Damn Brits...

I have a love-hate relationship with british soccer players. Today was the Tufts grad school team's first game, and we played Harvard's business school... I'd say 80 percent of their players were from the UK, something I appreciate - growing up with british soccer coaches, but I'm also not a big fan of playing against them. They tackle so tough... I walked away from the game with multiple knocks on my knees and ankles. Limeys know how to play hard, which I respect, I just hate being on the other end of the tackle. It felt good to play hard, to win and to compete on the soccer field again. Oddly enough it reminds me of why I'll never be a surgeon. What does that have to do with soccer? Good question, I'll tell you:

I've broken my hand twice. Both times playing soccer. Imagine doing seven grueling years of residency after 4 years of building up debt in medical school, breaking your hand and then losing your money makers... Not a good place to be. For that reason, I will never be a surgeon.

Now that I'm on a consistent soccer team, I'm starting to feel a little more settled in Boston. I wonder when it will become "home"... There are a few things, however, that I will never be happy about in this city...

1. Drivers/driving in Boston. The roads are a mess and regularly lack signs, but that's nothing compared to the sh*t-show caused by the way people drive. I watch accidents almost happen every day on my 3 block walk to the T station (subway). I've seen pedestrians almost get hit and watched a lot of drivers shout and flip each other off. Chill folk.

2. Boston is an awesome city, but it lacks landscape. If you've been to Seattle you understand. After moving I realize how beautiful that city is. FTW.

3. This isn't particular to boston, but the amount of damage done to my ears on a daily basis... The T is super loud. What amazes me are the people who listen to their ipods on the T... especially when its loud enough for me to hear what they are listening to... when I'm not even sitting next to them. I can't say it enough, invest in companies that make hearing aids now... you'll be able to retire quite well if you do that. Us kids is losing our hearing from all our ipods and our crazy rap music and technology!

The photo is from the Blue Scholars show I was at on Wednesday. They are an amazing hip-hop group from Seattle, and also went to UW. Fantastic.

One-year anniversary...

Exactly one year ago I met one of my current medical school classmates (who is now one of my closests friends) at my first interview, which happened to be here at Tufts. It's amazing to think of the chances, that we would end up here together and then become such close friends. I remember sitting at the table during lunch, nervous, eager, excited, stressed… basically full of emotion… talking to a current Tufts med student and listening to his experiences and take on life in medical school.

Today, exactly a year later, my friend and I are on the other side of the table…. one might say "the tide has turned," or "the winds have changed…" what I mean by that is we are back at that same table but this time eating lunch with interviewees who are asking about our experiences in medical school and our take on Tufts. A lot has changed in a year. I have an entirely new set of friends, live in a new environment, switched from the West to East coast, officially went into major debt, and have even seen patients who take my clinical advice as if I were a physician…. silly.

With our first exam behind us followed by an awesome night of dancing and partying, we are back in the mix. Starting at 8:30am the next day, we had a patient presentation on Lupus, followed by more dull science-heavy courses, and now preparing for the start of my shadowing experience in the emergency department at Tufts med. The amount of time to unplug and chill is essentially zero. During lunch with the interviewees, we were asked how med school compared to being an undergrad…. as much as I want to say its not a huge change… it really is. Imagine having a midterm in Genetics, Biochem, cell bio, and molecular bio on the same day (a 3.5 hour test), but instead of having plenty of time to study, you don't because so much is going on… clinic, other activities, soccer, seeing friends, sleep, cooking food, exercise… yep, it gets to the point where you actually factor in how much time you will spend cooking… I rarely cook anymore. It's sad.

On the note of time, I've run out of it and will have to write/blog some more stuff later. Off I go to the emergency department to get a taste of life in the fast lane!

Stick it.

The room was warm, but that wasn't why I had to wipe my forehead with my arm to keep the sweat from dripping on my patient's left arm where I was about to put a needle into her vein. In a moment like this you have to be confident, hide the fact they are the first non-medical student that you will be drawing blood from, and not doubt for a second that you will succeed... even though you can't see her vein... That's when the confidence kicks in. Relying on tactile senses, I felt for the vein, stuck the needle in, saw the flash of blood in the first chamber, and with a little bit more maneuvering (mostly putting the needle in a little deeper), we filled the test tube with dark red, minimally oxygenated, venous blood. After that, I became the first 1st-year to be certified to draw blood at the free clinic that Tufts students run. I stuck it.

You wouldn't think it, but the first couple times you put a needle into someone else is actually quite stressful. A few weeks ago, the first student to practice on me, one of my friends, was shaking so much that she had to pause and collect herself. We then talked through and reviewed the steps she would take, and after settling herself, she got back to drawing my blood. Now that I've drawn blood a handful of times, I can't stop touching my veins, or noticing when one of my friends has superficial veins. It's strange.

I wonder, what will it be like the first time I assist in a surgery, or even just place a chest tube, or drain fluid from someone... will I be feeling the same way I felt when I first drew blood? Does it get easier? Does it get more or less exciting?

As you can see, the clinic experiences are the ones that carry the most weight for most medical students. In class, we get wrapped up in details and stress about the next exam which happens to be a week from now. We will be assessed on our knowledge of a combination of the courses we are currently taking, biochem, genetics, cell bio... They'll give us 3.5 hours, and after that we'll be that much closer to four years from now when we become what the outside world considers "competent..." This material is simply not my thing, which makes it that much more frustrating that I've spent roughly 20 hours since friday studying this stuff (its monday right now). I'm looking forward to neuro and anatomy, which both come later in the year. Until then, I shall keep on studying (this was my study break).