Coffee and Commitment

At about 8pm I got the smart idea to have a cup of coffee and now I'm having trouble feeling sleepy. Since I don't have to be at the clinic until 9 tomorrow, I figured I could spend some time writing on my blog. 

On Sunday I spent the afternoon at the Air National Guard base in Phoenix. One of my fellow students, Tim, joined the Guard a couple of years ago and occasionally we chatted about his drill weekends on base. At the beginning of my medical school adventure I was quite seriously looking at joining the Air Force for their HPSP scholarship. HPSP is a full ride through medical school paid for by the military in return for 8 years of service. There are a lot of conflicting views on whether or not it is a good idea to enroll for many different reasons, however, in the end I decided to withdraw my intention of joining up. One of the downfalls of HPSP is that in many instances the military will tell you which residency you will go to. If you were interested in doing ophthalmology for a career, for example, they may tell you that the military doesn't need any of those at the present time and that their well spent money on you would be much better suited to a family medicine or other primary care residency. In other words, due to the fact that they pay your entire way through school, they also have the ability to tell you what you will be doing. This idea did not appeal to me, so I decided to stay put as a civilian. 

When I started my surgery rotation several weeks ago, I met one of the partners in the practice who was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard. We began talking about military medicine and I voiced my concerns about HPSP and why I had not ended up joining the Air Force. The Air National Guard is a division of the Air Force. It is primarily a reserve force that has been assigned the mission of domestic protection/aid. In times of peace (and mostly in times of war), the Air Guard is used to aid in natural disasters and other conflicts in the US. In fact, the fires in Colorado about a month ago were put out by the Air Guard using their C-130's to dump water and flame retardent. Anyway. After talking with the Colonel, I began to be interested in the prospect of serving. The commitment for the Air Gard is one weekend a month from 6:30-15:00 and two weeks during the summer. The Air Guard is mostly for those who have a full-time career, but would like to volunteer their service once a month. I use the term 'volunteer' loosely, the Air Guard does pay its members for their time. In addition to being paid for your work there are also some repayment options for students as well as eligibility to the GI bill, which is for any soldier to help pay for school. There are many other incentives that I won't get into. For the most part, I am interested in the Guard not for the financial benefit (although I'll take it!) but for the chance to scratch my Service itch once a month with a low risk of deployment. 

After my interest was roused, I got in touch with my school friend, Tim, who is a 2nd Lt in the Air Guard. He gave me some great information about the Guard and invited me to join him on his drill weekend to get a taste of what a day in the Air Guard would be like. To make a long story short, I ended up at the gate of the 161st Air Refueling Wing with Tim meeting me to bring me in. By chance, it turns out that to his surprise, he was promoted that morning to 1st Lt. His family had come to base to see the ceremony. He showed me around the base and we climbed into a KC-135 Stratotanker that was being prepared for its mission to Germany later that afternoon. There are so many knobs in those damn aircraft, I don't know how they do it! Later, some of the men from the unit took Tim and I out to lunch to celebrate Tim's promotion and to chat with me about the Guard. I learned a lot of great information and it was very nice to talk to some real medical officers who are in the guard rather than a recruiter who gets paid to have me sign up. An unbiased opinion, I suppose you could say. All of the docs were really excited to see that I was interested and all asked me to join as soon as possible! I told them I was going to take some time to think about it as it's not a decision to take lightly. 

All in all I had a great day on base and I'm definitely leaning towards joining. Word has it that in September they will be offering a $10K sign-on bonus, so I was advised to perhaps wait until then to join. I'm taking the time now to decide whether it is something I'm prepared to devote my time to for the next part of my life. Who knows what I'll decide.. perhaps in a couple of months I will be signing my entries as 2nd Lt! 

-Student Doctor Benjamin D. Smith

Eat when you can, sleep when you can...

SURGERY


"Have you heard of the three rules of surgery?"
"No"
"Eat when you can, sleep when you can, don't fuck with the pancreas."

