Valet

Because the school is attached to the hospital it is impossible to find parking. Several times my husband has left for school driving around the parking lot, couldn't find a spot, runs home, and I drive him back to drop him off. Imagine if you actually had an emergency?

Scott and White offers valet parking for their ER. At first, we laughed and thought how odd that was. But then we realized what a great idea! In what better situation would you need valet? Now, it seems silly that restaurants have valet and not all hospitals do. I know they usually have a circle drive in or drop off area, but you still have to bring someone with you to go park the car. Other hospitals are catching on. Some hospitals charge, but Scott and White's is free.



Definitely something to check out at your local hospital!

We aren't alone...

I have come across another blog for medical school wives and have always enjoyed reading their stories. This one in particular reminded me so much of my recent "weird" post. It makes for a good laugh, too!

Med School Tagalongs - Ruined Forever



It's nice to know we aren't alone!

Schedule

For those of you wondering, here is this StuDoc's schedule so far. He sticks to it and is very self motivated. There are a few people in class he has talked with who are shocked about how much work is involved. But once you graduate, they view it more of a right of passage to be a doctor. With this schedule, he has been ahead of his game. His first test is in a week and he is taking it in stride as he listens to his classmates freak out, complain, or even cry. Others will be pulling all nighters, while he will be sticking to his schedule. We have heard the saying everyone in med school is smart (or else you wouldn't have got in) but it really comes down to hard work and self motivation.


4am-6am - wake up and study
6am - walk to the gym and work out
730am - home to shower and get ready
830am - leave for class
9am-4pm - classes, study during lunch
4pm-630pm - stay at school and study
630pm-830pm - eat dinner and relax
830pm-1130pm - study

So he's getting about 8 hours of studying in each day not including class time. Wow! I didn't realize it was that much because I only see him studying when he comes home after dinner. He got this schedule from that blog he talked about with the good organization tips who is also a morning person like him. It helps that he studies by reading and is a fast reader. An MS2 who has 2 kids and pregnant with their 3rd gave my StuDoc some advice for this schedule. He suggested staying at school for one more hour or two and that's the best time to review what you just learned. That way when you come home you can give your full attention to your wife/family. Maybe being married in medical school is good/better in that it disciplines you to study and be productive with your time. Another tip they received at their MCO group is to even be productive with your down town.

Hubby came home the other day talking about how a 40ish year old StuDoc was complaining about how much work was involved and how he felt the teachers weren't helping him as much as they should. The response was "not only are you supposed to learn the material, but learn time management, how to deal with stress, and lack of sleep."

Everyone studies differently and this is just what works for him. One of his classmates said that he studied more in these two weeks than he ever did in a whole semester at UT. Maybe the best way to prepare for med school is to alraedy know how you study. Like he said, everyone's smart but the one's that do well are going to be the harder workers.


Test
His first test is coming up! He said it was 6 hours long - 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon. And this isn't even a board exam! After this first test, if he happens to not do well, it won't be because he didn't study enough but needs to study differently, learn what the professors are asking, or the level of depth. Which would be an easier fix for the next test. One difference he mentioned between undergrad and medical school is the level of depth. For example, in college they would ask "what is this" but in medical school they ask "what is this? where is it located? what does it do? if it shuts down, what happens to the body?"


Atleast he's doing well now and his spirits are up, and it's ok if it gets worse from here. But there are some people we've talked to who already hate it and it's only going to get even worse for them. On our date night this week, he actually said he's enjoying medical school! I think he found his calling...

Weird

Here are a few weird things that happened this evening that I found note worthy...

So, the church we go to offers a bible study/fellowship group for medical students and families. This is put on by the residents and attendings. They have dinner and a speaker (typically a doctor from the hospital sharing their faith). It's a great place to meet older students, residents, and attendings that will be the director for their rotations in MS3 & 4. We have really enjoyed getting to know all of them and will continue. .... Buuuut here are some weird things that happened tonight....

1) This is about the 3rd night we have gone now and everyone has been so sweet to me (W) and makes an effort to start up conversations with me that are non-medical (which is really hard for most of them, haha). The few non-medical spouses are more of the residents, older, and with a baby on their hip. So I'm sitting at a table with some MS1s and some MS3s. You can imagine the MS1s asking the MS3s questions like "how are your rotations? what all do you get to do?" and so forth. I have never felt so out of place... these MS3s were describing things and using words that I can't even remember, pronounce, or spell for you. One MS1 asked what a word was and when she defined it, I still didn't have a clue what it was. The only word I recognized was vaginal. So maybe it was a good thing that I don't know what they were talking about. I am following the conversation with my eyes and my mouth open, and whatever they were saying sounded really interesting! I just didn't have a clue what they were talking about! Hubby apologized and knew that I had nothing to give in to the conversation. I actually tried to partake in the beginning... for example a 3rd year said he was in his 'medicine' rotation. I think to myself "Medicine? Well isn't this all medicine? Maybe he's learning about actual medicine/prescriptions?" Wouldn't you think that? I don't know. So, to show that I was interested, I asked him "what do you do for 'medicine'? What does that entail?" He said internal medicine. (apparently 'medicine' is short for internal medicine) Oh! Well that would make more since. I am quickly learning their lingo (or their language - words that i understand atleast!) and learning which questions to ask and which questions to lean over and whisper to my husband.

