So tomorrow marks the end of our "Transition to Clerkship" week, which means at this point I'm supposed to be pretty much transitioned to whatever this "clerkship" thing is supposed to be.
In the past I had (arguably) witty food analogies for the first two years of medical school. First year is like a hot dog eating contest. Second year is like trying to polish off that 72oz steak at Billy Joe's Steak Emporium. If I had to come up with an analogy for what transitioning to MS3 would be like... it'd probably be analogous to that NBA commercial involving Yao Ming (still one of my faves):
Yes, third year is like trying to eat a live crustacean. It's new, it's exciting, it's exotic, and you have no idea what the f*ck you're supposed to be doing. You can google how to eat a live crustacean, people can tell you how to eat a live crustacean, but until you've actually gotten out there and done it, you really have no sense of what its like. And when you try for the first time, its awkward, you fumble around, and you generally look like an idiot.
Our week started off with a morning full of "talks" from the big wigs in the School of Medicine who never appear unless something "important" is going on, which basically consisted of them reminiscing to us about their own days at the beginning of their clinical days. Luckily things picked up at that, and the rest of the week has been very fun. Finally had my first quasi-patient which I had to do a full H&P on and present the next morning. The rest of our time has been filled with workshops filled with how to scrub for the OR, knot tying and suturing, intubation, accessing/reading/interpreting path reports, how to place an IV, managing acute patients, etc, etc. The material has varied from interesting to repetitive, but the best thing is that is have all been HANDS ON. It's all been simulated, but actually getting your hands dirty and having things be interactive beats the hell out of sitting in lecture all morning and then hurrying up to sit in front of your syllabus the rest of the day.
Start peds on Monday. 2 weeks on the general wards then 3 weeks in the PICU. Hoorah.
Showing posts with label Hotdogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hotdogs. Show all posts
June 25, 2009
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.
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.
September 8, 2008
Ischemic Motivation Disease.
So the first week of MS2 is now officially down the tubes. I responded to the school year starting up again by putting off studying for as long as physically possible, but just as a crack addict needs his... crack, a medical student needs his studying, and the multicolor highlighters are now out in force. The first day of the year went pretty much exactly like I expected. After the fun of seeing everyone wore off (read: 30 minutes), the day felt just like any other day of medical school.
So, (I can see you pre-meds and MS1s rabidly foaming at the mouth) how is MS2 compared to MS1?
One of my more famous (or Follies infamous) posts was my ruminations on competitive eating. Yeah, MS1 is a lot like putting down a ton of hot dogs. After a while, you ask yourself why you ever liked hot dogs because, after all,
its made of all the discarded parts of a cow. Who would ever want to eat that? But you eat and eat and eat, because there's nothing to do but eat. And summer break begins with you seriously overweight with a glossly flaccid stomach. But after a while you forget why you hated hot dogs, and are at a BBQ, and slowly creep towards that hot dog bun. Because part of you misses the hot dogs, as sick as the thought of eating one makes you.
Well, thankfully, MS2 is nothing like eating hot dogs. You're done with the days of all the leftover cow parts. Instead, MS2 is like a nice, juicy, delicious steak. The lecturers don't talk down to you (as much), the majority of the information thrown at your brain is rooted in some form of the actual clinical practice of medicine (aka the succulent hip, not the leftovers), and hell, you're a competitive hot dog eater, putting down a steak should be fun compared to hot dogs. After all, eating steak is an enjoyable experience.
Enjoyable at first, that is, until you realize the steak is 72oz. And steak sits in the stomach a lot heavier than hot dogs. And steak is all that is on the menu for the next 8 months. You're a competitive eater, so you know how to eat, but this is different. More tasty, but more challenging.
So yeah, MS2 is a lot more enjoyable than MS1. Instead of being forced to memorize a bunch of information a PhD would rarely find useful, the information is much more tailored and relevant to the practice of medicine. Instead of stumbling around in the dark looking for the fastest way to cram as many drug names, half-lives, metabolic pathways, and enzyme topographical maps into your brain, you're talking about how said drugs are actually being used to treat disease, how errant pathways manifest themselves symptomatically, and what current literature says about treatment strategies. But there's no getting around the fact that this is still medical school. And you're a MS2 now, the information comes faster. I already feel behind. We already have an exam in a week. My favorite neighborhood baristas already know that I am back at it. I already haven't talked to many of my friends since class started. It's still a crapload of information, and its still not going to be fun some of the time. But you can take heart in the fact that it is better information.
