KEVIN: Weekend!

I am consistently impressed with the durability (for lack of a better word) of my classmates. We took our pulmonary module exam last Friday. That evening, we had a date auction fundraiser, which I was far too tired to attend. Reports indicate that attendance was really high, and a lot of M1s showed up despite reeling from the exam.

I needed sleep to prepare for Saturday, which was our medical school service day. Medical students from every year got together and took part in different service events in the city. I was in a group that volunteered at Cafe 458, a restaurant that uses the profits from its weekend sales to serve gourmet-style meals to homeless people and their social workers on weekdays. We volunteers helped prep food, serve customers, and bus tables. I had the pleasure of finally figuring out how a cash register works, and I used my off-time to learn recipes from The Joy of Cooking. The highlight of the morning, by far, was when one lovely gentleman left a 300% tip for the restaurant, which made us all feel appreciated. It was hard to feel tired after that.

That evening, my dorm-mates and I went out to a local bar and ran into even more classmates. I’m sure there were social events on Sunday also, but you know, going out once every five weeks is all I can do to keep up with these kids nowadays.

JACKIE: Putting it All Together

Yesterday we started a new module- Cardiology. I am going to be honest- that first day was rather intense. At Emory, the faculty introduces each new module (actually, each new week), with a Case Presentation. A patient with a specific disease comes to class and tells his or her story- when he first noticed symptoms, how long it took to reach a diagnosis, how the disease has affected his life, etc. Usually we have ONE doctor monitoring the discussion and presenting background information on the disease and the patient himself. This time we had FOUR doctors! Dr. Felner, the Module Director, arranged to have a Geneticist, a Surgeon, a Cardiologist, AND an Embryologist (the case was about congenital heart disease) in class to present different perspectives on the case. It was definitely a lot of information to take in at one time, but I really enjoyed being exposed to the variety of angles from which one can observe the same disease. It felt like collaborative medicine at its finest- each person presenting a distinct point of view on the disease, and then integrating his perspective with the others’. In addition, the patient was there to discuss the more personal aspects of his disease, which made the presentation much more real.

The experience reminded me that one of the major reasons I chose to come to Emory was our new integrated curriculum. It is a great, great learning asset to have several aspects of the same disease, including the patient himself, presented at one time. It allows a breadth of perspective that is often saved for the final months of medical school when everything finally comes together. Instead, from Day One, I have been steadily building my grasp of medicine and all that it entails. I must say- it is pretty exciting to feel like you are actually “getting it”, albeit little by little, day after day.

TONY: Work Hard, Play Hard

As you continue to prepare yourself for, or consider pursuing, a life in the wild world of medicine, know this: there are very few days off. It’s all part of the territory: there is a lot of information to learn, many mental connections to be made, and countless clinical skills to master. You’ll find, however, that you will willingly and enthusiastically dive into this ocean of information every day of the week because it is all so very important—in order to become the phenomenal doctor that you’ve dreamt of becoming for so very long, you want to become a master of as many domains as possible.

Don’t let this freak you out. Yes, medical school is hard work—that’s old news. But in order to maintain a firm grip on what life is like outside of these marble walls, something else is necessary. You have to know when to play. And play we do. Hard.

Allow me to elaborate…

1) Work Hard
In the first five months of med school here at Emory, we complete a number of modules that are cumulatively called ‘The Healthy Human’. It’s during this time that we cover the basic sciences that most schools cover over the course of an entire year. It’s a great set up, as it allows students coming from various backgrounds to catch up with each other so that in the end, everyone is on the same page regarding basic science knowledge. During this time, our only evaluations come in the form of Friday afternoon exams, so our weekends are completely free to relax, explore Atlanta, and/or throw down at a club/party. After we are completely versed in just how healthy humans should be, we begin ‘Human Disease’, during which we learn all that the medical community knows about every human disease, ever. ‘Human Disease’ spans 12 months, and is split into delightful, easy-to-digest, 5-6 week modules that each focus on disorders of particular body systems. In addition, ‘Human Disease’ and Anatomy begin simultaneously, with a number of the dissections correlating with the body system that is being covered in class at the time. During this time, in addition to weekly online evaluations (which are not graded, and essentially there so that you know how well you’re keeping up with things) and Anatomy demos every couple of weeks (I’ll explain these in a future post), you are always working in preparation for the big Block Exam (or BLAM! as we call it. BLock exAM! Get it? See? Med students are both smart AND hilarious!) that comes up at the conclusion of each module. Thus, for five weeks, life = class, clinic, anatomy, study, rinse and repeat. Then you get BLAMmed! Then you take a couple of days off, and prepare to do it all over again! Hard core? You better believe it. Necessary? Absolutely.

2) Play Hard
After getting BLAMmed, clearly it’s time to cut loose. After our latest test at the conclusion of the pulmonary module, we did things a little differently: in order to raise money for the Open Door Clinic (a free clinic for the homeless), we had Date Auction. Wow. Out of control. With crackers and exotic cheeses flowing all night (yes, you’d better believe that cheese can flow too), students and faculty shelled out all kinds of cash for a night out on the town with eligible bachelors and bachelorettes, including two Deans, and your very own student-doctor Chin-Quee. It’s amazing what raking in $90 on the basis of good looks and personality will do for your self-esteem.

We also recently had our annual Cadaver Ball (aka Med School Prom), during which we celebrated the fact that we are young, brilliant doctors-in-training who look good in formal wear. Did we manage to pull it off? You be the judge:

If the attractiveness of Dr. Langness and myself make you febrile, tachycardic and diaphoretic, don’t seek medical attention. It’s a natural response.

The amazing thing is that, through the every day grind of work (with fun sprinkled in for sanity maintenance) we are actually learning the facts and how to apply them clinically. My mother called me a couple of weeks ago, and was recounting her visit to the rheumatologist. As we spoke, she told me that she could not remember what the doctor said she had, but could recall her symptoms and the results of the bone density scan that was performed at the office. Immediately, a switch flicked on in my head and I transformed into ‘Anthony Chin-Quee: Beast of the Patient History’, and ended up diagnosing my Mom with Osteopenia, complete with a treatment plan of vitamin supplements and lifestyle changes. At least that’s what my mom told me I said—I think I blacked out and went on autopilot for about 15 minutes. Amazingly enough, as I spoke, Mom realized that I was telling her exactly what her doctor had said a few hours prior. Who knew?

So, to summarize these first few months of med school for all of the prospective students out there: you will work your tail off; you will have fun; and you will realize that, somehow, you are indeed learning. What a wild ride.