Jeanna and I headed north by northwest this weekend for a quick trip to Dayton, OH for her cousin’s wedding. Her mother is one of eight children – most of which still live in the Dayton area – and gatherings with family are always a large affair. This weekend was no exception. Both my family and Jeanna’s have been incredibly supportive of us during this (and all) endeavors. This weekend, though, the questions centered around what cool (and gross) stuff I was learning. As it turns out, for the last few weeks we’ve been learning about parasites, and they are both fascinating and gross.
I thought the best way to show what I’ve learned – both in terms of volume and “grossness” would be to give you a list of all the parasites that we studied. Some are worms, some are not. Take some time to peruse the links below – it really is fascinating stuff. Or, you could search YouTube for just about any of the keywords below and find a video or two on the subject – like this one for Dracunculus.
Also, while I have time to post videos, the one below is one of my favorites of all time. It’s from a group called Improv Everywhere in New York City. It’s a troupe of “ordinary” folks who plan and implement incredible pranks in public places. None of the pranks hurt anyone. In fact, most of them entertain everyone who’s nearby when they happen. In the video below, 207 people synchronized their watches, walked into Grand Central Station, and froze – for five minutes. Brilliant! (If you’re having trouble with the video below, watch it here.)
Word on the street is that I’ll be a test taking machine before this is all said and done. I can certainly see how that will be the case. Last week marked the first round of exams of my medical education and they were, at the same time, stress-filled and fun.
Stress-filled because the bar is high. I’m surrounded by a brilliant group men and women who all work harder than any group I’ve ever been around – and they make it look easy. The week, and the preparation it took to make it successful, was also a lot of fun for the same reason. I’m surrounded by people who want to make themselves better, and they end up making me better in the process. It reminds me so much of Proverbs 27:17. I’m being sharpened.
I’ve also been blessed to have found a few brilliant study partners. They are a joy to be around and it’s easy to see that these young friendships will be incredibly strong after having traveled this road together. We joke about how it seems impossible that we’ve only known each other for three weeks because it simply doesn’t seem possible that good friendships can form so fast. On the other hand, we put in about 40 hours of group study time in the first three days of September, so our relationships certainly haven’t formed from thin air. I hope they know how grateful I am for their ability to teach me and how motivated I am by their excitement for what we’re doing. I’m excited too.
On a much lighter note, I got a call from another good friend in town – the best Realtor in Blacksburg, VA – offering up a couple of tickets to watch Virginia Tech battle Furman in their home opener. It took a few minutes to convince Jeanna that we should go (I even cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed as part of my negotiation) and we had a blast. The photo above is me, at the game, as seen on television. Indeed, my first Hokie football game was also my first television appearance. How cool is that!
Sorry I’ve not had much time to write this week. I’ve been a little, um, preoccupied. You should know that I’m having fun – mostly because everything we’re learning is relevant. I expect this trend to continue. I thought I’d give you a little taste of what we’ve been learning this week. These lecture objectives will give you some idea. In addition to these, we’ve typically had about two hours of ethics lectures per day – it’s a good chance to use the other side of my brain from time to time. One of these days I’ll try to do a little post on how I study and what methods I use to cram all of this stuff in.
Gotta go. Thanks for all the words of encouragement.
One of the things I’m most impressed with about VCOM is the way that students have embraced technology as a means of sharing information with one another. The SGA has created a website where students can post news, notes, study guides, and podcasts of the lectures – and it is used frequently.
Earlier today, I was looking around the site and came across a post by an MS2 who apparently stacked all of his/her course notes together, placed a ruler beside them and snapped a photo (left). The caption reads, “Here is the stack of documents for all of first year. It’s 27 pounds of knowledge.”
In less than a week, I will officially be what’s known as an MS1 – that’s Medical Student (year 1). I was talking to a friend at LACA just the other day and trying to relay to him that time has passed quickly, but I can still feel the pain of “the waiting.”
If you know me well, you know that the decision to go to medical school is one that I’ve struggled with for a long time. Truth be told, I still struggle with it. I know I will be a good doctor, one who cares about his patients and does what’s in their best interest. The thing that concerns me the most has remained the same through the years, “Can I be a good friend and family man at the same time?”
I’ve decided, for better or worse, that I will never know until try. I have real hope that this is possible, mostly because I’ve seen a few other physicians do it, specifically a small town surgeon and dear friend of my family, Pat Greer. In his unending modesty, he would say I am exaggerating – but he would be the only one. I don’t imagine he’s perfect, but, in his ability to balance his love and care for his patients with the love and care he shows his family and friends, he comes as close as anyone I have ever known.
For the past few months I’ve been bombarded with the question, “are you nervous or excited.” The answer, of course, is both. I’m ready to get started. I’m ready to step into the unknown and dig into the course material. But my concern remains in many forms: debt, time, discipline – all of these are things that can, in the name of patient care, distract me from being a good friend and family member. So, I suppose I excited about school, and nervous about its potential fallout.
In related news, I plan to frequent this space a bit more in an effort to stay connected. It worked wonderfully when Jeanna and I traveled to Central America a few years ago, and while I cherish the things we wrote while we were there, I cherish the things that our friends and family wrote much, much more – so please, comment away on this and all future posts. I’m no doctor, but I know it is good for my soul.
What’s a Hokie? I’m a Hokie!
Lecture Objectives
