So today was the official real first day of med school. And you know, I think it went pretty well (inshallah, it will continue to go that way). I am so not used to waking up at 6 a.m. and taking 4 hours of class and 2 hours of lab, but embryonic development, biochem and histology were all quite good / enjoyable / manageable / review-esque. Lab professor is such a kick -you know, funny, retired doctor guy -even the quiz at the end was (brace yourself for the grandest display of nerdmanship in a while) Fun (this does not mean I aced it, obviously, but soon enough, I will).
The downside though is that when you're really doing school, you're really not meeting more new people. You're sitting in a big room all together... but that's about it. Oh well, I guess we have plenty of time to 'meet' each other later. I bought some textbooks today. They are heavy and expensive. Also, the Harvard Coop kicks the McGill Bookstore's butt (both in terms of books and merch). On a related note, the McGill undergrads began their Frosh today and as I was walking by the Roddick Gates during my hour lunch break, I noticed a modest table of seemingly grey and crimson Harvard T-shirts. As I read the "witty" (not really) line "Harvard: America's McGill" (which, incidentally, is supposed to play on the more common adage "McGill: The Harvard of Canada"), I received confirmation from the gods that my loyalties, in fact, have not yet been swayed back across this border. I remain faithful to my alma matter thus far, and continue to pine that familiar, beautiful campus and the people who made it so memorable.
I also had to get vaccinated (again) today -turns out that Hep B vaccine I took almost 15 years ago is only good for almost 15 years.
One element of a homework we have due on Wednesday is to make up a clinical case. I'm thinking necrotizing fasciitis (aka flesh-eating virus) -let me know if you have any thoughts.
Oh, and finally, for any chemistry buffs / majors in the readership (or people who have taken a chemistry class and thought, "this will have nothing to do with anything in real life"), you ought to know that even the inorganic chemistry you take (well, organometallic chemistry, which was taught to me in an inorganic class -chem 40 anyone?) will help you in med school. Today, on the official Day 1, who did I reunite with but our good old friend the heme porphyrin. And I recalled Prof. Betley's office hours and lectures with nostalgic fondness. Hey Porphy, I'm ready for you! (Wish I could say that quite as confidently for histology, which is the study of cells... a bit less exciting in theory, but hopefully a bit more exciting in real life.)
Well, Med World, here's to you! Bring it (just not too strong).
P.S. for those of you who prefer to read about the "characters" of this "world", I will try to spruce things up in my next post ;)
Monday, August 25, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
At the Threshold of Med World: FREE. And Fabulous.
Another blog entry so soon -who would have thought it! Just don't get used to it, eh. Well, the real reason is that too much has been happening in this whole new world and whole new life of mine these last couple of days, definitely taking many turns for the better which I felt I should share, especially after the anxiety conveyed in the last entry (thanks btw to everyone who responded with encouragement and other nice words -definitely contributed to the better general feeling!).
Well, so firstly, people have been asking about the cuties. Really, it probably just comes down to the pleasure of encountering new faces and personalities and being attracted to the newness of it all (have I euphemized sufficiently here?) Much to my chagrin, with respect for my affinity to order and control in my life, I have already developed a crush or two (I know, this is ridiculous, it has only been 3 days, but alas, the heart does not always listen to the mind, and it probably also has something to do with this approaching of my peak fertility years or something). Of course, I cannot write about any of these in detail here (one day we might become Facebook friends, and one day this blog may be visited by said crushes, and really, that would just be embarrassing).
Day 2 of med world orientation
So yesterday - -after acquiring some snazzy, high quality, and most importantly, FREE, schoolbags from the CMA (Canadian Medical Association) / MD Financial people (the perks begin early, believe it or not), much continued self-congratulation for being worthy of medicine, attending a few orientation sessions, including an introduction to Physicianship and having received our first homework assignment (in a similar fashion to the Math 1a/1b tradition of homework due on the first day of class), I acquired a McGill ID card. Yes, friends, I am officially a McGill student. So much so that today, incidentally, I joined the McGill network on Facebook, boasting over 30,000 members. Yeah, for reals. Later that evening I enjoyed a decent (and FREE) dinner at Le Prince Arthur with my fellow "Med-Dent Frosh '08" (this is what is written on our yellow wristbands which we are required to wear all this week) and really, our particular table was absolutely fabulous! Really, I think I've met at least some of who will be "my people" -good conversation, same excited positivity, similar interests (met a former MUN person, and someone who did work under a circadian bio dude in the T dot, and someone with a sense of social/moral/anthropological medicine, and all of them are cool with the H-bomb, and in a friendly-joking way, chastise my round-about way of attempting a soft landing with the H-bomb, as well as ask me to say "Pahk the Cah in Hahvahd Yahd") and values -recalling the first days of Harvard Dorm Crew Fall Clean Up freshman year, when I met some of my dearest peoples. It was the best, again FREE, 3-hour long dinner I've had in a long time. I was thoroughly pleased and went to bed with pink warm fuzzies in my chest cavity.
