- catchy title, huh....
Last week in our behavioural class, we had a lecture on the stresses of medical students and doctors, and different problems that we are more susceptible to, and things we should look out for. This quote was given to us in the lecture:
“Physicians who sacrifice their personal lives during training believe that they will reap the rewards of a balanced life after graduation. Unfortunately, without skills to clarify and prioritize values or to develop a personal philosophy that integrates professional, personal, and spiritual domains, such balance does not easily occur.”
– Tim Quill
This really struck a note with me. It’s exactly what I believe. The attitude of ‘ok, I just have to get through this, then I can start living my life’ is something that I think that everyone will do at times, not just physicians (but apparently we are especially prone to it). Last semester when I was struggling with situational stresses, I had a hard time with certain habits while I was studying. My mom told me not to be so hard on myself because I’m in med school. True maybe, but life is going to be stressful, and if I can learn how to deal with certain behaviours in the more stressful of situations now, then theoretically I should be more prepared for other stressful life events (plus, being raised in a boot camp didn’t sympathize with any ‘hardships’…..jk). It’s a process, and I have times when I am better at staying balanced than others, but I am always improving, and most of all, I am learning what works for me.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Monday, May 29, 2006
Murphy's Law
Where does Murphy live you ask? In Grenada, yep right on campus. Nobody likes Murphy – lurking around the school, waiting for the most opportune moments to strike. Here’s an example of the havoc Murphy has wreaked lately:
When Raz came to visit, he brought me wrist wraps – as requested for bag workouts. Of course, after he left and I began to use the bag, the third day I went to the gym, the bag was on the floor in a corner. The hook from which it was hanging was broken off. Classic Murphy. Another Murphy incident – how it just so happens that on three consecutive occasions after finishing a long stretch of exams I arrive home to have the internet malfunctioning – when I actually want to talk to people! If you see Murphy lurking around, please give this character a swift kick in the pants, because the inevitability just can’t get any worse.
2 hours later……after writing yet another exam
I bite my tongue. The apartment smells funny, like something is burning, or like gas, and our AC isn’t running…….seriously….SERIOUSLY!
When Raz came to visit, he brought me wrist wraps – as requested for bag workouts. Of course, after he left and I began to use the bag, the third day I went to the gym, the bag was on the floor in a corner. The hook from which it was hanging was broken off. Classic Murphy. Another Murphy incident – how it just so happens that on three consecutive occasions after finishing a long stretch of exams I arrive home to have the internet malfunctioning – when I actually want to talk to people! If you see Murphy lurking around, please give this character a swift kick in the pants, because the inevitability just can’t get any worse.
2 hours later……after writing yet another exam
I bite my tongue. The apartment smells funny, like something is burning, or like gas, and our AC isn’t running…….seriously….SERIOUSLY!
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
I'm baaaaaaack
Sorry, I apologize to anyone who’s been living out all of their med school fantasies vicariously through me, I know it has been a while since my last post. I do have good excuses though. Right before I finished my last exam, Raz came to visit for 10 days, so for the first week of third term I didn’t even crack open a book. Then when he left I spent the weekend moping without studying, so needless to say I’ve been trying to catch up on a lot of work, and we already have an exam on the stuff on Monday!
It is official though, I am now a second year medical student – it is unfathomable how much I have learned in the last 8 months. As much as I have learned, my knowledge is basically useless right now – how sad. To generalize the sum of my new knowledge I've attained over the past year it comes down to this:
I’ve learned how a normal, healthy human body grows, develops, and functions all the way from a cellular level. I’ve also learned about the rarest forms of diseases and genetic disorders, most of which I will probably never see in my life depending on which specialty I choose. After all this being said, I love it! For the first time in my life I feel that I am actually accomplishing something.
Anyways, this third (6 week) semester is turning out to be a drag. Behavioural science is interesting to listen to, but annoying to study for. Epidemiology, well lets just say I would much rather take a hammer to my thumb everyday than sit through the lectures. Tomorrow we start biostatistics (I already took this course in undergrad!), and in a couple of weeks, health policy, then jurisprudence (sure, its interesting, but comon’, do we really have to be tested on this stuff? It’s not going to help me retain the information given its context!).
Here are some new pics that Raz took while he was here, enjoy!
At the Beach
A sea urchin
Checking out the sunset
It is official though, I am now a second year medical student – it is unfathomable how much I have learned in the last 8 months. As much as I have learned, my knowledge is basically useless right now – how sad. To generalize the sum of my new knowledge I've attained over the past year it comes down to this:
I’ve learned how a normal, healthy human body grows, develops, and functions all the way from a cellular level. I’ve also learned about the rarest forms of diseases and genetic disorders, most of which I will probably never see in my life depending on which specialty I choose. After all this being said, I love it! For the first time in my life I feel that I am actually accomplishing something.
Anyways, this third (6 week) semester is turning out to be a drag. Behavioural science is interesting to listen to, but annoying to study for. Epidemiology, well lets just say I would much rather take a hammer to my thumb everyday than sit through the lectures. Tomorrow we start biostatistics (I already took this course in undergrad!), and in a couple of weeks, health policy, then jurisprudence (sure, its interesting, but comon’, do we really have to be tested on this stuff? It’s not going to help me retain the information given its context!).