I just finished with my surgery rotation yesterday and I have to say that it was quite the experience. I don't even really know where to start! I suppose, as Bilbo might say, the best place to start is the start itself.

I walked into the Tucson Medical Center OR and there wasn't much going on. I met with the nurses and tried to work my magic to get on their good side early. A nurse who likes you can do wonders but a nurse who dislikes you can make your life hell. Especially as a student. After meeting my fellow student and shooting the shit for 30 minutes or so, our preceptor finally showed up. He introduced himself and said that usually he would have us scrub in on each individual procedure, switching off each surgery. He told us to meet him in the hallway outside room 78 and Scott (the other student) and I trotted off with big smiles to get to the room. After both of us being too indecisive/polite about deciding who should scrub in on the first procedure, we decided the best way to settle it was with some old-fashioned Rock-Paper-Scissors. Naturally, I won. I scrubbed up at the scrub sink just as we had been taught and walked in to the room ready to get started. I got scrubbed in and Dr. Stevenson (our preceptor) was waiting patiently by the patient. "Pt is ***** here for a right inguinal hernia repair, possibly bilateral. Attending surgeon Dr. Stevenson, First Assist Dr. Stephenson and everyone who is supposed to be here is here. Pre-operative antibiotics have been administered? Right. Blah blah blah, everyone knows the rest. Let's get this show on the road!". Dr. Stevenson turns to his scrub tech and points at the stereo. In less than 5 seconds I get WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA EEERRRRRRRRRRRRRUMMMMMMMM.... (which is my best text description of Pantera blasting through the speaker). Dr. Stephenson, the general surgery resident who we would spend most of our time with (not to be confused with Dr. Stevenson, our preceptor/attending), takes the 11-blade and begins to make the incisions for the ports for the laparoscopic hernia repair.

During the next couple of weeks I fell into the general way things go as a surgery student. The first surgery of the day was usually at 7:30, so I would arrive at 7 to introduce myself to the patient in PreOp and make sure that the scrub tech had my gloves and gown ready. Either Scott or I would scrub in on the surgery and when it was over, stay with the patient as they went to PostOp to recover from anesthesia while the surgeon/resident wrote their post operative note. Once that was finished, we'd have about 10 minutes to look up the history/meds/allergies/etc of the next patient and to refresh ourselves with the procedure that was going to take place. Usually I would read up on the procedure the night before and then refresh right before the procedure. Then we would do the whole thing over again; go to PreOp, Operating Room, Post Op, 'Pt History/Refresh'. During our time in the operating room, the students would get 'pimped'. Pimping is basically where the attending asks you question after question in which the student is supposed to answer. If the first student doesn't get it right, they turn to the second student to answer. If neither knows the answer you usually get the general reaction of "Oh christ. Make sure you look that up tonight, you better know it tomorrow". And you know what? They remember that shit. We were in the middle of an appendectomy and the attending asked me about the appendix blood supply. When I didn't know that, he began pimping me on colonic blood supply. When I only knew about 25% of that, he told me to look it up at home. I didn't get home until pretty late that night and by the time I'd eaten and showered, it was time for bed. No reading up on colonic blood supply.  The next day I went in and I saw Dr. Stevenson coming to the OR and I thought to myself, 'Oh shit! I forgot to look that up! Hopefully he doesn't remember...'. Sure enough, the first thing he said to me is, "Good morning Ben. What's the blood supply to the appendix?". Game Over.

And so, the days went by and so did the surgeries. I got better at being pimped and could control my fear and think more clearly to get the answers. Slowly, the 'deer in headlights' look that I'm sure I had faded away and I began to feel like more a part of the team. Then I scrubbed in with Dr. P.

