You want to practice what on me?

Today, I performed my first fine needle aspiration (FNA). This is an easy procedure to perform and relatively painless for the patient, commonly compared to getting blood drawn. FNAs are generally a diagnostic procedure performed by a pathologist to remove some cells and decide what's going on in that lymph node or lump on your arm, and how to effectively treat it. My two friends and I signed up for this pathology selective before school even began because it was the ONE selective that said we would get "hands-on experience," and what more can a med student ask for when they are used to studying in hermit-mode 12 hours a day?

So, we wear our white coats and hospital-approriate attire, get lost twice in the hospital because we have no clue where we are going, and show up right on time to our clinic.

Our clinic, with our patients.

Our patients, two bananas.

Yes. I performed my first FNA on a banana. And I talked to it. I said, "Ok, Mr. Banana, you are going to feel a slight pinch on three..... 1...2....3.....There we go..... just a few more seconds.... I'm going to remove the needle now.... aaaaand.... we're done!"

Bananas, and fruit in general, are great patients because who gives a crap if you mess up. The funny part is, even though it is a banana, we all still get nervous performing the procedure because we are being watched by our peers and our preceptor. Now, after successfully performing my FNA on Mr. Banana, and creating a beautiful slide might I add, I would feel 10x more confident doing it on a real patient.

Banana Jesus?

This got me thinking about all of the procedures we have to learn to perform, and how potentially terrifying it can be if we have to perform them on a real patient for the first time.

For you non-med folks, we basically learn how to take a history and perform a physical exam on Standardized Patients (SPs), who are community volunteers trained to assess us. Then, we have one week of training right before our third year begins, at which we practice the basics on each other. After that, thrown to the wolves!

I remember my first physical exam evaluation... my hand was shaking as I drew the H for the eye exam... my stethoscope got caught in my hair... and then the real kicker, I had my patient raise his hands during the musculoskeletal portion and WHOA! I got flashed. Totally forgot to give him a drape. Whoooops.

The second week of M2 year we have a physical exam evaluation that we have to pass in order to finish the year. I felt super accomplished when I waltzed in there... hair pulled back this time... immediately handed my patient a drape, performed everything without shaking, had time for lots of small talk, and finished 8 minutes early.

Obviously, the more time we spend with patients and the more practice we have, the more confident and successful we are at performing procedures, even if it is a basic physical exam.

Last year, I shadowed my mentor in Internal Med a lot. I would get there early in the morning, usually before she did, to peruse the board, chug a coffee, and scope out which residents I should make nice with. Eventually, some of the residents got used to me being there and would ask me to do things, obviously thinking I was a third year student and not just a mere first year. This is basically the normal conversations that I had:

Resident: "Hey, go grab an ABG from 25A"

Me: "Ok, what's an ABG?"

Resident: "Are you kidding me?"

Me: "No, that's okay, I can look it up."

Resident: "It's an arterial blood gas! What year..... ohhhh that's right. You're only an M1. Fine. I'll do it. Come with me and pay attention."

So, how do we learn to do the more invasive procedures? Well, cadaver lab is a good place for surgery. And shoe laces are great for surgical knots. The banana, an excellent patient. And then, there is each other.

My friend and I signed up to learn how to put in IVs last year.

Here is my hand afterwards:

I have learned to ask this question with all seriousness, "You want to practice what on me?"

Of course, my answer is still yes, as long as I get to practice it next.

Ouch.

Get out your violins and play me a sad song!

On Thursday, I woke up to one of the worst omens ever, especially for a medical student.

I woke up

with

the

dreaded

sore

throat. 

I immediately checked for swollen lymph nodes, and Oh! Poor me! I had some. I refused to believe that I was getting sick because I had a Pharmacology exam the next day, so I went to school, studied from 10 am to 2 am, woke up at 6am Friday morning and studied until my 8:30 exam. I took my exam and came home, where I immediately realized how tired I was and how much my throat hurt. I decided to take a nap, and then woke up to repeatedly hit refresh on the school website so I could check my exam grade (gotta love that moment when you realize you passed, never gets old). Friday night my friends and I went out to a huge concert and had a great time. In true Party Like A Med Student fashion, we actually rocked white lab coats and goggles, because we are that cool... and no... I'm not kidding. If you've never worn a lab coat to a festivity, you should really do it sometime. There are so many pockets for drink-holding and what not!

Anyway, I wake up on Saturday, and I have my moment of truth. No, I am not hungover. Yes, I have a sinus infection. And, lucky me, a fever. And, oh, what is that? A chest cold? Check, Double Check! When it rains, it pours!