Day 3 Intro to Med World
Today - -I was up at 6:30 a.m. (each day has been earlier than the last this week, but today's start will be the norm beginning next Monday), and walking those hilly streets again by 8:00 on yet another gorgeous sunny but comfortably temperate morning -I think "crisp" would be the right cliche. Anyway, more Physicianship talk -as a doctor, I will be both a "healer" and a "professional" -this was the lesson of the day, which connected to the "small group sessions" where we were put in random groups of about 16 (a mix of Med, Med-P and Dent students) to discuss Physicianship ethical / moral issues for about an hour and a half or so -this will be our group for the year -with a family medicine/Ob/Gyn/head of clinical clerkships doctor (this person will apparently be different every week) to lead the discussion session. This recalls "section" at Harvard. Very much so. No pompousness has emerged yet, but it's still early in the year -someone's going to be that kid and we all know it, right. This may sound skeptical, but it was actually quite a good class -and so far, I kinda liked everyone in our group okay.
Stomachs hollow and angry, we then set off for the Physicianship Apprenticeship Luncheon (PA is not to be confused with general Physicianship and other courses in this area). The group we were assigned to here is 6 fellow Med or Med-P students with whom we will regularly meet for the next 4 years, along with a doctor in charge of the group (our's is a hematologist at MGH -that is, Montreal General Hospital, not Mass General), and 2 co-leaders who are 3rd and 4th-year med students. We will be meeting on a regular basis and for the first year, pairs of us will be assigned a real live patient to 'follow', interviewing them about their health/illness experience (kind of like medical anthropological ethnography if you ask me -which is wonderful!). The point of all this Physicianship stuff, which I love and for which I totally respect McGill, is to train us to never forget about the patient's role in the diagnoses we will make, and in their own healing -to remember that ultimately, patients are people, individuals, not just 'bodies', the converse view being a common obstacle for much of medical training in the Western world, resulting in a poor doc-patient relationship. Kudos to Sir William Osler (whom I will now endearingly call 'Will') for inspiring such care in this regard of medical training here. Anyway, I will likely be 'pairing up' with one of the "my people" friends I made last night who ended up being in the same group, which is sweet -meeting other new people is wonderful, but for long-term 'projects' like this, if you can work with "your people" I think you're much better off. But we will see.
Now, 2 Majoryly Majorly COOL things:
1. Our 4th year co-leader is starting her neurosurgery clerkship (McGill speak for 'rotation') this fall and there is a good chance that our group will be able to watch from that viewing balcony area (just like in Grey's Anatomy... I know, it's a sad day when even med students can't help with the pop culture references) = Coolest thing ever!
2. Subsequent to this Luncheon, some of "my people" and I went on a tour of the Medical Simulation Center, where there are actual beds, real medical equipment, a mock OR room, with manaquins hooked up to machines, and then "complications" are simulated for med students, doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals who work with patients to practice with, thus mitigating the high rate of error that has been known to occur in these cases in real life (this is the function of the Center, apart from just being cool, and so Spa-like in setting, which is ironic because it's cleaner and spiffier than any hospital room I've ever seen in Montreal!). I am excited to bits about eventually practicing in this place. They also have 200 actors in their database who come in and simulate various medical conditions / difficult patients etc, and not only will we be practicing with them, but these situations will end up being our "practical" exams as well. Anyway, SO SO SO COOOOL!
Finally, tonight, Pub Crawl was okay, dancing at the Club at the end was much more fun, having to take detours around all the highway and street construction work in order to drive downtown for said evening activities = less fun, but instructive. Also, I got my package in the mail from Forever 21 which was nice.
But medicine and med school, seems to me like lots of work, lots of play, lots of FREE, and lots and lots of COOLness.
P.S. strangely enough, thought you should know that some of "my people" look freakishly similar (though not the same) to Megan Powell and Firth McEachern..
Well, so firstly, people have been asking about the cuties. Really, it probably just comes down to the pleasure of encountering new faces and personalities and being attracted to the newness of it all (have I euphemized sufficiently here?) Much to my chagrin, with respect for my affinity to order and control in my life, I have already developed a crush or two (I know, this is ridiculous, it has only been 3 days, but alas, the heart does not always listen to the mind, and it probably also has something to do with this approaching of my peak fertility years or something). Of course, I cannot write about any of these in detail here (one day we might become Facebook friends, and one day this blog may be visited by said crushes, and really, that would just be embarrassing).
