And On To The Next One...

   I can't believe I made it through a month of SICU relatively unscathed.  It was actually enjoyable.  Yep, that's right.  I said it.  Enjoyable.  I think my second go at trauma surgery was far more bearable for several reasons.  One, I was working with a lot of really nice people.  I got lucky on this one.  Two, for some reason, everyone seems to treat you differently as a fourth year medical student.  It seems like they have more respect for you.  I don't know why, I mean, I'm the same person I was a few months ago.  Third, I got to see a lot of really interesting, sick patients and scrub in on some pretty amazing surgeries.  And I got to learn more about operating in general which will apply to OBGyn later, like learning the names of instruments, etc.  Lastly, and probably most importantly, I have a much thicker skin now as a fourth year medical student.  I am so much less sensitive to critical comments and take things a lot less personal than I used to.  Originally, I almost didn't pick SICU as a rotation, because I was scared and I knew it was gonna be tough.  I'm really glad I pushed myself though, because it was nice to prove to myself that I could do it.  And the hours were rough, but I made it.

   Now I am on a two week "vacation".  Well, really this first week I am taking Step 2 CS in LA, so that's not vacation.  But other than that, we'll be visiting friends in LA and going on our annual beach camping trip in Oregon, which I'm really looking forward to.  I'm really looking forward to getting Step 2 CS over with.  And unfortunately, it still needs a lot of work, but I actually have my first draft of my personal statement.  It's actually been a lot harder to write than I was expecting.  For some reason, I'm just really having trouble articulating my thoughts, and I am having trouble structuring it, which I need to do in order to base my entire writing process on.  So needless to say, I've been pretty busy lately.  But at least I've been productive.

   I've been pretty annoyed at myself ever since I got my Step 2 CK score back.  I didn't score nearly as high as I was expecting, and I don't know why.  It's not like I didn't feel comfortable going into it.  And I scored about 20 points higher on my practice test than on the actual one, so that was pretty disappointing.  Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it now.  But I'm having trouble letting go.

   The good news is that after my next rotation (Gyn Onc), I don't have all that much to worry about besides residency applications and interviews.  By then, I'll have taken all of my boards exams, finished my personal statement, asked for letters of recommendation, and will have finished all of my most important rotations.  Man, is it really already July?!

*  *  *

BF (as I'm typing this post prior to publishing it), "Oh, are you blogging?"

Me: "Yep!"

BF: "What are you blogging about? Your personal statement?"

Me: "YES... but also about other stuff."

BF: "Like Step 2?"

Me: "YES ... what else?"

BF:  "Finishing your first Acting Internship"

Me:  "Wtf, how do you know?! Do you even read my blog?"

BF: "No, but I read your mind..."

I'm Alive!

   I'm almost done with 3 out of 4 weeks of my SICU sub-I, and I'm alive!  I have been working 24 hour shifts every three days (which actually end up being more like 30 hour shifts with rounds and stuff), and 12 hour shifts on the days in between.  This all works out to be about 85 hours per week - and I'm exhausted!   I'm really enjoying it though, much more than I ever anticipated.  I've witnessed some pretty crazy stuff, but unfortunately, I have no energy to blog about it.  Maybe later.

 

Baby Z perfectly demonstrating how I feel these days