So, I thought about what pre-med-school-me would do about this situation. The answer was sleep it off, chillax on the couch, and watch movies in between naps until I felt better.

So, that is what I did.

And now, it is Sunday night and I did nothing but rest the past two days, and I am freaking out.

Pros: I do feel slightly better, and I attribute most of it to the massive amounts of sleep I got this weekend. I didn't study for two days. I got to watch TV.

Cons: I DIDN'T STUDY FOR TWO DAYS. I DIDN'T DO MY LAUNDRY, OR CLEAN MY ROOM, OR GO TO THE POST OFFICE, OR DO ANYTHING ELSE I SAID I WOULD DO THIS WEEKEND.

Now, pre-med-school-me would be like, "ehhh! Who cares! I can do it this week after work or during my lunch break!"

Med-school-me is like, "OMGGGG WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO!? HOW WILL YOU CATCH UP!? YOU ARE ALREADY BEHIND (note: we are always behind)! I HATE YOU RIGHT NOW!!!!"

Think about it. We have exams every week. Each of these exams requires hours upon hours upon hours of learning. Rough estimate would be ~17 class hours, 40 hours outside of class... if not more. If you fail one exam, you spend the rest of the semester working even harder (possible?) and freaking out even more (possible?) to make up for it. And, if you fail one class, in most cases, you have to decelerate an entire year. Now, what person wants to be sick as hell and study for at least eight hours a day? No one. And, even if that person did, it's not great studying because what sick person can really retain a ton of info?

But, name one other career, in which if you get sick and fail a test, it could potentially cost you $70,000 and one year of your life?

This is one of those times, where normal life trumps med school life, hands down.

Now, go wash your hands and never get sick.

http://designreviver.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/php3.jpg

From Med Student to Black Widow: Every Friday

Scenario 1: 1989

Late 80's. Yours truly is 3 years old, rocking out to some Belinda Carlisle, Heaven Is A Place On Earth in my aunt's Mustang, propped up on some pillows so I can see over the dashboard.

Basically will forever be in my top 5 albums.

Note: For old time's sake, I just youtubed this song. If you are interested in a creepy music video, look no further!

Scenario 2: 1999

At 11 years old, I purchase my first CD. Obviously, it is Britney's debut album, ...Baby One More Time. I bolt upstairs to my Minnie Mouse, pink and green bedroom, pop it in my CD player, and hit play on my VCR so I can watch re-runs of Mickey Mouse Club and memorize Brit Brit's dance moves (MTV is not allowed in my house).

Scenario 3: High School Cruisin'

Well, now I am really coming into my own. I have a very mature theme song to cruise to in my Jeep (which I miss oh-so-much)... none other than Nelly's Pimp Juice. Lyrical genius.

Ex 1: "You ain't from Russia, so ----- why you rushin'?"
Ex 2: "Treat you like you from Milwaukee, send you Green Bay Packin'"

But, it is this third example that wins me over. For those of you who don't know what "pimp juice" is, here is the real definition.

Ex 3: "Pimp Juice is anything that attract the opposite sex
It can be money, fame, or straight intellect
It don't matter, bi*ch#$ got the Pimp Juice, too
Come to think about, they got more than we do
They got more juice in they talk, got more juice in they walk
They got more juice in they brains, oh God Da**!"

Scenario 4: High School Competin'

Back seat of the school bus. Windows down. Headphones on. I feel the anticipation build, but for now I am the calm before the storm. I'm already changed into my track uniform, and I grab my custom Nike track shoes and switch out whatever spikes look dull. Getting ready to dominate at my favorite event, the 100 Hurdles. I laugh because every time I visualize running them, I think back to the first time I ever attempted to hurdle. It was after my freshman year of high school. I was taking summer gym class and it was "track day." I was a cheerleader and I had never ran track. I was looking forward to being outside, but other than that, ugh. The teacher had us all get into a line and we had to go and jump the three hurdles that were set up. I'm pretty fast, and occasionally cocky, so I'm thinking, "no big deal, I'm gonna rock this."

When it's my turn, I take off at full speed, stutter step, breeze over the hurdle and somehow manage to cross my legs in air. Next thing I know, my entire body is rolling across the track, impaling itself with pieces of red rubber. I lay there, unsure if I am still alive. Everyone's silent. And then, a senior yells out, "FRESHMAN!!!" and everybody starts to laugh. It was painful, on many fronts. 