Dr. P is this hardcore vascular surgeon. My attending asks me to watch Dr. P on his surgery. I walk in and introduce myself and begin watching his surgery; an endarterectomy (an endarterectomy is where you open the artery and remove the buildup of plaque by hand). Dr. P looks at me while I'm standing there and says "Well are you gonna scrub in, or just stand there? You're not gonna learn anything by just standing there". I quickly wash up and scrub in. "Hold this.". Dr. P was stern but he gave me one of the best experiences during my four weeks there. His first assist was his resident, Kate. While he and Kate were performing the surgery, he had me hold the retractors in particular positions and begin thinking about what needed to be done next. As Kate said, "think about what we need next. If he starts tying, ask for the scissors!". And so I did. Soon enough I was getting the hang of it. I felt great. In fact, I did so well that at then end of his second procedure, he left me with Kate to close the patient's incision on the thigh. So there I was, suturing closed the 6cm incision on the upper thigh, talking to Kate about surgery and other things. Saying things like "Pickups. Scissors. DermaBond." and other things to the scrub tech. It felt great.

The next surgery with Dr. P didn't go so well. A HepC positive patient with C. diff comes in for a femoral-popliteal bypass and the tone of the surgery changed. There was no music. There was no talking. Every sharp that was used was handled with great care so that there would be no mistakes. Getting stuck with HepC is no joke. In fact, getting stuck with HepC is even worse than getting stuck with HIV since the protocol after an HIV stick can reduce the chance of actually contracting HIV by a huge amount. For HepC, the chance is something like 100 times higher. I tried to stand out of the way as I could tell the feel of the room was very tense and was not the place for a student to be asking stupid questions or to be getting in the way. Then out of nowhere, things get crazy. "OH GOD DAMNIT! YOU JUST STABBED ME! MOTHER FUCKER!!!". The surgeon steps back from the table, almost tripping over me as I stood behind him. The resident, Kate, is looking up at the ceiling and I could just tell she was trying her best to keep it together. Dr. P turns to me and yells "WHAT ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE FOR?! THE SURGERY'S NOT OVER, GET IN THERE AND HELP HER!". And so, just like in the movies, this was my time to shine. My heart was beating so hard I could feel it in my ears as I stepped up to the table into the first assist position and looked at Kate. Everything but our eyes were covered, but it was enough to tell that there was no room for error now. "DeBakey please", I asked the scrub tech. "What would you like me to do, Dr. Gillman?". Kate asked me to follow her suturing, so I did. We worked in silence, but we worked like the wind. My hands moved with such precision that I was surprised with myself. And that's when it happened. I was no longer the annoying student who was straining to get a good look, asking stupid questions. I had become a part of the team, relied upon to get this patient fixed and closed up. We moved in sync with each other and I was able to keep up with her, ensuring that I had the correct instruments in hand before she even asked me for them. Dr. P walked back in 10 minutes later and saw that we were almost done. He asked us to finish up and then left again. We closed up together. Once again, I was rewarded for my good work by completely first assisting the next procedure with the resident, a debridement of a patient who had an infected hip amputation. I felt great. It was the most involved in surgery I ever got for the rest of the rotation.

My attending's office. He's in the Air National Guard and comes from a long line of USAF pilots.

The remainder of the rotation paled in comparison to my day with Dr. P. My attending had not seen my work in those surgeries and I was rewarded for answering a pimp question right by holding the occasional clamp or even suturing closed the port holes. However, I had a new sense of confidence in these surgeries. I was not afraid to ask the scrub tech for instruments and had them ready for the surgeon and his first assist, but I was never totally involved again. Later on, I met Dr. P in the outpatient clinic but he did not know who I was. In the end though, it doesn't really matter. I'm just a student on a surgery rotation. I learned a lot more than most in that day of surgery and I feel that it really helped me to excel in the remainder of my surgeries. Slowly, I pulled away from Scott in terms of my surgical skills. Scott was pimped on a question that I had researched, the attending posed the question to the other student in the room and she didn't know, and when he asked me I stood tall and proud and gave the answer without a hint of questioning in my voice. "Great job" he said, and I was so thankful for the mask that covered my face as it hid the biggest grin that I couldn't get rid of for five minutes.

