I didn’t take a picture of it (yet), but I now have a medical school locker. This locker is located on the 3rd floor, which seems to be a most sacred level. Why is that?
The 3rd floor houses the anatomy lab, which houses our first patient – the cadaver. Think about it this way… The cadaver was once an animate human. It lived. It had a life, likely also a family. Who knows? I may have once briefly crossed paths with the cadaver I will be working on tomorrow. This once-was-alive-person will be the first to teach me critial knowledge about the human body. He/She will be a gift and, in my opinion, will be one of the most memorable patients I will ever come across. I haven’t met this person yet, but ahead of time, thank you for your last gift.
(Anyhow… outside people aside from medical school faculty/personnel/students are not permitted in the 3rd level).
Our day started out with a motivational speech from a local phyisician and medical faculty member. His essential message was,
Be passionate about the field you are going into because if you are not, I can tell you right now that it will not be worth it.
He went on to explain his hierarchy of things that are most important in the life of a physician.
- Family. Be it the first steps of your child or spending more time with your parents before they pass, be with your family and treasure them as much as possible. Time is a theif and you’ll wish you had done so when you are no longer able to.
- Mentor. Your life will be filled with ups and downs. All happiness all the time would make it a boring life. Have someone available to you whom will be non-biased and non-judgemental towards you, someone who will help you realign yourself, someone who will help you move forward in this world.
- Passion. If you don’t have it, it’s not worth it. It simply isn’t. Have an unconditional love for everything involved in medicine. What follows passion is, then, compassion.
- Communication. This follows compassion. Have a dialogue with yourself, the people around you, with your patients. Voice the good and the bad.
- Touch Therapy. So often, physicians never look up from the medical chart and see the patient themselves. Don’t be afraid to hold their hand.
- Teamwork. If you are not a team player, medicine is not for you. Here’s a particularily striking thought: Wellness begins with the word, “We.” Illness begins with the word, “I.”
- Leadership. In an emergent setting, everyone will want to do something. Someone will want to tend to wounds, someone will want to ventilate, and so on and so forth. When you can, be the person in the background who runs the show. (Great leaders are hardly ever known).
- Don’t Aim Low. It is important to have a purpose in life. Succeed. Do well. Work towards something. There is something more out there than to you just breathing and “going through the motions.” Find it. Have a purpose. Don’t aim low.
He gave us (well, me, at least) quite a bit to think about. I thank him for sharing his experiences.
After that, there was more talk about student health insurance options. What I essentially have to remember is this: In April, sign up for summer coverage!
Safety issues were discussed. It was suggested that we sign up to receive texts or emails from the emergency alert system on our campus.
Learning resources were discussed. I plan to make use of the counseling center, specifically for guidance in dealing with extreme test anxiety.
A learning system overview was presented to us. We were told,
You are now part of the medical fraternity. Welcome.
I’m telling you… everytime someone mentions that I am a part of this world, I glow with joy. This is real.
For those who want to know a bit about the academic intensity in medical school, read this:
The nine courses you will be taking this semester are equivalent to thirty-four (34) undergraduate credits.
Holy expletive.
Nonetheless, the medical school expects that we, as students, experience a sincere thrill for learning about the awesome, volumonous information that we will have the privilage to learn. We must also not present behavior unbefitting of a medical student. We are now professionals. Forever more, we are students who will be expected to continually prove ourself, to certify and re-certify. Science and health is ever expansive, and we must do what we can to stay current.
Later on, study techniques were discussed, as were topics in complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine. I am pleased to find out that our medical institution is taking these avenues of medicine seriously.
Soon thereafter, cultural competency was discussed by a phyician I would like to contact in the near future. He is a neonatologist, which is (in all likelihood) the field that I would love to pursue. He spoke our need to learn how to interact effectively with people of different cultures.
Remember. By the time that you are full-fledged, practicing physicians, we will have been trained in the Western form of medical thinking and beliefs. We will have a clear outline. But the majority of patients won’t. Be open to learning from them. So long as they do not put themselves in danger, do not discredity their believes and concerns. Truly speak with them, and collaborate.
This topic, of all in the day, truly touched upon the work I had been doing in the last two years at the children’s hospital. I hope that we will continue to have more exposure to this topic throughout the school year.
Finally, a student panel was held and we discuessed things about the coming courses.
I now leave you with images of the day….
A great lunch was provided by the school. A great majority of us sat outside and ate together.
A quick view of the speakers of the day:
And finally, a view of the student panel (ranging from M2’s to M4’s to MD/PhD students):
Chispirita Dares to Dream 