From our anonymous insider…
We have four straight days of exams, covering clinical exam skills, biochemistry, anatomy and cellular biology. Exams begin at 8:00 am, but on two days we were finished by noon. Our first, and main exam is a practice NBME Step 1 using prior, retired questions. The biochemistry and metabolism questions are quite similar to the MCAT. A classmate sent a message our GroupMe after he finished the exam: “There goes my Derm practice out the door.” Anita, and some of the other more sensitive, nervous individuals, did not find this funny. (Dermatology, along with orthopedics and surgery, are some of the most competitive residencies, requiring high Step 1 scores to get matched.)
Anatomy was a sore subject for many. The exam required detailed knowledge of discrete muscle group innervations. There was grumbling afterwards: “I couldn’t read the poor quality images”; “Who cares what the fascial layer is called?” I am grateful our medical school still purchases cadavers for us to learn anatomy; numerous schools are replacing cadavers with electronic images for anatomy education. There is no substitute for the real thing.
After our last exam, we were invited to a cocktail party by a wealthy local sponsor of the medical school. It was pouring rain, but they had a valet service working in their front yard–I’m not sure it was a big night for valet tips given the medical students’ typical debt load. The mayor and board members of the local health system were there to welcome our class to the city. The city symphony director played a few original jazz compositions on the piano. The class stayed late drinking martinis at the open bar and smoking free cigars.
I learned about tension among some physicians who teach us. Most of them love it. However, some are frustrated by the pressure from the health system to teach yet still are expected to have the same patient load. Instead of spending less time with their overbooked patients, they usually just stay later.
The celebration continued at our classmate’s apartment complex. Our whole class was there, including the few married couples. The diversity of ages and lifestyles was illustrated by someone doing the college-favorite “slap the bag” of disgusting Franzia wine next to the 27-year-old father of two.
Statistics for the week… Study: 35 hours; Sleep: 7 hours/night (more than previous weeks due to going to bed earlier); Fun: 1 night out at cocktail party after exams.
The Whole Book: http://tinyurl.com/MedicalSchool2020
I like the literary use of foreshadowing (in this case some kind of complete Anita meltdown)
Someone needs to remind Anita that she needs to chill since she can just marry a dermatologist and cash out later. Or maybe that is not an option for her if she is not a dude magnet. I wonder if she’s the kind not to marry beneath her, like most female doctors I know.
German: If by “marry beneath her” you mean “marry someone with a lower income,” that’s a financially risky move for a woman, depending on the state or country where she ends up living. See http://www.realworlddivorce.com/MassachusettsPrenuptialAgreements for the “incentive to cheat” example of the fund manager and how much her husband got paid to have sex with other/younger women.