How to get a BANGING Letter of Recommendation

In order to get a great letter of recommendation, there are a few things that you have to do....

1) Pick the RIGHT person. Someone who REALLY likes you is way better than someone who just sorta knows you and has an MD. Also, pick someone articulate who you know likes to write. Don't pick Mr. Unenthusiastic or Ms. Monotone. Choose someone who is really into you.... and will make you seem like the best thing since sliced bread.

2) Ask the person for a letter with plenty of lead time. I guarantee if you ask a professor or a physician for a letter that is due in a week is just asking for trouble. You should ask for a letter at the least a month in advance, ideally more, and then give nice consistent reminders.

3) Tell the person what you want them to write (see below). In some cases, with people I'm close to, I've even offered to "draft" a letter if it makes things easier for them. 9 times out of 10, they are relieved that you've offered... and bam! you now have the BEST letter of rec you could possibly get.

4) Put together a "LOR Packet" so that they are less likely to forget about your request, you have an official deadline, and they have all the info they need about you. This packet should include several things....

• A Letter of Recommendation "Information" Sheet (see the sample below)
• An updated version of your resume or CV
• A LOR writer specific sheet listing everything connecting you and the writer (see sample below)
• An addressed envelope (if required) with postage for the writer's convenience

Below are 2 sample letters I drafted as a hypothetical re-applicant non-traditional student. Please feel free to use them if you think they will help you!

SAMPLE - Letter of Recommendation Info

Hello Everyone!

First, I’d like to say thank you SO much for agreeing to write a letter for me. I’ve chosen you to write my letters because somewhere along the way you have helped or inspired me in my academic pursuits… and now in my next endeavor of becoming a physician. You all know that I’ve worked FOREVER to get to this point, and I’m thrilled that you are all helping me reach my ultimate goal.

About my career plans

Just so that everyone is on the same page, I’m applying to medical school. I’m only applying to the M.D. programs, no fancy-schmancy joint-degree programs or anything like that… so that is pretty straight-forward.

I’m interested in eventually pursuing medical training in pediatrics… and I’d like to use that to work in rural underserved areas, locally or internationally. Ideally I’d love to work as a physician on the development of childhood vaccines (more on the clinical side vs. research), with malaria being my primary interest.

A little background about me

I’m originally from Charlotte, and I graduated from Vanderbilt with a BA in studio arts in 2004. I decided a little too late that I wanted to become a physician, so I completed my pre-med requirements after I graduated. I finished my Post-bacc pre-med program at Georgetown in 2006, and since then I have been working full time as an EMT. I am a re-applicant to medical school (original application in 2006), and am looking forward to re-applying with my improved application.

What I have done in improve my medical school re-application

1. Full time EMT work for 2 ½ years

2. Improved my MCAT score from a 26 to a 32

3. Worked part time at Georgetown doing Parkinson’s research

4. Volunteer for St. Paul’s Charity Hospital

5. Visiting presentor for elementary school students on healthy behaviors and dental hygiene.

Letter Logistics

• I’m using the Georgetown letter service, so you just need to submit one generic letter that they will distribute electronically to the schools that I am applying to. The waiver sheet states that I have waived the right to see the letter. You will then send the letter and the waiver sheet to Georgetown letter service for processing.

• Please use department letterhead if you have it available.

• The stamped envelope (included) gets returned to Georgetown letter service.

Deadlines

I would like to have all letters at the Georgetown office by the beginning of June. So, as an unofficial deadline, lets say June 1^st. If this is problematic for anyone, please don’t hesitate to tell me if you need more time.

Letter Specifics

Since I am a re-applicant (with previous LOW scores and undergrad gpa), I know medical schools are specifically looking for an evaluation of my ability to survive the rigors of medical school. If possible please comment on the work-load, course content, and my ability to succeed in medical school.

Included is a copy of my resume/cv so that you have more information should you need it.

Just for your information

You don’t have to send any letters to these places, but for those of you who are curious, this is my tentative list of schools that I am contemplating applying to… in no particular order

1. University of Arizona
2. New York Medical College Valhalla
3. SUNY Downstate
4. University of Miami
5. University of Hawaii
6. UCSD
7. UCLA
8. UC Irvine
9. George Washington
10. Georgetown
11. NYU
12. University of Southern California
13. Stanford
14. Cornell
15. Mount Sinai School of Medicine
16. University of Illinois at Chicago

SAMPLE - Writer Specific Letter

Dear Dr. Filmore,

Here is some information for my letter,

Specific Dates, Etc.

Program Post-Bacc Pre- Med Program Graduated summer 2006

Cumm. Gpa at Georgetown: 3.45

Courses I’ve taken with you: Course Name, Date, Grade Received

Immunology, Spring 2006, A-

General Biology I, Fall 2005, A

What I’d like you to include/mention (if possible)… in addition to all the “normal” stuff

• What I’ve done to improve my medical school application
• The paper that I published with you and Dr. Nelson
• My specific interest in malaria and childhood vaccine development
• Rigors of PBPM as preparation for medical school
• Assessment of my ability to handle medical school

Ok, so sorry if the formatting on this post shows up a little strange... but I was cutting and pasting from WORD and you know how that goes. Anyway, everytime I've ever asked anyone for a LOR, I've received really positive feedback for being organized in my request, and for being considerate for asking for a letter long before I actually needed it. Hopefully if you use this same method it will result in what I got... which was a whole slew of fabulous letters.

Block One...done.

Just finished my first "round" of exams.... Block I is officially over. Grades aren't official yet... but from what I can tell I passed everything fine. The biochem exam was surprisingly manageable... or maybe I'm nuts... but it seemed easy to me. The written anatomy exam is what really got me. Yikes! That was rough.

It would have been nice to have a little more guidance this first block so I didn't have to constantly wish I could just throw a toaster into my bathtub and end it all (does that even kill anyone anymore... or are there "protective elements" in modern toasters?). I mean, I really considered dropping out many many times the first few weeks.... and my sole consolation was the upperclassmen and professors constantly telling the class to relax and remember that P=MD. Anyway, it was touch and go for the first few weeks.... but I made it. Still here. Breathing. Sitting on my couch realizing I could actually go out to dinner with my boyfriend tonight. Hmmm, novel idea.

SCORE:

Ella-153

Med School and Random Forces of Stupid-142

UPDATE: I got my official results from my exams, and did much better than I thought originally! Yay!

SCORE:

Ella-215

Med School and Random Forces of Stupid-171

How It All Plays Out (In Case You're Confused)

Seemed like when I was an undergrad I couldn't find 1) a physician that actually gave me the time of day or 2) a pre-med counselor who knew shit from shinola... so I could essentially never get any straight answers from anyone. So if you're thinking about pre-med or a newbie... here's the sequence of events.

PART I - 3-6 years long.... depending on how much work you need to do!