My attending brought his blowgun on the last day.. school can still be fun!

All in all, I would say that I enjoyed my rotation. I worked long hours, usually about 13 hours a day with no lunch break. However, it was extremely interesting. Would I like it as a career? Maybe. I would hate the schedule. I want to be a good father and family man and I don't want to spend my life in the hospital. Perhaps the perfect career for me would be a Family Practitioner with some surgical procedures every once in a while. I loved the time that I spent in their outpatient clinic and seeing patients in the exam rooms was something I looked forward to. The resident and other students thought it was boring, but I loved it.

Surgery taught me a lot about not only the rules of the hospital, but also about myself. I may not be the smartest of the bunch (far from it, in fact), but I can really shine when working with patients in a hands on setting. I'll keep on trying to show my best and learn a lot along the way. So far, 3rd year is blowing the first two years out of the water. It has definitely been worth all of the pain.

-Student Doctor Benjamin D. Smith

The BORED Exams

Today was the first day in a long time that I was able to relax and not worry about anything related to school. I finally took my COMLEX yesterday, the first of many medical licensing exams, and I'm not looking forward to taking the USMLE on Monday. For those who are unfamiliar, the COMLEX and USMLE board exams are required for students to apply to residency. Much like the SAT is used to get into college and the MCAT into medical school, the USMLE/COMLEX are used to compete with other students for the residency spots. The USMLE is an MD board exam and the COMLEX is a DO board exam. Luckily, the DO students can take both exams whereas the MD's can only take their USMLE. This is only one of the many perks of being an osteopathic medical student! If you can call taking two 8-hour exams a perk...

One of my practice board exam questions. These symptoms seem a liiiitle too familiar...

The COMLEX is actually a 9 hour exam composed of 400 questions. There are 8 blocks of 50 questions with a 40 minute break after the 4th block. I ended up only taking about 20 minutes of my break because you don't really feel like sitting around when you're in the zone and just want to get the test over with. The test was brutal. A lot of people have asked me how I think I did but it's just so hard to tell. After 400 questions it was all I could do to wake my rear end up after sitting for so long and on Monday I have to do it all over again. Scores aren't released for six weeks, which is a long time to wait, especially if you're just hoping you've passed! Once this exam is over, I'll be all the more happier. I wish I could say that with one exam down that I'm relieved, but honestly I feel like nothing has changed. I still have a massive exam on Monday and I won't feel the relief until Monday evening when the exam is over. I have a couple of days to relax and enjoy the 4th of July before I move into my apartment in Tucson and begin my first rotation, surgery, in a new city all by myself. I sort of wish that I could have an 'easier' rotation to ease me into the rotation state of mind and learn how things go, but it'll be trial by fire. I just hope my surgeon preceptors have the time to look at me and answer some of my questions. It will be quite an experience and I fully expect my blog to become WAY more exciting once I begin my rotations.

10 day forecast.. It's supposed to be 'cooling down' this week!

Kelcie has been more than amazing these past few months. She's been busy with school and her own rotations, but there has been plenty of times where she has downtime and can do nothing with it because I have been so busy. The end of school had me studying like crazy for my final exams, my practice COMLEX a few days after and then full-time studying for the board exams. I was studying about 12 hours a day for these exams so you can imagine how lonely things must have been for her just sort of waiting around for me to get done... and when I did get done, I was pretty wiped out. We do take time for ourselves though and enjoy getting outdoors when we can. Unfortunately one of things we love to do the most is hike and when the weather is the way it is out here in Phoenix, you can forget about it. Hiking in 115 degree heat isn't fun and it's not safe either. Still, we persevered through these past months and I'm so glad to see that there might be a light at the end of the tunnel come rotations (I hope!). I know that the rotations will pose their own challenges but from what I've heard, I will at least have some time back to myself so that I can get back to being the significant other/spouse that I want to be. Medical school is hard in the respect that you have to give up a lot of things in order to be successful. It's easy for people to say "live for today, not for tomorrow!" or "don't wait to be the person you want to be!", but honestly, medical school has stolen that from me and I'm ready to take it back!