2) One MS3 girl at the table was doing her surgery rotation. She was going on and on about how cool it was and using words I don't know, blah, blah, blah. She mentioned how right now she is doing her pediatric surgery and she says (get this!) that she "loves cutting open babies because their skin is so easy to cut. It's like cutting butter!" Um, ew!!! She was really enthusiastic about it too. That is weird and NOT dinner table topics. But I am the only one at the table that's not a medical student and probably the only one that thought it was weird. To her defense, she didn't know I wasn't a student and therefore wasn't holding anything back.

3) Our speaker for the evening was an obgyn doctor. He was a really nice guy and enjoyed what he had to say. However, when the other doctor (the leader of this group) introduced him as the speaker he mentioned it was his dear friend, they went to residency together, he thought of him as part of their family, and that he delivered his 3rd child and going to deliver their 4th. And the wife was sitting pregnant in the room. Um, weird! Your friend is your obgyn doctor?? That's just weird! He went on to joke 'the ladies love him and the husbands trust him.' I didn't think that was funny and leaned over to my husband and said "awkward! she's in the room!" This is ironic because just the other day we were talking about how in the future we are going to know all the doctors at the hospital and how I will refuse to have someone we know or probably even know of be my doctor. That's just weird! I know doctors view the body differently, but I, a normal person, still view my body as my body! Granted, in this situation the wife was actually an ER doctor too so she fell into the 'it's just a body' category. All of her friends and people she knows are doctors so she probably didn't event think twice. But for me, that's just weird!!

GROSS anatomy

I walked in to our spare (office) room this morning and found a disection kit on the desk. I remembered he said he bought it used from an MS2. I open it.. i was curious! And I will pretend it was "dirt" (even though I can only HOPE that's what it was) in the corners of the box and then thought to my self... these tools sitting in MY home were used to cut open another human being.... gross!! And it kinda had a stinch when I opened it too. I am definitely going to have to gain a stronger stomach if he's going to tell me stories of gross anatamy lab.

I did make it clear that his scrubs he wears during his anatomy lab... I will not be washing. I do not want tissue, fat, blood from a cadaver rolling around in my washing machine... gross gross gross! And everyone keeps telling me to beware of the cadaver smell when he comes home. I wonder if I can get him to take a shower at the hospital?

-W

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Anatomy lab is set up differently here than maybe at some other schools. We chose our tank group (being our cadaver tank). Six people are in a group. Four people go to the anatomy class and have to go back and teach the other two students. Those two students take a quiz and everyone in the group gets their quiz score. Tank groups were chosen on the first day of school. So it's important to be getting to know everyone during orientation week. MS2s say that the most important thing you can do is have a good tank group.

Some classes are set up where a different doctor teaches each day. It's a great way to network with all the doctors in the hospital. I actually got a chance to talk to the surgeon today who offered for me to come and sit in on the orthopedic grand rounds with the other residents tomorrow morning. This is one reason why I love being at Scott and White because everyone is always willing to help and allow you shadow any time. The ratio between doctors and students is definitely in the students favor.

Today was the first day of gross anatomy lab, and I loved it.  I really enjoyed studying the anatomy and "doing surgery" on the cadaver.  It only confirmed how much I love surgery, and how important anatomy is for a surgeon. 

-C

First Week - Orientation

The first week/orientation consisted of: the White Coat Ceremony on Monday, curriculum, expectations, guidelines, IT support, introductions, information on clubs and organizations, ice breakers, assigning tanks, parking stickers, badges being made, and one day of lecture. Our weekend was pretty relaxed.

Some of these studocs are stressed even before the first day of class. Some were shocked to find out on Sunday how much reading was required for Monday's class and even stayed up all night on day one! When he sat down and measured all of the reading, reviewing, and studying he would have to do everyday for each class, there was literally not enough hours in the day. Some people say it is not uncommon to skip class just to study because your time is more efficient that way. Luckily, the MS2s are providing good feedback as to what professors take questions only from lectures and what professors you should should focus reading.

EVERYTHING is online (and most prefer everything in paper to study). I think these professors forget that this generation still grew up using paper and actual books to study. They are about one or two generations ahead of themselves! Even their tests are taken on the computer. It doesn't help that they post eBooks that are hundreds of pages and even printing at the school costs money.

StuDoc's Advice:

- be a computer genius to be able to re-format and download their software

- don't have a mac computer if the professors/school doesn't use mac (unless your computer genius)

- begin reading the day you get your reading assignments

-pick good tank mates

- buy a good printer

- make time for Shark Week! :)

If you know this StuDoc, than you know he's already ahead of his game and not stressed (yet)!

Inception Into First Year

The 2nd years made a video for the 1st years...

Inception Into First Year: A Bohemian Rhapsody Parody about Med School

A few things to keep in mind so that the video is more comical: a Foley Catheter is a catheter that goes into your urethra so that you can go to bathroom when you are unconscious. Donna is in charge of Student Affairs. The tall guy actually went to our high school. And yes, one of the guys sang the whole thing.

Enjoy! :)