1) You're a pre-med. Yay! Actually this part sucks. All around. You're so excited... yet so far away from anything good. So you'll need a 4 year degree for about 99% of the medical schools (some schools accept 3 years or a credit cut-off). You should DEFINITELY get your degree if at all humanly possibly. It shows follow through, you are more competitive, and you have something useful if the med school idea tanks... (which at this point we're assuming you're golden... and are going to be the next Sanjay Gupta). Your 4 year degree doesn't have to be science related... but you MUST incorporate the "pre-med" curriculum somewhere. This means 2 semesters of General Bio with lab (8 credits), 2 semesters of General Chem with lab (8 credits), 2 semesters of General Physics with lab (8 credits) and 2 semesters of Organic Chemistry with lab (8 more credits). O-chem is a special treat! Just you wait! Now, please note... these can't be pansy versions of these classes... they gotta be the real deal... classes for pre-meds. You'll know. It wont say "Concepts in biology" or "Physics of baseball". If it looks harder than hell and says "for majors".. that's the one. Ok, now I'm only half kidding about this. It's going to be a tough transition for a little while... but it is totally manageable if you do what you're supposed to do. Ok... on to the next....

2. There's only one thing worse than being a pre-med... that's taking the MCAT. I've listed all my MCAT advice below... you can read that in one of my first posts. Basically, after the MCAT, things just get better!!! That's the good news!

3. Then you apply (through the AMCAS for MD or AACOMAS for DO service) for med school, interview, and get accepted.

PART II - 4 years

4. Yay! You're a med student! Now people will mistakenly call you doctor... which is much cooler than it sounds. Med school is 4 years total. The first 2 years are "basic science"...meaning your head is in a book or your butt is in a classroom a minimum of 10 hours a day. 12 hours is reasonable. Class from 8-2, then study from 2-8. You'll get at least an hour a day to eat and shower the barnacles from all your "wobbly bits".

During these 2 years you'll get more science than you can shake a stick at. Anatomy, Histology, Genetics, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Physiology, Virology, Protozoology, yada, yada, yada. You'll also get sneak previews of your 3rd and 4th year... they'll give you a few days when you can do something clinical... The point of this is basically to throw you a bone once in a while before you throw yourself into traffic. It's well known by all med students that clinical work is like the golden apple from the Garden of Eden. When you hold it in your hand, all else seems very far away... and you're motivated to keep going. But all in all (from what I can tell thus far) med school rocks! At the end of your 2nd year (usually) you'll take STEP I. STEP I is the first exam of your "medical boards".

The second 2 years (years 3 and 4 of med school) are the "clinical years". This is where you do "rotations" or "clerkships". You basically get a 2 year schedule where you rotate around to every possible field of medicine for a learning experience and a taste of the field. You'll do OB, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, etc. Your school will require you to do your "core rotations" at places they've approved... usually a set of local hospitals affiliated with your med school. However, you'll also have electives (maybe 4 depending on the school), in which you can rotate out to totally other places. If you have your heart set on doing your ER rotation in New York, do it! Geriatrics in Spain? Knock yourself out! There are tons of opportunities in the US and abroad. Somewhere in these 2 years (usually after 3rd year) you'll take STEP II of your boards.

Your 4th year you will also have a lot of free time, as this is the time when you are required to apply for residency and participate in the MATCH. This will require you to fly all around the US for interviews... usually a minimum of 15... often up to 30 or more interviews. This goes from October until Match day which is in March.

5. MATCH DAY. In March of your 4th year... you and the schools you've interviewed at will mutually rank each other. You rank the schools, they rank you, it gets all matched up in the big residency database in the sky... and every 4th year US medical student finds out where they are going to do residency at on the same day. Happy for most, others not so much. If you don't match, you "scramble" 2 days later during a 12 hour window for any positions that didn't get filled. It isn't pretty folks.

PART III - 3-6 years

6. Yay! You graduated from med school and you're going to be a resident. You'll get a measly paycheck... but you have those all important letters after your name and finally your going to kick some ass! Residency is a training they make you do before you are "hire-able". Sure you have an MD at this point... but no real experience in your field....so you gotta do a residency. Depending on your specialty, your residency will be somewhere between 3-6 years. And there's really no hard and fast rule to which is which. In some places OB is 3 years... someplaces 4. IM is generally 3 years, ER is usually 3 or 4 years. You'll get decent benefits, and make somewhere in the vicinity of $45,000 your first year. This will increase about $2000 per year that you are in residency.

Your first year of residency is called your "intern" year. You're low man on the totem poll, and you get abused pretty bad in some places. Meaning long hours, lots of responsibility, and you still really don't know crap about medicine. Subsequent years get better... cause you'll have interns to abuse... and they'll do your work for you.

You'll also have to pass STEP III sometime early on in residency.... which is what is required to be any physician in the US. In order to be "board certified" in your specialty, you'll also have to pass the "boards" for your specialty (a specific exam just on OB, ER, Peds, or whatever you do).

PART IV - 2-6 years or more!

7. Now you're a real doctor, but you have Stockholm Syndrome now, and don't want to leave your captures. So you do a fellowship if you so desire. A fellowship is a SUB-specialty of whatever specialty you did in residency. For example, Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Critical Care, Endocrinology, Oncology... those are all sub-specialties of Internal Medicine. So if you want to be a Cardiologist, you'll be doing a fellowship. Don't worry, you'll get paid... but only about $55,000. That part sucks. And of course you'll have to pass the "board" exam for whatever your sub-specialty is as well.

PART V - the rest of your life...

8. So now you are 187 years old and you're a doctor. You can now afford to pay off your student loans in about a year, you can buy that Audi you want, and you suddenly realize you don't have to eat top ramen and pop-tarts anymore. Life is good...

Moral of the story?

This is a long long long road. If you aren't enjoying the JOURNEY, you're going to waste a lot of your life. Don't do this for money, because by the time you get it you won't care anymore. This is a great path if you accept each step for what it is, make the best of it, and don't let yourself get caught up in "waiting" to be a doctor. Keep your real self very present in all that you do... so that you don't wake up in 20 years wondering why you waited so long to be happy.

Good Luck!

Leslie

So I finally got to talk to my friend Leslie tonight... she's been in rehab for 2 weeks now, and has been clean over a month. Yay!

So to her...

Good job, girl! Im so proud of you... and you aren't missing anything out here in the "real" world. Just take your time, make the most of it, deal with what you need to deal with, and breathe! You can make your big decisions as you need to... and the answers to your problems will become clear over time. Just focus on you right now... and with all those stair exercises you'll have a new life AND a new gluteus maximus when you're done! We're cheering for you!

Some More (Random) Good Advice For Pre-Meds

1. Stay away from college counselors and pre-med advisors. They are idiots. Period. Unless you have managed to find one that you love (??? although I've never heard of this??), just stay away. It's damaging to your psyche, and they generally don't know what the f$%^ they are talking about anyways. You're much better off to use the AAMC resources (get an MSAR for the current year.. that's a book with every requirement for every med school in the US (and Canada I think))... it has all the information you'll need... and you can start making lists of the places you'd like to go. Then you can target the schools that have comparable stats to yours.