When I decided to run track the next year, I was terrified when my coach signed me up for hurdles because of my flexibility. Who would have thought I'd make districts within four meets??? 

That year started a trend, and before every track meet, I would listen to "I'm Really Hot" by Missy Elliot. 

Scenario 5: College Time

Walking to my first Physics exam, I am terrified of the unknown. Listening to my iPod, this song comes on, and it appropriately becomes my theme song for every college exam. 

The pre-exam walk is definitely the "Highway to Hell."

 

Scenario 6: MED SCHOOL

I'm in a closed room, walls covered with white boards, white boards covered with mechanisms and drug names. My caffeine level is approaching toxic, my legs are quivering and my chest is tight with pre-exam stress. I'm in sweatpants and the same shirt I wore yesterday, and I may or may not have brushed my hair this morning. 

Make-up? Does not exist. 

Sleep? What is that? 

Food? No, thank you, it would make me vomit. 

Redbull? YES! NOW!

And then, I press play. (I highly encourage you press PLAY on this one, so you can understand).

And I immediately transform from this:

To this:

I picture this scenario with my classmates:

Walking into a fight, prepared for battle. Accepting nothing less than total domination and victory. Whipping out my guns and doing flips off of walls and jumping off buildings and running through fire. And then calmly walking away after I have destroyed the opponent. How can you not picture that when listening to "Kyoto"? And does that not pump you up to walk into an exam, like a bad ass, prepared for anything, yet accepting nothing less than victory..... or at least a 70... 

How to (Not) Party on a Game Day

Today was the first home football game for my university. I love football, mostly because I associate it with my Dad. He was a football coach for around 30 years, and I'm sure he will be adding to that in the future. I grew up on a football field, practicing my three-point stance before I was three years old, and using the tackling pads to build forts, while I waited at the sidelines for practice to be over.

http://blog.growingtreetoys.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/2football-kids.bmp

I remember making plays called "Chicken and Biscuits," and my Dad actually adapting them for his teams. At the end of practice, the players would make a tunnel, and I would get to run through it with a football. They called me "Coach" and one of my most prized possessions is a gameball that my Dad gave me. My parents have been married for 25+ years, and "football" is their keyword for "I love you." I think it probably started in high school or something when Dad was too afraid to say ILY in front of his guy friends. They have it engraved on the inside of their wedding rings, and every football game that my Dad coached, he would flash my Mom the back of his clipboard, which had "FB" written on it with athletic tape. How romantic :-) Needless to say, football is a huge part of my life. 

My first year of med school I did not buy season football tickets because they were pretty expensive and I didn't know how many games I would be able to attend. I learned quickly that Saturdays function as my catch-up on sleep/Netflix/sleep days, so I decided not to buy them this year either. If anyone has ever gone to a football game in a college town where football = life, then you know that the entire city transforms into a party on gameday. It is incredible!!! EVERYONE wearing jerseys or team shirts, face tattoos or paint, pom poms, and a ridiculous amount of beer. Tailgates everywhere. My landlord actually hosted a huge party in our yard today, with a stage, DJ, free beer and free food, it was awesome. His one requirement was that we didn't swim in the pond. Considering it is a thick, murky green color, and there are carp, muskrats, and who knows what else visible at all times... he didn't have much to worry about. But, one person did go in the pond anyway. Guess who it was? The landlord. Lol.

So, here is how I partied like a med student this weekend.

Friday: 

Arrive at school early and frantically search for an unoccupied study room. Lock one down for the entire day, decide I am winning, and start studying. At noon, check out some of the summer research posters... but more importantly, snag some free lunch. Fill my plate... do the slow walk backwards to the door... turn and bolt technique. At 4:30, I realize that four hours of studying has flown by and I didn't get half of what I wanted to do done... even though I really did only get on Facebook once and worked my butt off. I am supposed to be flag football practice at 4:30, so I pack up and head out. I'm the first one at practice, 15 min late, so I assume everyone else is studying, too. Big shocker there! During our hour practice, I realize we recruited the best female QB I've ever seen. Super pumped. I want to come up with a great, hopefully nerdy, nickname for her, but so far all I can think of is "Arm." This obviously needs some work. 

Go home. My roomie begs me to shower... partly because I'm covered in mud and probably smell, but mostly because she wants to go out and knows if I sit around too long I will want to go to bed. Get our game faces on, start to party, head downtown. 