Day 2 of med world orientation
So yesterday - -after acquiring some snazzy, high quality, and most importantly, FREE, schoolbags from the CMA (Canadian Medical Association) / MD Financial people (the perks begin early, believe it or not), much continued self-congratulation for being worthy of medicine, attending a few orientation sessions, including an introduction to Physicianship and having received our first homework assignment (in a similar fashion to the Math 1a/1b tradition of homework due on the first day of class), I acquired a McGill ID card. Yes, friends, I am officially a McGill student. So much so that today, incidentally, I joined the McGill network on Facebook, boasting over 30,000 members. Yeah, for reals. Later that evening I enjoyed a decent (and FREE) dinner at Le Prince Arthur with my fellow "Med-Dent Frosh '08" (this is what is written on our yellow wristbands which we are required to wear all this week) and really, our particular table was absolutely fabulous! Really, I think I've met at least some of who will be "my people" -good conversation, same excited positivity, similar interests (met a former MUN person, and someone who did work under a circadian bio dude in the T dot, and someone with a sense of social/moral/anthropological medicine, and all of them are cool with the H-bomb, and in a friendly-joking way, chastise my round-about way of attempting a soft landing with the H-bomb, as well as ask me to say "Pahk the Cah in Hahvahd Yahd") and values -recalling the first days of Harvard Dorm Crew Fall Clean Up freshman year, when I met some of my dearest peoples. It was the best, again FREE, 3-hour long dinner I've had in a long time. I was thoroughly pleased and went to bed with pink warm fuzzies in my chest cavity.
Day 3 Intro to Med World
Today - -I was up at 6:30 a.m. (each day has been earlier than the last this week, but today's start will be the norm beginning next Monday), and walking those hilly streets again by 8:00 on yet another gorgeous sunny but comfortably temperate morning -I think "crisp" would be the right cliche. Anyway, more Physicianship talk -as a doctor, I will be both a "healer" and a "professional" -this was the lesson of the day, which connected to the "small group sessions" where we were put in random groups of about 16 (a mix of Med, Med-P and Dent students) to discuss Physicianship ethical / moral issues for about an hour and a half or so -this will be our group for the year -with a family medicine/Ob/Gyn/head of clinical clerkships doctor (this person will apparently be different every week) to lead the discussion session. This recalls "section" at Harvard. Very much so. No pompousness has emerged yet, but it's still early in the year -someone's going to be that kid and we all know it, right. This may sound skeptical, but it was actually quite a good class -and so far, I kinda liked everyone in our group okay.
Stomachs hollow and angry, we then set off for the Physicianship Apprenticeship Luncheon (PA is not to be confused with general Physicianship and other courses in this area). The group we were assigned to here is 6 fellow Med or Med-P students with whom we will regularly meet for the next 4 years, along with a doctor in charge of the group (our's is a hematologist at MGH -that is, Montreal General Hospital, not Mass General), and 2 co-leaders who are 3rd and 4th-year med students. We will be meeting on a regular basis and for the first year, pairs of us will be assigned a real live patient to 'follow', interviewing them about their health/illness experience (kind of like medical anthropological ethnography if you ask me -which is wonderful!). The point of all this Physicianship stuff, which I love and for which I totally respect McGill, is to train us to never forget about the patient's role in the diagnoses we will make, and in their own healing -to remember that ultimately, patients are people, individuals, not just 'bodies', the converse view being a common obstacle for much of medical training in the Western world, resulting in a poor doc-patient relationship. Kudos to Sir William Osler (whom I will now endearingly call 'Will') for inspiring such care in this regard of medical training here. Anyway, I will likely be 'pairing up' with one of the "my people" friends I made last night who ended up being in the same group, which is sweet -meeting other new people is wonderful, but for long-term 'projects' like this, if you can work with "your people" I think you're much better off. But we will see.
Now, 2 Majoryly Majorly COOL things:
1. Our 4th year co-leader is starting her neurosurgery clerkship (McGill speak for 'rotation') this fall and there is a good chance that our group will be able to watch from that viewing balcony area (just like in Grey's Anatomy... I know, it's a sad day when even med students can't help with the pop culture references) = Coolest thing ever!