2. When you finally start filling out the AMCAS, use every space possible and put as much information as you can. You get 15 spots to put "extra-curricular activities". I don't care if you've never done an extracurricular activity in your life (which hopefully isn't the case), but you better fill up EVERY SINGLE one of those spots. It doesn't have to be a traditional activity either (like you were an RA, played a sport, did research whatever). When I got to spot 11 I was pretty much done with my research and my "real" stuff... but I used those remaining spots to give a little "extra" about myself. I used one to describe my language skills, one to describe my interest in photography, etc. Use the space to give information that there's no way the AC would know about you otherwise. In fact on one of my interviews I was asked quite a bit about my photography interest in a casual way. Now, use this with caution... there are some things that you have to do correctly First, do NOT misrepresent your level of involvement or expertise in ANYTHING. That could be really hairy in an interview. I have a great camera, and I love taking photos... but I really don't know crap about photography. And I said as much in my blurb.... basically that I was an amateur photographer who had been blogging my own photos of my international travels for several years. Period. I did not say anything that would lead someone to think that I was a professional photographer, etc. Just be genuine and use the spot to express some of your interests. If you're a mom, use a space to describe your experiences and your kiddos. What's it going to hurt? As long as you're not taking space away from a slot that could have described your efforts to cure cancer, you've clearly described what you DID do, and you're not misrepresenting any facts... use the space wisely!!!

Remember your important, relevant stuff goes FIRST... then fill the rest with whatever you can come up with:

Other things pre-meds might forget to put in the spaces:

- international travels, missions, study abroad, language learning

- scientific papers (if you've published an article, list and describe it)

- unrelated business endeavors

- Certifications (EMT, lifeguard, swimming instruction, etc.)

- musical talent, sports interests, (did you ever do a race for a cure?)

3. This is for those of you struggling with deciding on your undergrad major. I was told to "do something you like"... but I didn't really understand it at the time. I chose political science because at my school it was a well respected major with lots of faculty involvement, I had some interest in politics, the coursework was pretty easy, and I thought it opened up a lot of doors even if I never made it to med school. Ok, great... maybe it was all those things, but really I didn't enjoy it. Not for one second. I knew I didn't want to major in bio or chem... too technical and boring (I didn't want to be a lab rat)... but the thought of actually getting a degree in something I LOVED didn't even occur to me because I thought they were "fluff" degrees. I loved travel, photography, art, and languages. My passion for medicine is of no doubt... and my science classes that I took for pre-med would help me make it to med school (where you REALLY learn the fusion of science and humanity)... but what the hell did political science do for me? NOTHING. I have never, I repeat NEVER, used any of my skills from my degree. If I could do it all over, I would either major in a language or photography... because those are two things outside of medicine that I desperately want to develop. I could have been taking photos all these years and getting paid while waiting for med school... or while IN med school. Or I could be completely fluent in a 2nd or 3rd language that would really help me to be a great physician. So my (much drawn out) point is to pick something you LOVE as an undergraduate... you'll never regret it as a physician.

And for those of you saying that you want a strong science background to be a great physician... that's fine. But do it only if you love it. Because the required pre-med classes are what gives you the strong foundation. Just those basic classes have given me a strong base from which to learn all the medicine I'll ever want to learn. If you want to learn more in-depth science by majoring in chem, bio, whatever.. (which is really only going to be useful for synthesizing new plastics, classifying cellular receptors, and mathematically proving the 5th dimension)... then go for it. But that won't make you one drop of a better doctor unless you really LOVE it.

Passed, I think

Well, preliminary tally of the correct answers seems to indicate that I passed both the practical and the written part of the anatomy exam. I did better on the practical, and from what I can tell I "passed" the written by the skin of my teeth. Whew. We tested for 5 hours straight. Holy crap I was tired.

Let me just give you a little rundown of how it all works:

1. The class splits - half to the lab, half take the written... then we switch

2. I took the written first, and the course director had to tell AT LEAST 30 students not to open their booklet early. He said it over and over... and they were still doing it! These people got into med school???

3. The test was f#$$%% HARD! I studied every day for weeks and BARELY passed! It was multiple choice... but there was a lot of stuff I really didn't know the answer to at all. Some stuff I plain forgot, and a lot of stuff I knew.

4. Upstairs there are 7 labs. Each lab has 10 structures on the cadavers and 1 or 2 radiographic images or bone samples, etc. We get 20 minutes in each lab and its basically a free-for-all. You have to see everything and figure out what it is. If there's a hard one, then people "clog up" on it.. and then you can't see for crap. Let me tell you future docs, there is a WHOLE LOT going on between your clavicle and your shoulder... and you better get good at differentiating between strings that look flat (nerves), strings that look like maybe something can flow (arteries), and strings that have a little purple tint (veins). Its a nightmare! It's like a yarn ball, and to really figure it out you have to get up close and personal. Mmmmm. Then you have to wait cause there is ALWAYS a jackass who won't move from a structure because he can't figure it out. Nevermind that 8 other people have a blank space next to #14. Fuck em! He'll stay as long as he wants.

5. The brilliance of the exam prep is really evident at the end of the exam when there are two sheets of identical answer keys posted on the wall RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER. That's super efficient with 180 students crowding trying to write down 140 answers to score themselves.

Well, that's pretty much it. Can't wait for next time.

Oh, 2 other good things happened. My friend "T" who's a 2nd year in Texas sent me a "care package" for my exams... so sweet of him. Complete with coffee, granola bars, a notebook, etc. Yay! I love care packages. And the second (while not good exactly) proved to be rather interesting. On my way driving home from my exam I was so tired and exhausted that I did not even notice there were two TOTALLY naked women standing on the side of the street. It actually didn't register in my mind for a good 20 seconds.

Pretty Funny

First Block Exams Start TOMORROW!

And at the severe risk of having my pride handed to me on a platter, I would like to venture to say that I am feeling ok. I went to the review session for anatomy and embryo (which is tomorrow) and I felt that I knew 95% or more of what the professor discussed. Not true, however for biochem. I've really been putting that on the back burner... hopefully that doesn't kick me in the ass come Tuesday. I do have three full uninterrupted days for studying biochem after this anatomy nonsense is over... so hopefully I can whip into shape before then. Since I'm not a master memorizer, anatomy has been really hard for me... and I've literally put probably 100 hours or more into just this one class. Thankfully biochem seems to be more conceptual (and I have some chem background)... so hopefully I can make this work.

Thus far I've studied every day after class (and weekends too of course) for between 2-7 hours. Some days I am a rockstar and can study and study, somedays I can barely stay awake. My dissector (the clean one) actually has drool marks where I've fallen asleep on top of it. Most days I get at least 4 hours of studying.. just taking 2 days off for trial and 1 for being sick. I don't know if everyone studies as much as I do... maybe they study more... who knows?... but I am one of those unfortunate people who has the discipline to physically sit down and study... but I have a hard time absorbing what I read. Additionally my mind wanders every 2 seconds and I have to make myself concentrate. Yes, I know that's called ADD, and yes, I have it (we can save this for another conversation).

