Be Nice To Med Students

We had an admissions meeting this week, and I found out that med students at my school play a "significant" role in choosing who is accepted.

Quote from our Dean.. "Acceptance is based on three equal votes. One from the Ad Com, one from the Faculty, and one student vote. And depending on the faculty member, sometimes the student vote counts more"

Esentially, students at my school can influence someone's acceptance in three ways:

1. An admissions "vote" after interviewing a candidate

2. A recommendation submitted on behalf of a candidate

3. A "blackball" ......aka you are NOT getting in ....

So make sure you are extra nice to med students during your interviews.

CELLULAR BIOCHEM DONE!!!

Well, my first med school class is officially over! Too bad it's not anatomy. So Monday I start Genetics. Yay! Will let you know when I receive an official "Pass"

P=MD Baby

UPDATE: PASSED... it's official!

Texting

Last night my lab partner text me. The following conversation ensued. I thought it was cute... so I'm posting:

Him: Do you have any problem with me taking home our skull to study this weekend?

Me: Damn. I was really hoping I could get it first. (Sighs reluctantly)... Ok, but you owe me BIG time. Just don't use it for a Halloween decoration, ok?

Him: Seriously? If you want it I can leave it in the lab and just go in over the weekend.

Me: Ok, that was a JOKE. Don't you know me at all? Can you really picture me bringing home a human SKULL? YUCK!

Him: LOL, I just wanted to check because I don't want to get any of your crazy eyes

FYI: My lab partners think that I have "crazy eyes"... which apparently are the worst thing you can get next to a visit from the Grim Reaper.

Here's a Clip of the REAL Patch Adams. Nutty, but Adorable.

Patch Adams on Medical Technology

Reverse Psychology

Last night I went to a pharm dinner at an awesome restaurant. My boyfriend and I occasionally hit up these dinners bc it's a cool way to get info on random drugs ... plus you get free dinner from a fancy place that we're normally way too broke to ever go to.

Usually, we expect that the presentation will be highly biased and will promote whatever drug as the new best thing since penicillin. So we go in with our secret decoder rings on to filter out all the BS.

And, yes, I'm aware of all the ethical issues surrounding pharm dinners and perks, and frankly I think its BS. As a physician in training I think I'm savvy enough to know that walking into a drug company meeting I'm not going to find a comprehensive, unbiased description of XYZ drug or condition. And I mean really, the pen thing??? Get real. (although I totally understand doing away with gifts and incentives like trips to Europe for writing 400 scripts in a month, etc.)

But last night we discovered that Eli Lilly is up to a new trick. They didn't try to push a drug on us. In fact, they didn't even MENTION a drug. I don't even know WHAT drug they were promoting. Basically a physician speaker came in a presented current research (not from Eli Lilly either) on metabolic disease prevalence among those with mental illness. We actually learned something. Didn't feel pressures. Didn't need our decoder rings. Had a great dinner. For free.

Eli Lilly, if this is an attempt at reverse psychology... nice work.

Novel Skill As Currency

The other day NPR did a story on economics and monkeys. Essentially a researcher observed that monkeys use "grooming" as a way to sort out their societal hierarchy. Top monkeys get groomed by lower level monkeys and never have to groom anyone. Low level monkeys groom top level monkeys and are never groomed by anyone. Got it?

So they took a low level monkey and taught her an important skill. They taught her to open a jar of apples. All of the sudden, BAM, she became a top monkey and was groomed and pampered and yada, yada... She actually changed her status in society by acquiring a skill novel to the group.

THEN, they trained a second monkey to open the jar of apples. Guess what? The PERCEPTION of the value of the skill went down... and attention and grooming paid to both "skillful" monkeys was significantly less than the first monkey.

Now I don't know if this study seems significant to you all.... but I find this INCREDIBLE. First, it shows that the law of supply and demand in found in nature. And that other groups beyond humans have an economical society. But most of all... it shows that all members of a society are not equal. And that your position in society (according to nature) is based on merit and unique skill and what you contribute to the group. Novel idea, eh?

Point of the story? Find a niche in medicine... (not necessarily a SPECIALTY)... and be good at it. Whatever you want... being the world's expert on Cushing's Syndrome in latino countries, or an expert in clinical symptoms of helminth infections, or start an OB service in rural Alaska. SOMETHING that gives you value and that you can contribute.

My friend Dr. J also gave me this advice a while back... If you have value in medicine, you will always have security... If you contribute nothing, you are always insecure and defensive towards those who do have value.

Getting Involved

For the first few months of med school I shied away from getting involved in any clubs or organizations (except the EM interest group) because I wanted to focus on school. Which was probably a good idea because most of the initial stuff I wasn't really interested in anyway. But just recently I've become involved with 2 really great organizations.

First, I was selected to be a representative for a historical club that organizes lectures on the history of healthcare in our city... as well as the history of diseases, diagnostics, etc. Very cool. Last week there was a cocktail party at a professor's house, and I was announced as a new representative (along with 3 others). I was pretty stoked!