2. Subsequent to this Luncheon, some of "my people" and I went on a tour of the Medical Simulation Center, where there are actual beds, real medical equipment, a mock OR room, with manaquins hooked up to machines, and then "complications" are simulated for med students, doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals who work with patients to practice with, thus mitigating the high rate of error that has been known to occur in these cases in real life (this is the function of the Center, apart from just being cool, and so Spa-like in setting, which is ironic because it's cleaner and spiffier than any hospital room I've ever seen in Montreal!). I am excited to bits about eventually practicing in this place. They also have 200 actors in their database who come in and simulate various medical conditions / difficult patients etc, and not only will we be practicing with them, but these situations will end up being our "practical" exams as well. Anyway, SO SO SO COOOOL!
Finally, tonight, Pub Crawl was okay, dancing at the Club at the end was much more fun, having to take detours around all the highway and street construction work in order to drive downtown for said evening activities = less fun, but instructive. Also, I got my package in the mail from Forever 21 which was nice.
But medicine and med school, seems to me like lots of work, lots of play, lots of FREE, and lots and lots of COOLness.
P.S. strangely enough, thought you should know that some of "my people" look freakishly similar (though not the same) to Megan Powell and Firth McEachern..
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Medical Salad and Mexican Sun
Salad Day
Today was my first day of medical school. Well, sort of. Technically, it was just the first day of registration/orientation. Three words: Exhilarating, Exhausting and Shock.
It was wonderful to meet so many new people, from different cultural and educational backgrounds; amazing to see ghosts from the past (high school and CEGEP ghosts) who are simultaneously changed and the same; lovely hearing the history of medicine at mcgill and in montreal talk in the PM; fabulous loading up on freebies dime-by-the-doz; and yes, nice to see a few cuties in the mix (if we're being completely honest here). But man, I am dead tired from running around campus on our "Amazing Race" to the "Temple of Frosh", up and down Montreal's notorious hilly streets which infest McGill's otherwise gorgeous campus; energetically spent from being socially "on" for 7 hours straight, including dealing with the odd poor (and usually obnoxious) reaction to the H-bomb (alas, it is no myth my friends, even when you do your darndest to conceal or play it down, ultimately they will know, and try to punish you for their own insecurities -not everyone though of course, not even most people, but definitely a countable few); and thoroughly fatigued from lugging around aforementioned freebies all day long on my right shoulder.
So what's the Shock? Oh My Dear God, I am in Medical School and There is Going to be a Shitload of Work I Really Hope I'm Ready and Can Handle It and I Am Not Familiar With Much -Not This Campus, Not These People, Not Even The Curriculum Structure, Not a Touchstone or Security Blanket of Good Old Familiar Comfort. Maybe it's just premature panic. And then REASON kicks in: You've done this before and you'll do it again, and you'll love it. And. Pish-posh about familiarity! Give it a couple of days, and anyway, YOU will always be YOU and THAT can always be counted upon. But surely once I'm "settled" all will again be well with the world.
Mexican Heat
Imagine this, on my flight back to Montreal from Cancun airport:
We're flying high up, gliding over a bed of frothy clouds, American fields, waters and urban sprawl down below. I'm so excited to be on my way back home, Mexico far behind. The resort in Tulum was actually okay, but the season was too hot and humid and the place was infested with mosquitoes. We did have the cliche white, sandy beaches, expanse of turquoise and azul ocean, straw parasols, vacations lazies, bright blue four-foot deep swimming pools, never-ending cocktails (mostly Virgin obvi), salty fish and nachos. Almost bliss.
Mostly Virgin cocktails quickly became only sprite and water when my stomach decided to go thin and fragile the day after the wedding. It wasn't the food or drink, pretty sure it was the heat of which my body had had enough. The wedding at dusk on the beach was lovely, as was reading chick-lit and real lit on the beach, and sipping my Shirley Temples with lime. Loved dancing the night away (swing-style) with the groom's seven year-old cousin. The buffet was surprisingly good at the resort -my favourite was the caramelized waffle cup filled with whipped cream and slices of fresh mango, cactus fruit and strawberry -yum! There were a ton of Iggies and Lizzies (the reptiles, not the adorable puppet from the hit '90s kid TV show, "Under the Umbrella Tree"), but luckily, none in our room!
We also went on a great breezy boat tour, stopping at the Mayan ruins of Tulum and its sparkling-perfect beach (too hot to visit Chichen-Itza unfort.), as well as spent a few hours at Playa del Carmen, where we "shopped" (mine consisted of 3 postcards and a key chain).
In Summary...
All in all, a nice getaway, but I was so ready to come home, hug my family a ton, get back in the driver's seat of our old Honda Civic and eat home-cooked meals. I also missed Turkey a lot when I was in Mexico which is strange, but then, I'm always missing Turkey.
