#like there’s a microbiology lab & a dissection lab & a cadaver lab

[theforumcat]

Hi! Hi! How are you? On the college tour I went to the College of Science and then with a Biology professor. Unfortunately, I had to choose one professor so I was unable to go with the Microbiology and Immunology professor or the Mathematics and Statistics professor sad face. But it was cool! I went to an anatomy lab with dissection assistants and I touched two cadavers! Also a brain with nervous system and a heart and other things! I felt a normal artery and a hardened artery - they are very different. Lungs are very squishy and cool! None of the other organs were as squishy as the lungs. The nervous system was sturdier then I expected it would be. And the lungs were squishier! The cadavers reminded me of chicken. Do the cadavers you work with look like chicken? Are the lungs you work with squishy? Are your lungs squishy?

That’s okay! Biology is a really good place to start for the Micro and Immunology path, and if you go straight for a uni, I recommend not formally declaring and starting with a path that follows a generalised version of where you’re leaning, then actually declare second or third year when you’re finishing up with your gens. That way you’re a little acquainted with the department and know you’re where you want to be. And have a chance to find out what professors you want to specifically aim to get and which ones should be avoided for your degree-specific courses, which are the ones that really matter

I don’t like maths so. Like. Can’t weigh in on. Stats is the best type of maths, though!

Lungs ARE very squishy and cool! Unfixed brains are WAY squishier though. And livers. Lungs just tend to stay squishy after getting formaldehyded because of their structure. And yeah, sclerotic and unsclerotic arteries may as well be on different planets

The bodies I work with usually do not look like chicken; that’s more a feature of scientific cadavers than regular people who are dead. Normally people are kinda reddish-pink. When I encounter lungs they’re even squishier! And my lungs are super squishy. 11/10 Squish factor

[withgoodintcntions]

Moving on up.

It’s been over a year since I last wrote a post for this blog, and a lot has happened in the interim. Where to begin? In reading over the posts of M1-past, I am struck by how vivid a picture I painted of my first month of medical school--and how much has changed between that point and now. 

For starters, I’ve now seen so many SPs that touching a stranger or asking them questions otherwise unsuitable for civilized conversation is no longer a foreign feeling. Once I made the (what should have been obvious) connection that white coat equals a certain set of privileges and responsibilities with respect to personal space, I fairly quickly adjusted. I still remember the first time I did an exam other than HEENT. At that point, looking in people’s ears, eyes, and noses was now normal. Having them undress so I could take a look at their abdomen was certainly not. Again, with time, shock and uncertainty was replaced with confidence and self-assurance. Since then, I’ve learned a full lymph node exam, abdominal exam, chest exam, vision testing, cognition, neurological function and muscle strength/range of motion exams. I survived the dreaded evolution of taking a full patient history. I’ve now done it in the context of not only the well-looking patient, but one clutching their head in agony. I’ve counseled patients on diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, weight loss methods, and how to properly use an inhaler. I’ve learned basic suture techniques, IV placement, injections, and intubation. 

In short: I look back at who I was then, and only through reading my reflections can I remember what it was like before I had the mantra of ‘CC, HPI, PMSHx, FHx, social, ROS’. The entirety of M1 year, we had checklists to help guide our histories of various present illnesses and to make sure we hit all of the most important physical exam techniques. Now, we’re tossed in the deep end and asked to swim--and it’s not that difficult to stay afloat. 

Classwork is still the same as it ever was, but I’ve streamlined my entire approach. I am very selective about which lectures I attend. I spend the majority of my time using outside resources to make sure I’m learning the material for each block in the order I need and with the right amount of emphasis on every component. I have tricks for learning pharmacology and microbiology. I’ve cultivated a small but effective library of textbooks that now live on a bookshelf by my (recently acquired) desk. I’ve got a comfortable work space set up with candles, task lighting, and a view to keep me from never seeing the sun, because I’m always here, working on something. 

My insights on life beyond studies still hold true. As predicted, times did get tough periodically. Running, volleyball, studying at a local Starbucks, and finding good groups of friends to study with really helped. Self care really can’t be emphasized enough in medical school. I’ve seen first-hand over the last year or so the toll it can take when you don’t take care of yourself. It’s a struggle to find a balance that keeps things tolerable, and at times you hate everyone and everything. To be frank, it sucks, but the good part is that if you take the time to look around and open up to your colleagues, you’ll find you’re not alone. Sometimes, that’s all you need to tip things back in your favor. 

I wish I’d taken the time to write about my first experience with our cadaver. I couldn’t even try to re-capture that moment. However, when we returned from our summer break, we found we had fresh cadavers to continue our dissections with. I couldn’t have been more awestruck by the delicate beauty of the fine nerve fibers piercing through muscle tissue as they coursed to their destinations. As I examined the tiny blood vessel running alongside each white strand, I realized how much my eye had developed for those sorts of details. Over the course of the last year, we examined the musculoskeletal system, sliced brains into cross-sections to study the structures therein, and removed hearts and lungs to study their lobes and valves. Now, we’ve come to the GI tract. Even though our cadaver honestly reeks to high heaven due to an inadvertent gallbladder decompression maneuver and an unusual amount of standing fluid, I have enjoyed every moment of lab. Searching through mesentery for vasculature and separating layers of muscles brings peace to an otherwise chaotic block--a feeling that has slowly developed since the very first time I laid scalpel to skin to expose what was underneath.

Other things have changed in my life. As I’d hoped, I found a better living situation with a roommate who is largely a joy to be around. We spend what little free time we have playing volleyball, cooking, and getting (very sporadic) pedicures. Though I enjoyed the change of pace that came with living alone, I have equally enjoyed having her here to distract and commiserate with. Though it seems like just yesterday I was assigned a ‘big sibling’ in the M2 class, I now have a ‘little sibling’ of my own to keep an eye on. It has been nothing short of extraordinary getting to know the new M1 class, and truly eye-opening. I recall looking at the M2 class above me with awe as they confidently strutted onto campus for their OSCE days. They seemed so calm and collected, like they had their lives together. Now, a year later, I find I am that M2, and it’s my job to assure the M1s below me that this time next year, they will be just as confident to don the white coat and enter an exam room. 

As we move toward the end of this block, I am cognizant of the fact that it has not been my favorite one. A chaotic final week of exam prep is about to commence, and with it comes responsibilities that seem to have tripled since my first days here. The biggest change I can cite in this moment is how relatively unperturbed I am. Eventually, you begin to roll with the punches; and not a moment too soon. That flexibility I spoke of when I was moving across the country is still invaluable. The week ahead brings thousands of flash cards, practice clinical vignettes, the weekly case assignment, and likely a few unforeseen obstacles. Thankfully, I’ve got friends, a free yoga class, and two pairs of sneakers ready for a jog to carry me through. This not-so-freshly-minted M2 is ready to say so long to GI, and hello to Renal!

#m2 #med student #med school life #the ramblings of a med student #I'm sure nobody reads this but me #but that's the whole point of this thing