Saturday, September 5, 2009

Adjusting to med school 101

3 weeks in! Our first block of exams is coming up Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

My high stress levels have refused to allow me to sleep, so i guess i'll just write down my thots on adjusting to med school so far. It's nothing like i expected. I don't think u can even anticipate how hard it's going to be. How do you quantify HARD to someone who has not gone through the process?

Anyhoo, here's Adjusting to Med School according to STING
  1. Your house becomes just a place to sleep in and take showers - You would sleep in school if it was allowed. The gym has showers. Hmmm......
  2. You mentally get dibs on a quiet study room that has the right temp (suprisingly, the rooms don't all have the same temperature) - Sleeping in on weekends (forget Weekdays) is never an option because you have to gun for that room.
  3. You turn the room into a mini parlor, complete with couch, bootleg coffee table, blanket or wrapper and a teddy bear for comfort (One of the study rooms has a couch, and everyone wants that room. My friend guns for that room like crazy. It used to be "my room" but i stopped gunning for it cos the temp is not exactly right-i like it hot)
  4. Eating healthy and exercising becomes a very distant/hazy memory - You are perpetually at risk for food poisoning, because amongst other things you keep taking that same yogurt to school, forgetting to eat it, and taking it back the next day only to repeat the same process - You find that you might forget to eat or not have time to eat with all the bullshit you have to do.
  5. Your ears totally perk up at the sound of free food - Great motivation for attending those organization meetings (Did i tell u my school is awesome? M1's had free lunches for the first 2 weeks of class)
  6. You push shame to the side and grab 2 boxes of Panera bread and a whole box of pizza (you snooze, you lose). That's lunch for a week right there.
  7. You feel stupid for refusing to braid your hair in Atlanta. 10 mins for hair styling every morning is an eternity. Washing it every week? Puhlease!
  8. Getting up to pee while studying becomes an undesirable chore. Precious seconds are being wasted while peeing. Chop, chop, there's pages to be read.
  9. You find you have to pee A LOT. Uh hum! Caffeine does that to ya!
  10. Your ill conceived idea of going at it "naturally" is thrown out the window before the first week is over. You pick your poison - FAST! Coffee, Tea, Mountain dew, Coke, Pepsi, Red bull, Monster. It doesn't matter, pick one or a combination.
  11. You perfect the act of the 10 min nap - You have to be very careful though as that can turn into a 15, 20 or 30 min nap instead - Sleepiness becomes your arch nemesis
  12. You find your "happy place" pretty quickly and you just might have to conjure it from time to time - everyday.
  13. Even though you resisted all these years, you find yourself addicted to Facebook. Gasp! It's your only quick escape. It takes a second to click, click... the next thing you know you've been there for 15 minutes. DEACTIVATE... click! Sharp, sharp!!!!
  14. You pepper inappropriate cadaver jokes in everyday conversation - You wonder if judging people in terms of their cadaver potential is weird. (eg. Today, i saw a picture of a Nigerian artiste(who shall remain unnamed) who is ripped to the core. Before, i would have drooled over him instead the first thing i said was "He will make a good cadaver". Go figure. I just might be traumatized by the experience)
  15. You start to think 24 hours a day is too short. These people must be crazy for expecting you to learn ALL these stuff in such a small amount of time.
  16. Sleep becomes a luxury you are afraid of indulging in - You can no longer remember what peaceful sleep feels like- You wake up at least 3 times a night for no apparent reason (to check the time)
  17. TV. Television. (Real Housewives of Atlanta) What is that?!!!!!!
  18. You no longer have need for your alarm - You are up and dressed before it rings.
  19. You wholly embrace the school of thought that crying relieves stress. It does. Ask me.
  20. You thank God for giving you a friend who is just as crazy as you. Laughter relives stress also. Craziness!
  21. You miss your dog something fierce - It is almost a physical pain. It really is. I misssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss you, Lenie! Dog of my life.

*** These are MY thoughts. Not everyone is going through the same thing the same way (like i said, i have classmates having parties, going to bars, playing softball and what not). I am still adjusting. I am looking to find a balance. I need good food, sleep, exercise and play. On that note, we are going drinking the night after exams are over. I'll be an alcoholic by the time 4 yrs is over.



  1. No one ever said studying medicine was a piece of cake
    Good luck!!!

  2. Whoa. That's a shit load of craziness right there! Wow. All the best o..

  3. All the best. I know it's not easy and I can only imagine how it is but I know it'll be worth it. Hang in there!!

  4. WELCOME to the club hun. lol.

    Babe, those past tests r highly needed, i know that's d only way i managed to pass histology. But of course u have to study, jus incase the sch finds out and digs deep into the question bank.

    I can so relate with almost everything u posted, jus that my studying has to be done in my secret hiding place i.e my room, cuz the tiniest creak disturbs me, much less another human being.

    Oh and start forming study groups with serious people, that ALWAYS helps. As long as u choose the right ppl.

    Don't worry, with time u will find a balance

  5. lol...all the best oh.
    you'll soon cope with all the craziness.

  6. my prof used to say - "you have to work really hard to enjoy your vacation" after all this hardwork (for 4 yrs..) the grad party will really rock...

    yup, the rooms don't all have the same temperature..

    all the best in next week's exams

  7. Study groups r the ish...2 bad i learend that 2 late in the game(not like i went 2 med school lol)... u shud invest in one :). Free food is always awesome. Goodluck mamasita

  8. Omg this is sooo me. We have different floors in the library and only one room gets the temperature right! At 1 am you start thinking of how to find food knowing all the shops are closed. It's romero make friends with those who live on campus cos u don't and even though u love just 5 mins away, the thought of going home to get food is just long. Then the naps! Omg. Get the time right and u are refreshed. Too long a nap and u are tired and
    can't concentrate. As for facebook, it's all about timing. Only go on it after one hour of studying and refresh the home page and be out!!! Lol. ! Oh I miss uni
    good luck dear

  9. Pele dear, I'm sure you'll develop an effective defence mecahnism soon. God is your strength, and all the best...

    P.S - I didn't need Med School to discover how short a 24-hour-day is. You'll be just fine, I'm sure.

  10. laughed out dog of my life..dont knw why…you’l have the title dr isn’t easy…nothing in life is anyways…all the best

  11. You can do it, sting! You're right; this is an adjustment period and it may take more or less time than you think it will. I'm so glad you've made a friend that you can go through the ups and downs with — it's so nice to have someone who gets what you're going through.

    I just started watching Grey's Anatomy on dvd (just finished the first two seasons, now on season 3) and some of this craziness sounds like what the interns are going through.

    Cadavers! I don't know if I could deal.

  12. Oh, I also wanted to say that I'm glad you're loving the school. I know at first you weren't so sure how that would go...

  13. goodluck girl. these are the days of your sowing. you will definitely reap ur reward

  14. all the best gal! you brought up memories I thought I had long repressed, coke and bread was my staple food and it was a chore even then to get up and buy it, talk less of eating!
    You will do well and in a few years this will all be a distant memory.
    When you switch to clinical school you will begin to diagnose on the go, hey the newscaster has a squuint, that lady has neurofibromatosis,etc

    lol @ seeing pips as cadavers!



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