After today, I came home and thought, aw shucks, I miss Harvard. Not because it was "Harvard", but because it was the first home I had to make for myself, after only knowing the one I had been born into -I missed my old life, my friends, my profs, K-house, "shopping period" (goodness, what a luxury that was!) and last, but certainly not least, Boston Tea Stop. That's it. The big solution. I gotta get me some boba / bubble tea around here.
P.S. would you believe it, but today I met the male version of my name -"Niall" pronounced "nile" -who even knew it could be. We are now BFF. JK, JK, but seriously, that's just crazy.
Today was my first day of medical school. Well, sort of. Technically, it was just the first day of registration/orientation. Three words: Exhilarating, Exhausting and Shock.
It was wonderful to meet so many new people, from different cultural and educational backgrounds; amazing to see ghosts from the past (high school and CEGEP ghosts) who are simultaneously changed and the same; lovely hearing the history of medicine at mcgill and in montreal talk in the PM; fabulous loading up on freebies dime-by-the-doz; and yes, nice to see a few cuties in the mix (if we're being completely honest here). But man, I am dead tired from running around campus on our "Amazing Race" to the "Temple of Frosh", up and down Montreal's notorious hilly streets which infest McGill's otherwise gorgeous campus; energetically spent from being socially "on" for 7 hours straight, including dealing with the odd poor (and usually obnoxious) reaction to the H-bomb (alas, it is no myth my friends, even when you do your darndest to conceal or play it down, ultimately they will know, and try to punish you for their own insecurities -not everyone though of course, not even most people, but definitely a countable few); and thoroughly fatigued from lugging around aforementioned freebies all day long on my right shoulder.
So what's the Shock? Oh My Dear God, I am in Medical School and There is Going to be a Shitload of Work I Really Hope I'm Ready and Can Handle It and I Am Not Familiar With Much -Not This Campus, Not These People, Not Even The Curriculum Structure, Not a Touchstone or Security Blanket of Good Old Familiar Comfort. Maybe it's just premature panic. And then REASON kicks in: You've done this before and you'll do it again, and you'll love it. And. Pish-posh about familiarity! Give it a couple of days, and anyway, YOU will always be YOU and THAT can always be counted upon. But surely once I'm "settled" all will again be well with the world.
Mexican Heat
Imagine this, on my flight back to Montreal from Cancun airport:
We're flying high up, gliding over a bed of frothy clouds, American fields, waters and urban sprawl down below. I'm so excited to be on my way back home, Mexico far behind. The resort in Tulum was actually okay, but the season was too hot and humid and the place was infested with mosquitoes. We did have the cliche white, sandy beaches, expanse of turquoise and azul ocean, straw parasols, vacations lazies, bright blue four-foot deep swimming pools, never-ending cocktails (mostly Virgin obvi), salty fish and nachos. Almost bliss.
Mostly Virgin cocktails quickly became only sprite and water when my stomach decided to go thin and fragile the day after the wedding. It wasn't the food or drink, pretty sure it was the heat of which my body had had enough. The wedding at dusk on the beach was lovely, as was reading chick-lit and real lit on the beach, and sipping my Shirley Temples with lime. Loved dancing the night away (swing-style) with the groom's seven year-old cousin. The buffet was surprisingly good at the resort -my favourite was the caramelized waffle cup filled with whipped cream and slices of fresh mango, cactus fruit and strawberry -yum! There were a ton of Iggies and Lizzies (the reptiles, not the adorable puppet from the hit '90s kid TV show, "Under the Umbrella Tree"), but luckily, none in our room!
We also went on a great breezy boat tour, stopping at the Mayan ruins of Tulum and its sparkling-perfect beach (too hot to visit Chichen-Itza unfort.), as well as spent a few hours at Playa del Carmen, where we "shopped" (mine consisted of 3 postcards and a key chain).
In Summary...
All in all, a nice getaway, but I was so ready to come home, hug my family a ton, get back in the driver's seat of our old Honda Civic and eat home-cooked meals. I also missed Turkey a lot when I was in Mexico which is strange, but then, I'm always missing Turkey.
After today, I came home and thought, aw shucks, I miss Harvard. Not because it was "Harvard", but because it was the first home I had to make for myself, after only knowing the one I had been born into -I missed my old life, my friends, my profs, K-house, "shopping period" (goodness, what a luxury that was!) and last, but certainly not least, Boston Tea Stop. That's it. The big solution. I gotta get me some boba / bubble tea around here.
P.S. would you believe it, but today I met the male version of my name -"Niall" pronounced "nile" -who even knew it could be. We are now BFF. JK, JK, but seriously, that's just crazy.
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