With the end of Cardio, everyone is feeling a little bit excited about Thanksgiving. Before that, however, there is Behavorial Medicine. I’m seeing less and less of my classmates, and I’m skipping classes myself since Behavorial Medicine is a piece of cake (let’s not jinx it here).
Truth be told, I really like Cardio and I can really see myself in it. Still, it’s too early and there are still Renal, Respiratory, GI, etc to go through and I might like those just as much. My friends said that they easily see me in Emergency Medicine due to my lack of long-term commitment and unwillingness to be tied down to one area. I disagree with their judgment, but they don’t care.
Everyone is flying out of here for Thanksgiving except me and a few other unlucky souls. I have credits for American Airlines and can probably get a free ride, but it’s a waste to spend it on a 4-days vacation. My plans are going to be incredible for winter break though. It better be.
Currently wanting to watch, “Delicatessen”. I love most of Jeunet films I’ve seen so far.
Finally, I passed my Hem/Onc final exam yesterday, and had my “little break” in the afternoon. Today we starts on Cardio, which is the #1 class that fail the highest number of students every year.
How do I feel? tired out. I think, but I just have to last until Christmas. I’m staying here for Thanksgiving, it seems.
So I thought I should share this somewhat crazy and grotesque story that happened last week.
I spent the entire weekend (which starts promptly on Friday at 2:30pm until Sunday midnight) studying ad nauseam for the Infectious Disease final on Monday. It was horrible. I felt like throwing up.
Finally Sunday night came and I decided that it was enough. Before I went to sleep at 1am, I had a cup of milk. Around 3am, I woke up to a horrible pain in my stomach and had diarrhea until my colon was completely clean. Fell asleep, woke up again at 5am, fell asleep and finally woke up at 8am. My colon was feeling better at morning–there wasn’t anything in it anyway.
My exam was scheduled at 10am, and I decided to go to school early. So, I went out to pick up my car in the garage. It didn’t want to start. ‘No, this can’t be happening. It must be my imagination.’ I turned the key again, and again it didn’t start. It only made a clicking noise. ‘NOOOOOO!!!!!’ It was a dead battery. I knew it would happen sooner or later, and it just had to pick that day to die on me. Fortunately, I was able to get in contact with a friend and she came to pick me up.
After the exam, I got a new battery for almost a hundred. Went to pick up my brother at the airport who decided to visit me two days before. It was a crazy weekend altogether.
Yes, I’m not dead, though I am a little bit freaked out that I will be soon. Right now, I found a few minutes around midnight to write a proper entry of what second year entails. To be brief, it is VERY different from first year.
With the exception of Human Anatomy & Gross Lab, first year is more or less a regurgitation of undergraduate education except that it’s on steroids. Memorization is still the biggest key element in any subject. If you can remember information and parrot it back on exams, you’ll be fine.
Second year is quite different, and it takes me by surprise in all honestly. For the first time, I have to pay attention to not only the “right answer” but also to “second & third best” and under what condition do they apply. Diseases (prevalence in population), laboratory testing (including theories & methods), diagnosis, clinical symptoms, pathophysiology, proper selection of drugs (mechanism, side effects, interactions etc), contraindications, prognosis, and exception to the rules are just a few of the things that I have to memorize every single day and in huge quantities. The speed is still the same (it’s still on steroids). I feel like my brain is pulsing and it’s only been four weeks since summer.
We just finished Infectious Diseases and are now on Hemat/Oncology. I don’t even want to think about the Step 1.
Everything is FAST FAST FAST! No breaks. I’m drowning in drugs, treatments, bugs, symptoms, diseases, in every minute detail. This is why they say second year is hell?!
Second year of medical school starts off with Infectious Disease. This is the first weekend, and I am already overwhelmed with the amount of information. I really want to write more, but I have to get back to work. Long story short, no one in my class is happy to be back. It was evident on the first day of school.
It’s official. One of my good friend who is also in medical school is taking antidepressants at the request of his school. I know about his depressed mood ever since I met him in undergraduate. He’s a very friendly person quite handsome and slightly awkward, but a good guy. Whenever I’m with him, there is always a veil of sadness despite my attempt to liven up his mood. He’s genuine and tells you as it is, but the way he carries himself, choice of word, and posture, there is always a hint of apathy. I really hope that he can find someone who can change him for the better. As things are now, I am fearful of his situation.
Now this is the time when I am submerged in an overwhelming sea of sadness. I had so much fun this summer break that I do not want to go back to school. The empty feeling I get whenever I go home from a long day is enough to bring tears to my eyes. Spending endless hours at night under the dim desk lamp with mountains of knowledge and an ominous fear for the future is demoralizing enough. The feeling of being TRULY alone is something I think only those who experienced it can sympathize. Goodbye carefree first year and hello hellish second year of medical school. It’s time to let go of the tricycle and really ride the bullet.
Highest depression rate for medical students occurs in their second year. Hello antidepressants.
I don’t usually listen to Vpop as they tend to plagiarize hits from Japan, Korea, etc. It’s especially irritating and shameful when they are songs from my favorite artists. I will not talk about it in this entry as the topic deserves its own entry. Here is an example though, sounds familiar? It’s Sakurairo Mauboro by Mika Nakashima.
Anyway, that aside, I found this simply beautiful song (and voice) when I was carousing in Asia. The artist is Thuy Tien, and the title is “Mua Dong Khong Co Tuyet Roi.” I just call it “Snowless Winter” for short. Please don’t tell me that it’s another plagiarized work; I will cry.
A determined choreographer has done what therapists could not: She has dramatically changed the way Gregg Mozgala, a 31-year-old actor with cerebral palsy, walks.
Fell asleep, woke up again at 5am, fell asleep and finally woke up at 8am. My colon was feeling better at morning–there wasn’t anything in it anyway.
