Semester number one done! The sacry thing my friend Julie pointed out is that in a mere 7 semesters they unleash us onto the world as doctors. That is a humbling thought I'd I ever had one.
You all may have noticed the lack of posts recently mainly due to the overwhelming load of information being packed into my head. I was desperately worried that if I attempted to use my English skills the bulk of that information would tumble out of the files in my brain. Now after taking a bit to decompress I feel it is safe to write.
Over the past semester I have taken Principles in Clinical Medicine, Osteopathic Practices and Principles, Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms, Musculoskeletal, Cardiorespiratory, and Gastrointestinal. A semester of 6 classes totaling 32 credits. Well that is as long as you trust my math! The average week had over 30 hours of lecture and lab plus studying after that. I tried to keep it under 14 hours a day but at times I failed on that front. I wish I could say it was going to improve bu t in looking at the schedule for next semester I don't believe it will.
The one thing that will improve is my ability to deal. This past semester was an exercise in learning study skills. During myundergrad I studied (and stressed) the night before the test maybe a couple of days before a final. Unfortunately that doesn't work in medical school. It's ok though because I am figuring it out.
Our school was generous enough to give us finals for our last 3 classes over the month or December. Finals started out with a written and practical exam for the Osteopathic Principles class. The practical portion put our semester of skills to the test, of all the techniques we learned our exam came down to one. As it seems to work I ended up with the one I felt weakest in! Next we had our unit test and anatomy practical for GI which was rough for the whole class. The next Monday we had a written exam for clinical medicine followed by a standardized patient experience. The SP is a chance for us to practice our clinical and interviewing skills with trained patients. Many students have mixed feelings about it, but I love it because it is what I came to learn about. For those who have done EMT it is like an extended scenario. Finally on this past Monday we took our final exam for GI! Now I have until the 2nd to decompress.
