March 17, 2009

Can't Focus.

It's March Madness.

March 1, 2009

Brains.

Today marks the 56th day in a row that I have been studying "Neuroscience & Behavior."

Yes, I attend medical school at one of those places with that fancy pants "integrated curriculum" that's all the rage with the youngins these days. Which means that instead of having individual "classes," we have "one class," with a loose association of various subjects all tied together under one common umbrella. Kinda like a family reunion where everyone shows up, including Uncle Frank with his 5th wife he met last month in Tijuana.

So I am on my 56th day of studying "Neuroscience & Behavior." 56 days of neuroanatomy, CNS pharmacology, CNS pathology, CNS trauma, neurology, psychiatry (definitely the Uncle Frank of the group), and everything else about the brain. The integrated curriculum is nice is some respects. Studying for one class is much easier than juggling multiple. Having to prepare for one test instead of a test week is nice. The integrated subjects of the integrated curriculum can sometimes be pretty integrated, which allows you to make some interesting and useful connections between material (or so called... integration of knowledge).

But there is one dramatic drawback to integrated curriculum... the debilitating and inevitable subject burnout that comes at the end of each class.

I have been reading about the brain for damn near two straight months. Imagine doing anything every single day for 2 months. Eating plain spaghetti without meat sauce. Every day. Coming home from work to watch the same episode of Family Guy. Every day. Wearing the same black t-shirt. Every day.

As such, I am 3 days removed from kissing NSB's sweet ass goodbye, but instead of being motivated to boot its neuropil-filled derriere out the rear screen door I am instead motivated to do absolutely. no. studying. It sounds like a recipe for success to me.

The next class? Simply titled: Blood. Who knows who is going to show up to THAT family reunion?