Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Med Student in the Veggie Aisle

With finals over,  some of us decided to get together and make sushi. I am allergic to basically everything in sushi, except rice, so my pal came up with the most American sushi concoction ever. Bacon, marinated chicken, jalapenos,  green peppers, carrots, avocado, rice.  Did I mention bacon??? Delicious. 

Anyway, my contribution to the meal was wine, of course, and avocados. When I got to the grocery store, I quickly realized I did not know how to pick out an avocado. Since it is kind of a trendy item, I didn't want to screw it up with the general "should be firm but slightly giving under pressure" rule. So, I quickly whipped out the trusty iPhone and dialed up my roomie, who is a med student by day and avocado connoisseur by night.

Me: How do you pick out a ripe avocado?

Roomie (also med student): Hmm... you want it to be like... hard... but not really... kinda squishy...

Me: (Hard? and squishy? Raise eyebrow in slight confusion, my silence prompting further instruction.)

Roomie: Like... you want it to be like.... Oh! Pitting Edema. The avocado should feel like pitting edema. 

Me: Oooooh, perfect. Thank you!

That's a normal description of a vegetable right? Yes, indeed. In fact, if you're a med student, that is an easier comparison/description to come up with than the normal one, that everyone else would understand, and that you, in fact, would have used pre-med school. 


 


Sunday, December 16, 2012

Goodbye, Semester from Hell!!!

So clearly, I just wrapped up the hardest semester of my life. How should you know this??? My lack of blogging for over a MONTH! 

NO TIME FOR ANYTHING. MUST STUDY. 

That has been my personal motto for the past 4 weeks, with the exception of Thanksgiving break, in which my motto was:

NO TIME FOR ANYTHING. MUST DO NOTHING. 



Well, you will be pleased to learn that WE HAVE SURVIVED! 


We have survived:

1. One exam per week for three semesters straight... as in 54 weeks of exams. 

2. Finals week. Incorrect. Try "Finals THREE weeks." 

3. Pharmacology. 977 pages of notes to memorize. Almost as many drugs. For non-med school people... that might sound like a lot. But then, when you consider that for each of those 900-some drugs.... we needed to learn the routes of administration, bioavailability, mechanism of action, where it is metabolized, what it is metabolized into, how it is cleared/excreted, side effects, contraindications, comparisons to similar drugs, drug-drug interactions, and what exact scenarios the drug should or should not be prescribed in...... the amount of knowledge required for that single class is pretty hard to fathom. 

4. Officially signing up for boards. Dropping $560.00 to take the USMLE Step 1... as in... this doctor $h!t is getting real. 

5. No Shave November. AKA Movember (Mustache + November). This month is dedicated to raising funds for prostate cancer. The male med students and many of the faculty sign up to not shave their mustaches for the entire month. Instantly transforming them into pedophiles... that creepy man you would run from in an alley... the guy you automatically steer a child away from, which resisting the urge to run yourself. Interestingly, as creepy as they all looked... as soon as they put on their white coats, the 'stache almost seemed appropriate. Weird concept there. Anyways.... none of us realized this... but due to the stress and fast-paced life we led during finals... the girls also had to essentially participate in a No Shave November. It was hard enough to find time to shower, let along shave. PAMP and I had a competition.... and even though he has been growing hair on his legs for 25 years.... I hate to admit I almost beat him. 

So now, it is Christmas break. I passed Pharm! I signed up for boards! I shaved my legs! Merry Christmas, to me!