February 16, 2009

You know you're in med school when... (V)

Your notes sometimes look like this:

And other times look like this:

February 2, 2009

Scrambled Eggs.

I have come to realize medical school is like juggling a bunch of eggs.

In the beginning you start with a couple eggs. Like any beginning juggler, you kind of fumble around a bit. Maybe you break some eggs, but eventually you start to get the hang of it. Before you know it, you're juggling those couple of eggs and thinking "This is NIIIICCCEEE!!!"

But med school doesn't applaud your newfound juggling skillz. Med school gives you a snarky face and adds another egg. You get the hang of 4 eggs? Try 5. 5 becoming a breeze? Try 6. As you progress through your training, the eggs may change. The "biochem exam" egg becomes the "OB/Gyn shelf" egg. The "research for residency" egg may become a "giving a talk to colleagues at regional conference" egg. The "I just failed that test" egg becomes a "I just lost that patient" egg. But the more skilled you become, the more eggs there are, until you become a proficient and masterful physician/juggler. Then you retire.

Why juggling? Because it requires constant attention. Why eggs? Eggs are fragile. One of the all too familiar feelings as a medical student are those moments when your concentration lapses and you break an egg. Could be not getting enough sleep. Stress getting to you. Failing an exam. Getting out of shape. The analogy applies to many if not all walks of life. But man, med school sometimes sure feels like a lot of eggs sometime.

Of course, its not all doom and gloom. When you're on a roll juggling those eggs, then hell, it can be damn fun. Makes you kinda feel like this guy:

I guess that's why I haven't been posting as much lately. Second year threw a bunch of new eggs at me and I had to ditch one to make things more manageable. But things are back on the up and up and I'm back to cruisin' down the highway with the top down and the wind in my hair. So I'm adding another egg back in.

And hey, if I break one, I can always make scrambled eggs.