Here are some new pics that Raz took while he was here, enjoy!
At the Beach
A sea urchin
Checking out the sunset
Sunday, May 07, 2006
More incoherent study ramblings....and a bread tale.
So much for the square pants experiment, all I got were dried chewing gum hip flexors.
To the point where it takes me a couple tries to fully stand up- I felt like an 80 year old – ahh the joys of intense studying. I had a roll (as in bread roll) the other day when I ordered jerk chicken from the cafeteria. Normally I wouldn’t take one, but as I was desperately craving simple sugar, I decided to eat it. Let’s just say I can’t even remember the last time I had purely white bread – holy scheisse this stuff is good! I don’t remember it tasting this good. I felt like I was eating a donut or something. I don’t know if it tasted so amazing because of my current state of affairs, or if it always tastes that good. I was raised on whole wheat bread, and ate whole wheat bread sandwiches just about everyday for probably 15 years straight. In fact my first memory of lying to my parents was when I was six, and my mother asked me if I threw away the crusts of my whole wheat sandwich (whole wheat bread crust with peanut butter was gross then – its still gross now, unless toasted). I lied and said no – then I got the wooden spoon because they could tell I was lying. Well that sure taught me (I’m a much better liar now - JK).
To the point where it takes me a couple tries to fully stand up- I felt like an 80 year old – ahh the joys of intense studying. I had a roll (as in bread roll) the other day when I ordered jerk chicken from the cafeteria. Normally I wouldn’t take one, but as I was desperately craving simple sugar, I decided to eat it. Let’s just say I can’t even remember the last time I had purely white bread – holy scheisse this stuff is good! I don’t remember it tasting this good. I felt like I was eating a donut or something. I don’t know if it tasted so amazing because of my current state of affairs, or if it always tastes that good. I was raised on whole wheat bread, and ate whole wheat bread sandwiches just about everyday for probably 15 years straight. In fact my first memory of lying to my parents was when I was six, and my mother asked me if I threw away the crusts of my whole wheat sandwich (whole wheat bread crust with peanut butter was gross then – its still gross now, unless toasted). I lied and said no – then I got the wooden spoon because they could tell I was lying. Well that sure taught me (I’m a much better liar now - JK).
Friday, May 05, 2006
How I keep my stress levels in check
1. I get a decent night’s sleep (at least 6-6.5 hrs/night is my absolute requirement, anything extra is decadent).
2. I get at least 30-60 min of cardiovascular activity a day (I’ve been doing a really fun circuit lately to shake things up a bit).
3. I avoid talking to other people (there are a lot of high anxiety stress balls around here who just ooze stress when you talk to them, so I make it a habit to jet out of class as soon as lecture is over).
4. I try not to buy food that makes me want to eat it. When I get semi-stressed I feel like snacking on carbohydrates that are mostly digested before they even reach my intestine. When I get really high anxiety, I don’t want to eat - unfortunately/fortunately I almost never get high anxiety (maybe if I avoided items 1 and 2, I could induce it).
5. I pray to not be stressed.
6. I munch on raw garlic (this is not just something our Balkan parents do). This helps with item number three – if the stress ball people attempt contact I lean in and give a breathy ‘whhhhaaaat’.
7. I complain to Raz about every little thing that irritates me (poor him – he’ll actually sympathize with me). I’m more of the ‘tough love’ type and would probably tell me to ‘suck it up’ and ‘deal with it’, and then drop and give me 50 push-ups.
8. I sniff my highli ---oops, I didn't mean to write that one.
2. I get at least 30-60 min of cardiovascular activity a day (I’ve been doing a really fun circuit lately to shake things up a bit).
3. I avoid talking to other people (there are a lot of high anxiety stress balls around here who just ooze stress when you talk to them, so I make it a habit to jet out of class as soon as lecture is over).
4. I try not to buy food that makes me want to eat it. When I get semi-stressed I feel like snacking on carbohydrates that are mostly digested before they even reach my intestine. When I get really high anxiety, I don’t want to eat - unfortunately/fortunately I almost never get high anxiety (maybe if I avoided items 1 and 2, I could induce it).
5. I pray to not be stressed.
6. I munch on raw garlic (this is not just something our Balkan parents do). This helps with item number three – if the stress ball people attempt contact I lean in and give a breathy ‘whhhhaaaat’.
7. I complain to Raz about every little thing that irritates me (poor him – he’ll actually sympathize with me). I’m more of the ‘tough love’ type and would probably tell me to ‘suck it up’ and ‘deal with it’, and then drop and give me 50 push-ups.
8. I sniff my highli ---oops, I didn't mean to write that one.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Because its more interesting to say than "I'm Studying"
Hmmm, what have I been doing lately? I’m trying out a new experiment here – the goal is to remold my ass to look more like a chair. This involves sitting in a chair for long periods of time. To pass time while I sit in the chair I’ve taken to reading about physiology and neuroscience. I hypothesize this process should be almost finished by next Monday, but to be 100% sure, I’ll wait till next Wednesday afternoon. So, because I will be intensely busy with my experiment, I will be a little out of it for the next while.
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