Anyway, I haven't been studying in groups for 2 reasons. 1) In the past, I have had difficulty finding people on my study wavelength. Everyone is either totally unprepared and I am wasting my time... or they are totally over-my-head gunners and it stresses me out. And 2) I am exhausted after a day of class or whatever.. and I need to come home for a nap before I start studying. Plus I like studying at home in my underwear (is that too much info?), drinking good coffee, cuddled up on the couch with my dog Luke laying near.

Well, we'll see next week if my methods are adequate. I might be re-reading this and thinking what a moron I was to study only 4 hours a day at home without a study group.

A Not So Subtle Message

So exams are on Friday (Anatomy and Embryology) and Monday (Biochem). The upperclassmen sent this link out today. Funny, right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X2bMzf7udA

First Day With Real Patients

Today was my first day of my preceptorship. Essentially each first year gets assigned to a community physician, who they will spend several days mentoring over the next year. I was assigned to a general surgeon who specializes in bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery). I guess I wasn't expecting much... but I was pleasantly surprised. Not because I have a newfound interest in bariatrics... but because I really liked my preceptor. He's in his 60's, Irish (complete with accent) and totally cool. We chatted, we saw patients, and he called me "Doctor". I'm telling you, graduating from med school is highly overrated. Just slap those letters on the end of my name and lets get rolling!

Anyway...

He explained to me that he started working in bariatrics because he felt that obese people were shunned by the world... including by other physicians. He spoke to me about the stigma attached to being obese, and the fact that people (even physicians) have no tolerance for "fat" people. It's like a plague. Many physicians don't want a waiting room full of obese people, stigmatized as having a lack of control, smelling bad, having poor hygiene, sweating, etc. He also talked about the reasons why people get so obese, generally different reasons for men and women... for example obese women often have a history of physical and or sexual abuse. I thought everything he said was rather insightful and very humanistic.

He made me realize the prejudices associated with looking at obese people. Just like there is with a drug user, a smoker, or someone who has green hair... there is a perceived lack of credibility associated with obesity. If someone morbidly obese tells you something, your common sense says "ok, thanks for the input... but you are so clearly severely out of control in this one area of your life... how can I trust your judgement on anything?" The difference between obesity and smoking or drug use? You can't hide obesity, even temporarily. It is really a sad state of affairs.

Then we went and saw patients. Today he actually had to explain to one patient that her llama was not a significant enough support system to see her through the surgery (?!).... Identifying your support system is part of the requirements for the surgery... I guess she doesn't have anyone and loves her llama. Well, that's only one of her problems because she is also bipolar.

Any way, it was a good day and overall a great time. But don't misunderstand... I like him and all but I surely wont be signing up for a career in surgery anytime soon. I would like to have a paycheck before I'm 50....

What I've Learned So Far...

Anesthesiology = you get to do lots of crossword puzzles

Gastroenterology = Playing Nintendo all day long (yes, I'm dating myself)

ER = Treat 'em and Street 'em

Psychiatry = If your patient says he's suicidal he automatically get three hots and a cot. If you don't like him, you can PEC him.

Pediatrics = kids, good. parents, bad

Orthopedics = Can you say EGO? The Ortho guy that gave a talk last week called himself heroic at least 8 times.

IM = so busy they can't possibly tell the difference between an ass and an elbow (or their own ass from their own elbow for that matter)

Radiology = greek isles while reading CT scans on your laptop

ID = Basically you treat everything with one of four medications. You really can't screw up too much

Dermatology = Oh, that's a rash. Or, possibly.... a ... um... bad rash

Surgery = I can't stand on concrete that long. Maybe if I was suspended from the ceiling?

Geriatrics = well, you won't be curing anyone

More to come..................

Seriously?

Today I met my 2nd year buddy. Based on our background and academic interests, every first year gets paired up with a 2nd year "big brother/sister" to act as an advisor/confidant/support person for all the newbies. I met my buddy Karin today at a party set up by the school. All in all she and her boyfriend (also a 2nd year) were super cool.

Here's the weird part. Now I've heard this in passing... but today a group of 2nd years (including Karin and her boyfriend), were adamant that I stop wasting my time by going to class. Essentially (according to their theory), you can save time by staying at home and watching the streamed class lectures (all our class lectures are streamed for convenience to review at your leisure online). You can stay home and study, thus saving yourself the inconvenience of waking up early, getting ready, driving to school, parking, etc... all of which takes away precious study time. Huh?

I haven't missed much class thus far, save for the trial and one day this week when a neighbor cat attacked my baby bird... (she' ok now I think)... but I feel like going to class is so important. Maybe it's just psychological... because I NEVER went to class as an undergrad and I was a terrible student. I barely ever missed class during my Masters work and got all A's (ok, 1 B+). Plus, for christ's sake I'm paying like a billion dollars for med school... shouldn't I go? Or am I being too anal? I'm not going to say it's not a huge inconvenience to get to class... because it is. And I actually look forward to the weekends with relief because I can study uninterrupted. Of course, everyone says you have to go to anatomy lab... but the lectures are a waste of time. Damn, too bad. I wouldn't mind flaking out on anatomy. (SIDENOTE) Today I flicked a piece of fat from our cadavers hand onto my face.... and I freaked out and wiped my face on one of my lab partner's shoulders... Ha! I would have been SO PISSED if somebody did that to me. But hey, we're a team and it was a severe emergency!!!

Anyway, about skipping class... I'll have to think about that a little more.

A Few Updates

1. From my posting last Sunday... I am feeling a lot better. I am definitely on an emotional roller coaster... but feeling better about my ability to hang in there

2. My friend Leslie started 90 days of rehab this week. Hopefully all will go as planned and she can get back to residency as soon as possible

3. The trial I testified in resulted in a unanimous guilty verdict for 2nd degree murder. Louisiana carries a mandatory life in prison sentence with no possibility of parole. So that is a load off my shoulders.

First Day as a Real (Fake) Doctor

As my young classmates like to say "today I felt like a BAMF"... (apparently ?) a bad ass mother fucker. Yes, folks, I got to wear my white coat for the first time today for a PBL (problem based learning session) and for clinical practice in the standardized patient clinic. The clinic is set up as a floor in one of our buildings which looks like a real clinic (it does, really). There are real clinic rooms and "standardized" patients (meaning actors that present with a set of symptoms for us to practice on). Once we complete our history, exam, etc. the actors break role and give us feedback on our performance. It is also videotaped for evaluation. It was fun. I had a woman with a "cold" so they started me out easy... but I'm sure it will get more involved over time.

For the PBL session, we get together in a small group with a professor who gives us a case. Then we review it, discuss it, and give a differential diagnosis.

Overall a pretty cool day... because getting back to the BAMF part... Now on my first day of school the faculty warned us that our community now (immediately, today) views us as doctors. The general community makes little distinction between short coats, long coats, students, residents, interns, attendings, whatever. For all intents and purposes YOU ARE A DOCTOR... SO ACT LIKE ONE. Yada yada we all laughed and nodded... but essentially blew it off.

