Here are the highlights from this week.
---We finished the arms!---
Well, we are a two weeks out from test time and we have finished the arms. Now we just have to finish the legs in the next week and we'll be ready to go. It only looks like we're getting more hectic from here on out, but per usual, I'm trying to keep things balanced. Dissecting the hands was so terrible because there are so many small structures and so much fat in the way of those structures. It really is so complex that you kind of take it for granted.
---Med School Nightmare---
This week brought my first medical school nightmare. I have had many med school dreams over the past couple weeks. I have assessed innervations of the arm at a sorority pool party, I have danced with skeletons, I have trekked down the brachial plexus to the promise land of the axilla, but this was my first nightmare. I was dissecting the flexor muscles of the arm (as I did earlier that day in lab), and all I could see everywhere was connective tissue and fascial planes. There was fascia under that fascia and I had to clean it all out so I could see the muscles underneath. After I cleaned out one layer, there was another layer right underneath that. It was so stressful that I woke up with my heart racing. When I tried to go back to sleep, all I could see were more fascial planes. In the end, I had to take two Tylenol PM to get asleep, and 3 hours later I had to be up for class. Hopefully, that won't be the norm.
---HISTOLOGY QUIZ---
The first test of medical school knowledge came last Thursday when we had a practice quiz in Cell and Tissue Biology. It wasn't that bad and most of the questions were pretty fair. I got 24/25 right and the only one I missed was because I didn't read the question correctly. Starting out med school with a 96% is a good confidence boost for me, showing that I am actually learning something. Woot.
---Smoking Cessation---
After the quiz Thursday, we spent a full day learning how to stop people from smoking, using motivational techniques and patient-centered interviewing. As great as that may seem, I think spending more than 2 mins on motivational interviewing is enough and we had a whole day on it. Although it did introduce me to some fresh nursing students that apparently already have the hots for me, in all my doctory glory. LOL Hopefully, some of these motivational interviewing techniques will help me motivate my parents to eat healthier, although I don't think anyone will be able to manage that anytime soon.
---I have my first nickname of med school....sadly.---
Well my classmate Marcos gave me my first med school nickname the other day. While studying for our Histology quiz, Marcos and I were quizzing each other when he decided he was going to start calling me Frankenstein. Sadly, this story does not end there. He then went on to tell me that he was essentially a master of Histology and started spitting out knowledge about catenins and junctional complexes. Given his cocky demeanor, I decided to put him back in his place, informing him that about half the stuff he just said was wrong. I then made the mistake of following up my correction with the statement, "You know Marcos, if you're gonna just walk around here wagging your d**k around like you're hot shit, somebody is gonna smack it back in your face." Marcos found this so hilarious that he decided to append my nickname to "Frankenstein, the D**k-Smacker". He even came up with a whole comic book storyline history for the character. That was all well and good, but this story came up again in lab, to where I went to hang out with somebody the other day and they said, "Frank, why do you smack d**ks?" As embarrassing as this nickname is, it has made me more approachable to a lot of people and I'm enjoy the new social activities.---Grand Rounds This Week---
This week at Grand Rounds, we had a paraplegic guy come and talk about his high school football accident that landed him in his wheelchair. It is very interesting to note that the myelitis that took his ability to walk was brought on by trauma, not infection or a virus. Inflammation in precisely the right place at precisely the right time can be devastating for the nervous system.
In my own personal life, I have been having fun with a lot of my classmates and finding new friends everyday. It is probably the most enjoyable time of my life so far. I might even be starting a band with some of my classmates. I got back my car from the repairmen, so expect pictures of that soon. Til later.
