Friday, May 25, 2001
Hoping you pass the course with dignity
Well, I have exams on Monday in anatomy and histology and am in the throes of preparing a biochem exam to be administered Monday afternoon. Between the theory and lab exams, I am quite swamped and a little panicked. There is so much information it can be overwhelming. Ah, the joys of medical school! This is my rite of passage to the dream. I will endure and hopefully survive. Our histology professor put on the course syllabus as a last line: 'hoping you pass the course with dignity'. She is a small Tamilian woman from Christian Medical College, Vellore. In her first quiz, only 2 of the 18 in the class passed. I was one of them. In the second quiz, none passed. The quizzes don't count, however they don't forebode well for the upcoming Black Monday exam. It gives new meaning to her parting words on the syllabus.
Monday, May 14, 2001
first semester at medical school
I have settled back into the house and back into school. This semester is so busy I did not eat lunch at all last week. I am taking anatomy and histology and it has me running from pillar to post. My class schedule is: 08:00 to 11:00 am Anatomy 11:00 to 12:00 am Lunch (during which I prepare to teach biochemistry) 12:00 to 02:00 pm Histology 02:00 to 04:00 pm Biochemistry (which I teach)
In anatomy, we have lab twice a week - Mondays and Thursdays, instead of the lecture. We are five of us assigned to each cadaver. 3 of us work on one side and 2 of us on the other. Our group of 5 has decided to come in every morning and spend extra time from 7:00 to 8:00 am. In addition, we spent Saturday evening, from 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm working on the cadaver, with a 45 minute break for dinner. All this extra time is needed since the dissection takes time and we can never complete it and study it during the allocated lab time.
After all this, there is still the studying to do for histology (whose lab has not even begun yet) and some more studying of the clinical cases associated with anatomy. Needless to say, I am swamped with work. Of course, I am enjoying the many new experiences. Cutting a dead human being is the real initiation to medical school and I am happy to report that I am being initiated in full force.
On Sunday, I was so tired I didn't do anything. I had some coffee and a frozen pizza for lunch and that was all I ate all day. I hope I lose weight and given my schedule, I think I shall.
In anatomy, we have lab twice a week - Mondays and Thursdays, instead of the lecture. We are five of us assigned to each cadaver. 3 of us work on one side and 2 of us on the other. Our group of 5 has decided to come in every morning and spend extra time from 7:00 to 8:00 am. In addition, we spent Saturday evening, from 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm working on the cadaver, with a 45 minute break for dinner. All this extra time is needed since the dissection takes time and we can never complete it and study it during the allocated lab time.
After all this, there is still the studying to do for histology (whose lab has not even begun yet) and some more studying of the clinical cases associated with anatomy. Needless to say, I am swamped with work. Of course, I am enjoying the many new experiences. Cutting a dead human being is the real initiation to medical school and I am happy to report that I am being initiated in full force.
On Sunday, I was so tired I didn't do anything. I had some coffee and a frozen pizza for lunch and that was all I ate all day. I hope I lose weight and given my schedule, I think I shall.
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