Bar Number One. Boredom hits me like a freight train and I am immediately annoyed by all of the undergrads.  "When did I get so old and boring?" flashes through my mind. And then, I do it. I party like a true med student. I pull out my iPhone, open Quizlet, and start flipping through my electronic deck of micro/infectious disease flashcards. Studying at the bar because you are bored? #MedStudentSyndrome #SeriousIllness #NotCoolMan.

Saturday:

Sleep in, because I can :-) Go tailgate. Limit myself to two beers because I need to study later. Instead of going to the game, I get a gyro at the stadium vendors and walk home. Start to study. One group in my complex's parking lot is broadcasting the game over loudspeakers, so whether I like it or not, I listen to the game. Do not mind that at all. Study. Study. Nap. Seven hours later, I am studying. People still partying in the lot. Instead of the game, they are playing music. 

Party Rock Anthem comes on. Set my pen down. Get up and shuffle by myself in my bedroom. Sit back down. Resume studying. And that, is how to party like a med student. #PharmTrumpsFootball #LMFAOTrumpsPharm

 

 

"Study Rock Anthem" - one of my fave med school vids!!!

Most Common Conversation in the Beginning of M2

Me: Pretty embarrassed about the question I'm going to ask you. No judging.

Med Student Friend: No judging here.

Me: <insert question>

MSF: I have no clue.

Me: <explain scenario that created the question>

MSF: Again, I have no clue.

Me: Don't you think this is the sh!t we should be learning!?

MSF: <insert attempt at a logical answer to question>

Me: Hmm.... That sounds good... Is that a real term? Did I learn that once?

MSF: Nope. It is my own words.

We Found Love in Rosy-Colored Glasses

Today, I discovered Lindsey Stirling. She is an amazing contemporary violinist!!! She has remade songs by Nicki Minaj and Bruno Mars, and even has her own version of the Party Rock Anthem. But, this is my favorite find, a remake of Rihanna's "We Found Love," featuring citizens from a small area of Kenya, to whom she brought the music of the violin to for the first time.

Lindsey Stirling: "We Found Love"

If it doesn't play, CLICK HERE!!!!

I have watched this video about six times now. Every time I watch it, I wish I was there. I was a public high school teacher for a year before coming to medical school, and I loved the day to day interaction with the kids, and the excited feeling I got when I saw that light bulb of learning flash on! When I see the classroom in this video, the students learning, wearing uniforms, united in their pursuit of an education and better life, it makes me so happy for the world. The news is so focused on the negative, that I gave up watching it about two years ago. Yes, our economy is in a rut, we are continuously at war, the crime and drug rates feel like they are at all time highs. Basically, the world sucks. But then, you watch a video like this, depicting a culture that was once depressed, war-ridden, and unable to obtain an education. You see the smile and joy on a child's face, and it is the quintessence of all things pure and good. You see culture, color, tradition, and a way of life. This is the kind of video that should be playing on the nightly news. I want to see the people that go out in this world and make it better. You don't have to do something world-renowned that is going to go down in history books. You can do something simple. You can play a song. You can introduce an instrument to a new culture. You can sit around a fire, dance, share stories, and even if you don't speak the same language, you are united in laughter and the celebration of life.

When I applied to med school, I was rejected from UNC for one reason: my view on the world. My first interview was with the Dean of the medical school, talk about pressure! At the end, he congratulated me on my excellent scholarship and application and told me how he hoped to see me in Tarheel blue for the next four years. I was ecstatic. Unfortunately, the Dean cannot represent candidates for admission, and my second interviewer would be taking my file to the committee. She was an emergency medicine physician who had just gotten off of a 36 hour shift. Needless to say, she was exhausted. She asked me the standard "Why do you want to go into medicine?" and I gave her my answer. She stopped me halfway through my answer, took off her glasses, rubbed her eyes, and sighed. She said, "You look at medicine through rosy-colored glasses. I don't think you're ready to be a doctor."

I had never heard that expression before, so I responded, "Rosy-colored glasses? What do you mean?"

She said, "Do you really think you are going to help people all of the time? Don't you know how many negatives there are in this field?"

I was shocked.

1. This was my med school interview. What candidate is going to waltz in there and say, "I know how bad my life is going to suck for the next... well, forever. I know a career in medicine will leave me hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, make relationships harder to maintain than normal, will make me chronically sleep-deprived and stressed, and will be extremely sad and frustrating at times." NO ONE. NO ONE is going to do that. At least, not anyone smart enough to get into med school.