Wish me luck on my exam this Monday. The end of this exam signifies the end of a very stressful time and the beginning of a new life for Kelcie and I. Goodnight everyone!

-Student Doctor Benjamin D. Smith

The Cost To Help

Hooooooooly smokes! I know I've written in the past that 'it's been a while since I last wrote', but it's really been a while, huh? I read a blog today written by an anesthesiology resident and thought if he could do it, then I can definitely do it! So, I've hardened my resolve to try and write in this blog more often so that not only can people catch up with what I'm up to, but so I can remember these times myself.

I'm now an MSIII (third-year student), if you can call it that at this point. I've finished my second-year course work and I'm now studying up for my Step 1 board exams (USMLE and COMLEX) that are about a week away. Studying has become a way of life and I try to embrace it as an opportunity to expand my life and myself as a person. I had a friend, Jered, in undergrad who was one of the first people to really make me realize that learning and studying doesn't have to be boring. It doesn't have to be a chore. Sometimes learning can be exciting, especially if it's about something you're passionate about. I look back through some of my posts now and laugh at how I thought I was 'soo busy' when I didn't even know the half of it.  I now spend about 12 hours a day studying for my board exams and a couple hours off is a blessing. The past year of school was absolute hell, but I made it through. I guess as you get through school you get stronger, or maybe just more tolerant, of having no life and devoting your life to studying. "Come on now Ben, don't try to sound selfless, you're going to be a doctor and doctors make bank"... is that what you were thinking? Come on, you don't have to lie. Well, I guess that brings me to my next point.

One of the things we struggle with as a medical students is debt. When all is said and done, I'll be sitting on about $400,000 of debt. And that doesn't include the interest that I'll have to pay on that capital amount throughout the rest of my life. What I'm going to start talking about now is repayment. How much do doctors earn? It depends. According to Careers In Medicine (a group of AAMC), family physicians on average make around $160,000/year. General surgeons make $343,958/year. Radiologists make on average $440,000/year. The range on these figures is huge, but guess what's the same? The cost of medical school. The US is facing a dramatic loss of primary care physicians and with the incoming baby boomer generation not only needing care, but many of them retiring from medicine themselves, where are we going to end up? Is it any wonder why students are making conscious decisions to go into specialty medicine where their compensation is vastly greater than that of a primary care physician? Would you be willing to take a hit of that much to be a family physician? The problem is that medicine is a business. In order to be a smart businessman one needs to make sound financial decisions. If everyone's input is the same, then why would you willingly choose a career that has a lower output (salary), it just doesn't make sense. The argument of many is that those who go into specialty fields worked harder or are somehow smarter than those in primary care, but this is a ridiculous claim. The field you go into should be dictated by some degree by one's intelligence, but who's to say that an extremely intelligent person shouldn't choose to go into primary care because he enjoys it more than another field? I actually found an incredible article online written by Kevin Pezzi, MD that compared the amount the average doctor makes compared to a UPS delivery truck driver. Who do you think made more money? Believe it or not, the UPS driver. I put the graphs to the side here on the right. There has been a lot of talk about moving things around with healthcare to try and put this fire out, but I honestly don't see a clear solution in the future. Don't get me wrong here; I'm not complaining about how much I'll be making. I didn't chose to become a doctor so that I could 'rake in the cash'. I chose to be a doctor because I love what I do. I chose to be a doctor because I enjoy having a high tier of understanding of the human body and what makes us tick. I chose to be a doctor because I love helping people. How much will it cost me to be the physician I want to be?

In happier news, I'm proud to announce that my younger sister, Katie Smith, will be starting her first year here at Midwestern in just over a month! I'm so proud of her and I can't wait until she's gotten started so we can discuss all these exciting things we learn in school. I wish her all the best and I hope she comes to me when times are hard for a good pep talk.