Ironically, as I stuffed myself with steak yesterday, cracking my syllabus for the first time this year to get my eat on, one of the first topics I had to study was... coronary artery disease. I think I feel heartburn coming on.
As an added note, Med11 (appropriately named the Pill Hill Pirates... arrrrrrgh) took the title in the first inaugural PA/MD kickball tournament yesterday, in an epic 14-13 title game which came down to a gut wrenching bottom of the 9th defensive slugfest. You have never seen a competitive kickball game until you throw a bunch of anal type A personalities together and tell them to go at it. Trust me.
So, (I can see you pre-meds and MS1s rabidly foaming at the mouth) how is MS2 compared to MS1?
One of my more famous (or Follies infamous) posts was my ruminations on competitive eating. Yeah, MS1 is a lot like putting down a ton of hot dogs. After a while, you ask yourself why you ever liked hot dogs because, after all,
its made of all the discarded parts of a cow. Who would ever want to eat that? But you eat and eat and eat, because there's nothing to do but eat. And summer break begins with you seriously overweight with a glossly flaccid stomach. But after a while you forget why you hated hot dogs, and are at a BBQ, and slowly creep towards that hot dog bun. Because part of you misses the hot dogs, as sick as the thought of eating one makes you.Well, thankfully, MS2 is nothing like eating hot dogs. You're done with the days of all the leftover cow parts. Instead, MS2 is like a nice, juicy, delicious steak. The lecturers don't talk down to you (as much), the majority of the information thrown at your brain is rooted in some form of the actual clinical practice of medicine (aka the succulent hip, not the leftovers), and hell, you're a competitive hot dog eater, putting down a steak should be fun compared to hot dogs. After all, eating steak is an enjoyable experience.
Enjoyable at first, that is, until you realize the steak is 72oz. And steak sits in the stomach a lot heavier than hot dogs. And steak is all that is on the menu for the next 8 months. You're a competitive eater, so you know how to eat, but this is different. More tasty, but more challenging.So yeah, MS2 is a lot more enjoyable than MS1. Instead of being forced to memorize a bunch of information a PhD would rarely find useful, the information is much more tailored and relevant to the practice of medicine. Instead of stumbling around in the dark looking for the fastest way to cram as many drug names, half-lives, metabolic pathways, and enzyme topographical maps into your brain, you're talking about how said drugs are actually being used to treat disease, how errant pathways manifest themselves symptomatically, and what current literature says about treatment strategies. But there's no getting around the fact that this is still medical school. And you're a MS2 now, the information comes faster. I already feel behind. We already have an exam in a week. My favorite neighborhood baristas already know that I am back at it. I already haven't talked to many of my friends since class started. It's still a crapload of information, and its still not going to be fun some of the time. But you can take heart in the fact that it is better information.
Ironically, as I stuffed myself with steak yesterday, cracking my syllabus for the first time this year to get my eat on, one of the first topics I had to study was... coronary artery disease. I think I feel heartburn coming on.
As an added note, Med11 (appropriately named the Pill Hill Pirates... arrrrrrgh) took the title in the first inaugural PA/MD kickball tournament yesterday, in an epic 14-13 title game which came down to a gut wrenching bottom of the 9th defensive slugfest. You have never seen a competitive kickball game until you throw a bunch of anal type A personalities together and tell them to go at it. Trust me.
August 29, 2007
Just call me Kobayashi.
My brain feels like it has been in a hot dog eating contest.
Now bear with my analogy. Hot dogs are like medical knowledge. I love hot dogs (as I love medicine). If I am feeling particularly adventurous at a bbq, I might polish off 4 or 5 hot dogs in an afternoon. But after I am full, hot dogs aren't as fun anymore. The winner of this year's competitive hot dog eating contest ate 66 hot dogs. It goes without saying, this is not an enjoyable experience, regards of how much you love hot dogs.
