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wApril Unraveled |
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April R. Adams,
Third year medical student
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wFriday, June 13, 2003 |
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After being disowned from Michael's page, I realized that I really haven't written for a long time, but for good reason. Medical school is about the least exciting subject most people can imagine to read about. Now that I hopefully have passed Step 1 of my United States Medical Licensing Exam, and will be officially entering the hospitals, I'm hoping my life is taking a turn for the better. It has taken more discipline and determination that I could ever have imagined to make it this far, and there are many trials still ahead. But for now, I've been enjoying the short vacation I have between boards and wards, catching up with old friends, and sharing in the joys of wedding preparations with my former roommie, Anna. Oh, and of course, I'm loving my new car :) So, with what optimism I have left, I look forward to the next year and eagerly greet the unknown.
posted by
April at 10:32 PM
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wWednesday, August 28, 2002 |
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I was really nervous this morning on my way to the medical examiner's, but when I got home it sunk in. I realized that I've chosen the perfect course for my life--I made it through the dreaded autopsy with no problem, yet when I got home, the thought of mopping the kitchen floor seemed too gross and dirty. I don't want to do forensics for a living, but I've made it past yet another hurdle of medical school and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, it wasn't nearly as bad as gross anatomy lab was last year because I didn't have to do the work myself, and it only took an hour! The rest of my pathology course will be great now.
posted by
April at 10:01 PM
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wMonday, August 19, 2002 |
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I survived the first day back at school. That's saying a lot...
I began my day with an 8am pathology lecture, and although I paid $17 for class notes, none of the power point presentations are in the packet. I spent all morning frantically scribbling down details on necrosis and apoptosis, and then lunch finally came. I decided to make my fourth trip to the bookstore to buy even more recommended texts, and then stopped by the student affairs office to sign up to tutor histology. While I was in the vicinity of the finaid office, I thought I'd stick my head in and see if my check had been mailed. Not only had it not been sent out, it still hasn't been guaranteed by KHEAA, even though I turned all my paperwork in June 24. So the $33,000+ I signed my life to doesn't yet exist. I guess I'll be filling out a request form for an advance. Then it was back to microbiology, which at least I had real notes for, but it's impossible to make immunology exciting and the professor didn't really try. After that came the speech about how great the new block schedule is going to be, and how we're going to have to grow up and deal with it. That was an interesting mix. Next we received our keys and padlock, and I found the key to my desk doesn't work, but at least I have a lock for my locker so I won't have to carry all my books all day tomorrow. The highlight of the day had to be my medical Spanish class, which I auditing as an elective. Everyone was like a zombie in there--I guess they were all having the same kind of day I was--but I really think it's going to be a fun class. No book to buy is a definite plus. I'm getting a little nervous about this year, but I'm sure I'll make it through somehow.
Back to the books...
posted by
April at 7:23 PM
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wSunday, August 18, 2002 |
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So it's back-to-school time once again, and as always, I have the night-before jitters. I opted to go without coffee as I tried to prepare for class by reading my brand new pathology book--now I know what to do if I can't get to sleep in a couple hours. I'm looking forward to the adventures this year is bringing: the experience of seeing patients in a clinic (and actually being the one to do the H&P), getting to hang out with old friends who have moved or are moving here, taking on new responsibilities as an officer in med school clubs, and hopefully continuing to reside in the top 10% of the class without losing my sanity. It's hard to imagine a more satisfying feeling than finishing the Gross Anatomy final or honoring Physiology, but as soon as I pass the licensing exam next June (and I will pass), I know I'll really feel like I've accomplished something. At least until I get to the Step 2 Boards....
posted by
April at 10:04 PM
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wSaturday, July 13, 2002 |
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I had an absolutely wonderful birthday, thanks to Nick, Natalie & Charlie, Anna, and Sunshine. We had a relaxing evening at Bahama Breeze, and it was a nice break from the crazy dorm. Now I'm home and I'm so glad my job is over. I only have four weeks to do all the things I said I was going to do this summer, so I better get started. But I'm not ready to study just yet...
posted by
April at 12:53 PM
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wSaturday, June 15, 2002 |
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So far my job has gone pretty well. Hopefully the new "quiet hours" will allow the other RA Anton and me to get some sleep at night. Other than the noise and a few little problems here and there, it's pretty much what I expected. Unitas Tower certainly is no palace, but I get to come home to my apartment to make dinner, do laundry, and then in the dorm, I have a few channels that come in clearly, so I watch TLC. My class went really well, and students are still coming to me with suggestions on raising their scores. Now my job mainly consists of driving a 15-passenger van to the Health Sciences Campus a couple times a day and telling my supervisor Kia about any issues the students are having. I'm not getting paid till the 30th, so I'm trying to stick tightly to my budget, which is even smaller now because Nick isn't getting paid till the end of the month either. I never realized how much a few dinners and pizzas helped me save money.
Another great thing about my job is that since I'm on Belknap campus, I can easily go to the gym or back to histology lab to start reviewing. Dr. Fell is actually giving me a key and my own slide boxes to use whenever I want so I'll be ready for pathology this fall. In my free time I'll also be shadowing Dr. Buchino, the pediatric pathologist Nick is working with this month. I spent a couple hours with him yesterday, and got quizzed more about the history of Texas and major wars than medicine; I'm not sure how that's going to go, but I have to have so many hours of preceptorship, so I might as well get them done while I can spend them with Nick, too.
posted by
April at 3:46 PM
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wTuesday, May 07, 2002 |
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I started this semester off sick with a sore throat and it seems that I'm going to finish it the same way. I don't know if I can attribute it to finals stress or not, since I wore myself out at the mall with Natalie last week. I think we spent five hours around St. Matthews and Oxmoor (but I only spent $3 that day). My worst stress is over, though. I relaxed with a pan of brownies and "Raymond" last night after a grueling four-hour physio final. One hundred questions should not take that long to answer. I spend half that long on my gross final, and probably made a better grade on it. Luckily, the nominations for the Calhoun award were in before the final, so I was on the list of the top 26 students in physiology (as was Nick and my friend Chris Chacko). The class selects five of those students to interview in the fall, so I'll see if I get that far. Our class is a little cliquish, and I am not in the majority. But I certainly could use the scholarship!
It's about time to study for the biochem final. You know my motivation for that is pretty low. But what else is there to do on a rainy day besides curl up with a book? This time it's just going to be the Board Review Series Biochemistry instead of the next "Left Behind" novel.
posted by
April at 12:58 PM
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