Just ended the last of my classes for the first year of medical school. Feelings of both elation and wonder of how the frack I got through it all are spinning through my head. I guess it wasn't really that bad. I mean...sure I went from this:
to this:
and this:
to this:
BUT overall I've gotta say it was an eye opening year. I have a complete new respect for the doctors ahead of me. I've always been told that it'd be a long journey, but it's not until you see yourself turning your phone off to block off the rest of your life, stop doing groceries for 2 months, and forgetting the basic routine to keeping good hygiene that you appreciate how many sacrifices medical professionals make. Just 15 hours of exams to write and after that, I'm as free as the current situation in ummmmm - well, let's be real - I have no idea what's going on in the world politically to actually make a decent real-life analogy. At least now I understand the minute differences between toxins in fried rice and those in raw hamburgers. And if I'm ever quizzed on the appearance of a strawberry cervix, I'll also know the bits.
Summer plans are looking great though. I'm traveling to London for a week as the World Cup kicks off and then backpacking India for a month before heading to the Himalayas to do health education and health checks. It's nice to know that other than spending the rest of my natural existence in the library, I have this to look forward to this summer:
Summer plans
If there's one thing my first year in Med school has been teaching me is to respect doctors (and pay they well too lol).
ReplyDeleteDon't even start with the sacrifices... I don't know what a beauty saloon is anymore or shopping or even the slight idea of a normal social life. What do they call this again? Oh yeah. Vocation. (or at least that's what I keep telling myself so I don't give up halfway :S).
Lol...i agree. I'm currently up doing a rotation in a rural town and it's nice to see a community appreciate the idea of a doctor and the hard work they put in. Hang in there. I remember my first year I was really shocked by the workload. Then came the sad realization of the problems within the healthcare system.
ReplyDeleteA good friend reminded me though - there's still tons outside of medicine for ppl like us. Med school looks for well-rounded individuals and it's a shame that the system basically takes all your other hobbies away from you. When all this training is done, make life workable for YOU! Don't forget your other hobbies and call up that friend that you haven't seen in ages. The further we go along with this crazy train ride, the more we need ppl who knew us before we got on.