But today. TODAY, I felt it. It's a weird thing. Something like a mix of respect, or power, or something rather indescribable. I got into an elevator with three gorgeous "put together" women in suits. I was wearing my white coat. And they were staring. And smiling. Normally a bunch of beautiful women wouldn't even look at me. Why would they? I'm just an "average" woman in an elevator. Odd. Then I drove downstairs and a female doctor in a white coat waved to me. Another anomaly that I'd never experienced before. Then (just for kicks and to continue my experiment) I wore my coat into a little store by my house. Ahead of me was an urban mom, who looked like one of those "power mom" kinda chicks. You know the well dressed flashy kind that always has somewhere to be, and speaks a little too loud when she talks to her children in public? So she was ahead of me in line with her three kids. And she was actually "flustered". At one point, she looked at me in the middle of her transaction and said "Do you want to just go ahead, I'm sure you are really busy and have to be somewhere". I almost fainted in front of the cupcake display, I swear. I politely told her to please take her time, I wasn't in a rush.

Now please don't misread why I am writing this. It isn't about power, or getting privileges, or being better. But these are three things that have NEVER happened to me before... and then all three occur on the first day I wore my coat.

This must be what the deans meant during the white coat ceremony, when they spent 2 hours discussing the great responsibility that occurs with wearing the white coat. Holy smokes, I'll take it.

Radiology Rocks

Well, I said I was going to keep my mind open... and I'm thinking radiology is totally awesome. I never thought that I'd be interested in something like that because I didn't feel it was clinical enough... but it is so cool. One of my hobbies is photography... so maybe that is one of the reasons why I like it... but overall it's like a little puzzle figuring out each image.

This week we actually had a "radiology session"... so we went into the darkroom and discussed images of the body. I'm getting the hang of it... and it's really fun.

Needless to Say

I'm really having a tough weekend. Three nervous breakdowns later I am really questioning if this is right for me. I know this is part of the process... apparently everyone feels this way. Yada yada... they give the lectures about managing stress and getting help... but crap...I feel so out of sorts I don't even want to reach out. I see classmates on facebook (lots of them .... together) boozong it up... how do they have time? On my free time all I can think about is sleeping! And really folks, I'm studying. Here's my normal schedule:

6:00 am Wake up, wash my face, walk the dog

6:30 am pack a lunch, shower (optional), get dressed, pack my backpack

7:30 head out for class

8:00 - 9:00 class starts ANATOMY

9:00 - 12:00 ANATOMY LAB

12:00-1:00 Usually a mandatory meeting (Deans, health, projects, etc)

1:00-3:00 Biochem or 1:00 to 4:00 Foundations in Medicine

4:00 head home, walk the dog, sleep 30 minutes till 5:00

5:00 - 8:30 study, then dinner

9-11:00 - study some more and optional shower

11:30 Bed

20 Things Happening in My Brain... and None of them Good

1. Did I do this just to prove that I COULD make it?

2. Do I not deserve to be here?

3. Did I try to manipulate fate by trying so hard to get into med school?

4. Can I even do anything else with my life at this point?

5. Did I waste my 20's trying to prove that I was good enough to be a doctor?

6. I don't know how to memorize this many structures

7. Can I make it?

8. I can't make it

9. No one else seems to be freaking out

10. I'm too old for this

11. I should have had babies and started an organic farm, made jam and grown herbs

12. I am so tired

13. I am so tired

14. My brain is stuffed

15. I AM studying, dammit

16. When is the refund/withdrawal date?

17. Am I the dumbest one here?

18. I am so tired

19. Two more weeks before the first block exam

20. How many fucking things can possibly be in an arm?

Glad that's Over

Well today was the big day. I testified. Its over. I had to skip 3 med school classes... but truthfully I feel like it was worth it. I felt that I did a good deed, and now I can move on. Funny, I stared at him (HIM) the entire time I was in the courtroom on the stand and he never looked at me even once. I'll be very curious to see what the verdict is in a few days. Louisiana is a capital punishment state, so if he is guilty he may receive the death penalty. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Thoughts on Things

Today we had a lecture on your relationship with your patient... how close to get, whether it is alright to be "affected", how to listen... etc. So I know too close is not good (like you're not allowed to have sex with your patients... can you believe they actually had to tell us this one?)... but let me tell you a little story and see what you think.

So I used to have this patient that I loved to death. His name was Mr. Lawrence. Mr. Lawrence was about 63 although he looked much older from years and years of alcohol and drug abuse. He came to see me for enrollment in a clinical trial. He was a little out there... tall and skinny and always wore butterfly collar 70's polyester shirts, had large wide frame black glasses which made his eyes look bigger than they were... and his hair was grey and wiry, sticking up Einstein style. All in all he was adorable. He always asked me to repeat myself and not talk too fast because his "noives" (nerves) weren't good.

After months of his visits I truly loved him. He was a total doll. He lived in an assisted living low income project for the elderly, and I gathered he was pretty lonely. Plus his health was so bad he rarely left his room. He did manage to continue his favorite hobby, wood carving, and he presented me with one of my most treasured possessions. He gave me a wood plaque in which he had carved a young woman sitting in lotus position meditating on a cloud... with the sun, moon, and stars carved around her. My name was on the plaque. I love this plaque not only because it was from him... but because I felt that he knew me as the person that I truly wanted to be. I wanted to be a cool, calming, peaceful influence on people... even if in my own head I'm an ADD maniac. At any rate, he explained to me that he felt calm and happy when he visited me... and I felt wonderful beyond belief. Eventually Mr. Lawrence confessed to me his entire history of alcohol and drug abuse, along with the most heart wrenching story I'd heard from Hurricane Katrina. Essentially he'd been rushed by rising water. His sister and a friend were trying to escape with him through a hole cut in the roof, but were unable to escape and died in the waters. His eyes poured with tears as he talked about his subsequent suicide attempts. He cried. I cried. and I cried some more later. A lot more later.

When Hurricane Gustav came a few weeks later, I couldn't stop thinking about him. I couldn't get him out of my mind. I was so worried, knowing he was in a home.. without anyone to help him and knowing his past experience with hurricanes. I called him. When he told me the home was requiring everyone to evacuate on their own... and then whoever couldn't would be evacuated later by bus, I knew he was terrified. I knew I shouldn't, (patient/doctor...researcher...relationship violated?) but I did. I offered to pick him up and drive him out of town to his sisters home. The relief in his voice was immeasurable and he broke down in tears. I ended up not having to pick him up... another family member sent a friend to get him... but the question is did I do something wrong? Did I get too involved? Or is this simply common decency? Love for fellow humanity? Would it have been different if I was already a physician? I hope I never let those fears get in the way of compassion.

How Many Unbelievable Things Can You See During 1 Practice Exam?

Today was our first mid-block exam (each semester in med school is divided into "blocks"... for my school three per semester)... but it was just for practice to see how we're doing. Thankfully (if you don't count the structures I haven't studied yet) I did pretty ok. Like 75-85% right... and that's just under normal study habits... ie. without studying like a maniac before a test.

