Missionary Orthopod in the Making

Yes yes yes, my last test week before finals is next week. After the test week next week, the next time I’ll have tests will be finals. I honestly can’t believe this year has gone so quickly. The pictures below pretty much sum up what this test week looks like for me:

And yes, that is what my room normally looks like during test week. The dirtier my room is by the end of test week, the better I did on the tests. :-). Also, you can see the pictures of my microscope and slides. This test week holds the best gift one could ever give me….THE END OF HISTOLOGY!!! After we take this histology final, I am done as a first year with histology and we start an introduction to the pathology that we’ll be taking as 2nd years. This histology final is going to be a beast so I’m really trying to hit it hard to make sure that I can truly wave good bye to histology.

I can honestly say that my first year of medical school is almost over (lol, I’ve mentioned that alot in this post haven’t I?). Here’s basically my schedule for the remainder of my days as a first year medical student:

March 17-21: Test Week #5
March 24-28: SPRING BREAK!!!
March 31-May 2 (five weeks): My last five weeks of actual classes
May 5- May 16 (2 weeks): 2 Weeks of FINALS to take
May 21-June 13 (3 1/2 weeks): Clinical exposure on the wards

It is so good to see some light at the end of the tunnel, even if that tunnel is only first year. I’m not at all sorry that I went to medical school, but school can really beat you down, and I just really want to get through these preclinical years quick so I can get into the hospital. I must admit though… some days as I’m studying, I sit back in amazement at how much I’ve changed in these 6+ months of being in medical school. Medical school really starts to change the way you think. A simple cough by a relative is not a simple cough to you; to you it could be a host of things. Also, the more you go through medical school the more you tend to be less trusting of scientific journals. Of course you need them in your practice; but after taking classes like Evidence-Based Medicine, where you learn how a study/experiment should be set up, you start finding multiple mistakes in the journals that you read. This is good in that you can pick and choose more carefully what papers you use to help your patients, but it really makes you wonder if there are any studies out there that don’t have numerous biases and sample errors.

I tend not to write that much on my everyday life of medical school because it really isn’t very interesting. I wake up, have devotion, try to exercise, kiss the wife as she goes to class, stay home and study, listen to lecture recordings, play on Facebook, etc. This monotony can really bother you if you are the kind of person that likes to do a whole lot of different things. Back in college I used to play basketball, build websites, play the bass drum, hack my PDA, take part in the premed club, tutor Anatomy, etc. etc. Basically in medical school you have to choose which hobbies are really important, and usually you can only do about 2 of them along with medical school.

As you know, at Loma Linda School of Medicine, they put you on the hospital wards 2 weeks before you even start classes in medical school. Then once you learn all that they teach you first year, you go back to the hospital wards for the last 4 weeks of your first year of medical school. During the first 2 weeks of the wards experience I was on the Pediatric Intensive Care Unite (PICU) team. If you remember from my experiences, I didn’t enjoy it all that much, but this time we get the chance to rank the specialties we want to do the 4 weeks on. Here is the rank list I’m going to turn in, ranked in order:

1. Surgery & Sub-Specialties
2. Neurology
3. Anesthesia
4. Obstetrics & Gynecology and Sub-Specialties
5. Family Medicine In-patient
6. Emergency Medicine
7. Internal Medicine and Sub-Specialties
8. Rehabilitation Medicine
9. Pediatrics and Sub-Specialties
10. Psychiatry and Sub-Specialties

I would honestly be happy if I got any of my top 5 choices. Although I’m really intersted in surgery, I’m not pressed about it like I was before. At this point I’m just willing and open for the Lord to guide me where He wants. There is a surgery preceptorship program being hosted at the Loma LInda Hospital and the surrounding hospitals. Basically for like 4-5 weeks you are part of the surgical team (as much as you can be) and they pay you $2,500. I signed up for it, but if the times interfere with the time I’ll be in Africa, I’ll withdraw my application. I think the mission work would be more valuable than the preceptorship. And I’ll probably be able to do more surgery in Africa than in the preceptorship.

So basically, that is my life right now. I’m studying for my tests next week, and I’m patiently waiting for first year to be over.