Sleep Evades Me...

I finally get it. Dr. Boyfriend spent many a med school night tossing and turning and I would always wonder why he was so nervous. Before every test, new rotation, etc. he seemed to be anxiety ridden the night before. He would toss and turn and talk to me all night. I would say, "don't worry and GO TO SLEEP!" Well I'm 10 days in and I cannot seem to sleep. I've given up at this point, four hours of trying and I have to wake up in an hour anyhow. Tomorrow, or rather today, it just FEELS like tomorrow, I have my first anatomy lab. Now I know that Dr. Loukas will not kick me out of the lab or make me stand on my head because I forget what innervates trapezius but still I keep thinking of everything I might not know.... Is this logical? Of course not, but I can't help it. In two hours I start my marathon of a day: dry lab, wet lab, small groups and then fours hours of lecture before trying to study for the night and the chances of me making it through two hours of biochem and two hour of anatomy lecture are not looking good. Not unless I can find some espresso on this island. 

Also I thought the sun would be getting up soon, but no,its pitch dark out!  I always thought being this close to the equator would mean more daylight and I was disappointed my first week when it would be dark by the time I ate dinner and got to Mocha Jumby's, I just figured it I woke up early I would see the sun (but up until today I haven't had the need to get up before 7am.) And thanks to google, I now know, that today the sun doesn't rise until 6:32am (it sets at 6:08pm) so I have another hour of night. Speaking of google, my bioethics professor shared this was us yesterday. Maybe you'll enjoy it too! Era, I dedicate this to you.  

You Either Have IT or You Don't...?

Today is my 10th day of medical school. So far I have had over 40 hours of lecture and many more hours of studying, and it is just the beginning... Earlier this week we had a lecture given by a guest speaker, Dr. Hauser (Asst Prof, Med and Palliative Care at Northwestern University). The topic was Ethics in Clinical Care and it was perhaps the most interesting and enjoyable hours of my medical school beginning.  

Yet of the over 400 students in my first term class the majority missed what Dr. Hauser had to share. Now having four hours of lecture every day, and often small group or lab lectures beforehand can be tiresome so it is understandable that some of my classmates would leave. (Disclaimer: I myself missed class yesterday for the first time. I opted to nap during biochem and watch the lectures later via Angel.)  However it was not just a few souls, from the looks of the lecture hall about 2/3 of the class did leave, 1/3 left before bioethics even began. In their defense we are just starting to figure our this med school thing and it seems that we must study and prepare for the next day and ending at 5pm does not leave a lot of time to do so... Maybe the thought of taking an extra hour was too tempting to pass up.... but still it was a little disheartening to see that my future colleagues really did not want to hear about Palliative Care or the ethics of medicine. 

For those students that did stay many were engaged in the lecture and I believe most thought it worth their time. But I've been thinking about this and it came to mind again as I was reading over several recent articles in the New York Times dealing with the subjects of bedside manner and the teachability of ethics and compassion. Check them out yourself and let me know what you think...

One Week

Yesterday marked the end of my first week of classes. It is hard to believe that I have only been on the island for 10 days. It seems like I've been here forever.... and I must be acclimating because I am no longer hot every time I step outside and I've even gotten cold in the lecture halls these past few days. My classes are going well, we really do have amazing professors. Yesterday our Intro to Embryo Lecture was given by Dr. Persaud who co-authored our book, "Before We Are Born" and flies from U of Manitoba in Canada twice a year just to lecture to SGU students. Being in lectures for a straight 4 hours a day has taken some getting use to and labs start next week so I'm going to be even busier. But I have a routine now and like my classes and classmates. I'm off to the anatomy lab to try and figure out what all the muscles of the back look like.

Study Space

Some people are dorm studiers while others like the traditional library or quiet study hall. I on the other hand have always preferred to study in a semi-social environment and more importantly to have caffeine at my side while doing so. I made it through undergrad and my post-bac living at Espresso Royalle in Boston and later Starbucks in Long Island. The baristas became my best friends and the the coach/table my living room. 

I was a little worried while being on an island without Starbucks that I might not have the same set up, but that is NOT the case. Just 200 feet off campus is a local coffeehouse, Mocha Jumby and it is great. I've already gone twice to check it out and meet the staff and regulars. They even serve food and the veggie burger I saw looked pretty tasty. I think I've found my new home, Internet is free and the coffee is good. (They even have skim milk and so far it is the only place I've seen skim milk on the island, not even the grocery store had it.) 

Tomorrow is my first day of school. I meet my faculty advisor at 8am and have four hours of lecture from 1-5pm. After which I plan to grab a quick dinner and then head to Mocha Jumby to hit the books. I can't wait! 

happy.

happy. 

i am where i want to be. 

doing what i have only dreamed of. 

and i start med school in just 4 days.

today was all fun.

beaches and tours.

meeting my classmates.

learning my way around campus. 

tomorrow will be...

waiting in line.

getting a bank account.

grocery shopping.

lugging 75lbs of books up a hill.

getting my kitchen stuff.

i can't wait!

(oh. btw. the pics were taken during all the fun stuff today.)

I'm here!

So, I've arrived. I'm exhausted and need to go buy an adapter so that my computer will work but here are some quick pictures I took while settling in today. (For some reason they are in reverse order, but I'll try to fix that later.) Enjoy!

My Bags are Packed, I'm Ready to Go...

Well, I'm not exactly ready to go. The problem is my bags are OVER packed. I'm allowed to check two 50lbs bags. Currently one weighs 55 and the other ways 58. So I have to leave behind 13lbs of stuff, and I already repacked and slimmed down my belongings once. And I don't even have real shoes packed, just flip-flops and one pair of flats for the white coat ceremony, going out, etc. Shoes are where I usually go wrong. When boyfriend and I go away, even if its just for the weekend we always have a separate shoe bag. But since its not shoes, I am not sure what where I went astray. Maybe its the extra toiletries or the fact that I have to bring my own towels and linens. (I actually bought a leaving student's entire kitchen stock so I don't even have to worry about an entire room and yet I can't quite figure out what I'm going to leave behind.)

But, instead of solving my problem and repacking my bags I'll continue down the path of procrastination. So far I made a lovely quiche, (I will have no oven in Grenada so it was my farewell baking dish) took down the Christmas lights, watched "How I Met Your Mother" and sent a few dozen emails. Not completely unproductive but not getting me any closer to getting on the plane in 33 hours either. Okay maybe I don't need six pairs of flip-flops... What else can I do without? Its back to my OVER packed bags or maybe I’ll take down the Christmas tree…