2. I have seen death and dying. I have experienced the negatives. First, I was a patient.  I thought doctors were terrifying and cruel and uncaring. I actually asked a doctor if he planned on killing me once. Second, I have seen families crying for loved ones, and I have cried for loved ones. The first patient that I ever had die was a six-month old, who had sustained injuries from an abusive father. I've worked with transplant patients, seen them deteriorate, seen them turn yellow and grey, and then white from calcium literally seeping out of their skin.

So, what? Why should I focus on this? Why should I focus on the negative? Growing up, when I had a particularly bad day and all I wanted to do was gripe and moan about it, my mom would literally stop me and say, "STOP! Name three good things that happened today!!!!" And I would. And slowly, I started being able to focus on the positive.

So, how did I answer this interviewer's question? Unfortunately, I answered it very poorly, even though I knew my real answer. Like I said, I was shocked and gave her some BS about knowing how I was going to be a great doctor and I was ready to face the challenges along with the triumphs, and blah blah blah, pretty cliche stuff.

If given the chance to do it all over again, here is my answer for her.

"Yes, Doctor, I do have rosy-colored glasses, and I see nothing wrong with that. In fact, I am proud of my abilities to wear these glasses, because they help me strive to see the good in people, and be a better person myself, which will ultimately make me a damn good physician. I have seen death be gruesome, painful, and traumatizing to those left behind. But, I have also seen death be peaceful, poetic, and almost beautiful. I have experienced sickness, as a patient, too tired to stand, bruised from blood draws, bloated from water retention, fragile from weight loss. But, I have experienced the joy and relief that comes with prayers being answered in the form of a wonderful physician, who literally changed my life.  I have seen a child die from non-compliance and acute renal failure following a kidney transplant. But, I have seen children, who were born without kidneys, receive organ transplants, and add years onto their lives. I have had a child -- who had undergone over 100 surgeries, had two kidney transplants fail, and had to receive daily dialysis for over 16 years -- hold my hand and comfort me because I was terrified for my life on a hot air balloon ride. I have seen cancer leech onto a human soul and invade every crevice of a body. But, I have seen patients wage war against it, refuse to lose, battle to the brink of death, and win. Forgive me, Doctor, if I choose to focus on the battles won, the lives saved, and the miracles and gifts that medicine can provide. Believe me, I have learned from the hardships and I will never forget how it feels to be a vulnerable patient. You can also believe that I will never ever be a doctor who allows her patients or staff to focus on the negative. I will never ask a medical student to tell me about the negatives of this honored profession, nor shall I diminish and belittle the thought of helping people.  I will wear my rosy-colored glasses every single day, and I will try my hardest to represent this profession to the best of my abilities, as I try to do in all aspects of life. Besides, these rosy-colored glasses look great on me -- pink is one of my favorite colors." 

It is important to be realistic. And it is important to be aware of the negative, learn how to deal with the negative, and most importantly, learn how to move on from the negative.

I think this "We Found Love" video is a beautiful reminder of how joyous and fulfilling life can be, even amongst hardship and without a lot of material goods. When I watch this video, I wish I was there, providing medical care to these kids, while they taught me more than I could ever imagine teaching them. This video should remind us all to put on our rosy-colored glasses. Does their classroom look like the one you had growing up? How old were you when you first heard a violin? Did your babydoll look like the one that child has? Did your clothes fit you? Did you have shoes?

Maybe if we supported and publicized more acts of kindness, and if more people got fame from their good deeds and community outreach, then more people would be inspired to do good, and I could watch the news again. Or go for a run after dark when I visit home. But, that's just me, rockin' my rosy-colored glasses.

World looks beautiful with them and without them, here!

This girl knows what's up!

Rosy-colored glasses, 70s style

 

Rosy-colored glasses: Taylor Swift style

Rosy-colored glasses: My Interviewer's style

My Take on A Gleefully Biased Rant: Part I

Why You Should Not Go To Medical School: A Gleefully Biased Rant

I came across this article a few days ago, while perusing my Medical School Flipboard app. As I was reading it, I had quite a few mixed feelings. The article is a commentary on the reasons why people should not enter the medical profession, from the perspective of a medical school graduate who has decided, for the right reasons, not to practice medicine. First, I totally agree with most of his statements. For those of you that are not going to read the original article, I shall sum it up in a moment. Since I agree with them, I had the fleeting thought of "Oh, $h!t!, what am I doing in med school?" And then I reached the bottom, and the second guessing disappeared. But, he has some very valid points, and I thought them worth commenting on. I plan on doing a few blogs, each addressing a few of his points.

