath on your neck and you still have material to cover on a first pass. Let’s not forget: you haven’t reviewed or committed anything to memory at this point. It’s now that you understand the truth:
Medical school is like trying to eat five pancakes every morning for breakfast.
You know you can do it. A Premed advisory committee endorsed you saying, “He has the stomach for it. He’s committed.” And you prove them all right. Every day you show up with your first-year optimism and your annoying hunger for learning and you clean that plate (just kidding, it’s adorable). But you begin to notice that those pancakes are slowing you down a little each day and the sugar highs and lows are screwing with your sleep. Smart person that you are, you decide to pass on the flapjacks one day. You think to yourself, “Self, I’m going to eat ten pancakes tomorrow so that I don’t have to eat any today.”
But it never stops. Turns out that “self” isn’t the most responsible lender, and before you know it there are 40 pancakes in front of you and your plate needs to be clean by tomorrow. So yeah, at this point it looks impossible. But really, it’s your fault.
In the future, as I like to imagine it, I’ll be in charge of all medical school admissions. The process will be six weeks long and will consist of nothing more than showing up each morning to eat five pancakes, at which point you can then go about whatever you were going to do that day. At the end of the five weeks a few jaded, newly diabetic hopefuls will come to my office and, mixed with both pride and resignation say, “I did it. I finished those goddamn pancakes.”
“Wow,” I’ll say. “That’s very impressive. You must be very proud, and your parents must be very proud. Just one more thing.” They’ll reflexively clutch their stomachs, shifting their girth from one hip onto the next and groan, “What’s that?”
“Regurgitate it.”
Showing posts with label med school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label med school. Show all posts
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
25 Things
1. My dad passed away in May 2003. It wasn't until the 2nd year of med school until I understood the entire pathological process of what killed him. Here goes: alcoholic cirrhosis-> portal hypertension-> development of new veins (esophageal varices)->delirium tremens (because he quit drinking)->nausea/vomiting->Mallory-Weiss tears of the esophageal varices->exsanguination. I have thought about him every single day since he died.
2. I'm not sure exactly which field of medicine I'll go into yet and I'm TIRED of people who aren't in the medical field asking me. I know you're trying to make conversation and don't know what else to talk about but there's so many other things! I am a person who does 100 other things - cooking, running, gardening, piano playing, movie watching, sewing, painting, drawing. Sorry if I seem bitter, but as a general rule med students don't like being asked questions they don't have the answers to. Also - please don't TELL me which specialty I need to go into. ESPECIALLY if you're not in the field. You have no clue what you're talking about. It's like me telling a CPA how to do my taxes. (Don't worry - I still love you all if you've asked and you're genuinely interested :) It doesn't ruin my day or anything, it just gets old after a while.)
3. On a lighter note - I love reading fashion blogs. There's a few I look at where people chronicle their outfits daily. If I lived somewhere else I would dress completely differently. I often have to tame down what I would like to wear on a daily basis because a lot of people wouldn't get it.
4. I tend to avoid confrontation. If you're in my way I'll probably just walk a mile to get around you rather than saying "excuse me," and walking by.
5. I think it's funny that my mom was homecoming queen and head cheerleader and I was one of the very few girls NOT invited to join the social club in high school. We had one called Vogue. It was like a sorority for high schoolers. Sounds dangerous right? I'm STILL glad I wasn't in it.
6. I feel like I have more in common with the people in my med school class who are from various states and went to dozens of different colleges than I do with people I went to high school with. See #5.
7. I genuinely LOVE everyone in my class. Okay there's a few that make me want to pull my hair out, but if they were suffering from anaphylactic shock I'd gladly stick them with an Epi pen.
8. I have the bestest seeser in the world. I love sitting at her and the bro-in-law's kitchen bar and talking while said bro-in-law proceeds to cook really yummy food.
9. My husband and I don't have that much in common on paper, but somehow we just work. He makes me laugh every single day - even if it's on the inside sometimes. A few things we agree on - vintage records, David Bowie, Elton John, Modest Mouse, Flight of the Conchords, and Wes Anderson movies.
10. I appreciate humor much more than beauty. Kathy Griffin is my all-time favorite comedienne. I think we were separated at birth even though she's 30 years older than me.
11. I love to sing - and don't think I'm THAT bad. I am stage shy though so the only person who's ever really heard me belt it out is Kris. If I'm driving, chances are I'm singing LOUDLY.
12. There's 3 people in this world that can complete my sentences - Kris, Julia, and my seeser, Jennifer.
13. I think everyone should live alone at some point, even if just for a few weeks. I did this senior year at Ole Miss when Julia went to England to study abroad. Even though I missed her, it was fabulous for a little while.
14. I am a major homebody. At the end of every test block ( a solid week of tests in med school that happens every 4-7 weeks) my class usually has a party. Last year I made myself go to most of them. I had fun 1x. I can think of nothing less fun at the end of a week of no sleep and stress than to go home and get gussied up to drive somewhere, plaster on a smile, and talk to all the people you just spent the last week in a room with (even though they're awesome), and then having to worry about how to get back home if you drink anything. I usually come home, drink a beer, take a nap, wake up and watch movies all night with the husband and animals.
15. Two of my favorite authors are David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs. I am not sure why I have so much in common with gay men who live in New York City. (Kris, do not insert a dirty joke here, even though it's the perfect set-up.)