BUT. The point of this posting is to tell you that I CAN NOT believe the nasty things I saw my classmates doing during the exam (this is a practical mind you... looking at cadavers)

1. One girl dragged her hair across an arm full of yellow goopy fat. Yuck... but at least it was unintentional

2. A guy actually leaned his FACE on the prop... which you use to prop up the body... while he was looking closer at a structure.

3. A second girl leaned her lovely eyelet lace shirt TOTALLY against a body.

These are just a few examples. I can not believe how unaware everyone acts... as if there is not a rotting, stinking, chopped up cadaver leaking nasty fluids and covered in piles of yellow fat. They just casually lean over as if leaning over the sofa to get the remote. Now, not to say I haven't gotten a flick or two of cadaver juice on me since I've started this process... but almost every time it's been because someone flicked me... and I have a mental inventory of every part of my body, my hair, my clothes, my pen, and my book the ENTIRE time I'm in there. I'm sure as hell not going to LEAN against something simply because I forgot there was a pile of cadaver nastiness there. GROSS!

Does it get cuter than this?

I thought I'd introduce you to my dog. Isn't he a doll?

The Unexpected Little Things Which Can Really Freak You Out

It's officially been 1 week (4 dissections) in the Anatomy lab now... and I'm starting to get a little more used to it. I still don't heavily participate in the dissections, but I've cut quite a bit, and am desperately trying to get used to the smell.

During the pre-lab lecture yesterday, something very disturbing happened. We are all standing around among the cadavers, and the guy next to me taps me on the shoulder and says "Hey look at that. That's really weird."

I look down at the cadaver in front of me (a woman), and I can see that she is laying on her stomach face down, and her fingers are curled up so that I can see her nails. And she´s wearing nail polish. A dark, rosy tangerine color. And I feel the tears coming. I don´t know why. It just became so real to me all of the sudden. Here is a cold, smashed grey body... but those nails are bright as can be... and I start thinking all sorts of things. Maybe she didn't know she was going to die. Now I know something personal about her. She likes that rosy tangerine color. Maybe her daughter painted her nails when she was in the hospital bed.

It took me the entire lecture to breathe and focus on the posterior cervical triangle... all the while standing composed and waiting patiently for my watery eyes to dry... and the redness of my face to return pink. I don't think anyone noticed. I wondered if anyone else feels this way?

Things that happened this week

1. I joined the Emergency Medicine student group. And can I just say I WANT TO DO EM SOOOOOO BAD! It does seem great for all the reasons I originally thought (see way below). They are having an intubation clinic session... but too many people wanted to sign up so they had to do a lottery... and I wasn't chosen. Boo :( Its ok, things happen for a reason... maybe I am supposed to be focusing just on studying right now... which I have been. And folks, let me just tell you...

2. Studying it has been! I feel ok, actually... I'm not really freaking out because I've been studying most every night. Except one night I got sick, and last night I met with the DA to go over my testimony. Yeah, I decided to testify. I guess. I kinda got guilted I guess. Anyway, back to studying. So the trick is to pre-read each lecture, then study each classes material when you get home. I have also been drawing millions of drawings for anatomy... that is fun and really helps me learn. I guess everyone will have to figure out their own learning style... bc the first week I was trying to memorize anatomy by jut reading and it WAS NOT working.

3. I'm taking my hound dog to a "pet therapy" service learning project. Basically we bring our pets to residential nursing homes and hospice, etc. and they visit the patients. Ok, whatever. Might be cool. I just figure its a good way to get my service hours and spend time with my dog at one whack.

Fellow Fossils

Oh, I almost forgot... this week I've met several people who are 29 and 30 who seem awesome. Yay!

And frankly, while everyone does seem very young... I haven't met anyone who I felt was immature or didn't deserve to be here. In fact, there are some pretty interesting people in class.

A Big Decision

So I haven't mentioned this before because I don't want to be a drama junkie... but it's finally come to the point where I can't keep it a secret anymore. I might have to involve the school... I'm not sure.

I had a little "situation" in my life about a year ago. Essentially (without giving away all the details), a contractor that I hired to work on my home went nuts and murdered another man that was working on my home (not AT my home, thankfully). Depending on the circumstances, this might not be a big deal... but it is in this situation for three reasons.

1. My house was demolished, and the person who was supposed to rebuild it was put into jail. Hence why I am now rebuilding my house with my boyfriend.

2. The nut job contractor actually used ME (and boyfriend) as an alibi for his "self defense" defense

3. I am now being asked to testify in the murder trial because clearly I have an important piece of information that disproves the defense.

So the big problem is that this trial is coming up SOON.. and I just started med school, dammit. This guy has already messed up SO much of my life that I don't want to get behind because of his stupid trial. At the same time, I feel socially responsible for testifying to keep this maniac in prison.... I'm really at a loss. This really affected my life for a long time, and I feel like I'm just now starting to put things back in order... and here comes the DA, now calling me every night. What to do, what to do?

Hmmm... maybe I'm not the idiot

So today I found out that our lab groups were specifically designed. Essentially one "more experienced" person (whatever that means) was assigned to be in the group with the younger folk. So I guess that's me. Hey, at least I'm the oldest for a reason... other than just being old.

Age of Tankmates 21, 21, 22, 23, 23, and me

My lab group works well together and everyone seems competent, prepared and pretty cool overall... so needless to say I'm MUCH happier today with Anatomy lab #2, knowing that I have a strong group. Not to mention, everybody seems surprisingly tolerant of the fact that I am really not particularly stoked about sawing up human bodies. Additionally, the body dried out a little bit so it was a bit less juicy... and "flinging" was kept to a minimum. Perhaps these don't seem like very significant events, but my lab experience was immeasurably better this go around. Minus the smell of dead rotten cadaver, of course.

I wish I could say the same for the rest. I met with E last night and she helped me out with a few tips. Up until now I'd been listening to my nuts Colombian physician boyfriend who had to take anatomy for two years and was required to know every placement of every amino acid in the human body. Needless to say, he stressed me out little bit unnecessarily (I still love you baby, and thanks for all your help).... E got me on the right page... and essentially said we were just responsible for knowing what we'd been over in class. It's still a lot, folks, so that's not much of a reconciliation... But at least I haven't considered dropping out of med school... today anyway.

Anatomy. They don't call it gross for nothin'

I knew it was going to be bad. But I'd been trying to Buddha Zen Meditate Woosah myself into believing it wouldn't be so bad for weeks. I expected to feel kinda grossed out... but assumed I'd get over it quickly.

So we get the tank and everybody places bets on whether we have a male or female. Losers buy the winners drinks. I call female and we win. Yay! Best part of the experience is over.

So we have an old lady. Nice little old lady I'm sure. But upon the first few cuts we realize she has a lot of fat. Everywhere. She doesn't seem too fat, but there is fat piling up everywhere. We're starting with the back muscles, and one girl is dissecting the left side. And folks, she is REALLY into this. She is literally flinging cadaver slop everywhere... and I have to ask her several times not to fling on me. She actually has a piece on her face!!! And its all over her scrubs, and she is pushing her hair out of her face with her gloves. I was traumatized.

