So, my classes began this Monday. 20 sweet hours of lectures on Gross Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology, Histology, and a course entitled "Doctor, Patient, and Society," or DPS.
By the way, I just wanted everyone unfamiliar with medical school to know the primary difference between weekend nights and weeknights for med students: on weekend nights, you stop studying at 11:30 PM instead of your customary post-midnight collapse!
I'm only kidding, of course. Classes have been pretty great so far. Lots of material to absorb, and it's not going to stop any time soon, but a lot of it has been review from undergraduate courses up to this point. So, really, the question isn't whether or not I understand it, but whether I can recite all the details of what we've been covering from rote memory. For instance, do you know what type of epimers glucose and galactose are? DO YOU?!? Well, then, send in an application for medical school today!
The class that I've been enjoying the most (as I kind of figured before I got here) has been Gross Anatomy. I loved the Musculoskeletal Anatomy course I took at Notre Dame, and this has been largely an extension of that one, with more vasculature, physiological integration, and clinical correlations. Additionally, it's the course here with the greatest lab component incorporated into it. That's right, chums: we get cadavers!
The first lab session was this past Tuesday, and I was extremely amped up and ready to slice. You could tell that everyone else was excited, as well. One student even fainted during lab! Of course, if you told me that someone would faint the first day of lab, I would have assumed that it was from the odor of formaldehyde, or perhaps squeamishness associated with confronting a deceased human being, preserved for the purposes of instructing young doctors-to-be. But oh no! This young man fainted because we were standing up for an hour and a half, not doing anything, and he locked his knees --> no musculovenous pump to return blood to his trunk, and presto! Med student, meet floor. Two of my new buds were standing right next to him, and couldn't respond quickly enough to prevent his collapse. Fortunately, the student only injured his pride, and neither his coccyx nor his cranium.
Yesterday we had our White Coat Ceremony. This was a small event where the faculty bestow upon us the white coats of the profession. A medical student's white coat is typically much shorter than a full M.D.'s, descending to about the level of the waist, rather than the full professional's mid-thigh. At the ceremony were several dignitaries from the Commonwealth of Dominica, including the President, Dr. Liverpool. I think (and I kind of hope, given the climate down here) that it will be the only time that I will be dressed in slacks and a tie for the entire first semester. Typically, my camera was nonfunctional!
Tomorrow, I'm signed up for a "whale watching" tour! I'll be sure to take some photos (if the SONY gods are kind), which reminds me - I finally uploaded pictures from my first week on the island, but I had to do so to my "me.com" site. Here's the link: http://gallery.me.com/taylorpalfrey/100017. I wanted to add all of my captions before I posted the link, but I've been trying to focus on courses as much as possible. First exam is only three weeks away!
Hopefully, as the semester rolls along, I'll be posting weekly updates about my activities (assuming I continue to, you know, DO things) and about life in general as a med student on the island. If it gets boring, or if there's some burning question on your mind, please comment or email me to let me know what you want to hear about, and I'll be happy to oblige. For now, take care!
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