16. I am a grammar Nazi.
17. I have had a job since I was 17. I put myself through college without a single student loan. I don't like taking money from anyone.
18. I am consciously aware that I am turning into my mother. This is especially obvious by the tone in my voice when I fuss at our dog Woodrow and by the way I putter around in the kitchen with wet hair and a robe on in the morning during the holidays just trying to get all the food together. I'm okay with it though. My mom is a wonderful lady.
19. I like challenges. I would love to train for the Chicago Marathon and run it one day even though I currently only average 2-3 miles on a run!
20. I think that we are all more alike than we are different. I wish more people would realize that. ERACISM. That is all.
21. If I had a personal chef or infinite free time I'd love to try being vegan for a while. It'd be interesting to see if it was worth it.
22. I care more about having a (relatively) clean house, healthy food, clean clothes, and time to exercise than I do about having good grades in med school.
23. I play on a tennis league with my sister 1 night a week in the Spring. (See #22)
24. I have a blog. www.seriouslysillygirl.blogspot.com
25. I take a bubble bath every single day. Showers suck.
2. I'm not sure exactly which field of medicine I'll go into yet and I'm TIRED of people who aren't in the medical field asking me. I know you're trying to make conversation and don't know what else to talk about but there's so many other things! I am a person who does 100 other things - cooking, running, gardening, piano playing, movie watching, sewing, painting, drawing. Sorry if I seem bitter, but as a general rule med students don't like being asked questions they don't have the answers to. Also - please don't TELL me which specialty I need to go into. ESPECIALLY if you're not in the field. You have no clue what you're talking about. It's like me telling a CPA how to do my taxes. (Don't worry - I still love you all if you've asked and you're genuinely interested :) It doesn't ruin my day or anything, it just gets old after a while.)
3. On a lighter note - I love reading fashion blogs. There's a few I look at where people chronicle their outfits daily. If I lived somewhere else I would dress completely differently. I often have to tame down what I would like to wear on a daily basis because a lot of people wouldn't get it.
4. I tend to avoid confrontation. If you're in my way I'll probably just walk a mile to get around you rather than saying "excuse me," and walking by.
5. I think it's funny that my mom was homecoming queen and head cheerleader and I was one of the very few girls NOT invited to join the social club in high school. We had one called Vogue. It was like a sorority for high schoolers. Sounds dangerous right? I'm STILL glad I wasn't in it.
6. I feel like I have more in common with the people in my med school class who are from various states and went to dozens of different colleges than I do with people I went to high school with. See #5.
7. I genuinely LOVE everyone in my class. Okay there's a few that make me want to pull my hair out, but if they were suffering from anaphylactic shock I'd gladly stick them with an Epi pen.
8. I have the bestest seeser in the world. I love sitting at her and the bro-in-law's kitchen bar and talking while said bro-in-law proceeds to cook really yummy food.
9. My husband and I don't have that much in common on paper, but somehow we just work. He makes me laugh every single day - even if it's on the inside sometimes. A few things we agree on - vintage records, David Bowie, Elton John, Modest Mouse, Flight of the Conchords, and Wes Anderson movies.
10. I appreciate humor much more than beauty. Kathy Griffin is my all-time favorite comedienne. I think we were separated at birth even though she's 30 years older than me.
11. I love to sing - and don't think I'm THAT bad. I am stage shy though so the only person who's ever really heard me belt it out is Kris. If I'm driving, chances are I'm singing LOUDLY.
12. There's 3 people in this world that can complete my sentences - Kris, Julia, and my seeser, Jennifer.
13. I think everyone should live alone at some point, even if just for a few weeks. I did this senior year at Ole Miss when Julia went to England to study abroad. Even though I missed her, it was fabulous for a little while.
14. I am a major homebody. At the end of every test block ( a solid week of tests in med school that happens every 4-7 weeks) my class usually has a party. Last year I made myself go to most of them. I had fun 1x. I can think of nothing less fun at the end of a week of no sleep and stress than to go home and get gussied up to drive somewhere, plaster on a smile, and talk to all the people you just spent the last week in a room with (even though they're awesome), and then having to worry about how to get back home if you drink anything. I usually come home, drink a beer, take a nap, wake up and watch movies all night with the husband and animals.
15. Two of my favorite authors are David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs. I am not sure why I have so much in common with gay men who live in New York City. (Kris, do not insert a dirty joke here, even though it's the perfect set-up.)
16. I am a grammar Nazi.
17. I have had a job since I was 17. I put myself through college without a single student loan. I don't like taking money from anyone.
18. I am consciously aware that I am turning into my mother. This is especially obvious by the tone in my voice when I fuss at our dog Woodrow and by the way I putter around in the kitchen with wet hair and a robe on in the morning during the holidays just trying to get all the food together. I'm okay with it though. My mom is a wonderful lady.
19. I like challenges. I would love to train for the Chicago Marathon and run it one day even though I currently only average 2-3 miles on a run!
20. I think that we are all more alike than we are different. I wish more people would realize that. ERACISM. That is all.
21. If I had a personal chef or infinite free time I'd love to try being vegan for a while. It'd be interesting to see if it was worth it.
22. I care more about having a (relatively) clean house, healthy food, clean clothes, and time to exercise than I do about having good grades in med school.
23. I play on a tennis league with my sister 1 night a week in the Spring. (See #22)
24. I have a blog. www.seriouslysillygirl.blogspot.com
25. I take a bubble bath every single day. Showers suck.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)