And did I mention the smell? I guess I don't have to. I'm sure you can imagine. Well, to say the least I didn't cut very much... I tried to... but I think it's going to take me a little while to get used to all of this. At one point I must have looked like I was going to pass out, because everybody looked really nervous and kept asking me if I wanted to sit down. I must have been green because I wasn't actually saying anything.

Well, I guess I'll have 3 labs per week until Thanksgiving to get over it. One down, like 65 to go. Crap.

Panic, Anxiety, Stress, Nausea, Holy crap... what did I get myself into??

Ok, it's the end of day 2 of classes and I cannot believe what I have got myself into. Studying hard. Will write more later as soon as I have time... but I wanted you all to know that I haven't forgotten about you. This week has been nuts to say the least.... for the following reasons:

1. I feel really old, and my class is young. Previous years the average age at my school was 25, this year it is 23. Even the anatomy professor stood up and said the class looked like high school students. Guess that's a compliment for me? Anyway, I think normally I am a very social person... but I really haven't felt like getting to know anyone yet. I'm feeling massive uneasiness, and a general all around sense of anxiety... not to mention lonely and a bit of an outsider (which I'm not used to!)

2. NOBODY explains anything in med school. They give a partial lecture for a class, with no accompanying reading or anything. You don't have a set booklist... just a bookstore that carries 20 embryology books, 30 anatomy books, 15 biochem books, etc. You are supposed to go through the books and see which ones YOU like... then buy a selection of books so you can learn the topics the class requires... which is very ambiguous and very nerve-wracking. There is no clear plan to prepare for anything. Overall I'm very confused.

To say the least I am panicking. What the hell have I done? Am I crazy? Did I make a HUGE mistake? All these years??? The material seems cool, the professors are good, I like the clinical correlations.... but I am so confused and over my head. Ok, will post again soon!

A Wonderful, Wonderful Day!

So today was the day! My White Coat Ceremony. My family came into town and we made a weekend out of it. Yesterday I took a bus tour around the city to see six different community health clinics and centers that we will be working at... then I met my family (and everyone else's family) at the city park for a beautiful summer BBQ. The food was great, and I got to introduce my family to the Deans as well as to southern pulled pork sandwiches.

Then today we met up extra early for breakfast (I actually succeeded in not spilling coffee all over my outfit)... then headed over to the Hilton for the ceremony.

It was nice overall, but the Dean unexpectedly asked us to say one word that describes what brought us to this university to study medicine. Everybody was kinda freaked out, because the people ahead kept taking all the words. There are a lot of words in the english dictionary, but today I swear there were only about 80. Everyone ahead of me took my ideas... Adventure, Humanity, Exploration, so when it got to my turn I settled on Discovery. What other words did I hear? Caffeine, Luck, Stick-to-it-ive-ness, Bribes (?), and of course, Mom. I also got my white coat, which despite actually going in to try the sizes I somehow got stuck with a Medium (which I ordered) which I KNOW was actually an XXL (which I DID NOT order), and I was swimming in it. However, along with my white coat, I got an unexpected fabulous present. A Littman Stethescope... everyone got one as a surprise from the alumni association. Can you say A-W-E-S-O-M-E????? I was so excited during the ceremony that I could barely keep from bursting into tears of excitement.

Then after we went to lunch, and had so much fun. They still have 25 cent martinis... and needless to say we got a little silly with my parents and ate massive amounts of bread pudding.

White coat ceremony.... can't be beat!

Thoughts on things...

Something shocking happened to me this week. Well, not TO me, but sort of. Someone I love very dearly told me a terrible secret. Here's what happened.

Background. Leslie and I used to work together in the same hospital a couple of years ago. She's a surgery resident. The two of us became sort of inseparable. She is a great resident, a mom, a wife, and all around a pretty cool chick. We've been close friends for a few years now, inside and outside of work.

I haven't heard from her much in a couple of months though, save for a few text messages. I knew she was having a rough time with her sister, troubles at home... and some struggles at work so I kind of blew it off. Finally last week after a million attempts we made it out to dinner. She said she had a lot of stuff to tell me.

When we sat down, she said that she was off work for two weeks and didn't know if she was going back. I figured she had maybe decided to quit via using her vacation time or something like that... but then I saw something was wrong. Really wrong.

"I got caught", she said. She looked at me like I should know what she was talking about. I had no idea WHAT she was talking about. Did she have an affair, I wondered? How could you get put on leave from work for that?? When I finally was able to drag it out of her, she admitted that she had been using for three months.

Folks, I couldn't have been more shocked than if she told me she was having alien children. This was Leslie, for god's sake. She was the most straight, together, awesome resident, and a totally devoted mom. She's uber-responsible, and doesn't really show that she's stressed. I never saw her drink more than a glass of wine, I'd usually have to drag her to go to the mall or to dinner, and and far as I knew she had no drug or alcohol history. I could not fathom how this happened. Of course I knew she had been having rough times over the past year or so... but I never imagined it was this bad.

Turns out she'd been taking un-used fentanyl and injecting it a couple times a day at work and at home before bed for a couple of months. Finally, one of her co-residents suspected her, and reported her.

So why am I telling you this? Because if it can happen to Leslie, the most normal, awesome chick in the world... it can happen to anyone. Quickly. Medical professionals have access to drugs that street junkies can only dream of... and stresses just as bad if not worse. She was dealing with so much pressure on every side of her life that something had to give. I think she created this situation by using drugs so that circumstances in her life would change... because she was stuck in something she couldn't get out of.

Thankfully, medical professionals are allowed chances for rehabilitation and depending on the circumstances of the drug use (if they don't harm a patient) can often petition to have their privileges re-instated. But it will be a long process for her.

The moral? Be in tune with your own emotions, and know when you need help. Don't wait until you crack to make a change. All of this isn't worth it. I'm just her friend and couldn't sleep for three days over this... can you imagine how she feels?

I'm not the oldest one!!!

Well, my fears have been put to rest, I'm not the oldest one in my med school class. Someone (I don't know who) is 33. What a fossil :-)

Anyway, today was the first day of orientation, and I swear I have never been so excited/nervous for anything in my life. It was basically just an introduction day... got a t-shirt, met the deans, met some 2nd years, got my clicker (I've never had one before.. they didn't have them when I was in college)... overall everything went well. Funny, I was eating breakfast and the girl sitting across from me was like "Oh my god, you were my TA!".... great...one of my chemistry students had actually managed to graduate from college and get into med school in the time it took me to get accepted. Awesome. That made me feel like a dinosaur... but everything else was great!

Wired like a Xmas present from the Unibomber

Can't sleep, can''t sleep. Tomorrow is my first day of orientation... going to meet all my future classmates, meet the instructors, see the school.... OH MY GOD!! The facebook page for my class is lit up with all the insomniacs with the same problem.