Med school is like a daily competitive eating contest and my brain is feeling like it was just forced to compete in said competition and had to wolf down 66 medical-knowledge hot dogs. Just when your brain thinks its full, that you can't POSSIBLY study more or retain more information, you simply force yourself to. It goes without saying, this takes a lot of the fun out of hot dogs (or medicine).
So what keeps people eating those hot dogs, pushing past levels of discomfort or pain? It could be competitive desire, to be the very best hot dog eater in the world. It could be personal motivation to prove the human body is capable of much more than one could ever expect. It could be that someone just really, really loves hot dogs, though I am sure this is certainly a diagnosable bizarre and rare psychological condition.
Similar things motivate med school students. Eventually, studying medicine is like eating too many hot dogs. No matter how much you love medicine, eventually you go into information overload and learning it isn't fun anymore (just as eating too many hot dogs makes you feel sick). So what forces us to keep studying, as fatigued as we are and as sick as we feel?
Competitive Desire. Nearly everyone gets into medical school because they are competitive. These are the people who take personal offense to a B, scoff at a C, and only like A's if they don't have a - next to them. These are the people who enjoy setting the curve. I admit I am somewhat competitive, especially self-competitive, because I certainly enjoy the feeling of being the best at something. The feeling of success is like an endorphin shot for me. It's only natural.
To Be The Best. Almost everyone goes to medical school because they want to help people. No one is naive enough to not acknowledge that the special privileges and the gifts of healing that doctors are afforded are largely afforded due to their extensive knowledge on medicine. And yes, it is easier to hit the books with a little voice in the back of your head telling you that one day, someone's life might be saved by the extra effort you put in now.
However, there is one predominant motivator to always study more.
FEAR.
Success in medical school is almost always correlated to time invested in studying. No one gets through medical school by simply being smart. But its a lot like treading water. Hours spent studying doesn't let you fly, it simply lets you keep your head above water. Slack off a little and all of a second you're breathing water. Considering medical school is a VERY expensive endeavor (I will be $200,000 in debt by the end), failure is simply not an option.
So we study.
Now I should note, just like the competitive eater, there is a training process and your body adapts to the rigors you put it through. In a couple months, the continual studying will not seem nearly as exhausting. Just as a competitive eater's stomach becomes more elastic and can distend to much larger sizes, my brain will become able to retain increasing quantities of information with more comfort. It's a lot like training for a marathon. Right now I just finished my first week of training. My body is sore, I'm tired, I don't think I'll ever be able to run 26 miles. But with time and effort, you can mold yourself into a marathon rider. I'm molding myself into a medical student.
It's also worth noting that no matter how many hot dogs I am forced to eat... I still like hot dogs. All the studying sucks, but the good thing is it doesn't make me love medicine less. It's a weird feeling, loving medicine and sometimes loathing it, but its a feeling that all in the medical field experience.
Some other things of note that have happened lately:
I got my faculty advisor/mentor... and he's a pediatric cardiac surgeon (one of only TWO at my school). Booya! I met him today and I have a feeling this is going to be a great experience. He's young (38), and was a straight-from-college med student as well. When I told him of my interest in congenital heart surgery, his first reaction was "well lets get you into the OR!" He also helped dispel a lot of stereotypes about pediatric cardiac surgery. While he's on call every other night, he hardly ever has to come into the hospital. He has a healthy marriage and a 4 month old baby. He doesn't seem worn out. It's was a very positive experience overall. And I'm sure I'll flip at my first chance to see a Norwood procedure or Fontan procedure.
I also got my first preceptorship assignment. I get to work with an orthopaedic trauma surgeon. I'm glad I got to start on a surgery rotation and I'm sure there will be some crazy things I get to see.
All in all, things are starting to fall into place. I'm beginning to run out of hours in a day, but I guess above all, I just need to keep eating those hot dogs.
