It feels like just yesterday when I was at orientation with my PRN group in July. Now we’re already 1/3rd done with all of our pre-clinicals and staring down block 4 (head/neck, immunology, pathology) after the Christmas Break.
A part of me is in denial – I refuse to believe I’ve learned 1/3rd of pre-clinical material. After all, haven’t I only been in school a few weeks (or so it seems)? It’s hard to fathom how much material we’ve been exposed to and even more difficult to validate our retention of said material. In retrospect, as I think about specific details pertaining to the systems we’ve covered in CRR and GIMNER, the knowledge just flows out. Describe the layers of the skin. Classify the epithelium in the gut. Explain the electric conductance of the cardiac muscle. How does each structure form embryologically? Now I see where those five months went. 😀
Furthermore, not enough can be said about the professors and colleagues who have made the time extremely enjoyable. Playing basketball on Fridays and going to see the Rockets play every so often. Block parties. Watching surgeries. Discussing politics. Many of us have studied together, laughed together, and partied together, but all of us have grown as future doctors together. That in itself is motivating.
I’m really looking forward to head/neck in a few weeks! Till then, I plan on reading the sections from blocks 2 and 3 in First Aid and just relaxing at home till school resumes. 🙂
