Return From Hiatus, With A Bright White Coat

Despite having nearly nothing to do for the past few weeks, I just could not find time to write a new post. It is truly a tragedy. Anyways, some things have changed since we last spoke. Most notably, I have made the transition from premed student to medical student. This was accomplished through a symbolic and somewhat odd ceremony called the White Coat Ceremony. Like a mini-graduation, several of the deans spoke to us and our family/friends/passing hobos about the significance of the occasion and offered advice about how to proceed forward. Then, four at a time, we are called up to the stage and "coated" by one of the deans. This was followed by a recitation of a modified version of the Hippocratic Oath, which was followed (I think) by drinking.

The odd part of the ceremony was two-fold. First, it was inordinately humid out, so everyone was drenched in sweat by the time we finished. Secondly, it seemed strange to hold such an elaborate celebration before we actually accomplished anything. Don't get me wrong, we all got into med school, which is a feat on its own. But I think the ceremony would make more sense between the 2nd and 3rd year. That's the bigger transition, when you go from student in lecture to student in practice.

Regardless, the start of school is still something to be excited about. Unfortunately, most of the week was spent in orientation type events, so we've yet to dive in deep (that changes starting tomorrow). So, what do I have on my plate for the next few months? Well, I've got your standard biochemistry and anatomy courses. We also have two courses in public health and human behavior, one each. Finally, we have a couple clinical med and problem based learning courses. At first glance, it may seem like your ordinary (difficult) college schedule. The deceptive part is that we have multiple lectures per subject per day. For example, tomorrow I have a three hour anatomy block, followed by two hours of lectures in biochem and another 1.5 hour public health lecture. That's how they get you. I have 6 hours of biochem, 9 hours of anatomy (lab starts next week), 8.5 hours of public health, and 3 hours of behavior. And that's just lecture time; many more hours of study are required for mastery. I'm starting to get that fire hose analogy now.

Anyways, I'll try to do better about posting. Maybe I'll even get on a schedule. Consistency is key! Here's to the start of an exciting four years!