What I Really Learned in Med School

"Medical School provides perhaps the best substantiation for Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. For here we see in its cruelest form of the  survival of the fittest . Not the smartest, as one should expect. But the fittest to cope with the inhuman pressures, the demands made not only on the brain but on the psyche...” — Doctors  by Erich Segal, 1989 I believe this quote was posted by one of my pharm profs. I thought it was so true because we always say that this program has been a “mental game” more than anything else. Most people have failed an exam here at some point (often for the first time in their lives) but it is the ability to get over it fast enough that can set people apart.  When I don’t do as well as I wanted, I often get a text from my Dad saying something like “Put it behind you and move on. I’m proud of you.” and that is exactly what I try to do. My biggest challenge recently though is finding motivation - so I look for it wherever I can. It is

Although block 2 was both better and worse than I expected, we had a great afternoon when it was all said and done. We went down to Tropics for our friend John’s birthday. He is always so good to us so I am glad there was a good turnout and we all had cake and pina coladas. I played with my friend Mark’s 2 year old and I was tired after about 10 minutes. I told my mom this story and she said that it sounded like I could go and be a doctor but I couldn’t be a mom. Unfortunately this is the sad truth of my life right now. I don’t know how you all do it. Probably the best part of having a group of friends that is a Canadian/American mix is when the Olympics or another big game is on. And it is even better when we win!! What a great game. Apparently there were only about 30 people (out of 80) in class on Friday afternoon after we all left to go watch. We were invited to the American boys house for the semi’s but we figured we wouldn’t be invited back for the final after

It turns out that fourth semester is, in fact, better than third. The workload is probably the same but we actually have the time to learn it properly. I am very pleased with my marks on block 1 and I have actually left the house to do things and see people so it is off to a great start. Sunday was, of course, the Superbowl and our American friends go all out. We all brought a dish potluck-style and there was about 30 of us so you can just imagine the food. Wings, nacho dips, and so much more. Jello shots Setting up the betting Me and Bal - slight height difference THE FOOD My spider cookies! Sunday afternoon, we went down to Queen's Garden Resort because Craig had received a gift certificate from there for winning the triathlon. The food was great and the pool was refreshing. I had the smoked salmon and peanut butter ice cream cake. It was (just a tad) classier than our normal routine and it was the most perfect