P=MD

Greetings to all of those who may or may not still be with me. I have returned once again to discuss a topic very dear to my heart. This week marks the passing of my very first exam (anatomy) in medical school. I did well (as most did), but what really made the experience different from undergrad was the fact that my medical school does not grade or rank students beyond the simple Pass or Fail policy. It was a far less stressful process than when I was neurotically protecting my 4.0 GPA and my dreams of ranking first in undergrad. As people discussed the exam, realizing a mistake did not send people into a panic. It was just a matter of a shrug and a lesson learned. And yet, we all still learned the material despite the need to only get a 66. As I stated above, everyone did well and this exam was by no means a walk in the park. The drive to learn and do well is embedded into us, but the stress of failure is far less. I have to say that I am enormously pleased at having made the right decision of going to a medical school that has a pass/fail AND an unranked policy for the first two years (a ranked pass/fail class is not truly pass fail. There is still an incentive to out do everyone else and thus the temptation of competition and cut-throat behavior). As far as some people worrying that not having grades the first two years hurts their students, do you really think schools like Harvard, Yale, and other top 10 schools would be doing it if this was the case?

In other news, I had a very unique experience with an applicant today. She has yet to get an interview and so showed up for the tour of the school that is given to applicants. I can only assume that she hoped to impress the adcom by her dedication and initiative. I must confess that it crossed my mind to do the same thing when I was applying. However, now that I am on this side of the fence I can not stress enough that it only makes you look silly, not impressive. Besides, the admissions office (which granted her request to join the tour) is NOT the admissions committee proper, nor are they likely to pass on the information of such a "daring" stunt. My advice to applicants, don't try this. At the very least you are going to garner the ill will of the other applicants, who might be your classmates someday.

I got to touch a lung today

By request, I have returned to tell you all of the wondrous world of medical school. After a summer of teaching and ant research, I am now holed up at this learned center of medicine. Let me just say that it has been awesome from the start. Orientation was last week, so I have just about completed my first real week of medical school. So far, my biochemistry degree has allowed me to float through the courses, but (amazingly) we are already reaching the boundaries of my knowledge. That's right, in 12 hours of lecture I am well on my way to being in the same boat as everyone else. I will say this though; there is a lot of material, but it is relatively basic. So while it may true that we have covered a half of a semester's worth of nutritional biochemistry in a week, it was a very cursory look. No mechanism drawing, no math, and minimal emphasis on being able to do theoretical biosythesis. We are skimming at the speed of light essentially, which is not easy regardless of the depth. I will also say that the speed isn't quite what some people make it out to be. We are moving fast, but 12 hours of lecture is a month of class time in undergrad. So we are maybe moving twice as fast as undergrad in terms of content overview. At my school, we only have three classes. One is essentially a time commitment with little in terms of memorization or examination that is mostly concerned with basic clinical skills and humanistic discussions. The other is the one that I have been mentioning. And finally, we have anatomy.

Ah, anatomy. As my title indicates, I got to touch a lung today. Stuck my finger right through the rib cage and gave it a rub. Pretty trippy. I really have to say though, this person that donated his body for my education is probably the best friend that I will ever have. No, I'm not talking to the cadaver, but I am serious. How many of your friends would be willing to donate their body for you to mangle in the name of education? It is a truly amazing gift that this person has given me, and he will cotninue to live in all of my group for our entire careers as physicians. He is the our first patient, in a way.

As far as anatomy goes, it is a blast to dissect. Our fellow is a bit on the portly side, but the benefit of that is that its a lot harder to accidently cut through something important when its an inch deep in fat. The unbelievable details of the human body are daunting. Thousands of bones, muscles, nerves, organs, and blood vessels. And then, pieces upon pieces within all of those categories. They aren't kidding when they say that medical school is a white rapids river of knowledge. I'm still on the lazy river at the moment, but I hear the rumbling in the distance.

Thanks to all that have and continue to read my blog. If anyone has any specific questions or comments, that might spur me to post more often in the future. Don't be shy, I always respond in one way or another!

Dream Come True

It happened today, I was accepted to my top choice medical school! I won't say where exactly, though those who know me personally will know and I ask that you don't post it here. It's on the east coast in a large city, which is where I wanted to live. Ironically, I wasn't even going to apply there, but I did so that I could get a letter from the president of my University (who used to be Provost there). Turns out that I fell in love with it during my visit, and I've been enamoured ever since! I've learned two things from this experience:

1) Waitlist is not a deathlist!

I really thought that I was done for when I got waitlisted at all of my top choices, but here I am now getting ready to attend my dream school! Even more so, I was accepted before the May 15th deadline, which is normally when waitlist shifts begin in earnest. It makes me wonder if sometimes medical schools first accept who they need, rather than who they necessarily want... Who knows?

2) It pays to be persistent.

I wrote several times to the Dean of admissions at this and my other top schools. I found out last week that I was going to receive my University's closest equivalent to a Valedictorian award, so I decided to give each school a call. After reaffirming my desire to attend this particular school, the dean offered me an acceptance then and there. They want students that want them, as many schools told me on interview day. If they can secure a student that was high quality (meaning they interviewed you) without the hassle of you possibly withdrawing later on its a win win situation. Do not hesitate to write a letter of intent to matriculate at a school that you have decided was your top choice. Be serious about this though, integrity is all that we have at this point. If you say to a school that you will attend regardless of all other offers, there is no going back if you're accepted. Your word is everything, and is far more important than any scholarship or other offer you might later get.