Well, I must be off. The fact that I'm writing a blog and not studying for my boards probably isn't good, but hey, we all have to relax every once in a while, right? Until next time, stay happy!

-Student Doctor Benjamin D. Smith

Physician salary graph: http://shortwhitecoats.com/2012/the-ultimate-guide-to-physician-salaries
UPS driver vs physician salary graphs: http://www.er-doctor.com/doctor_income.html

Home, Sweet Home!

Well it has been a while since I've written in the blog, which goes to show you how busy I became over the past month or so. Finals came around the corner and had me studying more than I thought possible, but I made it out onto the other side and I'm now relaxing at my mum's house outside with a cup of coffee.

School has been difficult so far, but when I look back on the past quarter that I have now finished I realize that I loved every second of it. Despite how tired and frustrated I became I still learned a lot that I'm excited about. I hear people talking about medicine or doctors visits and I can actually understand what they're talking about. I can look into people's ears now and be able to tell if they have an infection. I can look into eyes and check for hemorrhaging or exudation. I can perform a physical exam, noting any scoliosis or paravertebral humping, somatic dysfunctions, and use my hands to treat headaches. Really, it's amazing how much I've learned in the past couple of months... and it's only the beginning!

Being at home has been really relaxing. I've been spending a lot of time just doing puzzles, drinking tea, and watching hockey games... things that I would never dream of having time for during school. I can sit down and do things without having a burning thought in my head about the test coming up the following monday. The only thing I am worried about is getting back into the swing of things again once I return, without feeling like there's no end to the madness.

I received my grades for this quarter. I did decent.. not exactly what I had in mind, but I'll try my best to improve upon that this quarter. I got an A in three classes, a B in another, and a C+ in another... I think that's all the grades I have for now. I did manage to get 100% on my psychology final which was nice!

I'm off to go throw a ball around with my doggies now. Can't wait for some Thanksgiving food!

Check Engine Light

School has become increasingly hard over the past couple of weeks. Last week the school increased the number of tests we have per week to 2, which is almost impossible to keep up with. My study time has gone up dramatically and my scores have done the opposite. I'm getting to a point where I feel that I'm constantly working but without reward. Nothing is more disheartening than to spend all of your time studying to find that your score was below the class average and well below your personal expectations. I now study on the weekends rather than take it as time for myself. I only really see Kelcie in between coffee refills and when we make time to go on dates on the weekend. Even though we put time aside for us, I still find myself worrying or short-tempered when I'm not working. The academic deans here warned us that 'burnout' was a possibility... becoming overwhelmed and overworked to the point that you lose interest and drop out of school mentally and sometimes, even physically. They also warned us of the potential for depression. Since those who have had the disease before are more susceptible, I worry sometimes that I might find myself crawling into a hole that I can't get out of and feeling those horrible feelings that I felt all those years ago. Still, I do enjoy the little pleasures in life and I keep my spirits high. I feel as if my peers depend on me for a laugh and I enjoy laughing myself, so I try my best to be optimistic and keep a good sense of humor. Still, class from 8-5 and studying from 5-10 every day takes it toll and I sometimes wonder how I will ever be able to survive the next two years of it if I already feel like I'm slowing down only two months into it.

I'm worried that if I take more time for myself to enjoy my life, then I will fall behind in my studies... something that I can't afford. I get sufficient sleep, about 6.5-7 hours a night but with the pressure of school, internal conflict with my father, and keeping my relationships stable, I feel like I'm constantly overworked. Kelcie has been incredible in being understanding about my work. She never complains about never seeing me, although I know she must be so lonely when I'm working. The support that she gives me and the mental break that I get from being with her is a life-saver when the stress is high.