Second, my friend "E" recommended me for a leadership position in the student run-clinic that I spoke of before. So now I'll be participating in that as well... which is damn cool!

A New Obsession

Something strange is happening to me. It happens all the time. I can't control it. It's all I can think about. During lecture. While studying. While eating lunch. You know what I'm talking about. Sleep. Yes, folks. Sleep.

Its not that I'm getting so little. Usually at least 5 hours at night, and maybe an afternoon nap for an hour. It's just that I'm stressed I guess.... and maybe sick... so therefore chronically fatigued. But I find myself zoning out during lecture.... fantasizing about how I could just duck down between the rows and prop my head on my backpack, my sweatshirt over me for warmth... and just catch a 10 minute cat nap. Maybe I could sneak to the student lounge while everyone else is in class. Or out to my car... the parking garage is pretty dark... and I could turn the heater on and be toasty warm. Ooh.. I even have contact solution in my bag...

And then something snaps me back to lecture... I take another sip of coffee in vain... and drag my tired butt around for the rest of the day. Nap-less.

One last reason why ortho is off my list

Bone saws + Bone dust = Disgusting!

Today we (well, not me as I was huddled in the corner trying to keep the bone dust out of my hair) used the bone saw to actually remove the skull. Circumferentially. Like a bowl. It just "popped" off. Then we just "popped" out the brain. Oh dear.

The point is that I do NOT like the smell of a saw burning through bone. It's white powder that permeates the air. And your hair. And eyes. And nostrils. And I swear I felt grit inside the roof of my mouth. Which means I could actually have cadaver dust in my mouth. Which is pretty much the grossest thing I can imagine next to having cadaver juice in my mouth. Which means I will not be considering ortho. Ever. Without a doubt.

Hello Lover...........

Well since ADoc2Be brought it up, and I never miss an opportuity to discuss shoes, here's a picture of my recent Christian Louboutin obsession. I'm 5'10" and would NEVER let that stop me from wearing these lovelies.

The real question is whether I can get away with wearing these with scrubs in the emergency department....

Please. Shut Up.

It's interview season. And around my school there are tons of nervous applicants all in black suits (what's up with THAT?...) milling around the halls or in our student lounge waiting for their next scheduled appointment. It's pretty cool... you get to chat a little and encourage them... give them pointers about certain interviewers.

But today I almost told a girl off. She was sitting in the lounge (with her black suit of course)... and loudly having a conversation with some other candidates who were noticeably more well behaved. At some point I pulled out my iphone and started recording what she said... because I knew no one would believe me. The diatribe went something like this...

Black suit girl (LOUDLY) "Yeah, I'm from California... where I worked as an EMT for company X... who were all FUCKING MORONS!!! I mean, every loser guy who can't get into college decides he wants to be an EMT... so I had to compete with all of THEM to actually get a job. SERIOUSLY, I could not handle that job. It FUCKING SUCKED!!! I'm used to a job where I can go where I want, when I want, and I don't have a schedule or a supervisor. I can't deal with having to show up at a certain time, when someone tells me to...."

Let's just say this lovely talk went on for about 20 minutes. As I sat there, I got progressively more steamed. Not to say that I don't do my fair share of bitching about morons. But not LOUDLY, WITH PROFANITY, and on my MED SCHOOL INTERVIEW! I thought about asking her her name so I could send the Dean a "grossly offended" blackball email. I considered asking her shut up. I considered ripping out her recurrent laryngeal nerve.

In the end I figured it wouldn't matter. She couldn't possibly behave herself on an interview. She couldn't possibly end up here. If she does, I can always resort to my laryngeal-nerve-severing ninja moves.

Ok Let's talk about HER

Her. The one I mentioned before. I'm sure everyone else is just as obsessed as I am. Dr. Kenton-Hadley. I only just met her recently, but I'd heard about her for years. My friend T who's now in med school in Texas used to work with her and he would always gush about her. She's SOOOO amazing. Beautiful. Smart. Accomplished. He'd come back from his project and say crap like "Maybe someday you'll be like her.... if you're lucky... and if you miraculously get beautiful and smart" And I'd think "Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Jerk."

Because truthfully, while I find some qualities I like in nearly every woman, it's a rare thing to find someone I truly look up to. A women who you say "Damn, I'd give a kidney to be like her". It just doesn't happen. At least to me.

Then I met her. And she is. Beautiful. Smart (and kind of a smart-ass). Accomplished. Philanthropic. She went to Harvard. She's been in People magazine. She saved our city after a Hurricane (only a slight exaggeration). And she has fabulous shoes. Lovely all around. And she makes me stupidly nervous like I'm talking to some guy I have a crush on. She's like a goddess around here.... Everyone (students, professors, and staff alike) talks about her like she just invented sliced bread. Knowing her, she probably did.

And as for the kidney thing... I would seriously consider it... even for the shoes alone.

It's Halloween

And people are dressing up their .... Dogs!!! Here's my friend Ally's dog (she's a Vet). He won the costume contest... as a Starbuck's Latte! Adorable, yes????