Now bear with my analogy. Hot dogs are like medical knowledge. I love hot dogs (as I love medicine). If I am feeling particularly adventurous at a bbq, I might polish off 4 or 5 hot dogs in an afternoon. But after I am full, hot dogs aren't as fun anymore. The winner of this year's competitive hot dog eating contest ate 66 hot dogs. It goes without saying, this is not an enjoyable experience, regards of how much you love hot dogs.
Med school is like a daily competitive eating contest and my brain is feeling like it was just forced to compete in said competition and had to wolf down 66 medical-knowledge hot dogs. Just when your brain thinks its full, that you can't POSSIBLY study more or retain more information, you simply force yourself to. It goes without saying, this takes a lot of the fun out of hot dogs (or medicine).
So what keeps people eating those hot dogs, pushing past levels of discomfort or pain? It could be competitive desire, to be the very best hot dog eater in the world. It could be personal motivation to prove the human body is capable of much more than one could ever expect. It could be that someone just really, really loves hot dogs, though I am sure this is certainly a diagnosable bizarre and rare psychological condition.
Similar things motivate med school students. Eventually, studying medicine is like eating too many hot dogs. No matter how much you love medicine, eventually you go into information overload and learning it isn't fun anymore (just as eating too many hot dogs makes you feel sick). So what forces us to keep studying, as fatigued as we are and as sick as we feel?
Competitive Desire. Nearly everyone gets into medical school because they are competitive. These are the people who take personal offense to a B, scoff at a C, and only like A's if they don't have a - next to them. These are the people who enjoy setting the curve. I admit I am somewhat competitive, especially self-competitive, because I certainly enjoy the feeling of being the best at something. The feeling of success is like an endorphin shot for me. It's only natural.
To Be The Best. Almost everyone goes to medical school because they want to help people. No one is naive enough to not acknowledge that the special privileges and the gifts of healing that doctors are afforded are largely afforded due to their extensive knowledge on medicine. And yes, it is easier to hit the books with a little voice in the back of your head telling you that one day, someone's life might be saved by the extra effort you put in now.
However, there is one predominant motivator to always study more.
FEAR.
Success in medical school is almost always correlated to time invested in studying. No one gets through medical school by simply being smart. But its a lot like treading water. Hours spent studying doesn't let you fly, it simply lets you keep your head above water. Slack off a little and all of a second you're breathing water. Considering medical school is a VERY expensive endeavor (I will be $200,000 in debt by the end), failure is simply not an option.
So we study.
Now I should note, just like the competitive eater, there is a training process and your body adapts to the rigors you put it through. In a couple months, the continual studying will not seem nearly as exhausting. Just as a competitive eater's stomach becomes more elastic and can distend to much larger sizes, my brain will become able to retain increasing quantities of information with more comfort. It's a lot like training for a marathon. Right now I just finished my first week of training. My body is sore, I'm tired, I don't think I'll ever be able to run 26 miles. But with time and effort, you can mold yourself into a marathon rider. I'm molding myself into a medical student.
It's also worth noting that no matter how many hot dogs I am forced to eat... I still like hot dogs. All the studying sucks, but the good thing is it doesn't make me love medicine less. It's a weird feeling, loving medicine and sometimes loathing it, but its a feeling that all in the medical field experience.
Some other things of note that have happened lately:
I got my faculty advisor/mentor... and he's a pediatric cardiac surgeon (one of only TWO at my school). Booya! I met him today and I have a feeling this is going to be a great experience. He's young (38), and was a straight-from-college med student as well. When I told him of my interest in congenital heart surgery, his first reaction was "well lets get you into the OR!" He also helped dispel a lot of stereotypes about pediatric cardiac surgery. While he's on call every other night, he hardly ever has to come into the hospital. He has a healthy marriage and a 4 month old baby. He doesn't seem worn out. It's was a very positive experience overall. And I'm sure I'll flip at my first chance to see a Norwood procedure or Fontan procedure.
I also got my first preceptorship assignment. I get to work with an orthopaedic trauma surgeon. I'm glad I got to start on a surgery rotation and I'm sure there will be some crazy things I get to see.
All in all, things are starting to fall into place. I'm beginning to run out of hours in a day, but I guess above all, I just need to keep eating those hot dogs.
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