1. You will lose all the friends you had before medical school.

This is extremely sad because there is quite a bit of truth in it. For many of us, we have three groups of friends: childhood/high school friends, college friends, and professional friends. The further we get in our careers, the more we have in common with our current friend group, usually the professional friends. As a result, those people develop into our closest friends, transforming childhood and college buddies into mere acquaintances. Fortunately, I like to think this does not apply to me, as I have been amazingly blessed by the fact that my childhood girlfriends have remained my best friends, and truly have become like sisters. Still, I live across the country from them. I miss birthdays, weddings, camping trips, etc., and the fear is always there that we will grow apart and become nothing more than acquaintances. That is definitely the experience most of my colleagues have had, and the experience I have had with my college friends. People I hung out with for four years, I haven't talked to since before med school. It's sad. But, honestly, we don't have time. Well, make time, you may think. If these relationships are important to you, there has to be time.

False. Medical school turns even the most social and caring person into a self-involved hermit at times. Why? Because that is necessary for us to make the grade, pass the test, cure the patient, save the life.

For the most part, when we "make time," that time goes towards self-rejuvenation, family, and significant others. There are weeks where even this is a huge struggle, so making time for old friends becomes increasingly difficult. 

http://scommentary.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/girls-walking.jpg

2. You will have difficulty sustaining a relationship in medical school.

Nine of my classmates got married this summer. That absolutely wows me! Congratulations and best of luck to them, and to all of the serious couples in med school. I do not know how they do it! Comes back to that self-involved thing. Being self-involved sounds so negative, and in most circumstances, it is negative, especially when it comes to relationships - hence, the deterioration of many pre-med school friends. Like I said though, it is necessary to be self-involved and self-disciplined, at least to a certain degree, to get a MD. The successful couples in my class have a ridiculous amount of understanding between them. All of these couples were together before med school, and for us single students out there, we will most likely be single throughout med school (sad face), unless we meet another med student.

My argument: There is no time to meet someone outside of the program. Why? Because when we do actually go out, we have no friends outside of each other, therefore we go out together. I have met a few guys outside of school, and within two weeks, all hope of a potential relationship was gone. Let me give you an example using the text conversation with the guy I met last weekend.

Guy: Hey hey

Me: Hey what's up!?

Guy: Finishing work. How bout you?

Me, focused on studying and do not want to engage in conversation. Eventually forget conversation exists.

24 hours later:

Guy: You're really good at texting, by the way haha

Me, annoyed because I was studying and forgot, soooorrryyyy. 

Me: Med school does that. I'll read it in class or when busy then get side tracked.

Guy: I feel ya. What year are you? We should do something in your free time

Me: Second year. Ya for sure. (Me, thinking, "Free time? This kid has no clue. No chance.")

24 hours later:

Guy: What are you studying in med school?

Me: We don't apply for a specialty until 4th year, but I'm going into specialized peds. Currently taking path, infections dz, pharm, and clinical practice.

Guy: Sounds really fun (sarcasm).

Me, well that was meant to be funny, but I don't know you, so I'm slightly insulted and I don't have time for you anyway, why do you keep texting me? Not responding.

24 hours later:

Guy: What's up?

Me: Oh just studying, the usual

Guy: Oh geez, you gonna have free time tomorrow (Dude!? Really!?)

Me: Haha, that's funny. Class 8-430, meetings 5-730, then studying.

Guy: Haha i love how you laugh about it. Guess I won't be seeing you for awhile.

Yep, good conclusion.  

And I really get annoyed with the guys that think I'm mad at them if I don't text them back within ten minutes. I can't fault people for not understanding the time it takes to pursue this career, but I can certainly get annoyed with them, lol. And if a guy doesn't get that or at least attempt to understand right from the start, then that is neeeever going to work.

http://img.ehowcdn.com/article-new/ds-photo/getty/article/178/39/78052949_XS.jpg

How I feel when annoying texts interrupt my studying.

Basically, the only med students I know that have gotten into new relationships during medical school have all gotten into a relationship with another med student. Why? Understanding. Neither of you has lots of time, so when you do, you make the most of it together. You can complain to each other, and totally get it. You can nerd-out and get excited about biochemical pathways or clinical cases, and have an educated conversation about it. You can study together in complete silence, and be totally okay with it. You can yell at each other when you're stressed about school, and not take it personally.

It's interesting, though. I'd say my med school friends are split 50/50 on who would prefer to marry another physician and who would prefer to marry someone in a career totally non-healthcare related. In the end, whatever happens happens, but I do agree that it is very difficult to sustain a healthy relationship during med school.

To be continued...