Some of my friends who've been accepted to med school were like "oh, my acceptance was so anticlimactic" or "the novelty wears off soon". BS ! Since I was accepted almost a year ago I have become increasingly more and more excited. Tonight I am so excited I made chocolate chip cookies to celebrate and was so excited I forgot them in the oven. Ha! My boyfriend just shook his head and suggested that I get it together before I start medical school.

Neck Deep Already

Yesterday I met with my friend and mentor Dr. J, and a 4th year med student. We're starting a project looking at pancreatic tumor cells... which is pretty cool because of several reasons

1) I'm in at the planning phase which means I get my input on the project. I get a say in what type of time commitment this will be, and how much work is involved.

2) Bench research in GI is very hard to come by for a med student. Not that I want to do GI, but if I did.

3) Pancreatic cancer research. Need I say more? Awesome.

Anyway, I'm basically spending my last free day before med school starts writing a protocol. Sweet. Well, that and I got my hair done :)

Nun's Quarters

This is getting so old. I've been making an honest effort not to crash into any furniture over the past two weeks in my band-aid sized apartment... mainly because I don't want to have bruised and battered legs when I have to walk across the stage for White Coat.

This week's score - apartment furniture 15, Ella 0

To DO or not to DO

So here's the controversial subject of the hour. MD vs DO. Is one better than the other? The following are my opinion about DO school and the debate...

Here's a refresher: Osteopathic schools grant a D.O. which is a doctorate of osteopathy. Allopathic schools grant the traditional M.D. DO schools are a little newer, and a DO has all the same "doctor powers" as an MD. They can prescribe, treat, do surgery, etc. The cool thing about DO schools is that they teach physical manipulation techniques which are damn awesome. For example, they may learn to treat a condition with physical manipulation of lymph nodes to promote drainage before resorting to an antibiotic. It's like getting regular medical school plus something extra cool.

There are pros and cons to both schools I believe. The pros of DO school seem pretty obvious to me. You get to be part of a pretty progressive community and learn modern techniques in medicine. Unquestionably I think the education is equal if not better, and your skills will be just as strong as any MD program. DO schools are a little less competitive to get into (but probably not for long... they're catching on quickly!)... meaning that you still have to have all the pre-reqs completed and to take the MCAT, but you can get in with less competitive scores.

The cons of going to DO school are basically that you're going to have to work in a world full of dumb-ass MDs that think that you're inferior. And this can really limit you. First you have to consider the specialty that you want to enter. Most DOs train to do family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, etc. There are actually DO residency "slots" that you apply for as a DO based on the DO specific board exams. If you want to cross over an train in a traditionally allopathic residency, you'll ALSO have to take the USMLE boards which are for the MDs. This would grant you access to apply for some allopathic spots, which may include some more competitive specialties like anesthesiology, radiology and orthopedics.

All in all it sounds great, right? So you're probably wondering why I didn't just go to DO school instead of spending so many years waiting for an acceptance to an allopathic school. Well, looking back I probably should have just gone to DO school. But here's the reason I didn't. Basically, I didn't think that I had the strength (nor did I want to), spend the rest of my life defending my education and my credentials. Like it or not, there is a huge stigma from the majority (the MDs) towards the minority ( the DOs, the international graduates, the Caribbean grad, the foreign medical students). I figured I'd had a hard enough time getting here, and I didn't want to add to my problems.

Looking back, this was probably naive... but at the time that's what I felt. And since I'd been rejected by allopathic schools, I guess I felt that I had to prove something to myself by making it. Whatever. I definitely could have saved myself a lot of time and heartache if I'd been a little less proud. Because truthfully, I know a lot of MDs who wish they were DOs, but I don't know any DOs who wish they were MDs.

Sunday Night

My boyfriend and I went to have dinner with his co-worker Greg at a cute little quaint restaurant across the lake. Greg is also kind of his boss for the time being... and it was my first time meeting him. Greg turned out to be a pretty awesome guy. Full of med school advice and he even bought us dinner as a "celebration" since I'm starting medical school next week.

Best part of the night? He asked me when my white coat ceremony was, and then told my boyfriend he could have the whole day off!!! Yay! Now everything will be great!

White Coat Ceremony

I've waited for this for so long! Years ago, I lived across the street from the Boston University Medical School, and I could see their White Coat ceremony from my window. For those unfamiliar, the White Coat ceremony is a formal ceremony where each incoming medical student is presented with his or her first white physician's coat. It's the short waist-length coat to designate that the person is a student. You can wear the hip-length coat after you graduate from medical school. I have dreamed of my own ceremony for so long. And it's almost here!

Of course my parents are coming... but my boyfriend has to work. Damn residency. Hopefully he can talk his way into being able to come. And we're going out for lunch after the ceremony to the most fabulous restaurant in the city. You know how some high-profile restaurants are simply incredibly expensive but a big let-down once you get there? Well, this one is incredibly expensive, but totally worth it. The food is basically sex on a plate. I can't wait.

So my current dilemma (albeit so important) is finding something to wear to my White Coat ceremony. I swear it is apparently the style now to wear only miniskirts... as that is basically all there is in the stores. And since I'm really tall, I can't even "sorta" get away with it. I am on a mission to find a dress in five days.... and I've been to every store in the city. Might have to move on to another city. Crap.

A few stresses...

I guess I haven't mentioned too much about my personal life, but the situation is a little less than perfect.

My boyfriend is a psychiatry resident at the same school I am attending. We bought a house together about a year ago, and have been completely renovating it since then... hoping that we would be done by now. HA HA. Needless to say we are still living in one bedroom, with one bathroom. No kitchen. No space. Definitely no place to study. I do my dishes in the bathtub. It's less than ideal to say the least. And since we are now both officially in school or residency, the prospect of time and money is looking a little dim.

But I do have to say that I love the house. It is over 120 years old, and we are renovating from the ground up. I've designed the floorplan myself, and shopped endlessly for farmhouse sinks, vintage toilets, salvaged chandeliers, beadboard, etc. It's going to be fabulous. Someday.

Five Days Left of Freedom

Today is Sunday and orientation starts on Friday. Looking at the first year schedule, a little nervousness is replacing my excitement. Or maybe it's just nervous excitement.

Anyway, I consider myself incredibly lucky to be at the school I'm at. Somehow, they've received the "progressive" memo and have made conditions highly bearable for medical students. For example, they have restricted the number of hours per day that students spend in lecture... this based on recent studies that students don't absorb and retain material after a certain number of hours in class. How novel. I mean, did it really take a scientific study to prove that students become zombies after 27 hours of lecture? Anyway, I'm happy... because while all my friends are in class from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm every day, I really only have to be there 9:00 am to noon, then 1:00 to 3:00. Some days less, some days more. My school has also implemented a pass/fail system so there is less pressure to compete for grades. Sweet. Not to mention... here's the best part... they stream all the lectures so you can watch them later at your convenience..which makes all classes O-P-T-I-O-N-A-L!!!! Who ever heard of med school where attendance isn't mandatory??? Yay!!!