I must be off, I have to be in the Auditorium for a Psychology exam tomorrow at 6:45, but I have to get up early to do some review. Then it's back to studying Anatomy for my exam on Monday. Still, I have to remember that I'm a medical student and that things are going to be hard. Whether I mope around and hang my head, the exams are still going to come. What will get my through these next two years aren't depressing blog posts, feeling sorry for myself, or getting wired up on being frustrated about scores. What will get me through is keeping a smile on my face, finding comfort and support in those closest to me and remembering that though it may seem impossible; things could be a lot worse.

Holding out until Thanksgiving break,

-Student Doctor Benjamin D. Smith

The Pink Suitcase

The night before the big trip you're packing everything you could possibly need for this damn vacation in your suitcase. Clothes, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, hair dryer, shampoo, suit, shoes- you name it. It's looking like no matter how you try it, there's no way this suitcase is going to close. You sit on it; doesn't work. You squeeze it between a door; doesn't work. You ask the nearest person to squeeze it closed while you try to zip it up; it still doesn't close...

The weeks are beginning to melt together now as I'm getting further into school. We just had a massive anatomy test today. Since last Tuesday I haven't had any time to relax except once when I went grocery shopping with Kelcie, haha. It's been pretty busy. One of the things that has really helped me with the amount of studying I have to do is the atmosphere. At Sonoma State University, my friends were from different majors and had varying amounts of work. One of my best friends had class 3 days a week and no homework. They would play videogames, watch tv, laugh, have movie nights, have parties... all while I was studying. I can assure you that studying seems ten times worse when people are laughing and having a good time in the hallway. Here at Midwestern, everyone has the same workload. All of my closest friends are up to their ears in work as well. As a result, the focus to study is a lot more welcome. I'm beginning to turn into a study machine. I go for hours in front of my computer reviewing lectures and taking notes without eating, speaking, or going to the bathroom. When you know that everyone else is doing the same thing, studying is a lot easier. 

Apart from my good habit of studying, I've developed a bad habit as well. I've begun to get migraines, something I'd never had before. I assume its because of the increased stress and work load. I don't get them too often, usually once a week... twice a week if it's a bad week. I'm taking migraine medicine when they happen and it takes the edge off a little bit. I'll keep an eye on it. 

In happier news, I've been part of a hiring process for the Communications Department. I work at the Communications Department every Tuesday and Wednesday from 8am-9am (tough hours, eh?). They're currently in the process of hiring a new writer and I was asked to help in the process. The applicants for the position were asked to interview me and write up a profile on me... where I'm from, why I'm here, why I chose medicine, etc. I've done two interviews so far and they've been fun... it's sort of weird to be interviewed by a writer. Usually when I'm being interviewed it's as an applicant for a position or a school. I feel like the writers got some good information from me.. there's nothing I'm better at than talking about myself! Some of the questions they asked were about the new healthcare debates and the future of medicine... it made me realize that even though I'm just a medical student, people are beginning to take my advice/opinions seriously and professionally. At orientation we were told, "Now that you're in medical school, people will expect you to be a doctor. Even though you're only a student, people will think that you're already a doctor". Now I'm not saying that these writers thought I was a doctor, but it was weird to know that the comments I made about medicine are no longer my personal opinions but professional opinions... weird, huh?

Mum's coming on Thursday for the White Coat Ceremony. The White Coat Ceremony is a rite of passage, a coming of age for medical students. It's the acceptance of the responsibilities and professionalism of medicine. It's almost like a graduation but a little less of a deal. I'm really glad that she'll be able to make it out. With things the way they are financially, I was worried that she might have to miss it. However, everything has worked out fine and she'll be staying with Kelcie and I from Thursday until Saturday! I hope she enjoys her time here and doesn't find it to be too hot... it's still in the 100's here! 

...finally you manage to zip up your suitcase. As you wipe the sweat from your brow, you notice a pile of clothes you forgot to pack. Is it going to fit? No way. But you have to find a way... once again you struggle to fit the extra items in as they try to spill out the sides. It seems impossible that it will ever fit, but you know someway, somehow it will. You put your head down and have faith in your goal because you know that this is no ordinary suitcase... it's your pink suitcase.