Week 6: Medschool Impossible

For any of you that questioned how a medical student has time to go to the zoo? The answer is that they really don't. I've rather been extremely busy reading and writing, writing what? Obviously not the blog as these recent posts have come belatedly, but rather this: a 450 page masterpiece that spans three weeks worth of work at Mayo Medical School in genetics and histology - and these are only my notes. At this rate I'll graduate with 30,000 pages of notes! Just think of the forests that I would kill just printing this up. Good thing that I've adopted a 100% digital system that I would highly recommend to my current and future medical buddies out there: Microsoft OneNote 2007.

We had some unique breakout sessions in genetics this week which was out of the ordinary by visiting some of the resources available here at Mayo, including touring its cytogenetics lab, it molecular diagnosis lab, and another genetics lab which I've clearly forgotten the name of. It's worth mentioning that the first week of school we also had a tour of the microscopy labs here including transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The highlight of the week however was spending the afternoon observing my mentor again - an orthopedic surgeon. I observed him in clinic this week as he visited pre-op or post-op with patients. In treading the path of becoming a doctor I asked him inquiring what directions he used when he was walking in my same shoes. Medicine or Surgery is the short answer that I need to know in two to three years. For now: Physical Examination of the Spine and Extremities should keep me busy as I self train to examine his patients in the future. Fitting in time for this extracurricular study is going to be challenging in light of recent developments:

So ever since we've acquired expanded cable, I've fallen in love with Wednesday night's Food Network show: Dinner Impossible in which the chef is put in increasingly more difficult situations to try to successfully cook and feed VIP guests. Someone pulled a quick one of three quarters of the class including myself as some cryptic class came into our schedule radar for the next three weeks from 2-6 pm called "Disruptions in Development." Just to illustrate - this class runs through the day before the final in genetics and histology which by themselves have already absorbed 98% of my waking hours. So starting with Week 7-9 we now have class consistently from 8am-6pm with the only break being 12-2 pm for lunch which we spend 1-2 pm reviewing histology. How fun. I feel that I've become my Wednesday night idol and am myself placed in my own reality show: Medschool Impossible.

To the credit of Mayo though it is pass/fail and I only need a 70% to pass… but when was it even a remote consideration of mine to not pass a class, and especially not get a 70% or more? Oh, I wait... I think that time would be no. Welcome to medical school, we've kicked it up a notch.